Sommaire pour Issue 4702 de Model Engineer

Pneumatic Tubes Roger Backhouse's description (page 564) of the pneumatic, or Lamson, tubes that used to feature in many shops long ago reminded me of my childhood in Ilkley. My mother would often take me on the train to Bradford to go shopping in Busby's department store (which sadly burned down in 1979). Apart from the train ride (of course) this was quite a treat as the store featured two things of great interest to a small boy fascinated by anything mechanical - the lifts, operated by a man in a smart uniform, and the Lamson tubes, which whisked your money off to an invisible cashier and returned the change. The sound was fascinating - 'hisss…foop!' as your money disappeared then 'whoosh…clatter!' moments later as the change was returned. The…

This relatively recently formed club was the next stop on my short visit to Lancashire and Cheshire and I was impressed by what they had achieved in a comparatively short time. The club was officially formed in 2009, in Meriton Road Park, Handforth which is near to Wilmslow in North Cheshire. Before this, however, a number of potential members met together in a local Girl Guide building, over a period of about three years, to discuss the formation of a model engineering club for the area. After negotiations with the local authority, who were very interested in the project, they were offered a number of different park sites to consider, some of which had such a high footfall that they would, it was felt, have been nothing other than an…

Write to us Views and opinions expressed in letters published in Postbag should not be assumed to be in accordance with those of the Editor, other contributors, or Mortons Media Group Ltd. Correspondence for Postbag should be sent to: Martin R. Evans, The Editor, Model Engineer, Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lines LN9 6JR F. 01507 371066 E. MEeditor@mortons.co.uk Publication is at the discretion of the Editor. The content of letters may be edited to suit the magazine style and space available.Correspondents should note that production schedules normally involve a minimum lead time of six weeks for material submitted for publication. In the interests of security, correspondents' details are not published unless specific instructions to do so are given. Responses to published letters are forwarded as…

Continued from p.511 M.E. 4701, 7 October 2022 The fourth part of this series provides the details of the steam dome and various bushes to be soldered into the copper boiler (fig 7, overleaf). The AMBSC Copper Code prohibits the use of brass for the bushes or mountings that are silver soldered or brazed into the copper boiler. Note: brass material is acceptable for any components or parts of components that are NOT silver soldered or brazed into the copper boiler. This is understandable as the brass bushes will dezincify under the influence of steam and pressure and will become brittle subject to failure, therefore a failure of a brass bush would condemn a perfectly good copper boiler. The AMBSC Copper Code denotes that bush or mount material should be…

Continued from p.507 M.E. 4701,7 October 2022 Time to start the final assembly but before that we need to make the piston rings. I have produced piston rings of a similar diameter before but never ones as thin as 0.019 inch. The way I produced them is exactly the same as in previous builds, by turning the continuously drawn cast iron bar's outside and inside diameters to finished size and parting to finished length. It's an odds on bet that quite a few rings will never make it to being installed in a cylinder, especially ones this thin, so be sure to make plenty of spares. Some years ago, I installed an inexpensive digital calliper to the saddle of the Myford to act as a readout, which increased the accuracy…

Continued from p.463 M.E. 4700, 23 September 2022 Completing the ash pan To continue with the ash pan assembly, the front plate and its external handle can now be fitted. Both can be made from 1mm stainless steel and the sizes are given here plus the centres for the four fixing positions for the attachment using 8BA stainless steel bolts. Figure 14 shows the additional parts required for the ash pan and the details for the attachment to the grate disc itself. The position of the pan front mounting holes should be cross-checked with the centres of the two ¼ × ¼ inch brass mounting blocks added to the corners of the ash pan last time. Bolts should be used as this plate has to be dismantled from time to…

The silver fox… Our road surveillance correspondent was overtaken by a Rolls Royce Phantom on the M18, with the number plate 1 UFX. I presume some celebrity was driving but plate ownership details are confidential. In this issue, qualifications for office(?), another clock, Hengist, a practical box car use, many a slip, cavitation, a trailer with a difference… and a 'straw' man. Mensuration again… Roger Curtis, originally writing in M.E. 4697, then in M.E. 4698, claims that metric measurements are 'silly'. But only if you try to convert literally - "give an inch and take 1.6 km". This shows you are still taking the Imperial measurements as a standard. Drop all Imperials and use metric only - people soon get the hang of it. Food supplied in containers does not…

Chris Rayward has written to me with the following news: 'This year has seen me pass a watershed moment in reaching 80 years of age and I thought it prudent to begin at least to wind off a little from my Hotspur Designs business. After nearly 30 years I am pleased to announce that I have passed my five major designs over to Blackgates Engineering. These comprise the L&NWR models in five inch gauge that have been built by many model engineers over the years and the drawings, patterns and material stock are now in their hands. 'This does not mean the closure of the Hotspur Designs business as I have a few more ideas to develop from now on and with any luck I am hoping to be able…

Dear Martin, Having taken some time out of the workshop in the sun on Sunday afternoon, to spend time with the family, it strikes me that our four-monthold Simeon may be one of the youngest fans of our favourite reading material (see photo). His brother Charlie (in the background), at four years, prefers the technical pages. They are the fourth generation of their family to get their hands on the Model Engineer. Keep up the good work everyone! Best regards, Patrick Clark (Liskeard, Cornwall) (Geoff - he's reading Club News! - Ed.)…

