Steam Locomotive Build

[Dave AveryParticipant @daveavery56205]

Good afternoon, been meaning to join this forum for sometime, so stuck indoors with 'man flu' thought this would be the ideal time. As a retired engineer I decided to get back to my roots and set up a home workshop so over the past few years I been collecting machines and tools with a view to building a steam locomotive (boyhood dream). I now find myself silver surfing the internet trying to decide where to start. Do I pick up something that someone has started but not completed, start from scratch with what appear to be very expensive kits or just dive in and get a set of plans. I'm after some guidance here having realised that I don't even know how these engines work really. How do I start? Which models still have a ready supply of castings, boilers etc.

[Dave AveryParticipant @daveavery56205]

Where to start

[Dave AveryParticipant @daveavery56205]

I have a chuck back plate in my workshop that I can't find what machine it may fit. I came to me fitted to an 8" Burnerd 4 jaw chuck that I wanted for my VSL. The mounting thread is 1.75" OD, 6 TPI and a square section. Any ideas?

[NJHParticipant @njh]

Dave

No clue to where you are but, if it is in the UK, I suggest that your first move should be a visit to your local model engineering club see **LINK**.

There will be a variety of models and usually a track ( you WILL need somewhere to run it after all!) and members will be able to advise on the best suitable project for your needs.

Norman

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

Hello Dave and welcome,If you've not built a loco before, I would suggest seeking out your nearest local model engineering society and going to a couple of running days to see a selection of engines.

You may find someone with a part built engine but the results can be VERY variable. My own preference would be an established design and castings from the likes of Reeves or Blackgates or others depending on where you live.

Before embarking on a boiler, join a club and talk to their boiler inspector.

I would advise building something that you are really interested in and not just something simple (unless of course you just want to build something simple).

All the best whatever you decide and, you know where we are if you need answers to any other questions.

 

(Norman beat me to it)

Brian

Edited By Brian Hutchings on 15/12/2017 13:29:29

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Dave

A steam loco may not be a good way to start your modelling career. Lot of work and dedication for even the simplest one.

As all the antediluvian penguins here know it takes only a few days of retirement before you start wondering how the heck you ever had time to go to work to earn living.

So, with the best will in the world, you could end up finding that the time / desire / enthusiasm / rate of progress equation just doesn't work out. Somewhat embarrassing if you have a few hundred drinking vouchers tied up in castings, lumps of metal and a big copper tube. There are good reasons for all the part finished builds out there.

Better to nooge around the web and find some simple steam engine designs that can be made up relatively quickly from stock sizes of material to get your feet wet. Gives you a chance to find out if you do like the whole modelling thing in practice as well as theory and, if you do, a realistic assessment of if the amount of progress per week you can usually expect adds up to a steam loco you actually was to drive in a reasonable time.

Maybe something off http://modelengineeringwebsite.com.

I keep promising myself that I will have ago at the USS Monitor engine from the aforementioned site. No issues with doing it. Ample machinery and skills. But I seem to like the idea of making a model more than the actual doing thereof. 12 inches to the foot scale jobs being much more my thing in practice. Get money for them too!

The number of projects and rate of progress that folk like Neil, Jason and other fast workers manage always amazes me.

Clive

Edited By Clive Foster on 15/12/2017 14:06:35

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

As you say you realise you don't really know how loco's work, you could do worse than buying yourself a copy of Build Your Own Steam Locomotive "Sweet Pea" or Simple Model Locomotive Building: "Tich" and "build one in your head" over Christmas.

There are others but these are he simplest loco's so you should get an idea of where everything goes, what it all does and some notion of what you will need to make. After this you can start to choose what you would really like to make and perhapse get going with a Stuart Turner kit for a simple vertical engine just to get some practice.

I would ask myself the following.

1. What Guage do I build to and is that possible on my machines.

2. Do I want to build the boiler or get one made.

3. How much time do I have (a) to spend each week and (b) in total.

4. Do I predominantly want a loco to use or is my interest more on the build.

5. Do I want a popular loco where there is a lot of support regarding literature, castings, laser cut parts or an I happy to go it alone with a rarer design.

What ever you do remember that the most important thing to produce is enjoyment. So the very best of luck.

regards Martin

Edited By Martin Kyte on 15/12/2017 14:28:03

[Bill DawesParticipant @billdawes]

Hi Dave, I would agree with Clive that you may not have as much time as you think. I am to be fair, only part retired, I work two days a week. I have been in engineering all my life but apart from an engineering apprenticeship most of my working life has been on the technical side so did not have the benefit of say a toolmaker when it came to craft skills other than DIY. I always promised to buy myself a lathe one day which I did a few years ago, now added to by a milling machine and various other bits and pieces. I started of making the Jan Ridders simple two stroke engine that ran in ME a few years ago, then a vertical boiler. I then decided to have a go at a steam loco and liked the look of Henry Woods 'Emma Victoria' a 5" gauge saddle tank that also ran in in ME, 2013 I think it started. Naively thought it might take me about 12-18 months, Dec. 2017 and still not finished.

Having said that my workshop time seems to vary a lot, might have a good run for a few weeks and not much for a while, depends what other things are going on in your life of course. Anyway good luck, plenty of good advice always to be found on this site.

Bill D

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