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LNWR Crane Tank and Shunting Engine Kit


kipford
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  • RMweb Gold

Wow 4 months since I last posted! If anyone is thinking of a attempting there own kits be warned it sucks up hours like there is no tomorrow. I recon I am on about 300 hours of research/CAD. So where are we for all that effort. The crane tank is a 90% complete design wise, but we are short of the detail of what the crane structure looks like below cab side level and the drawings held by the LNWR society do not have that the necessary detail. So we have made the decision to concentrate on completing the shunting engine while we sort out the other problems. Today is a watershed day as I completed the 3D design of the shunting engine. The next stage is to sort out the etch's. Once I have done that I will rapid prototype the cast parts and laser cut the etched parts so I can check the basic concept works. All the parts have some form of positive location so with the exception of handrail wires no rulers should be required. There are four options of cab which covers all variants I have details of. The images below give an appreciation of what (hopefully) punters will get.

 

First the later extended cab version:

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Second the Short full Cab

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Third, Original open Cab

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Fourth, Original cab with extended bunker side.

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View on front of body

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Section through loco showing the copious amount of room to get some lead in the boiler

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Lastly the chassis showing the valve gear representation that is necessary to fill the large void between the frames and bolier

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Edited by kipford
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  • RMweb Gold

Trevor

All the boiler fittings are using dimples to locate them. There is a feature to position each component correctly without the need to resort to a ruler or another type or measuring device.

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It might have taken 300 hours, but they were fun hours weren't they?

 

Can I extol the virtue of Modelu for the printing of the 3D parts.  Notably better than shapeways (and cheaper!).

 

Had you looked at the possibility of using the Comet type hornblocks set into the mainframes, rather than using what look to be independent hornblocks.  I did this on the Scrap Tank and the chassis was perfect at the first attempt as a result.

 

Does look good though.

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  • RMweb Gold

Mark

Its set up to use either LRM or High Level horn blocks, with at the recommendation of Jol, leaving the decision on whether to use a rigid chassis or some form of suspension/compensation up to the builder. OO, EM and P4 chassis are all catered for, because of this it actually limits some of the origami exercises you can incorporate (like your scrap tank) into the design to help with self jigging etc. Thanks for the heads up on the Modelu I will keep it in the bank. I am lucky enough to have access to a printer at work that can get down to 28 micron increments in the 'Z' axis so I will be using that for at least the first trials.

 

PS Once I have finished both kits, there is a plan to redesign the shunting engine for 5" gauge live steam - The ultimate shunting plank becons :sungum:  

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PS Once I have finished both kits, there is a plan to redesign the shunting engine for 5" gauge live steam - The ultimate shunting plank becons :sungum:

 

Why not the crane tank for 5"? Design the crane to actually work. Absolutely pointless but would be amusing to watch.
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  • 2 months later...

Well I knew I had something on paper hidden somewhere and I finally found it

 

Ref Railway Modeller September 1988 Page 422. LNWR 'Crane Shunter' 0-4-2ST. Article by Ian Beatie

 

There is an drawing which shows at the back that are two vertical plates either side of the crane column and also the position of what could be a screw brake but other than that no detail of what the actual crane column base looks like

 

If it could be helpful PM me your email address and I will send a scan over

 

Dave

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

At last something to show anyone following this thread. First we have the first mock up of the chassis (EM version). This has, as I mentioned previously been laser cut in 0.5 mm phenolic paper. If I had used a chassis jig, horn blocks and bearings the phenolic paper has enough stiffness to create a credible working chassis.Nay to the soothsayers who suggested it would be waste of time :O . Anyway it has not shown up any problems and I will push on and add brake detail etc. The boiler assembly has been 3D printed in its component parts and glued together. Please excuse the crap quality of the prints, that is another story, but it does the job for the first engineering mock up. All the etch parts for the body are due to be laser cut as well but Jonathan Buckie is busy getting his new Phwelli layout ready for the SHMRC show in Portsmouth on 21st Nov. I will also be there with Brighton East and the engineering mock up. So if you want see it in the flesh come along (end of show plug). So it is progressing and I hope to have a completed mock up before Christmas. So far it is giving me confidence that we can go for test etches very soon.

 

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Edited by kipford
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  • RMweb Gold

Trevor

The chassis uses half etches to locate the frame spacers. I considered using slot and tabs, but the accuracy or rather the variability in the slot width you will get from etching dictates some form of assembly assistance will be required. If I had only been making it for EM then it would have been fold up chassis.

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  • 8 months later...
  • RMweb Gold

It really is a long time since I posted on progress. It has been a bit slow at times due to other priorities getting in the way. Anyway we have test etches and the first test build has commenced. I am using the rough 3D prints (with the exception of a chimney from modelu) in lieu of castings.

 

To date it has gone together actually very easily. There are a few holes I manged to either miss completely of only half etch, one is very obvious if you look at the pictures of the etches. A few of the bend allowances on the chassis need adjusting very slightly to get optimum fit, but nothing a few strokes with a file could not solve during the build. The body being built is with the cab roof fitted but extended rearwards. The first photo includes the folded etch for the extended cab. I was a bit concerned that the rivet spacing was a bit tight and they would not form properly from the half etches, however using my Richard Butler (of Westcliffe Fame) rivet forming tools, available from LRM and Eilleens, I was was very pleased with the result. There are lots of rivets to do but it only took about 30 to 40 minutes in the end. I will post more when it is more or less complete I may even paint it!

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  • 4 months later...
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  • 9 months later...

So how is this project going? I’ve been reading through the posts and it’s a fascinating ‘little’ project. I’d love to get into something like this, but need to learn a few CAD skills first I think!

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