Its Just Playing Trains

Snow time

2010-12-28T22:33:00.001Z

YouTube link to a battke between steam and ice

William Huskisson song today

2010-12-19T13:38:00.001Z

Train Song of the Day - a little local history.

Train Songs

2010-12-03T09:44:00.002Z

I've been thinking of doing this for a while, and now it is up and running - check out Train Song of the Day -

Train Song of the Day

- got some train updates coming along soon too...

Decauville information mine

2010-02-27T11:59:00.001Z

Really good french site

Gret Great Uncle Neason Jones - Railway Writer

2010-02-25T21:38:00.001Z

My great great uncle Neason Jones edited the tales of Tom Keenan - a railroad engineer with 50 years service.

Read it here: http://www.archive.org/stream/tomkeenanlocomo00jonegoog#page/n0/mode/1up

Andy on the move

2010-02-20T22:10:00.001Z

Andy in Germany has moved his blog - still well worth reading though!

Eaton Hall Steam 2009

2010-02-15T07:43:00.001Z

Taken me ages to get this put together but here it is - Eaton Hall Estate Railway in steam in 2009.

Jack Tawes v Winter

2010-01-15T23:23:00.001Z

Jack Tawes was pressed into service during the recent winter weather, but a leaky throttle is going to mean more workshop time....

7/8ths SE Scale Models - a set on Flickr

2010-01-03T23:46:00.000Z

7/8ths SE Scale Models - a set on Flickr

Ferd Mels' very inspiring pictures of Pete's watery line - and many more.

Narrow Escape

2010-01-03T23:34:00.002Z

Narrow Escape! Another man's lines... Kevin Schindler

2009-09-14T23:51:00.001+01:00

Another terrific performance - this time from 2 steam locos...

New Wagons

2009-09-03T22:54:00.001+01:00

Pictures as promised - paint jobs in progress.

New Wagons - or is one a coach?

2009-08-29T13:22:00.003+01:00

Simon Harris at ModelEarth has started producing some really nice resin kits in 7/8ths scale which match the deWinton loco I am still building - there have been a few hiccups and changes en route, but we're still at it - more on that story later!

I have a couple of Simon's kits on the go and I am delighted with them.

I'll get some better pictures together but here is one with an idea for a tanker tank...

... and here is one of the Mk2 deWinton boiler (coal fired) taking shape.

Steam at it's most awesome

2008-11-17T23:39:00.002Z

This video from YouTube is frightening! Listen to it with headphones and tell me you don't back away from the edge of the platform. The locomotive is flying!

No 9 down the line

2008-08-22T01:27:00.005+01:00

The North Wales Coast Express at Chester on the 40th anniversary of 1T57 and all that meant.

Getting there

2008-08-18T08:00:00.000+01:00

Here are the 2 cylinders, with pistons and big ends, port block and some of the steam valve for the de Winton locomotive "Mitchell" currently under construction in Talbot Works, Ness Garden Railway.

Box of progress

2008-08-01T10:58:00.001+01:00

Some good news from Talbot Works - this little box contains 5 gunmetal boiler bushes and 2 split big ends (one complete) for the de Winton "Mitchell"

This represents some good progress and the Works are confident that more will follow....!

Building a stream - and a pond, by the line

2008-05-31T00:48:00.000+01:00

Blue sheets everywhere as we try and bed the liners down for the source (beyond a puzzled looking John), the stream and the pond.....

Looking downstream towards the pond.

Meanwhile the Project Manager snoozes the day away.

Before long we have a pond and a fountain playing,

... and a stream flowing.

The source is now in place - our Indian goddess sits and watches over the stream, and the line.

Waiting for a train?

2008-05-23T11:16:00.001+01:00

An early morning customer???

Potty!

2008-05-23T11:11:00.002+01:00

Driver Henderson trying out a new bogie flat wagon, delivering a Lonicera tree in a giant pot to it's new site on the Ness Graden Railway. This short train is just passing the smallest of our new acers on the left. Billy the cat is along for the ride as usual, but seems to have forsaken the footplate for Henderson's lap!

Henderson has delivered the tree, but where is the crane?

Big in Japan?

2008-05-08T00:32:00.003+01:00

It's that time of the year again - the time so beloved of our friends in Japan - the season of Cherry Blossom. At the Ness Garden Railway it's a vital time of the year for generating tourist revenue - the famous pink snow specials are a huge draw and not surprising really when you look at this dusk-tide picture, with the line barely visible under the layer of pink snow....

This however the Directors are up in arms - the lack of foresight on behalf of the operating department has led to a severe shortage of motive power - in fact the only locomotive even vaguely serviceable to handle this important traffic was little "Palmer" - the Ruston!
Lucrative tourist trains were canceled and many customers went home feeling disgruntled.

The staff weren't too impressed at this either - this is the underside of "Palmer" after only afew minutes running.... That pink snow gets everywhere.

Much overtime (unpaid) has resulted in "Jack Tawes" being made ready for tomorrow's services (Blocked gas jet and stuck regulator!) - The Directors are anxiously checking the seaweed for signs of rain.....

Chasing trains in the snow

2008-04-10T23:16:00.004+01:00

As a regular reader of the excellent WHR construction pages, I attempted to get myself in on the act by trying to capture some snow scenes. As it turned out the now was either higher up on the hills, or in the way of the pictures, or on me (see below!)

Anyway here is K1 cresting a rise heading back towards Waunfawr on Sunday last week. A fine site.

Later on we saw 143 making it's way through the snow shower - well I think it has a certain atmosphere.....

The things we do......

A peep under the traps....

2008-04-01T00:23:00.002+01:00

Somebody managed to sneak a camera into Talbot Works at the weekend and discovered this project hiding under the tarps at the back of the shed....

The motor is from a toy car and the gears are IP Engineering spares.

Playing Big Trains

2008-02-08T19:50:00.000Z

I found myself on YouTube!

In 1999 Black 5 45110 stormed out of Liverpool Lime Street and up the bank past Edge Hill Station where I, and many others, were stood waiting. The sound was stunning - we could hear the loco working very very hard all the way up before she burst out under this bridge and took the applause!

See the film here .

This event will be re-run in August to celebrate the 40th anniversary of 1T57 - the last steam passenger train out of Lime Street before the end of steam on BR. Be worth a visit.....

