Mosston over Moss: Building a Coarse Scale garden railway

[Florence Locomotive Works]

New smokebox dart made from an old Langley Models white metal pulley for a Foster 8nhp portable engine, and a bit of wire. IMHO it improves the look of the engine no end. Front buffer beam has also been repainted. Some “playwear” will be applied to this fairly soon. Same with that in the tender.

[J. S. Bach]

9 hours ago, Nortonville Phil said:

Hello FLW,

Did you see the BL points for sale on eBay a couple of weeks ago by Railchief? He is an acquaintance of mine and lives in Oklahoma City. You might start watching his auctions as he is a big collector and ebayer and not so far from you. I live near Dallas.

I have gotten a few items from him before. "Nortonville", hmmm, I thought that was near Philadelphia. Anyway I think that you used to post on MTJ a bit, also. I am J. S. Bach over there.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

The body and tender components have had their retouching and repainting done, so have been covered in a soluble gloss protective coat. The essentially Meccano bolts that hold the tender together will go for a bath in the ultrasonic cleaner, as they were full of dirt. I’m also moving the buffers from the tender to the engine, as someone turned their own horrible looking ones are currently on the engine. And it looked like those on the tender were the originals for the engine. The correct size has also been ordered from someone in Ohio. 

 

Douglas

 

Edited November 7, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Ladies and gentleman, I present, LM&SR No. 5354 New Zealand. Or at least in my mind it is.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

The key is arriving today, so the peasantry have been put to work preparing the celebrations...

 

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Well the engine ran continuously for the first time in I’m guessing 30 years this afternoon. It does about 3 circuits of the track in a full wind, and quite fast too. I must say I’m extremely pleased with it. Next up will be finding a suitable place to set the layout up outside during the approaching winter. 
 

WINTER! But that would be the opposite of when one is supposed to run a garden railway! I hear you cry. Well in Oklahoma, if you wish to operate garden railway during the summer, then there is a fair chance of getting West Nile virus, heatstroke, or both. It does get fairly cold here during the winter, but not snow everyday and it’s far more comfortable than the summer. Also after the first big freeze the ground goes rock hard and the land becomes devoid of moisture, meaning the layout could be set up Friday afternoon after school and then packed up Sunday evening, with very little harm being done to the track. I know this from experience.

 

Currently on eBay what are probably the original Bing 1924 series coaches sold with the engine are for sale by the same seller. Is it worth keeping everything together or would some Ace Trains coaches be a better investment? As I am devoid of dollarydoos right now and my birthday is approaching, submissions for the main gift are being requested from the powers that be. Hence the question above.

Here’s a short video.

https://youtu.be/V9vwEL-ftUI

[J. S. Bach]

Hmmm, looks like a couple of Lionel O-36 switches there.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

45 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

Hmmm, looks like a couple of Lionel O-36 switches there.

I guess then they are. They were in a 4 ft by 2 ft box of rusty Lionel track my great uncle gave me before I went off Lionel post war. He also gave me Turbine engine, sadly my transformer isn’t really big enough for it. Said transformer is a 1033, a ZW would have been ideal but oh well. Sometimes the Lionel is set up at Xmas though. 

[J. S. Bach]

13 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

I guess then they are. They were in a 4 ft by 2 ft box of rusty Lionel track my great uncle gave me before I went off Lionel post war. He also gave me Turbine engine, sadly my transformer isn’t really big enough for it. Said transformer is a 1033, a ZW would have been ideal but oh well. Sometimes the Lionel is set up at Xmas though. 

A 1033 should run the 681/671 turbine (PRR class S2) with no problem. That is unless there is a string of lighted passengers cars trailing! The ZW would be overkill; my favorite is the KW.

 

Hmmm, it did not seem to bother the cat in the video!  It is great to see these old-timers doing their thing and doing it well; that is one of the advantages to postwar, too.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

16 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

A 1033 should run the 681/671 turbine (PRR class S2) with no problem. That is unless there is a string of lighted passengers cars trailing! The ZW would be overkill; my favorite is the KW.

