INSIDE MOTION No 14 April 2021

News and Views from the
TYNESIDE SOCIETY of MODEL and EXPERIMENTAL ENGINEERS

Download IM document in PDF format here

Preamble

It‟s been a long time coming, but finally we have a glimpse of life returning to some semblance of normality. Providing that nature (or people‟s behaviour) doesn‟t throw us all another curved ball (and events in Europe are proof positive that it can) the Government‟s Road Map for escaping Covid restrictions seems to be holding up thus far. Let‟s hope we can all travel carefully and safely along the road ahead.

The Route back to Normal

The Committee has talked over the safest way to get the Club back to normal while following the Government guidelines and recommendations. As usual, a lot of the information available is open to interpretation – what exactly does “stay local” mean ? Some advice is mandatory, some recommended … Anyhow, we have come up with the following …

After March 29th we will meet in a maximum group of 6 people outdoors with the intention of getting things ready for the ability to meet in a larger group in May.

As previously the Gardeners will meet on Tuesdays, the Maintenance Squad on Wednesdays and the Sundays to be used for boiler testing with two Boiler Testers present and up to 4 people having boiler tests done – a maximum of 6 people on site.

After May 17th we will be allowed to meet in groups of 30 outdoors and after June 21st we are effectively back to normal with all restrictions lifted.

Please note that the above is only open to those who have had their vaccination.

Note – Boiler Testing – if you require a boiler test please pre-arrange this with Linda and book a Sunday after March 29th. Do not just turn up and expect your boiler to be tested – this has to be a pre-booked arrangement and is strictly limited to a maximum of six people on site at any time.

We are not, in the immediate future, contemplating public running until we see how things settle down, but it will be nice to see this resume.

Thank you everyone for renewing their subscriptions as, at present, this is the only income we have but the insurance and rent still have to be paid. We are fortunate that through prudent management of our account our Treasurer Ian has a reserve that we are using to keep things going. As I write we have almost everybody signed up for 2021.

One further piece of news – Ian has organised online banking so subs and any other payments to the Club can now be made online. With the cheques being used less and less this is a sensible move. Please, when completing an online payment, fill in the reference line so Ian knows what the payment is for.
Peter Newby, Chairman

People

Junior Engineer Sam Yeeles has had two more of his photographs published in Heritage Railway Magazine.

SR No. 926 “Repton” climbs the grade towards Goathland in afternoon sunshine with an “Optimist” service from Whitby to Pickering. HRM Issue 277 February 2021
Lambton Tank No. 29 approaches Goathland „down‟ platform with a morning “RailTrail” service which terminated there. HRM Issue 278 March 2021
Members Musings

I used to buy Injectors

Adrian Morley

Building an injector has been one of those projects I have been getting round to for the last 20 years. Encouraged by Mr. Mee‟s success and with D.A.G.Brown‟s book “Miniature Injectors” as a guide I decided to use the winter lockdown as an opportunity. Building 7⅟₄ inch locomotives is not the best apprenticeship, but a year or two building Southworth pumps had introduced me to a degree of precision engineering hitherto unknown in my workshop. Injectors take this to another level. I have nothing but praise for Mr Brown‟s methods and instructions. The methods described are based on the use of hand-wheel measurements on a Myford and use imperial and number drill sizes with some metric measurements.

Achieving the level of accuracy needed is not easy and I have a graveyard full of pieces which failed to reach the standards required. I was unable to steam locomotives in Corbridge during lockdown to test injectors so I decided at an early stage to build the test rig described by D.A.G.Brown. The rig also allowed detection of leaks in the body which must be corrected before the next stage of cone insertion could be attempted.

The tools needed (brazing jig, cone D-bits, insertion tools ) took about 1 month to make. I was fortunate to have a grip-tru chuck which could be centred accurately. The reamers have a spigot 15 thou. diameter to aid halving the D-Bit. Quite a few of these went in the waste bin.

The jig is shown with the five parts of the injector body in position for brazing. New to me was Jewellers silver solder in a syringe with a needle which allowed accurate placing and which I now use for all small jobs.
The valve and overflow cover are the most tricky items. The simple method of machining differing diameter curves on the cover is a delight. The valve cap includes the equivalent of a cage to contain the ball and means that these injectors work at any angle (a claim not yet tested by me).

The test rig shows a brazed body being tested for leaks with plugs isolating the body. Water is the test medium and allowed localisation better than steam. About half the bodies I have made needed further brazing.

Making each of the cones is a small project in which the hand-wheel directions worked well, but I soon changed to using the DRO. Total concentricity is essential and not always easy with tiny drills. A start with a small slocum type drill was my solution.

