Table of contents for Issue 4750 in Model Engineer

Southport Martin Evans can be contacted on the mobile number or email below and would be delighted to receive your contributions, in the form of items of correspondence, comment or articles. 07710-192953 MEeditor@mortons.co.uk In the last issue I was celebrating the IMLEC event (International Miniature Locomotive Efficiency Competition) at the Southport club. Of course, I was not to know then of the truly appalling events that were to follow just a week later. As I write this, the aftermath of Axel Rudakubana's inexplicable rampage is still very much underway but I hope, by the time you read this, that some degree of sanity shall have been restored. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Southport and the surrounding area as they try to deal with what has happened. IMLEC…

Continued from p.276 M.E.4749 August 9 In Part 1 of the latest missive, a mechanical mule unwittingly entertained a member of the local constabulary sipping a hot beverage (the policeman, not the mule). Having fulfilled his civic duty and bidden farewell to the pseudo-wildlife, your fearless author was left with a strange formation in his back garden which was, worryingly, decidedly single storey in its overall appearance. Three-dimensional puzzles As with many space-constrained cities, New York - and the island of Manhattan in particular - has made remarkably creative use of its limited footprint. Of course, there's the subway system which, like the London underground, is a work of engineering genius largely hidden from view, and Grand Central Terminal, with its simultaneously spectacular, soothing and cathedral-like above-surface spaces (which, being…

This little trolley was based on that written up in the Model Engineer on 13 June 2014 by Linda Gearing (M.E.4484). Mine is somewhat simpler (I think) partly because I am and it is intended for my battery locomotive Zahia, previously described in Model Engineer (M.E.4716, 5th May 2023). However, as in previous articles, I have to use a mix of Imperial and metric units having been dragged up with (in order) Imperial, CGS, MKS, SI and then Imperial with American volumetric variations! As a result, for length it has to be inches, etc, except when dealing with metricised slabs of steel, heat in Watts, weight in pounds and so on. BTUs do not even register. At least students today usually only deal in one set of units unless dealing…

2024 marks the centenary of the most famous contest in model engineering history: the ‘Battle of the Boilers’ - leading model railway professionals W.J. Bassett-Lowke and Henry Greenly versus Lillian ‘Curly’ Lawrence alias LBSC. Amazingly both competing locomotives are still with us: Curly's coal-fired Atlantic Ayesha is maintained in working order by the National 2½ Inch Gauge Association while Greenly's spirit-fired Challenger 2-8-2 has recently been restored by owner Simon Hudson and The Steam Workshop. The contest took place at the 1924 Model Engineer Exhibition following two years of debate in the magazine over the relative merits of coal and spirit firing. It is usually considered to have started when James Leeming wrote to the Model Engineer in January 1922 complaining about the poor performance of his spirit-fired Great Central…

Model engineering is dying? A familiar theme today but that's what people told Percival Marshall when he launched Model Engineer and Amateur Electrician in 1898. Yet Model Engineer flourishes, joined more recently by Model Engineer's Workshop. Fewer people these days complete full engineering apprenticeships, schools rarely teach any kind of metalwork and social media distractions eat up huge swathes of time from what might otherwise be dedicated hobbies time. Sadly, some model engineering societies have folded, although some other model engineering clubs are attracting members. Both the Society of Model and Experimental Engineers (SMEE) and York Model Engineers attracted new members in different ways. They are both fortunate to own their premises with well equipped workshops and York has various running tracks, helping to attract members (photo 1). Increasing membership…

Continued from p.255 M.E.4749 August 9 Chassis assembly Wheels were fitted and secured as detailed at the correct back to back distance. The gear had been keyed and fitted. Finally Leufortin 1 is up on own legs (photo 22). The fly cranks quartered well and were just temporarily grub-screwed (for any adjustment). This was based on the view that this was the slowest part of the transmission and would last long enough to check the running before the final strip down ready to paint. The same judgment was made for plain axle box bearings in brass, well lubricated. The subsequently infamous forward/reverse gear tumbler mechanism had to be assembled and installed with the jackshaft into the chassis. The jackshaft went in with its gears and tumbler assembly. Gear meshing was…

No, I haven't given up just yet! I thought that I would just have to describe this engine as I know that all the castings apart from the driving wheels are available from The Steam Workshop, and Rachael or Elizabeth will have them in stock well before you read this. The castings are mostly identical to my 4MT and the 4-6-0 Class 4 tender engine. The engine was a direct development of the LMS 2-6-0 as designed by Ivatt, so you can build one of those if you like as almost all the stretchers are very near to the BR ones and all they did to the engine was to put BR Standard fittings on it and alter the plating around the front end. These engines were very powerful and…