 

Hmmm, it did not seem to bother the cat in the video!  It is great to see these old-timers doing their thing and doing it well; that is one of the advantages to postwar, too.

That is interesting, maybe its a dodgy engine. Who knows. You wouldn't happen to know how long it would take a 1033 to heat up the tube in a post war oil derrick would you? Mine is new old stock and I only got the tube bubbling once, after an hour of running. And the 1033 was disturbingly warm. That cat is genuinely fearless, and makes a point of jumping over the dog multiple times a day. The saying "Curiosity killed the cat", springs to mind, for better or worse.

[J. S. Bach]

4 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

That is interesting, maybe its a dodgy engine. Who knows. You wouldn't happen to know how long it would take a 1033 to heat up the tube in a post war oil derrick would you? Mine is new old stock and I only got the tube bubbling once, after an hour of running. And the 1033 was disturbingly warm. ...snip...

No, i do not, I never had the oil derrick or a 1033 but the 1033 should not get so warm as to be uncomfortable to touch, though. As for the engine, a tear-down and thorough cleaning and lubrication will definitely improve the performance. Plus a check of the E-unit for proper functioning and disconnect the smoke unit if it has one.

 

4 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

 ...snip...That cat is genuinely fearless, and makes a point of jumping over the dog multiple times a day. The saying "Curiosity killed the cat", springs to mind, for better or worse.

There is a follow-up saying "Satisfaction brought it back."

 

 

 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

23 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

No, i do not, I never had the oil derrick or a 1033 but the 1033 should not get so warm as to be uncomfortable to touch, though.

It never got anywhere that hot, just very slightly warm. But I then again I was taught to be paranoid of transformer explosions. Seems strange that my engine acted that way, I had it rebuilt by a Lionel, err, “expert.” Such is life I suppose.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Well I just finished a test run of a my “garden railway.” Must let the humidity levels drop some. 
 

Anyways the “station” arrangement seen below will be revamped, as the engine and coaches severely dislike running over switches in reverse. In forward it’s perfectly fine, but the tender has to have a piece of stone in it to stop it flying off the rails. I also need to construct a device to operate the “auto braking system”. 

 

Douglas

 

Here’s a short video of some light engine running.

 

Edited November 7, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[Florence Locomotive Works]

More photos.

Edited September 17, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[Florence Locomotive Works]

I also spent a good half hour cleaning a millimeter thick band of congealed mud and dog hair off each of the bogie wheels. The photos below only shows the mess from one wheel! Judging by the amount there it must have done a fair bit of running in the mud or something with the previous owners.

[J. S. Bach]

4 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

It never got anywhere that hot, just very slightly warm. But I then again I was taught to be paranoid of transformer explosions. ...snip...

That is normal; a transformer can be better than 90% efficient, the rest of energy is converted into heat. Your Lionel transformer will not "explode"; that feature is reserved for oil-filled (cooled) ones. Such as the one on the pole behind your house; search youtube, there are videos of these pole pigs "doing their thing".

 

4 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

 ...snip... Seems strange that my engine acted that way, I had it rebuilt by a Lionel, err, “expert.” Such is life I suppose.

Expert:  ex = has been and pert = little drip.  Something tells me that you could do a better job than that "expert".

 

[J. S. Bach]

13 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

I also spent a good half hour cleaning a millimeter thick band of congealed mud and dog hair off each of the bogie wheels. The photos below only shows the mess from one wheel! Judging by the amount there it must have done a fair bit of running in the mud or something with the previous owners.

That, too, is somewhat normal; lubricating oil, dust, dirt, animal fur, and other detritus on the track builds up on the wheels. I suspect a lot of running on the Carpet Central RR* led to what you had to clean off. Even if you operate the Plywood Plains RR, there will be a build-up; however, it will talk longer.

 

*My temporary track was called the DC Central RR (DC stood for Dirty Carpet)!

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by J. S. Bach
To crrect a spelling error. Second edit to add a photo of the DC Central.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

22 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

videos of these pole pigs "doing their thing".

Funnily enough I just watched a video of one of those doing that less than an hour ago.