The combining cone snout is the most obvious site for a wandering drill to be obvious but small errors are easy to miss, and replacement has resulted in considerable flow improvement. The cones need to be accurate to about one thou, and a tight press fit, The positioning of the combining cones in the body also needs similar accuracy.

The snout of the steam cone is 80 thou, diameter plus or minus half a thou. and only 2 thou thick. It needs to be accurate since it should be only 7 thou, from the 9 degree cone wall into which it is inserted. This gap (the annulus) determines the flow of water into the combining cone and is the main site of problems.

Once the cones were inserted the test rig came into use. Steam from the boiler comes from left and right into the test rig and pushes against a piston. If the injector works the piston is pushed to the right opening a valve and water flows into tank 2, otherwise water or steam leaves the injector by the overflow to tank1. Pressure on either side is continuously monitored. Iphone video records a test which takes about 2 minutes. Steam is supplied by a small boiler behind with the safety valve at 80lbs/sq inch. The temperature probes in the outflows are barbeque meat thermometers. The readings from probes 1 and 2 alternate every few seconds.

In a successful test the injector pressure rises abruptly above the boiler pressure,overflow from the injector ceases and there is a strong flow into tank two. As pressure falls the injector begins to drip until pressure falls to 20lbs or less. The temperature of outflows is between 60and 70 degrees. A well-adjusted injector will also start when steam is turned on before the water.

The following diagrams help explain the results of tests on a few injectors. It should be emphasised that this rig tests the ability of an injector to start and to work over a range of pressures. The small steam capacity of the boiler prevents measurement of output at a uniform pressure.

Here there is a small gap (the annulus) between the tip of the steam cone and the wall of the combining cone. At this point water and steam mix optimally. If the annulus is too wide, excess water will enter the combining cone and be ejected via the valve to the overflow.

Here there is insufficient steam entering the combining cone, and the excess steam bubbles back into the water tank.

Here the tip of the steam cone closes the annulus and only steam appears at the overflow.


The temperature of the outflows is largely determined by the proportions of steam and water. Low temperatures (40-50 degrees) indicate excess water. Functioning injectors have outflows in the 60-70 degrees range. Higher temperatures suggest penetration of the combining cone is too great.

This test chart shows that with increased penetration of the combining cone by the steam cone the flow increases. The pressure produced by the injector increases in line with temperature.

My injectors seem to work best with penetration greater than the 30 thou. given by DAG Brown. I suspect that I may have taken the combining cone reamer a little too far

I now have three injectors which work satisfactorily in that they start with either water or steam. I look forward to trying them out on a locomotive. This has been a project of many errors and a steep learning curve, but satisfying overall.

The Graveyard

Tales from Lockdown
By a TSMEE Railway Wife

This time last year we were in India enjoying our Rail Tour. That was the last time I have been on trains, stood in rail museums and on train platforms watching my husband vanishing down a rail line in search of a particular train or engine shed.

Who would have guessed the year we have had to endure ? The joy of seeing hubby off to TSMEE twice a week so I could have the house to myself has disappeared and I really miss it. That time Norman had with like-minded people to discuss railways in their every form has been sorely missed.

My saving grace has been that I also have an amazing hobby of lace-making and sewing to keep me sane. Hours spent over a lace pillow make up for his time at his attic layout or workshop. We have never in all our married life had so long under the same roof and I am glad to say that neither divorce or murder have ensued in this time !

The Postmistress at our local Post Office is now my friend. Norman has been selling surplus rail stock and books through eBay and I am now an expert in the selling process. The only downside is that all those parcels leaving the house should have left more space but I fail to see it !

Every enthusiast needs friends to act as a sounding board for their ideas and research and Lockdown has made that really hard. Also, the sad loss of Jimmy Stephenson meant that hours of chat have been lost to Norman. I am a poor replacement as I have, after 31 years, only gained a minimal knowledge of the train world, having kept my head down in my projects while he has been at TSMEE

I long for the day when I can send him off with his butty box to “play trains” with his pals at TSMEE. I‟m sure I won‟t be the only wife or partner who will look forward to that day. With the vaccine programme and some sensible behaviour by others I pray that it won‟t be too long in coming.
Diane Blackburn

Calling all budding authors …

The Crowood Press is a specialist Publisher for the Hobbies and Interests markets. It has a well-regarded list of model engineering and metalworking titles. Your Editor received the following from them …

We are keen to expand the list of titles we have and are currently keen to hear from model engineers who might consider writing for us. We do have a wish-list of topics, but we also consider titles that are proposed to us.