By the way, I am the figure who runs out of shot to the right at the very end.....

Inspiration

2008-01-21T01:05:00.000Z

I've been inspired by Andy Evans' work on Growler 1 over in Germany, working in clean white plasticard has a certain appeal - it's akin to the spotless engineering that you see in Formula 1 workshops. Others have also been at work in this stuff, not least Jim Russell with his bo-bo loco.

I also have a fond liking for Bruce Bates' "Birdwater & Raspberry" series .....

Things have been stirring in Talbot Works and whilst it's all kept well hidden in a dark corner under a couple of tatty tarps, news will out soon!

More crew news

2008-01-21T00:20:00.001Z

I've had some fun creating crew for "Jack Tawes":

Here is father and son team - Dad driving - "Slim" firing on the steps -
as yet headless but we'll soon solve that!

"Slim" is my first attempt at a pose that involves measuring so that the hand on the rail agrees with the foot on the step and so on....

NESS GARDEN RAILWAY - UPDATE REPORT 20/10/2007

2007-11-02T15:16:00.000Z

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NESS GARDEN RAILWAY - UPDATE REPORT 20/10/2007
=============================================

Loco #3 "Palmer" has appeared from Talbot works resplendent in a coat of something like BR Corporate Blue. Testing has revealed an uncanny ability for this loco to keep going so long as the axles are oiled where they pass through the chassis, and decent batteries are used. A set of 1000mHa NiMh AAAs are on order. Driver Henderson has been allocated this locomotive and he has adopted a thick sheepskin airman's jacket to help protect himself from the inclement weather. Driver Henderson's cat "Billy" is often seen on the footplate, we think he is attracted by the warm gearbox casing. The NGR management is considering whether this loco is worthy of a pair of etched nameplates.

Loco #1 "Jesty" remains the top performer and is currently being fitted with a heavy duty front buffer beam.

Loco #7 "Jack Tawes" is still having problems with melting springs, but staff are now becoming more used to dealing with the problem.

The bogie brake has recently received a Mark 4b bogie - so the vehicle now has two Mark 4 bogies - a 4a and a 4b. The difference between the a and b designations are that the bearings are set into the frames on the 4b and are thus slightly narrower. This is possible because Talbot works now has a proper set of HSS steel drill bits. The Works are considering moving the pivots outboard slightly to improve the vehicles ability to cope with the notorious tight northern curves.

The fleet of smaller freight wagons, mostly used for maintenance trains, has been given a good going over and is now fully operational, consisting 3 small opens, one larger open and a van. It is expected that loco #3 "Palmer" will be the regular motive power for these vehicles.

A programme of ash ballasting is well under way, with the wilder areas of trackwork being treated first. This will continue through the winter months as the raw material is in wider supply.

NESS GARDEN RAILWAY - UPDATE REPORT 29/6/2007

2007-11-02T15:11:00.001Z

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NESS GARDEN RAILWAY - UPDATE REPORT 29/6/2007
=============================================

Loco #7 "Jack Tawes" was completed by the workshops this week, and a replacement spring fitted. The opportunity was taken to fettle the slots in the steam motor retaining plate to assist in fine-tuning the gear meshing. A further steam test was undertaken late last night following sterling work by the staff and this time there was no repeat of the earlier problems and the loco ran for a short period on the rolling road. Several reverses were undertaken and a minor issue with the reversing lever was discovered - the lever fouled the smokebox when in "Neutral", resulting in a jet of steam from behind the lever as it is forced away from the block against the spring. Otherwise all is well and the staff are looking forward to running in sessions on the rails in the near future.

There have been no trains run this week.

The garden has been subject to vast quantities of rain and warm sunshine, so much of the line has vanished beneath a jungle. The hedges have also been having their mid-summer trim, resulting in many leaves falling early!

NESS GARDEN RAILWAY - UPDATE REPORT 22/6/2007

2007-11-02T15:10:00.001Z

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NESS GARDEN RAILWAY - UPDATE REPORT 22/6/2007
=============================================

Loco #7 "Jack Tawes" was completed earlier this week and a stem test was undertaken on Tuesday. Unfortuanately the test proved inconclusive following a short fire in the smokebox which frazzled one of the cylinder retaining springs. Replacements have been ordered and the staff are working on a protective cover for the springs. The fire is caused by the gas flame failing to jump back from the chimney to the flame-tube.

There have been no trains run this week.

NESS GARDEN RAILWAY - UPDATE REPORT 15/6/2007

2007-11-02T15:09:00.001Z

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NESS GARDEN RAILWAY - UPDATE REPORT 15/6/2007
=============================================

"Jack Tawes" Delivered to Talbot Works

Martins Models excelled themselves recently and managed to deliver a Regner "LumberJack" kit to the NGR a full month earlier than expected. This caused the Finance Director a few short term problems, but overall it is great news as the NGR will now have two steam locos available for revenue earning service for the summer season. Construction is already well under way, the chassis and steam motor have been tested with compressed air on the rolling road, and the bolier is expected to be fitted very soon.

The locomotive will be named "Jack Tawes" in line with the Railway's policy of naming locos after the family names of directors and is slated to be running number 4, but this maybe revised as the loco was delivered with plates bearing the number 7.

"Palmer" nearly complete

Ruston number 3 - "Palmer" is almost complete, requiring only some further paint and a permanant rechargeable battery unit.

NESS GARDEN RAILWAY - UPDATE REPORT 6/8/2007

2007-08-06T15:11:00.000+01:00

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NESS GARDEN RAILWAY - UPDATE REPORT 6/8/2007
=============================================

Loco #7 "Jack Tawes" completed running in this weekend, the gears now as smooth as a Singer sewing machine according to the CME. Load testing will now proceed after the securing of suitable couplings.

Loco #1 "Jesty" performed a number of freight turns on Sunday and performed well.

The lift-out bridge is giving ever more problems and needs to be more permanently fixed as soon as possible.

The tight curve on the northern end of the original loop continues to give problems and the Civil Engineer is considering relaying the whole curve with Peco SM32 track and attempting to squeeze a slightly less tight curve in as a result.

The track at the heel of the pointwork leading to the siding continues to moves despite more ash ballast being added and may also be replaced by Peco in the near future.