Edited September 17, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[Nortonville Phil]

On 11/09/2020 at 20:51, J. S. Bach said:

I have gotten a few items from him before. "Nortonville", hmmm, I thought that was near Philadelphia. Anyway I think that you used to post on MTJ a bit, also. I am J. S. Bach over there.

Nortonville is actually in western Kentucky. I used to live there. Yes I am on MTJ too. I mostly lurk in the background enjoying that forums entertaining personal back and fourths between members. 
 

FLW, I saw that ETS is making a new Hornby style coupler that is shorter allowing cars to be closer together than their older design. That might go well on your loco.

Edited September 17, 2020 by Nortonville Phil

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Unfortunately do to the inclines on my patio the layout had to be moved inside and reverted to its original oval form, but much longer and in a different room. One of the sidings needs some extending. 
 

Currently the only Bassett Lowke rolling stock I have are the two BR coaches pictured. However I have recently remembered that their are two BL LMS period 1 coaches for sale in USA eBay. So much gardening will be done to raise funds. Some wagons will hopefully be acquired around Xmas or thereabouts. 

 

Douglas

 

Edited November 7, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[Nortonville Phil]

On 11/09/2020 at 12:17, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Thanks very much for the info Phil, I will look into that. I can’t say I saw them, but I also wasn’t looking as I use Lionel track. Are you also a Bassett Lowke enthusiast? 

Yes I guess I am an enthusiast of all O gauge especially things from bing, BL, Milbro etc.. Now I don’t currently have any of that stuff. But I do find it interesting. Though I may be about 25 yrs older than you I can relate to your interest. And I have been enjoying your posts about the progress you are making.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Here’s a fairly long (by my standards) video of the engine making a circuit of the new track. I have plans for some, err, “ancillary” buildings too for the modest yard. These include a platform for my skeletal terminus station, and a Meccano water tower to go next to the siding that needs extending. Ideally I would like to get the repro Carette for BL water tower, but it seems a bit to expensive for what it is. Some buffer stops also need making, also probably from Meccano.

 

Another important question. Does anybody possibly have a diagram or photo of what the Bassett Lowke “Auto Braking Track” looked like? My engine is set up to use both it and the “Auto Reverse Track”, but I’ve got no idea how the thing worked or what they looked like. The concept would of course be altered to suit Lionel track. I’ve even scoured the “Bassett Lowke Story” by Roland Fuller and it has neither mention nor image of the device(s).  I did, however, find in said book this wonderful photo of a Bassett Lowke GtV double heading with a Bassett Lowke “Duke of York”, on the late Cecil J. Allen’s elevated O gauge garden line. (The Duke of York is in front).

 

 

[melmerby]

On 17/09/2020 at 02:34, J. S. Bach said:

That is normal; a transformer can be better than 90% efficient, the rest of energy is converted into heat. Your Lionel transformer will not "explode"; that feature is reserved for oil-filled (cooled) ones. Such as the one on the pole behind your house; search youtube, there are videos of these pole pigs "doing their thing".

 

 

 

Like this a couple of weeks ago:

 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Disaster strikes.

 

So I was halfway through winding up when I heard, teararrararaeeeeee.
 

The spring has snapped right in the middle. Not surprising for a hundred year old engine. Thankfully there is a replacement Bassett lowke mech from a Duke of York for sale at very reasonable price in the USA right now. So now what should I do with the old mech, salvaging it is a bit above my skill level, and everything is perfectly functional, besides the spring.

 

Douglas

 

Edited November 7, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[Mark Carne]

7 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Disaster strikes.

 

So I was halfway through winding up when I heard, teararrararaeeeeee.
 

The spring has snapped right in the middle. Not surprising for a hundred year old engine. Thankfully there is a replacement Bassett lowke mech from a Duke of York for sale at very reasonable price in the USA right now. So now what should I do with the old mech, salvaging it is a bit above my skill level, and everything is perfectly functional, besides the spring.

Given your record, leave well alone! Might not be easy in your location, but someome who does clock repairs would be able to mend the spring.

 

Mark