3 1/2 inch small boilered TICH

Advert

New Replies

Report Bug

Help/FAQs

3 1/2 inch small boilered TICH

This topic has 302 replies, 38 voices, and was last updated 16 April 2023 at 12:11 by Phil H1.

Viewing 25 posts - 26 through 50 (of 303 total)

← 1 2 3 … 11 12 13 →

Author

Posts
19 December 2013 at 07:17 #138249
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
Here are a couple of other items that I have made in the interim.

Fire grate bars from 304 stainless and the two draw bar hooks

Pump eccentric collar as marked out.

Pump eccentric turning jig.

Ash pan

Boiler plate formers

Boiler former (Made from super wood)
Advert

19 December 2013 at 09:13 #138257
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
I have not taken any photos of the axle pump fabrication however I have included some Pictures of the pump in situ.

The pump has been connected up to some tubing and tested by turning the wheels. It is nearly impossible to block the outlet due to the pressure produced- I take that as a success.

The visible gland nut was fluted using a home made dividing attachment that uses the lathe gears.

At the moment, the pump ram is only attached to the eccentric with a piece of s/s rod. The wrist pin is still to be made.

Edited By Ryan Norton on 19/12/2013 09:25:28
19 December 2013 at 09:23 #138258
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
Here are some photos of TICH as she is at the moment.
19 December 2013 at 09:41 #138262
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
The next thing on my list was the cylinders. This too was causing all kinds of stress as I did not want to ruin the castings. Here is where the saying, "Measure twice, cut once" is very useful!

Following the description by Curly, the castings were slowly but surely transformed into beautiful locomotive cylinders.

First up was the facing of the cylinder and the boring.

Next was the facing of the port and bolting faces

(Note the counter balance on the face plate)

You may also note that there is a new beautiful 0.18kW motor driving my Myford. I took some time out to replace the old motor with a new one, as well as a VSD which is a huge help.

After machining the faces and boring operations, the faces were marked for machining the ports.

The blocks were then sut up for machining
19 December 2013 at 09:43 #138264
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
Here is a picture of both cylinders with finished steam ports

A pic of the exhaust hole
19 December 2013 at 09:51 #138266
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
At this stage the next step was to drill the steam passages. I first filled a flat, joining the bore with the cover face that was at an angle calculated to be perpendicular with the CL of the passages. The drilling of the passages is tricky as they are not all parallel with each other. I managed to overcome this by altering the angle of the drill press platform.

Unfortunately there are no pictures of this setup.

Here is the start.
19 December 2013 at 10:01 #138267
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
The front and rear covers were made from brass. The rear covers were fabricated with the bosses silver soldered to the cover. The step chuck as described in the "words and music" came in very handy here to machine the outside.

To machine the locating register a wee knob was soft soldered to the cover temporarily.

The reminants of the soft solder can be seen in the photos below.

I am still undecided as to what finish I should leave on the covers, I like both finishes above…..

The steam passages can just be seen in the picture above. I was slightly wonky however, this should not affect performance.

The piston rod blanks are in place in the photos. These, along with the valve spindles will be made from 4mm stainless steel rod.
19 December 2013 at 13:55 #138286
Jeff Dayman
Participant
@jeffdayman43397
Looks like you are making great progress. Well done! JD
20 December 2013 at 18:25 #138384
nigel jones 5
Participant
@nigeljones5
I note your hornblocks/axle blocks and eccentric are in brass. I have always thought that brass on steel was a no-no. I do hope that I am wrong as the standard of work looks superb.
23 December 2013 at 08:04 #138575
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
Hi Fizzy

Thanks for the complement. I have used brass as this material is all I have. I have also gone according to LBSC where he states that if nothing else is available, then brass will do, (only for certain items obviously).

What sort of issues could crop up with this combination? Corrosion? I am well aware that brass will wear more quickly than bronze but relatively speaking how long will it take for this to have a negative impact on the performance of the locomotive?
23 December 2013 at 08:25 #138576
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
Here is some inspiration:

I have no idea who this locomotive belongs to, but it is suberb!
23 December 2013 at 13:18 #138586
Another JohnS
Participant
@anotherjohns
What sort of issues could crop up with this combination? Corrosion? I am well aware that brass will wear more quickly than bronze but relatively speaking how long will it take for this to have a negative impact on the performance of the locomotive?

Hi Ryan; jumping over Fizzy's toes (as the question was directed at him)

I had a look at my little large boilered slip eccentric Tich when putting her away for the winter; axle boxes (hot pressed brass, from Reeves decades ago) are fine; rod bushings are ok, the worst is the slip eccentrics where they join into the cross-frame swinging link (whatever it's called)

I would not worry about it. My little Tich runs like you would not believe, despite wearing in. I think it'll outlast me – especially as, with the Wesh Coal I use, the tubes, grate, etc plugs up and I need to stop and clean the fire out after a few laps.