A period of rolling stock maintenance is urgently required if the Railway is to be able to run revenue earning services!

NESS GARDEN RAILWAY - PRESS RELEASE - 17th May 2007

2007-05-17T00:55:00.001+01:00

We are delighted to announce that after months of effort and hard work, the Ness Garden Railway will shortly be declared operational.

The Ness Garden Railway (NGR) is named for our famous near-neighbour Ness Gardens and is located in the Cheshire village of Little Neston. A continuous run of some 70 yards has been achieved, with about 1/3 of the running track at knee hight and the remainder on the level, although there is a gradient of approx 1 in 35 to contend with at ground level. A steaming and stabling area is shortly to be completed and will be connected to the running line via an extant junction. The Railway is entirely 32mm gauge at present.

The Railway is very much a Railway around the garden rather than any attempt at modelling a prototype, and as such almost anything goes so far as locomotives, rolling stock and scale are concerned, although the current vogue is 16mm/ft scale, there are no buildings etc to give the games away, so we could also run 7/8" scale etc. We have also adopted Ness Gardens' own Gentiana as our signature plant, and many of these delightful blue flowered plants can be
found around the garden, alongside other blue blooms such as "Forget-me-not", bluebells and lihodora. The reds are not forgotten either with a fine Pireus - Forest Flame, flowering cherry, peony and others. Flanked by beech hedges, the line is prone to those dreaded leaves on the line, but we celebrate every year when the pink snow of cherry blossom falls and smoothers the line for a few days.

Our stable of locomotives is growing and is listed below:
#1 0-4-0 Side-tank "Jesty" - an Accucraft "Caradoc" - gas fired and the mainstay of the line.
#2 0-4-0 Vertical boiler de Winton "Mitchell" - based on Dave Watkins' drawings - under construction in our Talbot workshops.
#3 18 hp Ruston IC "Palmer" - a battery loco from IP Engineering - mainly used for works trains.
#4 0-4-0 logging engine "Jack Tawes" - a gas fired loco from Regner - delivery expected mid-Summer 2007.

Rolling stock is provided by a small number of Perfect World opens and van, plus a few scratchbuilt clones for the works trains, and a ragbag assortment of scratchbuilt stock including a bogie brake based on an Irish NG prototype but reduced to 2' gauge.

Future plans inlude more rolling stock, rebuilding the older part of the track to ease the curves and stabalise the foundations(!), a running water feature and more lighting. It is hoped that we can host an open day in the not too distant future.

Having fun in the garden is the main aim of this outfit and we look forward to lots of that!

John Sharp & Gilly Farrie
"The Staff"
Ness Garden Railway
Little Neston
Cheshire

Something lurking....

Learning about the Lathe - part 5 - Everyday - Turn, turn, turn

2007-02-18T23:42:00.000Z

No apologies to The Byrds! At last we have a small pile of swarf to show for all this effort and the beginnings of what might be a wheel for my locomotive - it may just turn out to be a piece of scrap to use as ballast but at least we're trying now.

I've been through one of those strange periods of inertia, having ordered some tools from a company who came very well recommended and waited and waited, they say they were waiting for part of my order to come in, then it was Christmas and New Year, there was no spare cash and no tools either. So when pay day came around I abandoned all hope of ever seeing that order and rang Peatol for a set of 6 cutting tools which arrived within days and are now being used.

There's no point in my writing it all down about the tools - just go to Carter Tools' great site for a full description and basic userguide.

A few points of interest to pass on - lathes should turn anti-clockwise as you look at the headstock from the tailstock. Otherwise the chuck unscrews as soon as you try and do any work. Sounds obvious but you have to check - I'll say no more except that no damage was done to the lathe, the chuck, or me in learning this lesson! This is the kind of basic information that doesn't seem to be written down anywhere obvious - which is one of the reasons I'm writing this.

Turning makes a mess! swarf piles up everywhere. A nice soft 3" paintbrush is useful for weeping it all up - and do this you must because ferrous swarf rusts and you don't want a rusty lathe. (No - I am not, for once, speaking from experience!)

Turning (!) to the job in hand....

I probably didn't choose the easiest piece of work to start with, but I thought I should start at the beginning of the instructions and work my way through, so job one on the lathe was to turn a pair of driving wheels for the deWinton. This job calls for a 17mm length of steel bar, 27mm in diameter. So first you have to saw a length from off of your stock - a real job in itself, as the steel is quite hard. A point to note here is that this is likely another indicator of where "having the right tools" proves again to be right. Just what is the right tool though? I guess a nice new, sharp hack saw blade would have been best, I improvised this time, but will try and do it right for the next time. I'm saying this now because I am all too aware how expensive it can be to have to buy all these "right tools " from scratch, but sometimes the best to hand has to do, even though it may take longer and be less neat......
Anyway, I now have a hunk of steel, and I need to mount it in the lathe chuck. Mine is a 4 jaw chuck which means that I have to get into truing up with a dial indicator. Another of those "right tools", and in this case you also need a suitable mount or stand - I was lucky in that mine can be just about mounted in the toolpost, but I shall have to make a proper mount soon enough. Once again, Nick Carter has a good "how to" article on his Carter Tools website. Nick's is permanently mounted on top of the headstock via a series of arms and elbows and is arranged so as to have the gauge directly above the work. If you have a 3 jaw chuck, then you don't have to do any of this and can move straight on to the turning bit:
Facing the ends is a matter of picking the right tool..... the round nose tool is good for this, the idea being to end up with a nice smooth, polished end - I find feeding the tool slowly across the work with a very light cut (ie not taking off much metal at all) works best, once you have got things squared up.
Use the right handed cutter to work up the tread, basically you remove 3mm of metal 4.5mm along the work, I put a mark on the work with my digital calipers at 4.5mm, then placed the cutting edge of the tool on the mark, then locked the carriage stop to prevent the tool going any further. Turning is then a matter of taking the metal off a bit at a time - the lathe talks to you as you cut and will soon let you know if you push it too hard.
Now it is starting to look like a wheel, and so we move onto the recess. Hmmm - I wondered, I guessed and I tried, and in the end asked how it should be done - and as usual got several answers. One problem is how to know just where to cut, the best answer being to black up the end (use a permanent marker pen) and set a pair of dividers or similar to the inner and outer diameters and scribe 2 circular marks. This is me thinking ahead after the event, and I suspect a small indent made with a centre drill may assist with this operation.