Continued from p.524 M.E. 4701, 7 October 2022 The new terminal box The original washing machine motor was somewhat open to the elements but as it was originally located underneath the drum of the washing machine it was quite inaccessible unless the washing machine were to be inverted. This style of motor is sometimes referred to as a 'drip-proof' design in that water dripping onto the motor would not enter the motor itself as there are no slots in the upper half - only in the lower half. Consequently, this open frame motor could be used providing that the slots were located at the bottom. The existing terminal block was a five-pin male connector which had a matching cable end socket fitting into it with the five wires in a…

Iacquired a part built 3½ inch gauge SECR L class locomotive in August 2007. The intention was to complete the build by the time of the locomotive’s centenary in 2014, and now in 2022 the project is eventually completed! No. 773 was one of a class of 22 locomotives, 12 built by Beyer Peacock in Manchester and 10 built by Borsig of Berlin. Both companies were well known suppliers of steam locomotives to the world market, although in the UK it was the tradition that railway companies designed and built their own locomotives to suit their own specific needs and perhaps prejudices. Photograph 1 is was taken by Borsig as a publicity shot, showing brand new 772 outside the Borsig’s works gate in Berlin, the ‘Borsigstor’, which can still be…

Continued from p.520 M.E. 4701,7 October 2022 Item 5 - Cam Follower Key (fig 12) MS or brass Bringtheblank to size 28 x 18.5 x 10. Clampinthe vice with the 28 x 18.5 face against the fixed jaw on a suitable parallel to bring the 28 x 10 top face 11 proud of the vice jaw. Zero the spindle to the centre of the width and length. Mill6wide x 6 deep as indicatedAimtoachieve the key width of 6 + 0.00 - 0.04 * Remove waste 8 either side of the key 10.5 deep. Slide out the parallel. Centredrilland drill 03.3. Tap M4 at two places indicated. Remove all burrs. Put to one side. Item 6 - Main Bearing Bush (fig 13) Two required - Ø20 LG2 Holdbearingstock with 40 protruding.…

Continued from p.442 M.E. 4700, 23 September 2022 We will now get on with some more stretchers and the one which I would like to deal with first is the front bogie stretcher (figs 34 and 35). This should actually be a casting but I have also drawn it so that it can all be fabricated from a laser cut kit. I took some photographs of it whilst I was under the engine at the North York Moors Railway and I certainly think that it will look the part even if you do fabricate it, apart from the fact that no one will see it again anyway! This is a bit of a mixture of 2.5mm plate and 16swg plate and a piece of 1¾ round BMS bar. The main…

Continued from p.514 M.E. 4701, 7 October 2022 The longest atmospheric failure? The South Devon I.K. Brunel was appointed engineer to the South Devon Railway which was to run from Exeter via Dawlish and Newton Abbott (then known as Newton) to Plymouth, with a branch to Torquay. Brunel had sufficient prestige to persuade directors to use the atmospheric system on this broad gauge line for both passenger and goods trains, the only line where the atmospheric was used for goods traffic. It was a mostly level route to Newton but thereafter faced the notorious South Devon banks. Alas, Brunel could not be trusted with costings. He estimated that an atmospheric line would be cheaper than a locomotive hauled one but compared a single track atmospheric with a double track locomotive…

Continued from p.503 M.E. 4701, 7 October 2022 Draincock lever The draincocks are operated via 'Bowden' cable running through copper tubes on a 'push-pull' system. The cables leave the cab, run past the firebox, along the left-hand frame and then go down between the vacuum cylinder bracket and the middle cylinder. There is a shaft that runs under the middle cylinder, a connecting arm which moves in a small slot to operate the middle cylinder and then another arm that links to another shaft that connects the two outside cylinder draincocks. It's simple enough but there are a few bits and pieces to make. I started with the main shaft that sits under the middle cylinder. It has a removable collar either end, a crank arm in the middle and…

October 22 Cardiff Model Engineering Society Steam-up and Family Day, Heath Park, Cardiff. See www.cardiffmes.co.uk 23 Bristol SMEE Public Running, Ashton Court Railway, BS8 3PX, noon – 17:00. Contact: secretary@bristolmodelengineers.co.uk 23 North Wilts MES Public Running, Coate Water Country Park, Swindon 11:00 – 17:00. Contact: Ken Parker, 07710 515507 27 Guildford MES Open Day, Stoke Park, Guildford 10:00 – 13:00. See www.gmes.org.uk 29 North Wilts MES Hallowe'en, Coate Water Country Park, Swindon. Contact: Ken Parker, 07710 515507 29/30 Lowestoft Model Engineering Exhibition East Coast College, St Peter’s Street, Lowestoft, NR32 2NB. See www.lowmex.co.uk 30 Bristol SMEE Public Running, Ashton Court Railway, BS8 3PX, noon – 17:00. Contact: secretary@bristolmodelengineers.co.uk 30 North Wilts MES Public Running, Coate Water Country Park, Swindon 11:00 – Dusk. Contact: Ken Parker, 07710 515507 November 2 Bradford…

FASTENERS Introduction I've found the wow factor (that's the technical term) of any fine model is directly proportional to the attention to detail. When it comes to detail I don't think anyone would argue that a correctly scaled group of fasteners can really draw the observer's eye, adding to the aesthetics of any finely built model. In the past these fasteners were available as BA nuts and bolts and in more recent times, small head metric nuts and bolts. Sadly, these fasteners are outside the budget of many builders and even if you were willing to sacrifice a candlelit takeout dinner with your better half to buy a packet or two, there is always the chance of them getting lost in the post (or liberated by mischievous customs officials). The…