Table of contents for Issue 4757 in Model Engineer

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 LOWMEX As usual at this time of year, I trekked across East Anglia to visit the Lowestoft model engineering exhibition (LOWMEX), held at the East Coast College in Lowestoft. This is a show that goes from strength to strength, gettig bigger and better from year to year. It is organised by the Halesowen and District Model Engineering Society under the very capable leadership of Kevin Rackham. Standing sentinel at the door was Clive Randlesome's very fine 3 inch scale Fowler showman's engine (photo 1). Inside was the show's characteristically diverse display of models of all kinds, and work…

Continued from p.679 M.E.4756 November 15 Crosshead guides These were tricky little beasts to hold. In the end, I made a pair of half shells to fit around the body of the guides (photo 17) - the 3D printer again! Luckily enough, I had a four-jaw independent chuck with a big enough bore to (just) take the guide with the shells. Once mounted and trued, it was a straightforward job to face the first end, turn the locating spigot and bore the bore (photo 18). They were then turned around and mounted on an expanding arbor. The cylinder end was then faced and the second spigot turned. Moving to the mill, the guides were mounted on the rotary table fitted with the chuck holding the expanding arbor to hold the…

Continued from p.685 M.E.4756 November 15 There's a temptation to rush ahead and get the wheels rolling but if this is a first model then maybe it's best to practice some lathe work on something just a little bit simpler (and cheaper if things go wrong) first; the buffers. The drawings for the buffers and stocks are shown in fig 11. These can be turned down from bar material but this will create a great deal of swarf and for the stocks then marking-out, shaping and drilling the backplate is a deal of work. I have therefore provided for laser cut discs for the buffer heads and laser cut backplates with the holes all drilled. These can be silver soldered (Silverflo-55 or similar) to the smaller diameter buffer shanks or…

One of` the more unusual exhibits in a British museum is a set of dentures hand carved from hippopotamus teeth. They can be seen in Scarborough's Rotunda Museum. Even more unusual, they were carved by the man who wore them, Doctor William Harland. As the teeth move they can be considered an unusual form of mechanical engineering (photo 1)! Besides being a successful physician who owned medicinal baths in Vernon Place, Scarborough, Dr Harland was a scientist and inventor, and knew many leading scientific minds of the time. The Rotunda Museum (photo 2) was opened in 1829 and was one of the first purpose built museums and the first built specially to display and explain geology. The museum still does that today. The design was suggested by William Smith, (17691839)…

Continued from p.716 M.E.4756 November 15 Having assembled the engine and discussed some of the accessories and components I intend using on my steam plant, I am now at the stage of positioning everything on a ‘dummy board’ and making and connecting the necessary pipework. The practical layout of the components confirms there is plenty of space between the parts and helps in determining the shape and bends in the pipework. The pipework should be neat and the connections should fit correctly when finally mounted on the actual board. The dummy board was made the same size as the actual board intended for the finished plant and the boiler and water tank were the first items to be secured in place. All the components must be securely fastened to the…

It is well known that the Apollo astronauts were chosen for their temperament as well as their motor skills. Imagine if the three fell out on the way to the Moon. ‘Open number 3 valve, Mr Armstrong’. ‘Shan't’. ‘You will do as you are told’ ‘No’. ‘That's an order.’ ‘Please inform Major General Collins that Major General Aldrin instructs him to open number three valve before we all die.’ ‘I'm not speaking to the Major General.’ ‘Why?’ ‘He knows why.’ ‘What have I done?’ ‘Are we going to the moon or not?’ ‘I suppose…’ In this issue: Dissent before the descent, a battery tram (if it hits anything it would become a ‘battering tram’), traffic stats, send a gunboat, pre-CRB checks, minijets, under six drivers, dangerous curves and an errant…

DESIGNING THE T-34 PETER SAMSONOV AVAILABLE NOW Softback £12.99 ISBN: 9781911658306 HMS BRISTOL ROB GRIFFIN AVAILABLE NOW Softback £16.99 ISBN: 9781911658757 BRITISH TANKS OF THE RED ARMY PETER SAMSONOV AVAILABLE NOW Softback £14.99 ISBN: 9781911704065 The first encounter between British armour and the Red Army was not on friendly terms – with the British sending surplus tanks to reinforce the pro-monarchy White Army in the Russian Civil War. When the Reds won, war trophy Mark V heavy tanks as well as medium Mk.A Whippets and Mk.B Hornets entered service with the RKKA. As the political landscape changed during the 1920s, the Red Army assessed British designs available for export and a licensed copy of the Vickers Mk.E entered production in 1931 as the T-26. During the early days of the…