I wonder if you might know of some potential authors – perhaps amongst the contributors to your newsletter ? I would be grateful if you would consider forwarding my message on to them, please, and then they can contact me for further details (under no obligation).

Alison Brown, Commissioning Editor

If you are remotely interested, contact me in the first instance and I will put you in touch.

Postamble

Thanks as ever to those whose contributions have made this issue possible. With the gradual easing of restrictions comes the chance of the Club starting to generate its own news again. Nonetheless, what you are all doing in your various workshops, sheds or wherever still remains of interest, and potentially helpful, to the rest of us. A few words and a couple of photographs is all it takes to share it.

Contact information
  • Newsletter Editor – Mike Maguire – mike.maguire@btinternet.com
  • Club Secretary – Linda Nicholls – lindanic@sky.com – 01 670 816072
  • Website – www.tsmee.co.uk
  • Webmaster – John Rowley – johnrowley@btinternet.com

Headquarters and Multi-gauge Track – Exhibition Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4PZ

INSIDE MOTION No 13 March 2021

News and Views from the
TYNESIDE SOCIETY of MODEL and EXPERIMENTAL ENGINEERS

Download IM document in PDF format here

Preamble

On Monday 22nd February, the Prime Minister outlined the Government‟s cautious strategy for emerging the country from the strictures imposed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Committee will be meeting in early March to consider how best to take things forward.

At least now, together with the vaccination programme well underway and the days lengthening, there is a sense that the worst may finally be over.

Member’s Musings

The Chairman’s Current Build

Peter Newby

My lockdown project is the completion of a Martin Evans 3 ½ – inch Jubilee – a misleading name as it has nothing to do with the LMS Jubilee class but is a celebration locomotive for the Model Engineer Magazine 60th Anniversary. Serialised in Model Engineer from 1958 until 1959 it‟s one of Martin Evans early and more successful designs. I have always wanted to build this locomotive after seeing two models at Sunderland Model Engineers track around 1972. One was a very fine example by the late George Heslop.

I have cheated a little in that I took a chance and bought a rolling chassis off eBay, which came from Bangor, Northern Ireland. It was a very well made, but rusty, with wheels and axle boxes plus the leading pony truck. The rear 4-wheel bogie plus all the cylinders, motion and everything above the chassis was missing. The chassis was stripped, de-rusted, painted and re-assembled with the correct springs and hardware.

To again speed the build laser cut coupling rods, connecting rods and motion were used – while this still required a lot of machining it saves some very tedious work. The chassis has been run on air, the lubricator made and fitted plus the brake gear made and installed.

The linkage and cylinder drain cocks seemed to be a rather complicated arrangement adding more bits to an already tight space. Some time ago Gordon Bullard gave me a drawing of an automatic drain cock design that was both simple to make and install – four of these have been made and installed. Time will tell of their merit, but running on air they seem to work well.

The boiler is now well on its way just requiring Stuart, once we are back up and running, to do his magic and glue it all together. I was very lucky and Jim Stephenson gave me a number of laser cut parts including the tank sides and a number of the smaller bits. Brian Nichols gave me a set of flanged boilerplates, all of which have saved a great deal of work.

The LMS 2-6-4 tanks started with Fowler‟s parallel boiler design and each successive Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) tweaked the previous incumbent‟s design right up to Robin Riddles as CME of BR.

My model is going to be No.42429, which was the locomotive on Carnforth platform in the 1945 film “Brief Encounter”, and one of the first batch of taper-boiled Stanier designs.

In Northern Ireland the Northern Counties Railway (a LMS subsidiary) had 2-6-4 tank locos built by the LMS at Derby with a parallel boiler. These were 5ft 3in gauge and there is one still in preservation and running. Because of their versatility they were nicknamed “Jeeps” and were seen all over the northern Irish system. I suspect, but do not know, that my chassis originating in Bangor was possibly going to be built as a Jeep.

All the Stanier 2-6-4‟s were cut up in the „sixties apart from one – a three-cylinder example – which is in the National Railway Museum in York.

To complete a model that someone else has started but not finished for what ever reason gives me – and my avoid-waste personality – a great deal of satisfaction in seeing it completed as the previous builder envisaged.

I hope you have found this description of the Martin Evans Jubilee locomotive informative and not too boring. For anyone interested, I have a number of surplus castings and parts which, for a small charge, I would be pleased to pass on.

Automatic Drain Cocks to Gordon Bullard‟s design (see also TSMEE News November 2019 for Gordon’s article – Ed)

Gyrocoptors

Michael Mee

While most things that appear from the workshop are steam locomotives, there are many other creations that see the light of day and if you look closely at the photo you will see one of the rarer ones. No its not a helicopter, no tail rotor and a propeller pushing it forwards, its a Gyrocopter, the predecessor to the helicopter and the strangest thing about it is that the rotor is not powered in flight.

