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Another Beyer Garratt 0-4-4-0


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The whistle is part of a really lovely whitemetal casting.  It seems to me that painting whitemetal to look like brass is a cop-out, and I’d like a brass whistle, so I made one.  Well, I made two but didn’t like the first one.

 

image.jpg.2b4373a26c4d7bd0edfd46a4338a325a.jpg
 

I can now nip the top off the casting, drill a suitable hole in it, and glue it into the firebox when I glue the dome & chimney on.  After the loco is painted, the brass whistle will be added as a highlight.    Oooh, look!
 

image.jpg.afbf2c445a1ed939d1f42a0e49866eb3.jpg

 

Same thought process is going on with the safety valves, but MrsD is watching the Ronnie Scott program, so tomorrow, maybe.

 

Atb

Simon

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Safety Valves turned, they screw on from within the firebox.  They can be removed and replaced after painting.

 

image.jpg.c127dd7930b290a340442416fe5ccba1.jpg
 

I need to fill the gap between the “shoulders” of firebox, and to fit the radiused front below the boiler.

 

Photos show that there’s a strange fine pipe that comes out of an unknown fitting a bit below the dome on this side of the boiler and disappears down below.  I think that’s the last of the boiler furniture, though I do need to make/find a smokebox dart & handle.

 

Then I might have a go at the cab.  There are quite a few bits and pieces below the footplate too, and I’ve not made any progress with the decoder installation, so I doubt I’ll be bored...

 

atb

Simon

 

 

 

 

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Thanks Giles,

 

It's really quite odd to have a random fitting on the side of a boiler like that.

 

Re the reverser, it would certainly be in the right area, but surely they'd take it from the backhead, or at least the turret, so it could be turned off in case of need?   And save another penetration into the boiler by using one that was already reinforced?

 

I would have if I were designing it!

 

atb

Simon

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Bressingham 1

 

 

Here's the Bressingham jobbie - sorry - the photo was taken mid '80s. The pipe in question is on;y about 12mm OD max, and is cleated next to the boiler band, dropping to the back of the frame in front of the boiler feedwater pipe. it may  be the one that then runs forward along the centreline, entering the smokebox saddle

Edited by Giles
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I believe that it is indeed a deed to the reverser. If you look carefully, there is an atomiser mounted to the cradle rail in the location where the pipe comes down to the frame. Probably for lubing the reverser cylinders. The feed from the atomiser runs down through the foot plate to the reverser.

 

Looks good Simon. You are going to force me to make a turned whistle now!

 

 

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Phil,

 

go on, you always wanted to!

 

it may feed a lubricator for the reverser, but it’s still ridiculous!

 

every time I see the Bressingham photos, it make me think I made my mud hole covers too big :(

 

cheers

simon

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4 minutes ago, Simond said:

Thanks Giles

 

tis weird

 

I’ll just

 

a) ignore it completely, or

 

b) fit it and lose the other end in the gloom under the boiler!

 

cheers

Simon

 

 

Thats my plan. I have the hole drilled in the boiler to fit it and will run the pipe down to just behind the longtiduinal frame. I have yet to make the valve, but the pilot hole is drilled for it. Waiting to get the main colours on and will glue the valve on afterwards.

 

There is also an odd small diameter pipe / feed running down the outer edge of the front of the smoke box from the base of the chimney on William Francis - I have no idea what that is for, but I added it anyhow.

 

I hate painting! Which is the reason for the lack of updates.

 

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10 hours ago, Simond said:

Thanks Giles,

 

It's really quite odd to have a random fitting on the side of a boiler like that.

 

Re the reverser, it would certainly be in the right area, but surely they'd take it from the backhead, or at least the turret, so it could be turned off in case of need?   And save another penetration into the boiler by using one that was already reinforced?

 

I would have if I were designing it!

