In The Spirit of Boultons Siding

[relaxinghobby]

The aim is to produce a tiny tank engine in 4 mm scale 00. Based on drawing of the enignes made by Isaac Boulton at his sidings

back in steam days. He was a builder, modifier providing small engines for hire or sale for use of small industries and building contracters.

 

In th espirit means I try and use parts from a range of sources and build a bitsa like the originals.

 

I've already made a cardborad test chassis to check it's size matches the foot plate and saddle tank I've used for this build.

I hope to motorise it.

I've spent the last week hacking some brass about to try to produce the chassis, marking out, cutting out and folding has not produce a very straight item.

Each step seems to make it more wonky.

 

[relaxinghobby]

Not much progress with the above tank engine, well none really because I've been distracted with other models.

In the spirit of Boulton's sidings here is an attempt at making an example of a fireless loco.

Prompted by reading an old copy of Model Trains from September 1983 page 297 and then seeing what an internet search came up with has provided more photographic examples.

 

Like this photo of an Andrew Barclay example from the Graces' Guide website, an engineering magazine from the19th century whith articles and advertisment.

In those days you could actually order a full size working loco from pictures in a magazine now we can only do the same for small scale models.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So in the Boulton Sidings way this is an all-spare-parts loco.

Cabs sides from a City of Truro kit and it had to be patched. Roof and spectical plate from a Bachmann Junior or Thomas range. Rear cab, footplate and sand boxes from the Airfix pug kit. Steps and buffer beams from wherever.

Cardboard till roll for a boiler.

It sits on a balsa wood block chassis with a couple of tiny wagon wheels from an American H0 model. Could it ever be motorised?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh dear the rear buffers wonky.

Edited November 26, 2019 by relaxinghobby
Spellings and typos

[relaxinghobby]

 

Amy and fireless.

My homemade simple cut out and fold Amy chassis still awaits some progress. I've put off by it looking so thin and wobbly.

I've been cutting up an old computer expansions card circuit board to fit into the chassis to make it rigid. What was once so expensive is now worthless, unless you can recycle it.

The circuit board is strong and proof against soldering iron heat. If you score a groove in any copper tracks and so maybe isolate each half and make a split pick-up chassis.

As Amy's chassis is so wonky I tried this brass bogie kit to make a chassis for the fireless loco. A professionally etched chassis makes a much squarer and better device than my homemade efforts. I'll try to fit plasti-card sides to make the right shape, while the strength will come from the brass etching.

 

[relaxinghobby]

Designed for motorising small 4 wheel diesel shunter with big square spacious bonnets, will this gear box fit into a small steam loco which even with a saddle tank may nor have emough room, we'll see.

So this High Level Quad Driver has a gear train to drive both axles. Which is more promising for me that relying on coupling rods to drive the wheels, something I'm not very good at getting to work.

 

I chose the 20mm wheel base for this Bolton inspired Amy.

 

There are good instructions, 2 sides of A4, quite a lot for such a small device but I've found that with HIgh Level mechanism it's best to buckle down and follow the steps in the instructions and a working device emerges.

 

There are a pair of brass W-irons at the top that I am soldering up as I've got the soldering iron and all its paraphernalia set-up.

 

The gear box etch at this stage has the required bearings in place and the axle holes opened out for the shafts above

 

The box on the right is the open wagon body that the W-irons are for.

 

 

The lower picture shows my 2mm tapered broach for opening out the holes to the require 2mm for the shafts, it keeps the hole centred in the same place, while a twist drill can easily wander off making an off centre hole.