This is a relatively modern version with a fibre-glass pod, the earlier ones from 50 years back had a simple seat more akin to a deckchair, and oh boy, is the view good from them !

Looking closely at the photo shows the simple construction. There is a fore and aft keel, an axle for the main wheels and a vertical mast, these are 2” square aluminium tubes to which are attached the engine, rotor head, seat or pod, various aluminium angle bracing parts and of course the tail assembly. Because the airframe is so simple it is possible to assemble quickly and cheaply, all the aluminium was obtained locally in Byker. Ok – the engine, a Rotax 912. is not cheap, nor the rotor system, but compared to other aircraft this is both quick and cheap to build, and it is definitely different.

So what can it do? Cruise speed is 70 – 80 mph, (test flying showed 115 in favourable conditions) 3 hours duration giving a little over 200 miles range and a ceiling of 8000 feet. Autogyros do not have a stall like conventional aircraft and can safely be bought back to zero airspeed, but you will be descending at about 10 – 15 mph, similar to an older style parachute, and under full control. They are highly manoeuvrable above about 30 mph, and wow what fun to fly.

So just how does an unpowered rotor fly? Lets take the gyro up to about 1000 ft engine to idle and airspeed back to zero, try to avoid going backward they weather-cock 180 deg pretty smartly if you do ! ( It also brings on one of those “what the heck just happened there” moments ! ) The rotor will be doing about 320 rpm while you descend gently at about 10 – 15 mph. Remember this – air flow over a flying surface produces lift at 90 deg to the air flow. The rotor tip is doing about 300 mph with 10 – 15 from below, so the resultant air flow is just slightly below the blade, plenty of lift, and some drag trying to slow it down. Now if we look at the rotor nearer the centre we find that the airflow on the front of the blade is now slower but still with 10 -15 from below, so the resultant airflow is now approaching the blade from an angle below the blade, which means that the lift is leaning forwards and pulling the blade round, this is the engine that drives the blades. Further in still the blade is stalled and of no use to us. Normally gyros fly with the rotor leaning back about 9 deg which allows a slipstream to enter beneath the rotor, above about 35 mph you will be able to climb.

Rotor speed is primarily set by the mass hanging below it, if you do a tight turn, pulling some G it will oblige and speed up during the turn, they do not like height or low barometric pressure or really hot days, At 8000 foot the rotor speed went up from 320 rpm to just under 500 and the Red Arrows formation passed low level beneath me ! Way outside my comfort zone !!!

A little gem for you! All the early gyros were single seat, so how did you get a trial flight or learn to fly them? Answer- the first time you ever went up in a gyro YOU WERE THE PILOT!!! no I‟m not kidding. The training regime involved taxing up and down the runway learning how to balance the gyro on its main wheels only, this is the attitude that it flies in, when mastered a little extra power and it leaves the ground by a few feet which you may not even notice initially, reduce the power and you‟re back on the deck.

Eventually the instructor, when he felt you would probably survive the trip, allowed you to use full power and do one circuit. Your first gyro trip and you were the pilot! It was a surprisingly successful training method, the faint hearted never went anywhere near it though, it did help to be a bit mad, I never heard of any fatalities, but there would have been a few bent gyros.

It was a happy time mainly on the photo gyro, but nowadays it‟s all changed with two- seat ready made machines, expensive, and two seat training is also expensive.

Managed about 500 hours all over Cumbria, Northumbria and parts of Scotland, even down to Bedford to a rally. The best trips were when about six of us set off on a long trip like a swarm of gnats.

Ah, Happy days.

ps. If the madness has got to you, they train at Kirkbride, west of Carlisle

Historic Railway Bridge Destruction

Phil Page

Highways England Historic Railways Estate (HRE) plans to rapidly expand its demolition programme of redundant railway structures. This is presumably to help reduce the cost of ongoing maintenance. The list attached shows 135 structures in the first tranche as published by HRE Group:

and a map:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=54.497867611651664%2C-2.141808848720559&z=10&mid=14uBPUTgoOoCWI0VKCAIDg-nc5zDHSE9M

Some of these bridges are on aspirational route extensions for Heritage Railways, others could be on lines suitable for reopening to extend the national network if the Government is serious about extending public transport use and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Others may have value as cycle-ways.

Highways England appears hell-bent on the wholesale destruction of the nation‟s heritage. A lot of these are masonry structures, built with skills and materials from a bygone age and mostly 150 years old. They survived Beeching, but once they are gone, they will never be rebuilt in the same way if ever required again. Other bridges that are not on the list are likely to follow in subsequent tranches. Local authority “protected railway route” status may not offer sufficient protection. Highways England‟s remit includes Scotland and Wales.