 

atb

Simon

 

Hi Simon.  Have been giving this some thought and I wonder if it has something to do with 'Saturated' vs 'Superheated' steam.  Assuming it is a supply to the reverser (seems likely, I agree), this is a saturated steam boiler as far as I can see (whilst it has top feed, there does not appear to be a superheater unit in the smokebox, else there would be an operating rod going down the side of the boiler to operate it.  The reverser is also a unit that does not 'do' a great deal -  its not constantly in motion, with live ('hot') steam passing through it all the time.  When required, steam is released and it moves the gear, forwards or backwards, and then sits there again until the gear needs 'notching' up or down again.  All the while it is sat there, the saturated steam in the line is potentially cooling and condensing back into water, which might be a problem the next time you want the reverser to do something.  Maybe they tried a steam supply from the turret/backhead in the cab originally, had problems, and had to go for getting the 'dry-est' steam they could find (with the shortest possible 'run'), which was directly from under the dome?

 

Steve

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Steve,

 

there’s no need to have anything other than a regulator to operate a superheater, AFAIK, the regulator is in the regular place on the backhead. (Some were in the smokebox, some BR standard locos, I think)  I’d be surprised if these locos had anything more extreme than steam drying, but they may have had superheaters, but the loco is likely to have done much, if not most, of its work in full gear, which means the advantages of superheating would be largely irrelevant.  The steam feeds on the backhead & turret would be saturated, of course.
 

I agree that the reverser doesn’t do much, most of the time, and this will surely lead to condensation in the cylinders and valve chest..  I guess it is a servo mechanism, in that there is an input, and the valve gear feeds steam to whichever cylinder is needed to move the output until it matches the input, and conversely, exhausts steam, condensate, etc from the other one.  it’ll keep doing that whilst it is supplied with steam, and if the output shifts due to external loads, it’ll return to the set point as quickly as it can.  There would be no benefit in using superheated steam for the reverser, it’ll condense just the same.

 

in conclusion, I don’t know.  You could be right, or maybe not!

 

it might be that the valve is where it is, precisely to prevent the crew turning it off...


atb

Simon

 

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Not a lot of progress today, though I did decant 23 litres of dark Porter into a pressure barrel, a case of priorities, I think.

 

so, looking at the wiring:  (and noticing that the bench itself is visible, an event whose rarity rivals that of solar eclipses and Halley’s comet.)

 

image.jpg.bdc2525f35b80c90fa55f7f6dc868696.jpg


Front of loco to the right.  The water tank provides enough room for the JST connector on top of the motor.  The home-grown 4-way cable fits below the front crossmember of the bridge frame, and goes into the smokebox saddle through a hole about 5-6mm diameter.  There’s a similar one in the smokebox itself.  These will have to be enlarged so I can fit a 4-pole connector through them, not sure what I’ll use yet.  This cable will then pass through the boiler and plug into a connector somewhere above the loudspeaker, which will be sealed into the ashpan, to use th3 whole firebox and boiler as a resonator.

 

The large black thing is a substantial KA cap, which will replace the rather sweet little one.  This will also sit in the boiler, on the end of a short extension harness, which will also plug into a connector near the back of the speaker.

 

The decoder is standing upright - it is mounted on an ESU 21-pin “adaptorplatine” & will fit against the right hand side of the firebox.  There will be room for a couple of lights/leds to simulate firebox flicker.  
 

The rear engine connection will fit below the rear crossmember of the footplate.  I had fitted a JST socket next to the motor, but it is very cramped, due to the bunker, and I broke one of the wires just fiddling with it, so I think I’ll fit a short fly lead, to a connector under the cab.

 

next jobs are to make a chunky plasticard structure to carry all the electrics, possibly with a bit of veroboard to carry the connectors, sort out the smokebox saddle so the connector will pass through, and refit the rear engine’s wiring.

 

a bientot

Simon


 

 

 

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Hi Grahame

 

decoder is a Zimo Mx644 I think, 21 pin socket.  
 

Chip, Sound project, speaker, KA Cap all from John Gymer at YouChoos.  
 

ESU Adapterplatine from eBay. - key point, it has mounting screw holes. You can fix it to the loco!  Used same arrangement on my dukedog which was much mote challenging for space.
 

will post pix & details tonight

 

atb

Simon

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Well, chaps, chapesses, here we are this evening.


image.jpg.fd4c3522ec224152820f319df783390c.jpg

 

the black plasticard box structure is a snug fit in the firebox.  The 4-core cable to the front engine plugs into the vero on the far side, and has a JST plug to match the socket on the top of motor.  There’s an equivalent 4-core connection to the rear engine which needs to be fitted  - the plug & socket can be seen at the top centre.  I’ll finish the wiring tomorrow.