BRITISH RAILWAYS PAST AND PRESENT: SWINDON TO BRISTOL BY BOTH ROUTES JOHN STRETTON AVAILABLE NOW Softback £20.00 ISBN: 9781858952949 MODEL RAILWAYS EXPLAINED (BEYOND THE BEGINNING) BRIAN LAMBERT AVAILABLE NOW Softback £20.00 ISBN: 9781857945454 ONE YOUNG LAD'S LATER TRAINSPOTTING TRIPS WITH A CAMERA 1961-1964 ALAN CLARKE AVAILABLE NOW Softback £25.00 ISBN: 9781857945553 DOCKLANDS, SMOKESTACKS AND SLUMS CEDRIC GREENWOOD AVAILABLE NOW Softback £35.00 ISBN: 9781857945928 JUST THE TICKET BARRY ALLEN AVAILABLE NOW Softback £10.00 ISBN: 9781857945584 THE HELSTON RAILWAY PAST & PRESENT (NEW EDITION) CHRIS HEAPS On sale: AUGUST 30, 2024 Softback £22.00 ISBN: 9781858953038 THE SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY STOCK BOOK DAVID C. WILLIAMS On sale: AUGUST 30, 2024 Hardback £14.99 ISBN: 9781857945638 STEAM REMINISCENCES-SOUTHERN JOHN C. BECKETT AVAILABLE NOW Hardback £25.00 ISBN: 9781857945478 BY RAIL TO THE MUSIC HALLS DAVID HINDLE…

Presenting the highlights of this year's exhibition is quite difficult because there were so many things worthy of mention. So let's start with the attendance this year which was excellent on all days and was complemented by increased entries in all but two of the competition classes. Add to that a completely new organisation attending, in the form of the Association of Helicopter Aerosports. They provided a new look at some excellent miniature helicopters. They call them miniatures rather than models because the way they are built is the same as their full size counterparts. The flying displays of these machines was equally outstanding, given the often blustery weather conditions outside, and here they provided something that has not been seen at the exhibition before. On to the more conventional…

Published by Amberley Publishing of Stroud, 2024 ISBN 978-1-3981-0014-5 96pp, paperback,£14.39 At last the final member of the Reading family's series of books comprising photographs taken by Brian Reading during the 1950's and 60's. This volume concentrates mainly on ex London Midland Scottish railway territory and indeed, extending from Shoeburyness in the east, Templecombe in the south, Holyhead in the west and Fort William and Inverness in the north, a pretty extensive area. We start at Market Harborough, then down to Willesden Junction, where we enter the shed, and the photos show the range of locomotives in use, from Jinties, Royal Scots Jubilees and several versions of the 2-6-2 and 2-6-4 tank classes, an interesting shed tour, before moving on to Neasden shed, with a similar selection of locomotives, then…

Continued from p.722 M.E.4756 November 15 SMEE This series is a transcript of a talk given to the Engine Builder's Group at the Society of Model and Experimental Engineers (SMEE) in May 2024. There are two ways of bolting the cylinder onto an ME Beam's bedplate. Brave souls try to use small headed nuts that can be accessible from above the cylinder's lower flange but most builders bolt it on from underneath using bolts or studs and nuts, which is what Mr. Evans did back in 1981. This was also common practice on full sized engines. This is a heavy model to turn over in order to get to those studs, but having chosen to use studs, it would actually make reassembly easier later on. This is because I could…

Continued from p.706 M.E.4756 November 15 Heavens above, have we really reached the quarter-century edition of Butterside Down? While the numbers presumably do not lie, I confess a degree of incredulity that we've attained this milestone and congratulate you, persistent Reader, on your impressive stamina if you've persevered with the series thus far. While still doubtful of your sanity, having struggled through the prior twenty-four monologues, I offer to you my sincerest thanks and suggest you take a long lie down in a quiet and darkened room - you will surely feel better for it if you do. That's alright – I'll pause while you depart for a safer haven. Ah, wait a minute; it appears that I have unwittingly created a perfect vacuum of inattention – a situation to…

Continued from p.703, M.E.4756, November 15 Don says ‘We now come to an area where everything is interdependent’. Actually he says this later when reaching the construction of the sleeve, thrust plate and nut. Still, the next part is also very much interdependent of other later parts. The brass dial plate gauge for example is related very much to the backhead cleading, its fitting and the position of the plate and the strip that connects the reverser shaft to the plate. I, therefore, decided to take a look at these now before fabricating the sleeve itself. I will though make the screw as I need to work out the length of the marking strip and position of the plate. First, some pictures to show the relative parts. Photograph 1 shows…