Postscript
At the end of all this I separated the 2 wheels with a (nice new) hacksaw and faced the backs - only to realise that I hadn't tapered off the flanges - this is probably a job that can't be done retrospectively because there isn't enough metal to get a grip on AND do the job - so it may be that these 2 get put down as a practice run. I have however managed to face and parallel bore 2 brass cylinders though. More soon!

Learning about the Lathe - part 4 - Power to your headstock

2007-02-18T21:37:00.000Z

We're rapidly catching up with my current position here, the lessons in this part are freshly learned!

As mentioned earlier, I opted for a variable speed motor which comes with a control box, but not much else. The motor is a cylinder with a shaft sticking out of the nose end, but in a concession to practicality, there are 4 threaded holes in the casing,arranged radially around the shaft,and a packet of matching screws and anti-vibration washers. So the next job is to figure out how to locate and mount the motor next to the lathe.

I purchased the Peatol mounting bracket which is basically a plate of black painted metal with a smaller plate located an inch or so above it, joined by 2 rubber bushes at one edge to allow for some adjustment, which is controlled by a bolt at the opposite end. There are a couple of small pre-drilled holes that match some of those on the lathe bed, you have to locate and drill everything else yourself. There isn't much clearance above the holes on the user side of the lathe, so you need to use quite short bolts there.

The drive pullies are located on the headstock shaft and tightened with a small grub screw, and on the motor shaft which has a flat to locate the grub screw.

A note on conventions: so far as I can tell, the conventions for lathes assume a right-handed person is using it - the headstock is usually on the left, tailstock to the right, then front is nearest you, back furthest away.....
I have mine bolted to the Peatol mounting bracket, which is then in turn screwed into a piece of chipboard with recesses drilled to match the mounting plate bolts to allow the mounting plate to sit flush. Some kind of sound and vibration damper is recommended beneath the chipboard - and one of my correspondents - Alan - has used 4 rubber doorstops effectively - a nice cheap solution which I have implemented.

Back to the motor - friend Jim came up with the best idea - measure the distance from the centre of the motor shaft to the centre of one of the screw holes, then use a pair of compasses (or dividers) to mark off a circle on your chosen mounting bracket for the motor. I purchased 2 metal bookends from B&Q and after some trial and a lot of error managed to get 4 screw holes and the large central hole for the shaft more or less en pointe and got the nose end mounted up ok. I may yet have to use the second bookend for the tail if the motor vibrates too much - this has two smaller holes and no screws provided so I will have to guess....

I have mounted the controller behind and to the right of the headstock - as far away from the working end as the wires will allow - but I suspect I shall shortly install a junction box and move it further away and above the lathe so I can reach it without bending over the lathe - safer and more convenient.

Once you get to this point you can switch on and have everything spin around - that feels good! Which means that unless I've overlooked anything obvious, in part 5 we will do some work!

Its a frame up

2007-01-19T00:06:00.000Z

No picture yet, but that abra file has worked wonders and I now have a set of what timber folk would call "rough hewn" frames for the deWinton - ans two end plates.

I am amazed at how easy the abra file blade cuts through the metal, and being a circular section you can change direction at any time. The only limitation I found was that the hacksaw frame was too shallow when I was sawing towards the middle of the piece, so I had to saw with the frame not parallel to the cut some of the time.

The next step is put a curved bit in the centre of each one to accommodate the boiler - and so long as that goes well I can file the shaping smooth and get on with joining all the bits up.

More news and pictures soon.

The first cut.... Abrafiles to the rescue

2007-01-16T00:31:00.000Z

So how do you cut out shapes out of thicker metal? Having been used to 7mm scale where a piercing saw suffices, 16mm needed a rather more substantial solution:

It took a while to track these down, but Reeves2000 sell Abrafile - or radial - file "blades" which are a bit like tile cutting saw blades but thinner, and fit into a standard hacksaw frame using a pair of special adaptors. You can buy these if you can find them, but I cobbled a couple out of some scrap strip.

Here we see the first cuts into the frames of my de Winton. These are 2 1/16" strips bolted together, the left hand cutout was started by a piercing saw and is a bit wayward but the second cut is much smoother and it is so much faster than using a piercing saw. A further bonus is that the blades are much stronger - I'm still on my first.....

Another closer view: This also illustrates well the old dictum: Measure twice, measure again, check it and then cut - I almost forgot where I was measuring from - several weeks having elapsed since I started this piece - felt tip lines are easy to remove but not saw cuts!

And this fuzzy affair is the reversing lever stand - my first tapping job too:

More to come soon.

2007 - First Train of the Year!

2007-01-07T22:54:00.000Z

How nice to have a chance to run trains again after a manic but very enjoyable Festive season!

After spending over an hour excavating the track from beneath the leaves, twigs and cat poo, Jesty was able to spend a pleasant session trundling around with short train of recalcitrant rolling stock!

The latest camera revealed this interesting version of on the level! I'll have to sort this one out pdq - it's where the new track joins up with the old loop behind a conifer.

Learning about the Lathe - part 3 - Getting it together

2006-11-30T20:35:00.000Z

There you are - the beast assembled and shining for albeit without power and with everything I could manage attached in a totally none practical way.This part will go through some of the components and explain why I chose them, and how they all piece together.

Firstly the chuck - I have gone for a 4 jaw chuck - the chuck holds the work that spins around and whilst a four jaw is harder to set up precisely - each jaw being independent, it is far more flexible in that it can hold square and irregular stock as well as bars. One further accessory required as a result of this decision will be a dial gauge that helps you work out when you work is centred in the chuck. More good advice came recommending that a set of collets would be advisable to hold rods as they allow you to hold the rods centred, very precisely without too much messing around. Peatol sell a set of 7 plus a blank one to allow you make your own size up. The collets fit onto the headstock spindle, which means the chuck has to be removed - so you will need the spanner offered by Peatol!