 

image.jpg.7b2079eec2b36f01058852011bc4f35f.jpg
 

the speaker is glued to the underside of the box - there is a clear air path from the back of the speaker to the whole boiler, which will hopefully provide really nice sound.

 

image.jpg.d91760eda006a0d609ac2747e1cc183f.jpg
 

and inside the box, the vero board on the left provides the connections between front & rear engines, and will eventually be connected to the adaptorplatine which is the blue part hiding coyly behind the decoder.  The adaptor is fixed within the box by a couple of 10BA screws tapped into the box, which has been doubled up to provide adequate depth of thread.  The plasticard is 1.5mm so pretty substantial.

 

Next steps - complete wiring and test on DC, connect decoder and proper KA capacitor, and test on DCC, add some firebox lights, and then play, sorry, test drive it up and down Porth Dinllaen for a while...

 

then get back to the metalwork!

 

atb

Simon

 

 

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That looks very well done and very tidy. Do you know what locomotive was used for the sound recordings? It obviously can't be an LMS Garratt. I have only ever used DCC sound decoders by Paul Chetter, which have a brake application, by key F2. Do the Youchoos decoders also have this?

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3 hours ago, Ruston said:

That looks very well done and very tidy. Do you know what locomotive was used for the sound recordings? It obviously can't be an LMS Garratt. I have only ever used DCC sound decoders by Paul Chetter, which have a brake application, by key F2. Do the Youchoos decoders also have this?

 

i was intending to ask a similar question a while back, but thought I'd wait until Simon had tested (and perhaps posted a video).  Am interested to see (hear?) whether the sounds of the engine units go in and out of synchronisation, as on the real thing.  According to the YouChoos website;

 

'Sounds are genuine Garratt sounds, albeit a different type of Garratt (from South Africa) but tweaked and blended with LMS 4F sounds such as the whistles'. 

 

 

Have listened to the sample file, but it is difficult to tell (about the synchronisation).

 

 

EDIT:

On this chip's detail page, it further mentions that the sounds used are from 'Modified Bulawayo Garratts'.  Also, I now see that you can choose between two types of the same DCC sound chip; 'Traditional (with conventional throttle braking) or 'Immersive Drive' (with 'Active Braking' key, on F2).

 

 

Edited by steveNCB7754
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Yes, and indeed, yes.  
 

it does have F2 braking, and, as noted some posts back, it appears there was a little confusion in the discussion I had with John at YouChoos, as it does claim to be an LMS Garratt sound project.  
 

I guess if it is an LMS project, the whistle will sound like a hooter, which will not be great, but hopefully, it’ll go in and out of synch.  I’m sure we can sort it out, if necessary.  One of the great advantages of the 21-pin decoders is that nothing needs to be wired to the decoder itself, it all connects to the adaptorplatine, so I can just send it back for a tweak, if needed.

 

hopefully I’ll get it running this evening.

 

atb

Simon

 

 

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And it does, albeit analog, not digital.

 

image.jpg.63782f9095060c63fbbaea50f53b930e.jpg

the step achieved here is that the wiring between the engines has been completed in its final incarnation.

 

the red and black loops sticking up from the black plastic box are the temporary jumpers that connect the pickups to the motors.  I’ll connect the decoder across these next, but there are several connections to make up to the platine.

 

it’s not the most exciting video on YouTube, and the sound will confirm that it’s wired analog but running on DCC (Beware, Lenz DCC will do this, some others will cause damage to your loco or the DCC output module, RTBM!)

 

 

Connections to be done;

 

One pair for pick-ups

One pair for motors
One pair for the new capacitor (and remove cap supplied with decoder)

One pair for the speaker

Firebox light & bunker glow

 

Decision time, will I ever fit headlights?  Probably not, though an oil lamp in the cab might be a nice touch.

 

While I think on it, these are the so-called ESU  “Adapterplatine” - part number 51967.

 

image.jpg.12866c8ed881f9732007165c85da412e.jpg
 

more soon!

atb

Simon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Simond
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