These topics and more are covered by Mortons Books’ imprints: BANOVALLUM Banovallum Books explores a huge range of modern interests and experiences from veganism to venomous spiders, from composting to communism, from knitting to fitness. Covering consumer and leisure topics of every variety, Banovallum Books is dedicated to producing high quality titles which offer readers an informed and informative look at lifestyle and specialist subjects. GRESLEY Britain's unparalleled history of great railways and locomotives is what Gresley Books seeks to explore, explain and celebrate. We cover everything from the pioneering days of the early railways to the golden age of steam, the devastating Beeching cuts, the British Rail days, preservation and the ongoing story of modern diesels and electrics. GALLANTRY War and warfare in all its many forms is the…

Locomotive No 32 Tamerline became the first steam locomotive to be completed at Crewe Works on 10 March 1843. One hundred and fifteen years later BR 9F No 92250 became the 7,331st steam locomotive to be built at the Cheshire works, when completed in December 1958. This publication is a tribute to the thousands of people employed there during the steam locomotive building era. In 1913 The Railway Magazine proudly described Crewe as “the most famous railway works in the world”. Indeed, railways throughout the world benefited from adopting ‘best Crewe practice’. Many who worked at Crewe in its heyday, first under the London & North Western Railway and later the London Midland & Scottish Railway, held the firm belief that the works was the ‘beating heart’ of the Cheshire…

WE TOGETHER: 451 AND 453 SQUADRONS AT WAR ADAM LUNNEY AVAILABLE NOW! Hardback £14.99 ISBN: 9781911658351 F-16 FIGHTING FALCON BERTIE SIMONDS AVAILABLE NOW! Hardback £25.00 ISBN: 9781911658566 F-15 EAGLE BERTIE SIMMONDS AVAILABLE NOW Hardback £14.99 ISBN: 9781911658535 MESSERSCHMITT ME 309 DEVELOPMENT & POLITICS CALUM E DOUGLAS/ DAN SHARP AVAILABLE NOW Softback £40.00 ISBN: 9781911658962 Chosen in 1941 to replace the Bf 109 as the Luftwaffe's standard front-line fighter, Messerschmitt's innovative Me 309 embodied a wealth of hard-won experience from the Battle of Britain. Its sturdy tricycle undercarriage would make landings safer, its capacious wings could accommodate much heavier weaponry, its retractable radiator would make it aerodynamically clean, its pressure cabin would allow highaltitude operations and its ejection seat would help preserve the Luftwaffe's most precious asset – its pilots. All…

Continued from p.720 M.E.4756 November 15 We will now concentrate on the wheels and axles(figs 27 to 29). These are the same on all BR Standards except that wheels on the Britannias, Clans, Class 5s and Duke of Gloucester are on roller bearings. However, some of the Britannias were on plain bearings. Now one of the things I can't fathom, is why on earth the driving wheels on the 76000s are different from the 82000s when they are the same diameter? The tank engines were built at Swindon and the tender locos were built at Doncaster, Derby and Horwich. I can't help but feel that there must have been a bit of pettiness going on here. The tender engines have sixteen spokes, and the tank engines have seventeen just to…

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This large scale one day show is located just outside the town of Usk near the village of Gwernesney and has been there every year since 1844. It is now one of the biggest one day shows of its type in the UK. The day dawned bright and sunny so when I arrived the activities of this country show were in full swing. I made my way through the showground to the area known as Steam Corner. The large marquee and the provision of both full size and smaller models had been organised by Phil Pritchard together with other members from the Newport Society of Model Engineers. Outside the marquee the Hereford Preservation Society had provided a good selection of the smaller engines that used to power farm machinery in…

JIM REDMAN - MAN OF STEEL FRANK MELLING AVAILABLE NOW Softback £15.00 ISBN: 9781911704171 OFFICIAL MIKE HAILWOOD IN 100 OBJECTS JAMES ROBINSON AVAILABLE NOW Softback £30.00 ISBN: 9781911658894 COLIN SEELEY JAMES ROBINSON AVAILABLE NOW Softback £7.99 ISBN: 9781911658399 TRIUMPH: PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE GREAT BRITISH MARQUE JAMES ROBINSON AVAILABLE NOW Softback £25.00 ISBN: 9781911658580 AGOSTINI JAMES ROBINSON AVAILABLE NOW Softback £9.99 ISBN: 9781911704126 LE VACK'S LEGACY BRIAN THORBY AVAILABLE NOW Softback £50.00 ISBN: 9781911658788 TAKING IT TO THE LIMIT PETER STARR AVAILABLE NOW Softback £45.00 9780615301402 ONE MAN ON A BIKE RICHARD GEORGIOU AVAILABLE NOW Softback £7.99 ISBN: 9781911658139 MOTORCYCLE TRAVELER PETER STARR AVAILABLE NOW Softback £45.00 9780692151389 LAMBRETTA & VESPA STREET RACERS STUART OWEN AVAILABLE NOW Softback £14.99 ISBN: 9781911658603 SCOOTER BOYS GARETH BROWN AVAILABLE NOW Softback £14.99 ISBN:…