This next contraption is the vertical slide - mounted here on the cross slide, which between them allow you to do basic milling work on the lathe. In short the tool is mounted on the headstock spindle (as above) and rotates, while you move the work using one of the two wheels on the slides, taking a small shaving off the work in one plane. This is a much cheaper option than a milling machine!

At the other end of the lathe - the tailstock - is the drilling attachment with a jacob's chuck attacked to the spindle. The Peatol has a lever that allows you to push the drill towards the spinning work held in the headstock collet or chuck. Neat isn't it? There are 2 chucks needed to cover the range of bit sizes.

Also there are a toolpost - to hold the cutting tools - 1/4 inch size or 6mm (?) shanks are the thing, pullies, a mounting plate and assorted allen keys.

When the parcel arrives, expect to have to spend some time assembling everything - the Peatol also requires that the main components are lapped onto the bed - a messy business involving an oily paste which is then all washed off. This is well covered in both the book and the instructions that come with the lathe. The other prerequisite is somewhere to keep everything - not just a site for the lathe, but somewhere clean and organised to keep all the allen keys, spanners, drills, cutting tools, chucks, spare belts, collets etc. etc.

In part 4 I'll discuss setting the lathe up and motor and whatever else happens along the way!

Learning about the Lathe - part 2 - What do I need?

2006-11-28T23:25:00.000Z

Having made the decision to jump in and buy a lathe, the next question is which lathe? Your answer to that question may well be different to mine, and will largely depend on what you intend to do with the lathe when you get it. For me the requirement is to be able to produce live steam locomotives to run on 32mm gauge track out in my garden. These locomotives will most likely be constructed from plans available from the hobby's several magazines and/or via the internet. There is a good community around this branch of the hobby and that is a bonus where we are concerned, because there is no better advice available than from those that have either built one or more of these locos before, or, and this is even better, designed the thing in the first place! Lesson one for this part is that contrary to my expectations, these people are not inaccessible, aloof or distant, quite the reverse in fact, show a little enthusiasm for the subject and you will find yourself showered with offers of help, advice and patience. Ask them anything, and you will get an answer, or two, or three .... but you will get help, however basic or complex your question. There's a set of addresses for my main sources of advice at the end of this article.

I ended up buying a Peatol (Taig in the USA) micro lathe - there were some good reasons for choosing this model outlined below:

Having read around the subject for a while, it transpired that Keith Bucklitch, who designed many of the locos I hope to build, uses one for much of his building work. You can't really ask for a better indication of "Fit for purpose" than that. Keith has also been a great source of advice and help already.
There is a good, separate, Peatol enthusiast community on the internet.
I was able to purchase a 2 hour long DVD showing a Peatol being put through it's paces, mostly while the guy held the camera in one hand and operated the lathe with the other.
The lathe has been around for years and is well proven.
The Chinese import machines appear to be much improved, but not always as well made as I'd like. This is anecdotal, but we're talking about major expenditure here and quality counts.
The modular design and easy availability of parts (and probably spares). I am very impressed by the next day delivery service available from Peatol.
A good variable speed DC motor is available as an alternative to the standard offering (which you don't have to buy)

There are probably other reasons too, but that will do for now. In part three I'll discuss the parts list, tools and there will be some picture of a nice shiny new lathe - promise!

Advice and help lines:

Yahoo, for all their foibles, do offer a fairly good egroup network, and one account can give you access to an awful lot! My most used are:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/modelloco16mm/ Bob Young runs this group specifically for those of us building these locos and I am indebted to the members for their help, advice and offers of equipment and guidance.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/16mmngm a more general place for all things 16mm scale.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/7-8InchScaleTrains is a similar group for the larger scale, but still able to use 32mm gauge track.

Other useful sites:

http://www.cartertools.com/ for access to all manner of Peatol (Taig) based sites - some people have done amazing things with their little lathes and it's all here.

http://www.peatol.co.uk/ the place to spend your money in the UK!

Learning about the Lathe - part 1 - Starting out

2006-11-27T22:09:00.000Z

I have just purchased a small - indeed micro - lathe to facilitate my building small live steam locomotives for use on my 32mm gauge garden railway. The period of time that elapsed between my deciding that I needed (and could afford) a lathe and actually ordering one (which arrived the very next day!) was really quite long, and one of the reasons for this was the lack of basic information and advice in any one place. This article sets out to rectify this situation, and bring together some of the information and advice that I accumulated as I went along my road to discovery.

First though, by way of preamble, a little background. I am, as I write, 45 years old. I have had no experience in metal turning since I left school with a GCE in metalwork at the age of 17, so I am in no sense of the word an expert. I have long harboured the desire to build working steam locos, that GCE was inspired by the model beam engine on display in the school workshop, but so far my albeit limited attempts at building locos have all been electric powered and kit based. Similarly my garden railway has been on the to do list for years, and has only recently become a reality, with a great of work still to do before it can claim to be even remotely complete, but, and this is the nub - I HAVE built it - I DO have a 50m continuous run of track that I can run trains around. It is achieving this goal that has spurred me on to the next one. Too long have I sat reading about other people building locos in their garages, my mind set firmly in the mould of "wow - I'll never be able to do that - they must be so clever." Overcoming this inertia is one of the hardest bits - and it took a fairly traumatic period in my life to jolt me out of that inertia mode and to decide to just get on with it, after all I had just built a garden railway, and there have been many occasions when I felt that would never happen!

Anyway, that's enough philosophy, the next hardest part, having decided to start out, is to finance the project, and there you are on your own! Suffice to say that starting from nothing has set me back about £750 so far, with a little more to spend in the coming months. So budget around that figure if you intend to buy all new equipment and tools as I did. I plumped for new stuff because frankly, while there are plenty of second hand lathes on the market, without the experience to assist, how could I tell whether they were any good - and what worse way to start than with a bent lathe? If this sounds a lot, let me put it into perspective - I would like to purchase a coal powered live steamer - these a currently starting at about £2000, and the one I want is 2.5 times that amount! The cheapest live steam (Mamods excluded) start at about £500. If all goes to plan, then without spending much more than a few quid for materials ( I have included my initial stock in my budget), I hope to be able to produce a couple, maybe three or 4 locomotives in the time I may be waiting for a coal burner to be made - thereby "saving" myself at least £500 for each one - and probably more in reality. My time is free, even though my free time is priceless! Then of course, there is the satisfaction of watching your new creation chuffing peacefully around the track while you watch with a huge grin and tell everyone in earshot, over and over again -"I made that! Look! Look at that! I made it!"