Never let it be said this series isn't wide ranging. This time Mr and Mrs Backhouse had a cultural outing to an art exhibition - Turner: art, industry and nostalgia at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne (photo 1). After the gallery they found much other interest in Newcastle, a city dating back to Roman times when it was on Hadrian's Wall and a bridge crossed the Tyne with settlements on either side. Some of this history is described in the city's castle, an ancient area of great interest but vandalised by the Newcastle and Berwick Railway, pushed through in 1847. Luckily the Black's Tower entrance survived and the keep roof offers superb views of the river, city and bridges if you can manage the steps up (photo…

When writing this piece, and reflecting on our holiday to Iceland/Faroes, I was thinking of the events here in December 1943, when the Scharnhorst was sunk at the Battle of the North Cape. Only a handful of men were saved from the Scharnhosrt - the rest died in awful circumstances in the icy waters of Norway's North Cape - and the ship lies about 30 km north of the North Cape itself. Brave men, mostly conscripts, on both sides, fought and died in this region, from which the Bismark was also hunted down and sunk - December 1941 in this case, 300 miles west of Brest in Normandy. In this issue: sings ‘My Bolide is Over the Ocean’, wheel repair, finished, an A7 and a Shay, the prodigal godson, battling…

Continued from p.290 M.E.4749 August 9 Louvres Louvres are an important feature on any vehicle. I gave a lot of thought to this as a bit of a problem. In the end, I devised a simple jig tool that works well. For this, I made use of my very first lathe and combined drill press, Unimat S.L. This has a small machine vice which was fixed to the cross slide and allowed very fine positioning to be achieved beneath the drill chuck. I made a simple slotted bed and adjustable width side guards to accommodate possible widths of the louvred panels. Some mild steel stamping cutters of different widths were made to be held in the drill chuck which was then aligned exactly in position so that brought down firmly…

For many years now SMEE have had a cordial and productive relationship with West Dean College of Arts and Design Craft and Conservation. Indeed many of you will have seen the results of their careful conservation work exemplified in the locomotive Jenny Lind at shows. Situated in its home on the West Dean estate near Chichester the college (photo 1) was set up by the estates owner Edward James. James expressed his fear in a letter to Aldous Huxley that after the war the techniques of many crafts would be lost and conceived the forming of an educational community on the estate to preserve and encourage these crafts and skills. Today West Dean situated in 65,000 acres offers MA degree and Diploma programmes in Conservation, Visual Arts and Historic Crafts…

This year sees the return of this unique event, sponsored by Model Engineer and hosted by the Cheltenham Society of Model Engineers, on Sunday September 1st 2024 For those new to the event, this is not just a competition but also a show of appreciation for the contribution LBSC made to our fantastic hobby. It's a chance to come and meet likeminded people, both beginners and advanced modelers alike, who know that without the massive input of LBSC's designs and ideas our hobby may never have even taken off! Visitors are more than welcome to bring along their LBSC locomotives to put on display, built or part built to help showcase the variety of LBSC designs. The competition itself is a relaxed event and consists of about six entries, that…

August 22 Sutton MEC Afternoon run from 13:00. Contact: Paul Harding, 0208 254 9749 25 Westland and Yeovil MES Running the track at Yeovil Junction – Steam Train Day. Contact: Michael Callaghan, 01935 473003 25-26 Cardiff MES Open Day at Heath Park, Cardiff. Contact:secretary@cardiffmes.co.uk 27 Westland and Yeovil MES Running the track at Yeovil Junction Diesel Day. Contact: Michael Callaghan, 01935 473003 29 Guildford MES Open day, 10:00-13:00. See www.gmes.org.uk 31 Westland and Yeovil MES Track running day 11:00. Contact: Michael Callaghan, 01935 473003 September 1 Cheltenham SME LBSC Memorial Bowl. Contact: csme@cheltsme.org.uk 1 Westland and Yeovil MES Running the track at Yeovil Junction – Steam Train Day and Snakes & Bugs. Contact: Michael Callaghan, 01935 473003 4 Bradford MES Meeting: ‘Talgo - Rolling Stock Manufacturer’ by Colin Smith, 19:30,…