My Tich (or, maybe all Tiches) are not a run-all-day locomotive, which suits me fine – run for a bit, natter with the natives, clean the locomotive (lift it up by front buffer, shake, put it back on rails) and then run again.

What you may want to do is to ensure that you lubricate the axle boxes in the horns; generally I over-oil, but better that than under-oiling.

Another JohnS.
24 December 2013 at 07:14 #138633
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
Hi John

Thanks for the reassurance! I have actually drilled lateral holes in the sides of the axle boxes that join the spring/oil holes. These will allow for increased lubrication between the boxes and horns as you say. There is also a central vertical lubrication hole directly above the axle which is different to the original design.
24 December 2013 at 07:19 #138634
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
John, just out of curiosity what type of riding car do you have for your Tich? It is obviously something I need to build and I cant seem to find any information on a typical design?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
24 December 2013 at 13:44 #138665
Another JohnS
Participant
@anotherjohns
Posted by Ryan Norton on 24/12/2013 07:19:42:

John, just out of curiosity what type of riding car do you have for your Tich? It is obviously something I need to build and I cant seem to find any information on a typical design?

Ryan;

I have a 3-1/2" gauge riding car, steel frame, that weighs about 10x what Tich weighs, but the price was right. I have a plastic (kitchen container) auxiliary tender piped to the bottom of the axle pump, so the axle pump has a tee on it's suction line, not an "L".

I do have stirrups, but some clubs over here ride side saddle, so I can remove stirrups easily.

A smaller, wider riding car would be nicer, as 3-1/2" is a bit narrow for people with either a wide draft, or balance worries. Our local track has 5" gauge whilst almost all others within a couple of days driving have 4-3/4", so I do have a 4-3/4" riding car also, but don't use it unless travelling.

Basically, anything that is comfortable, that has wheels to go on rails works – many people don't worry overly about what the riding car looks like.

Another JohnS.
24 December 2013 at 21:18 #138694
Sub Mandrel
Participant
@submandrel
Looks like a nice piece of work, Ryan.

Neil
25 December 2013 at 02:40 #138702
Another JohnS
Participant
@anotherjohns
Ryan;

FYI, here's yours truly pulling another passenger with borrowed riding car in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, circa 2005.

I think Barry Solomon deserves the photo credit. I only have a small version of this image.
28 December 2013 at 20:35 #138974
Llongford Railway
Participant
@llongfordrailway
Hi Ryan,

Well done on your progress. I have just joined the forum to be able to chip into this thread. Although, I have been a member of other engineering forums, I have yet to come across someone else who is building a tich at the moment. I must admit, I have been building my tich for about 1 year and I am just coming to the point where I will be finishing the steam chests and will hopefully have a running chassis soon.

I'll be interested to see how you progress as you'll be ahead of me before not too long!

Regards

Daniel
2 January 2014 at 06:39 #139413
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
HI Daniel

Thanks.

It would be nice to see some pics of your TICH! Good luck with the rest of the build!
2 January 2014 at 13:00 #139436
Llongford Railway
Participant
@llongfordrailway
Hi Ryan,

I may do but won't hijack this thread. The difficlty is that this is my first build so progress is slow and mistakes are high. I also have limited machinary (pillar drill and unimat sl lathe) which also doesn't help. My new years resolution was to focus on the build so as progress picks up I may start my own thread of the build.

Daniel.
3 January 2014 at 08:06 #139506
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
HI Daniel

No worries about hijacking the thread, the more pictures and comments on Tich from people who are building them, have them and enjoy them, the better! I feel that this liitle loco needs more exposure!

I look forward to seeing your thread!
31 January 2014 at 18:13 #142324
Stewart Paterson
Participant
@stewartpaterson78346
Hullo all,

I watch this thread with interest as I have been given a Tich model at about the same stage of construction as Ryans. I am battling to make coupling rods that don't bind. This is my first attempt at model engineering.

Stewart Paterson
14 March 2014 at 12:00 #147048
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
HI Stewart

Sounds like your wheels are not correctly quartered… Have you checked this?
14 March 2014 at 12:01 #147049
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
I have been busy modelling TICH in Solidworks and have gotten about as far with the 3D model as I have in reality.

I would like to post some pictures of this as well as some PDF's of the designs etc.
14 March 2014 at 12:20 #147051
Ryan Norton
Participant
@ryannorton40317
Here are a few designs:
Author

Posts