Are you ready to join me on this voyage then? In the next article I'll cover how I arrived at my final specification, and answer some of those simple questions that I had to ask first. In the meantime, I am only just setting out myself, my lathe hasn't been powered up yet, and I still have many unanswered questions myself.

All aboard!

Irish American

2006-11-18T00:35:00.000Z

I keep a folder full of images from the web that I use as inspiration for our own railway, and one of the most regular contributers to the folder is Matthew Labine with his West Clare Garden Railway - Matthew is treading a similar path to me so far as rolling stock is concerned, except that he is cheating, using plans and building stuff to the correct scale/gauge and so on.

Matthew is based "over there" in the US of A, but has a little slice of Ireland out there in his garden.

Fireworks for New Link!

2006-11-05T19:20:00.000Z

How appropriate that the whole nation is currently setting off fireworks and lighting great bonfires! Can it all be to celebrate the completion of our continuous circuit of track? I guess not, but there is an air of celebrario here and the two pictures below will show why:

This action shot shows "Jesty" just coming off the new link in the background. These last few yards of track mean that the old circuit is now converted into a loop and provides us now with a continuous run of some 50 yards or so. To the left is one of the newly planted Lonicera bushes that will form semi-scale trees alongside the line once established.

Here is a general view of the link snaking under the jasmin and behind the conifer to join the old circuit beyond the tree.

We're by no means finished , but it feeld good to be able to run a train right round after so much work!

And here is some of this week's work - the new raised section looking up the garden with the woodwork retaining walls and the planting done.

The same section looking down the garden. Our local plant purveyor was having a sale this week so week managed to get a lot of small conifers and dome thyme and other alpines quite cheaply.

Gentiana planted lineside. Only half of the raised section has been finished to this standard so far - and none of the track has been ballasted yet. I'm going to use "Rowlands mix" for this when the time comes because is will allow me to sweep the leaves off the track - a problem for all sizes of railway this time of the year.

Driver's eye view of the raised section.

Locomotive #2 - Frames

2006-10-29T00:52:00.000+01:00

A rather heavy parcel of metal arrived at the front door this week, so I have been able to commence work on the next locomotive. I would like to make mention of M-Machines in Durham who were extremely helpful in dealing with my inexperience when I phoned the order in, and everything arrived a few days later without fuss.

The frames are being marked out ready for cutting. 1" x 1/16" mild steel.

Idea from Ikea

2006-10-25T00:47:00.000+01:00

These little things come from the kitchen department of Ikea. I think they are going to make neat under girders for a bridge or two in the near future. I know I could make them myself, but at 45p each it's hardly worth getting the drill out.

In the light of day

2006-10-24T00:25:00.000+01:00

Following on from the recent golden spike picture, here are some more showing better detail of how the work has progressed.

First we had Nelly strength test the formation - as you can see, Nelly is 3'6" tall and weighs a lot!!

This is the (new) hole in the wall that provided....

The bricks etc to chuck in the bottom of the new "raised beds" - on the left hand side, the soil has already been added.

Here's the long view with the foreman guarding the brew!

Above mentioned foreman on her pedestal.

Work in progress shot showing the whole loop.

Real Progress!

2006-10-23T00:17:00.000+01:00

This murky image of a smiling John shows the "golden spike" being driven in on the new raised loop. This marked the end of a long weekend of graft as we struggled to get the two ends to meet on the right level following some "bother" with roots.

The end result was hastily tested in the gloom, and Jesty managed to get around the loop a few times without any problems other thansome debris on the line.

It only remains now to fit 2 points and a short chord to turn the original oval into a reversing loop and we will have our continuous run. There is still a lot of timber work to do, then loads of planting and tidying, but the track is - at last - down.

A glimpse underneath

2006-10-20T23:48:00.000+01:00

Just found this early shot of the underframe for the bogie brake. You can see the basic buiding blocks of stripwood and lolly sticks, surrounded by the clutter in my pod!

Locomotive #2

2006-10-19T23:41:00.000+01:00

I have decided to take the plunge and build my first live steam locomotive.

The loco will be a small de Winton in 16mm scale as designed by Dave Watkins:

This is Dave's model.

The build will be documented and will appear here as I go along.

I have been very encouraged by my good mate Jim who has also managed to dredge up a load of metal oddments that are going to come in handy. This is Jim researching something really exciting - axleboxes!

Note the discarded keep out sign!! Jim is building one of these in 16mm too.

I have ordered some more metal today from MM-Machines in Durham, so we can get going soon!

Head of steel marches on

2006-10-19T23:24:00.000+01:00

Two views of the patio curve - in the bottom one you can see how close the extension runs to the original loop and how much the line climbs to the top of the garden - the new lline is dead level with the top - hence the blocks.

I have stolen the basic construction method from Keef of the Catnap & Frog (previously Chidham Light) Railway - the spaces between the boards will be filled and planted, and there will probably be some planting in front of the boards too. These Thermalite blocks are a breeze (ha!) to use - you can even saw them in half - or thirds or anyway you like.

The paving stone path will be lifted soon - the slabs to be re-used as a possible cut and cover tunnel further along the line.

Below are two shots of the first train down the new line - the top one just to show the amazing amount of steam on a cool damp evening.

Progress Report

2006-10-08T19:50:00.000+01:00

The good news is that there has been major progress on the construction of the extension. A really nice sunny day today gave us a boost and the trackbed - now up to 1 1/2 blocks high is cemented in up to the edge of the patio.

This is the scene early of today with the first of the blocks already in (coming in from top right) and work progressing on the next run. Note the folly behind - that's my stockpile!

This is the view the other way, showing the curve to the right where the patio is. All of these blocks are now aligned, leveled and cemented in place. The thermalite blocks are great, light to use, easy to saw in half if you need to - and I have most of these ones will have a half hight block beneath them to raise them up to level.

Here we see the works train - see earlier in the week after getting the track down as far as where the blocks start. The wood blocks all need treating and this will be done soon before everything is nailled down. The crew have taken the loco back up the line - probably to find some snap.

