Simond Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 Run something, anything, around and around, clattering, squealing, rattling, outrageously fast. until you giggle 7 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Metropolitan H Posted November 25, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2020 Is "Old George" fresh out of Crewe? - As you know from our separate communications, I share your "Lock-up" Blues, but it is making me angry - which has resulted in me making significant progress with "Gutter Lane". So much so that what I earlier estimated achieving by the end of the week is now three wire connections short of complete. Now I can get out from under the baseboards and concentrate on the main switch panel to restore circulating trains by early next week. I think the Met Locos will be due an outing first - although i need to do a gauging run with the HAG loco soon. Hope you don't mind if I post some here. KBO Chris H 6 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted November 26, 2020 Author Share Posted November 26, 2020 Well, I took Simon's wise advice and went and ran some trains, not madly fast, because plunges to the floor cost money, time, effort and/or gnashing and wailing, but it did work (once I turned the radio off to avoid the news). Old George is gradually getting cleaned, while I try to make my mind up about whether to touch-in his numerous scratches and chips. I think I probably will, once I can get a paint-mix that looks close - it needs to be eggshell finish, neither gloss nor matt. It must be his 100th birthday so, so maybe he'll get a telegram from granddaughter. 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Carne Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 14 hours ago, Nearholmer said: Well, I took Simon's wise advice and went and ran some trains, not madly fast, because plunges to the floor cost money, time, effort and/or gnashing and wailing, but it did work (once I turned the radio off to avoid the news). Old George is gradually getting cleaned, while I try to make my mind up about whether to touch-in his numerous scratches and chips. I think I probably will, once I can get a paint-mix that looks close - it needs to be eggshell finish, neither gloss nor matt. It must be his 100th birthday so, so maybe he'll get a telegram from granddaughter. Phoenix Precision black gloss P975 is an excellent match for Bing black, litho or painted, but you will have to varnish over the top to get the finish you want. I can recommend Squadron green putty for filling in the dings too, it's what the best restorers use before applying paint. Here are some before and after pictures of a couple of Bing German Pacifics a friend recently restored, I promise they are the same locos. Mark 9 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted November 26, 2020 Author Share Posted November 26, 2020 (edited) Thanks Mark, I will order a tin forthwith. I'm not sure about varnishing, though. I think the loco might have been varnished at some point before in its long life. The tender I got completely separately from the loco, and it has been over-restored already: new axle-boxes and wheels, and a complete fine-scale paint job, with really high-quality hand-lining. So, its really case of creating a reasonable-looking functioning whole, more than doing a museum-class resto. Anyway, I made myself a new work-tray today, so that I can get comfy in the study to do jobs like this, rather than working on them in the utility room, and that instantly inspired the creation of a replacement tender-loco drawbar, and the long-postponed fitting of a coupler to the tender, so now Old George can at least pull a train. Edited November 26, 2020 by Nearholmer 18 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted November 27, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 27, 2020 I have a similar sized work tray that fits into an old brief case so I can put the the work tray with the tools I am using and whatever model into the brief case to move it about without losing anything and just open it up and it is all ready to go. Don 3 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florence Locomotive Works Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 (edited) Well, the layout has now acquired a semi permanent setting in the spare room, with the blessing of higher powers. I have also been reading my copy of the Model Railway Handbook by W.J. Bassett Lowke, and it strongly recommends that all externally fired locomotives should be run indoors, which was surprising. Moving blankets haven been used as the underlay, and a 2ft sheet of steel has been placed underneath the track in the steaming bay. Douglas Edited November 30, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works 9 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium J. S. Bach Posted November 30, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 30, 2020 You have some very understanding parents, my friend! 2 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRASinBothell Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 By "indoors", he probably meant in the conservatory, with a nice stone floor. No doubt he also assumed you would have a couple of footmen at the ready to put out any fires... Gordon 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Carne Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 42 minutes ago, GRASinBothell said: By "indoors", he probably meant in the conservatory, with a nice stone floor. No doubt he also assumed you would have a couple of footmen at the ready to put out any fires... Gordon No, they really meant indoors indoors. Just that everyone puts a modern H&S slant on live steam operation and assumes it has to run outdoors. Most pot boiler o gauge live steam locos are hopeless outside on anything but a still day when it's hot outside. Mark 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florence Locomotive Works Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 1 hour ago, Mark Carne said: No, they really meant indoors indoors. Just that everyone puts a modern H&S slant on live steam operation and assumes it has to run outdoors. Most pot boiler o gauge live steam locos are hopeless outside on anything but a still day when it's hot outside. Mark I did try steaming it for its initial testing a year ago in the depths of winter outdoors, and it did run after a while, but also took ages to raise steam. