LocoEngineer

Hi Jon, These are cylinder relief valves. They were fitted to the front centre of each cylinder to prevent damage in the event of water carry over. You can find drawings of them in some books and online. In your gauge they are readily available i.e: https://17d-ltd.co.uk/7-25-pressure-relief-valve although the picture above may not correlate with this design but you may be able to find them from other suppliers. For clarity I dont have any affiliation to 17d. I hope that helps. Darren

Some progress at last... The frames are progressing but the workshop is freezing cold and with limited insulation means I have moved inside. This has given me ample opportunity to work on the tender body. Pics attached of progress to date. This is still very much a work in progress with a lot of fettling still to do as well as the machining of some of the parts. There is over 1000 rivets that have to be soldered in place - enough to make you crazy! Most of the construction has involved soft soldering. I prefer the use of a resistance soldering machine as this prevents distortion and is generally much cleaner. The most trickest part yet has to get everything to line up and be in square. Also bending the 1/8" beading around the bends of the coal fenders was particulary time consuming. I still have to add the beading around the flared top edges and the corners to the tender that are made from a brass 'trumpet'. Once the body is complete I will move to waterproofing the tank. If anyone has a any advice much appreciated. I have seen various posts that suggest either expoxy or a fuel tank sealer? There are baffles in the tank that should stop the sloshing of water around. This tender (GWR 3500g Churchward) also has a sump that will house a lot of the piping and control valves for water to the injectors. The handpump will sit below the dome and will be removable to allow operation. The water filler will be redundant. The handbrake and water chute handles are finished but will be added on final construction. I have also added the traditional 'chequer plate' to the shovelling platform More progress to follow...

Apologies for a lack of progress but it seems life took over. I am now back in the Workshop and progressing well. After some great advice, I am concentrating on the tender first. First up is the wheels. I used a four jaw chuck to machine the width and then gain concentricity to the inside rim of the tyre to drill and ream the centre hole. I am them using the 'arbor' method to machine the profile into the tyres. So far so good. I also have sent some drawings away to Owl Castings to be cast for the underside of the tender (Brake Vacuum Cylinder etc). Another update soon on frames, drag boxes and the like...

-missy- The informative links I found were: https://youtu.be/EjmcQC1uooE https://youtu.be/gSstILOpuJ0 That is not to say there are others. If you search for "Snap Head Rivet" there are many The rivets used were 5/64". The drawings specify a head diameter, not the diameter of the rivet itself, so it has been a long process of elimination and numerous orders to find the right ones.

I haven't had too much time recently but managed to find an hour to finish off the front and rear beams. Some rivets are intentionally missing until later on in the build. When comparing to the real pictures I am happy with the results, especially as this is my first attempt at riveting. My thanks go to Youtube for the various videos showing how to do it! Hopefully in the coming weeks some progress can be made. Thanks for now...

Having just started building a GWR Grange in 5" scale I thought it would be useful to document the process. As a bit of a newbie but with some engineering experience I am starting with an GWR Grange utilising a lot of the castings/parts from Polly Model Engineering to help me get accustomed again before, motivation allowing, moving onto bigger things. The purpose of documenting the process is: 1. To keep a pictorial record of progress 2. To provide a source of motivation to keep going, knowing that after a while I may experience motivational difficulties 3. To offer some insight and encouragement to others I chose this model for a multitude of reasons: 1. Thanks to my Dad I am a GWR person through and through 2. It is a well documented and well supported model that is a good transition back into engineering 3. I can name it after the Grange that is close to where I live Here is what I hope to build in the same period/livery etc: The plan is to make a realistic model. Decision are still to be made on how far to take it but being realistic I can only aspire to some models like 4472 Flying Scotsman on this forum at this stage! I will 'outsource' the boiler and some of the parts where I don't have the tooling available (like smoke box which requires rollers etc). The rest will be machined/made 'in house' using castings and parts where available to expedite the process etc. I accept that this may be seen as not the purest approach but it is what it is and believe this is the best way for me to get back into the hobby. I have ordered the parts/castings for the tender (3500 Gal) and this will be completed first but whilst waiting for delivery of the castings and parts I have made a start on the frames. Progress to date is the frames have been delivered and drilling of the ~200+ holes has commenced. Also the front buffer beam (minus vac pipes) has been completed and roughly assembled. Next stage is to drill and mill the brass castings for the horn cheeks and suspension to get to something like this: I would also caution though that this is a learning experience for me so I cant profess to being a professional that others can learn from! That said, as I am getting reacquainted, I am happy for constructive feedback and tips from others as I progress. I will plan to post frequently although this may not be regularly as this has to fit around a number of other priorities and a full time job. Thanks for now...