Here's me placing another block - dressed for protection against the pesky mosquitos that plague this area at this time of the year - we live by the Dee Marshes and there is always a queue of the beasties waiting to have a drop of blood whenever they get the chance.

"Yes you can have the screwdriver, but I want it back as soon as you have finished with it - and I have counted the screws - you can have 2." - Matlida - Clerk of Works

Brake Lights

2006-09-11T23:51:00.000+01:00

Here's a couple of pictures of the newly installed lamps on the brake - they are simply a couple of Brandbright white metal lamps drilled hollowed out with a dental burr for the lense and a side opening. A red LED in each, a small resistor and a battery - and soon there will be a switch too!
The battery will live in a cupboard in Marcel's Guard's Compartment, and all of these bits will be hidden up in the roof. Note the really tidy globs of hot glue used to tack it all down - I use this stuff all over the place these days.

Special mention to David Halfpenny for his seminal work - "Lamps for Models" (I think that's right - I'll check it tomorrow) which finally moved me away from grain of wheat bulbs onto LEDs. Thanks David!

These photos are a bit pre-production - but it was great to see the red glow on the line when I left the brake out in the dark the other night. More when it's finished.

TREAT! Welsh Highland Railway SuperPower Weekend

2006-09-10T23:49:00.000+01:00

Just a few pics from the train - a really smokey moment, and this was downhill!

Delighted to have had a good look at a coal fired John Brittain made NGG16 running in the gloom of the goods shed, the pictures are really floomy and don't do it justice. Thanks to Chris from the GO&OA for taking the time to talk us through all the questions while running his baby! You will be reading more on coal firing quite soon I hope......

Another day, another project

2006-09-10T00:42:00.000+01:00

Here are a few pictures of my indoor narrow gauge project - it's a completely freelance industrial scene based on Roy C. Link's excellent range of trac, rolling stock and locomotives.

First is a flatbed bogie based on 2 skip chassis.

Then a skip wagon. These are 7mm scale running on 14mm - ie 2' track.

A Lister Auto-Truck by Classic Commercials.

The diminutive layout based on foamboard on ply. The track is made up on photocopied templates, so planning is easy - just cut and paste! More on this soon....

Smoking pot.....bellied stove

2006-09-09T00:30:00.000+01:00

I have been asked for more details regarding the smoke effect for my bogie brake, so here they are:

The chimney is made from bits of brass tube, scrap brass, and a readily available metal disk that costs 1p from any bank...

Not very obvious from this side view is that the platform that the cone sits on is tilted up from the back so that the tip of the cone is under the tube. I did have a notion to use a hood but it proved easier to use the ramp.

The stove is just Femo clay and cocktail sticks for legs.

The cones are available in many stores that sell incense or jossticks.

This is the side view with the "smoke on" as they say in the Red Arrows!

The smoke sometimes misses th echimney and appears from any available orifice - I'm sure this is prototypical!

Front - or normal viewing angle view with the cone mostly hidden - once the thing is installed in the brake you can hardly see anything anyway!

The smoke is hard to photograph, but it is quite a good effect, and it smells good too!

Next instalment will feature the working lamps.....

Little gems

2006-09-07T10:00:00.000+01:00

Seen in the metal for the first time at the Llanfair show were these delightful gems from Tolhurst Model Engineers:

Alice class quarry Hunsletts that offer interchangeable coal, gas or meths power and super detail.

Of course it all comes at a price, but each one is hand crafted to order and the results are terrific.

There's a VoR model too with even more bells and whistles and coming, but not soon, a Welshpool & Llanfair Earl/Countess that will have everything, including a huge waiting list!

Sorry about the LoFi pics.

Llanfair show - kind of....

2006-09-04T01:06:00.000+01:00

I didn't take any photos at the show, here are just a few from the layby conveniently situated at the Welshpool & Llanfair's passing place: Sylfaen

Countess arrives from Welshpool....

... while The Earl waits for her to pass ....

... with a good fire and some happy passengers.

Inspirational van for future reference!

Rolling, rolling, rolling.....

2006-08-25T23:35:00.000+01:00

Progress has been a bit slow of late, but I did manage to be in the right place at the right time when a very useful item was advertised for sale on the 16mm Locobuilders eGroup, so I am now the proud owner of a really nice rolling road thanks to Bill Winter who made it. I tried it out this afternoon and all is well. I'll have to get the old Mamod put back together now that I have somewhere to test it properly.

I could do with one of these for P4, O, On2 and N too!

Here's a couple of pictures of the unit anyway.

Action shot

2006-08-15T22:34:00.000+01:00

"JESTY" at speed.

Just a favourite shot really.

Hedgehog shock!

2006-08-15T22:28:00.000+01:00

Critters on the line! A young hedgehog recently caused the crew to abandon their train - even leaving the engine in forward gear.

"Coregazer" as the critter became known spent a few hours sniffing about and scoffing our cat food before vanishing again.

Further problems for the crew when Molly the giant cat decided to sleep next to the still warm boiler!

Playing Trains

2006-07-25T02:45:00.000+01:00

Well isn't that what this is supposed to be all about?

Having prepared the track for a visit on Sunday, today turned up a great chance to just play and take some pictures:

Here's Jesty leading the train. In the foreground is the edge of the scorched lawn.

Jesty again here running next to the path in "tramway" mode (no skirts or cowcatchers though). This is all the stock I possess until the next coach is completed and the loco managed it very well indeed, even at a slow pace there was no lack of pulling power.

Finally, by way of experiment, here is a short runby video if you click here. It's only about 6Mb and being on an "elderly" 2 year old camera, there is no sound!

Your comments are always welcome - if you don't want to leave a public one, email me on john.sharp@zen.co.uk

Moving on

2006-07-22T00:02:00.000+01:00

As recently touted - my next project will be a 27' Bristol Carriage Works Open 3rd Bogie Coach.

This picture shows one ply side ready cut out on top of the Railway Bylines magazine with a picture of the vehicle concerned at the top of the left hand page. I'm working on using an overlay of coffee stirers for the matchwood sides.

This is the underframe - just stripwood glued and pinned with panel pins.

Meanwhile the bogie brake continues to progress - here is the truss rod, turnbuckle and brake gear detail - all made from rod, tube and strip.