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andi4x4 Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 Douglas.... A trick I used to use when steaming outdoors in my 16mm/ft Narrow Gauge days was to fill a cold loco with boiling water, or as near to it as possible in order to speed up the steam-up time and conserve fuel. I also had gas fired conversions for the couple of Mamod locos I had, and the Roundhouse loco came as standard with gas firing, both of which are far superior outdoors, and smell much less offensive indoors ! Some Mamod runners would close off a couple of the draught holes in the sideframes to prevent the wind affecting the burner flames too much. Andi 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florence Locomotive Works Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 1 hour ago, andi4x4 said: Douglas.... A trick I used to use when steaming outdoors in my 16mm/ft Narrow Gauge days was to fill a cold loco with boiling water, or as near to it as possible in order to speed up the steam-up time and conserve fuel. I also had gas fired conversions for the couple of Mamod locos I had, and the Roundhouse loco came as standard with gas firing, both of which are far superior outdoors, and smell much less offensive indoors ! Some Mamod runners would close off a couple of the draught holes in the sideframes to prevent the wind affecting the burner flames too much. Andi I figured out the boiling water trick pretty quickly, after waiting around for 10 minutes to get steam up! I’ve considered a gas firing conversion, or even a spirit tank in the tender, but decided not to because the engine seems too historically significant to modify it in such a way. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andi4x4 Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 (edited) There are people out there that would probably be able to make a custom gas system to fit in the current burner/fuel tank locations without modification of the loco. Most, if not all, the Mamod ones are just that - they fit without alterations to the loco. There was a rectangular gas tank available for the mamods that could be fitted below the cab floor, although both of mine were cylindrical ones inside the cab. Sorry to hijack your thread, Kevin ! Andi Edited November 30, 2020 by andi4x4 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 1, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 1, 2020 6 hours ago, Mark Carne said: Most pot boiler o gauge live steam locos are hopeless outside on anything but a still day when it's hot outside. 'Twas ever thus... A school friend had a Super Enterprise that was just like that, more than 50 years ago. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Metropolitan H Posted December 1, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 1, 2020 On 30/11/2020 at 02:29, Florence Locomotive Works said: Well, the layout has now acquired a semi permanent setting in the spare room, with the blessing of higher powers. I have also been reading my copy of the Model Railway Handbook by W.J. Bassett Lowke, and it strongly recommends that all externally fired locomotives should be run indoors, which was surprising. Moving blankets haven been used as the underlay, and a 2ft sheet of steel has been placed underneath the track in the steaming bay. Douglas If you are running externally "Meths" fired steam locos indoors, I trust you have a suitable - and adequately sized - fire extinguisher ready to hand at all times? - A spilt Meths fire can do a lot of damage if not attended to immediately. Sorry to be a kill-joy, but I remember youthful escapades involving Mamod and similar machines. I was lucky but Mother was not pleased with the burn marks. I now prefer gas firing and that is out-doors or in a concrete floored brick out-house. Regards Chris H 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 I'd suggest a CO2 one as anything else will make a horrendous mess. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 1, 2020 Author Share Posted December 1, 2020 I was pondering that too, and I'm not so sure even about CO2, because the gas comes out at a fair old velocity, and I'd be concerned about it blasting meths all over the place. Is this the place for a fire blanket and a bucket of dry sand? Probably calls for experiments to test various methods, provided that they are conducted outdoors, 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florence Locomotive Works Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 (edited) Deleted. Edited December 1, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 1, 2020 Author Share Posted December 1, 2020 As a diversion from meths, a picture showing that the Christmas decorations have begun to emerge early this year, as a way of taking minds off The Other Thing. 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andi4x4 Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 Very nice Sir ! Is that self made ? Interesting 2-4-0 too, what are the origins of that loco ? Andi 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 1, 2020 Author Share Posted December 1, 2020 Not self-made - I would have got all obsessive about the joints. The loco has appeared here a couple of times before: Highfield Models tinplate made in the 1970s/80s. The model first appeared as a reasonably accurate LNWR Chopper, then a few were made in this possibly-Midland-but-who-knows guise. Its more ornament than use, having a very fragile mechanism. 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andi4x4 Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 Shame about the weak mech, it's a very attractive little loco ! Still working on my pannier when time permits - been more focused on building somewhere for it to run just lately ! Andi 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Northroader Posted December 1, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 1, 2020 I do like the look of that loco, nice and small and neat. You could take it to bed instead of a teddy. 2 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 1, 2020 Author Share Posted December 1, 2020 Vellkom Herr Nordstrasse, setzen sie sich bitte. Meck yourself komfortabel on ze couch. Relax. Sehr gutt. Now, kan ve beginn mit your earliest rekollections: ven did zis cuttlink off tenk enchines beginn? 1 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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