Here is the stove and chimney installed in the corner of the guard's compartment - Marcel is going to have it all snug in there soon.

The strange angle makes it look huge - its not!

Running the brake tonight leads me to think my track may be a little too tightly curved - or too kinked - near the house - I'll be looking hard at this as soon as possible.

Another view of the stove, here you can see the cut out where a cone of incence can be placed to give a smoke effect.

The good news is that the 28p allen key from Squires has fixed Jesty's crank problem and we're back in steam!

Inspirational vistas

2006-07-21T23:50:00.000+01:00

Dudley Hubbard has put up a gallery of his garden railway photos - he's a great photographer and his garden railway is a delight, I especially like the use of waterways and rock - very inspirational.

See it all here Dudley Hubbard's garden railway photographs and then go to
www.dudleys-photos.co.uk for the rest of his galleries.

Smoking Brake

2006-07-21T00:23:00.000+01:00

Well it was smoking honest! Completely invisible in the picture, but the newly installed pot-bellied stove really does emit smoke fromt the chimney visible above the guard's compartment.

Been working on the underframe detail today, and got LED's coming for the lamps....

Meantime the next project will be a 27' bogie open third from the same inspirational source, this one based on a 1890-odd design Bristol Carriage Works vehicle.

More soon.

Grey wagons on the line

2006-07-13T01:53:00.000+01:00

Here's the bogie brake in Halford's undercoat grey basking in today's sunshine.

I'm quite pleased with the way it's turning out. The roof has had a dusting of black to darken the grey quite a bit. The grab rails are now all fitted and the guard's door opens using a half inch length of thin guitar string pushed through the frame and into the door at the top and bottom. The guard's compartment detailing is in production as are the lamps (which will work).

A further look at the smaller wagons that are nearing completion.

And finally for today, here's Molly "Waiting for a Train"

Wagon cloning

2006-07-12T02:22:00.000+01:00

Just a bit of a look at some blatant cloning - having been very impressed with Perfect World's tiny open wagon and van, I have knocked together a couple of copies out of lolly sticks and so on - not quite as detailed but half the price.

At the back of the worktop, some strange characters lurk near another wagon project....

Progress report:

I've been busy today with fitting door knobs, invisible hinges, and handrails onto the bogie brake, and a tiny bit of progress on the cattle creep out in the garden.

The brake is looking good in grey, and guard "Marcel" now has ears and a scarf, and his own wooden stool!

Poor "Jesty" remains sidelined pending the arrival of a 0.9 mm allen key so I can re-attach the errant crank to the rear axle.

The wagons above are now grey with black underframes and everything is now lead weighted.

Making the brake

2006-06-15T23:19:00.000+01:00

Here is a picture of my most ambitious garden railway rolling stock project so far. Its a bogie brake and its roughly based on one from Ireland which was featured in a picture in the wonderful British Railways Bylines magazine a while back.

The model is a real CHEAPSKATE PRODUCTIONS special, featuring a stripwood frame with planking and floor made entirely from lolly sticks. The door slides a K&S brass channel on this side, and in a wooden one on the other. The only other parts I have bought in are the wheels and buffers from Brandbright.

The bogies are the first I have ever made and there was a period of trail and error before the mark one was ready and involved the stretcher being made two narrow - hence the strange gaps, but I will fix this soon. Not the penny pinching bearing and domed tap washer pivot.... The hot glue fixing is only temporary.

The mark 2 has a correct length stretcher and a twopenny bearing - this one only rotates so there is no pivot. These are based on designs in an article in an old copy of "Sixteen Millimetre Today" magazine.

Mark 3 will feature wider stretchers to try and overcome the wobble caused by the narrow one, but there will have to be only one screw because they are allowed to pivot on the side screws.

The brake has now been tested on the line - there was a lot of "heart in mouth" during the test, but it survived and went around absolutely fine, so all they need now are dummy detail sides and painting.

The whole model is rather more impressionist than finescale, but once its detailed and painted it will be good enough. I'm sufficiently heartened to think about doing a bogie coach next.

More news on the brake as we go along.

Extending the line #1

2006-06-13T01:05:00.000+01:00

There's been a lot of thinking going on, but have finally managed to thrash out a route for the extension - here is the first 12 yards of Peco Streamline SM32 laid out on the grass to approximate the route: This is looking from the top end back down towards the existing loop:

While this is looking up the opposite way: It is up too, but nothing too dramatic!

Finally, here's "Jesty" all steamed up at the end of the line, wondering where to go next I expect!

More pictures soon, as things have moved on already.

Steamy Picture

2006-06-13T00:59:00.000+01:00

Here's an atmospheric view of "Fairlie's Patent" taking a train out of the station at Penrhyn, alongside the street towards the level crossing. It's a damp, grey day and the double Fairlie adds her own vapour to the atmosphere.

25th april 2006 10:36am

...in the snow

2006-03-22T00:17:00.000Z

The other day it showed unusually heavily for around here, and it wasn't long before I was clearing the track in the garden and raising steam.

Here is "Jesty" with the engineers' train - a combination of Perfect Worlds kits, blatant copies made using lolly sticks, and my 4 wheeler coach - all a little small for the big engine, but looking good here.

The lamp seems to work well and the other one will be ordered soon, and the toolbox fitted over the switch....

The snow takes away most of the usual scale clues and its just fab to run in the cold anyway - clouds of steam everywhere.

Sadly, the ground has been to hard to finish relaying the top end of the loop, so we couldn't have continuous running.

New Class 37

2006-03-21T23:36:00.000Z

Here is my first ever new N gauge loco - its a Bachmann/Farish class 37 in large logo BR blue - 37417 "Highland Region".

Gilly treated me for my forthcoming birthday (thanks! ;-) ) during a visit to Hatton's "new" shop out in Liverpool.

Initial impressions are very good - the loco pulled 2 old coaches along our "test track" at a very slow crawl straight out of the box - probably helped by having drive and pickup to all 12 wheels. The track has laid in the garage for 18 months and my 45+ year old Marshal III power control unit is not the best power supply ever, so this is even more impressive.

Great things are expected - there's Kato Unitrack on its way and who knows what next?

Link to a reference: http://rugbytown.fotopic.net/p718348.html