It is important to note:

“It is understood that Highways England has already notified local planning authorities of their intention to progress 124 schemes under permitted development powers which are only applicable when there is a threat of “serious damage to human welfare” involving the potential for death or injury. This approach circumvents the need for planning permission’

This means that the public will not necessarily be made aware of the proposals, nor have any opportunity to object as would be the case with the normal planning consultation process. You won‟t know until a contractor turns up on site, then it will be too late. This was the case with Chilcompton Bridge on the S&D mentioned in the Rail Engineer report.

Quite Interesting

Cliff Walker

The more observant folk enjoying their daily exercise on a St. Ives Bay beach in Cornwall may have recently noticed a strange object jutting out from the cliff-top. It‟s the remains of a (probably) 100-year-old mine cart and a pair of rails associated with the Gwithian Tin Sand Works.

Credit and full story – https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/gallery/history-100-year-old-cart-5001747

Postamble

Thanks to Peter Newby and Mike Mee for their contributions, which had actually been held over from December and January respectively. Without these two, and a couple of acquaintances of Hugh Janus, there would have been nothing at all to publish. The editorial cupboard is now truly bare – please consider sending something, however small, to make the next issue possible. By then, there might be some news about resuming Club activities

Contact information
  • Newsletter Editor – Mike Maguire – mike.maguire@btinternet.com
  • Club Secretary – Linda Nicholls – lindanic@sky.com – 01 670 816072
  • Website – www.tsmee.co.uk
  • Webmaster – John Rowley – johnrowley@btinternet.com

Headquarters and Multi-gauge Track – Exhibition Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4PZ

INSIDE MOTION No 12 February 2021

News and Views from the
TYNESIDE SOCIETY of MODEL and EXPERIMENTAL ENGINEERS

Download IM document in PDF format here

Preamble

I‟m not sure if it‟s too late now to wish you all a Happy New Year, or a bit premature given that CV-19 still has a firm grip on all our lives. That we will come out of it eventually is certain, but at what further cost to our lives and liberties remains to be seen. In the interim, we all soldier on as best we can.

The Naming of the Club Platform and Signal Box

In the last copy of Inside Motion we asked for Platform/Signal Box names as a fitting memory to our late Chairman Jim Stephenson – something with a suitable railway theme. The only name that came up was “STEPHENSON HALT” which was suggested by both our editor Mike and Stu Davidson.

With the passage of time it was thought that new members would not know the history behind the name so Stu suggested we put together a Blue Plaque explaining all ….

The plaque will be screwed to a wall inside the signal box. A large name sign will be made and attached to the signal box front. Peter Newby.

People

I was inundated by two responses to “spot the nonsense” in the December issue. Honourable mention goes to Jim Scott who was first in, and Michael Dibb, the only other member who played.

Both expressed scepticism that Stephenson‟s canary was called Trevor. As it is not recorded that GS even had a canary, we‟ll never know for sure.

Junior Engineer Sam Yeeles has had another photograph selected and published in Heritage Railway magazine‟s January issue.

RSH 0-4-0ST No.7098 “Sir Cecil A Cochrane” powers away from a snowy East Tanfield with the Christmas Eve “North Pole Express” in December 2020

Member’s Musings

Lining Boiler Bands

Dave Nesbitt

When coming to the lining on 46205 I have used different methods, i.e. transfers on the tender and cylinder covers and a lining pen on the rest of the engine.

When it came to the boiler bands I was inclined to use transfers but reluctant as the scale boiler bands on a Princess Royal are noticeably more narrow than the 5″ gauge bands commercially available. If I used scale boiler bands then the transfers would overlap the band, with the only option to slit the transfer down the middle and overlap in the centre ! Not something I fancied, so I decided to try the lining pen. Rubbish results followed trying to get the fine orange lines onto the edges of the band, so it was scratchy head time.

Luckily the diameters of the three bands were very close to the diameter of the Myford faceplate with the idea of mounting the lining pen onto a magnetic stand on the cross slide and then line the bands fastened to the faceplate.

The lining pen handle was drilled out and a bush fitted to allow the pen to pivot on the rod mounted on the magnetic stand. This worked ok but even the small clearance on the pivot meant the pen could move sideways enough to spoil the line – hence the very important lacky band fixed to the magnetic stand and pen which eliminated this error.

Even on the slowest back-geared speed the spindle rpm was much too fast, so I made up an adapter to go into the battery drill and onto the end of the lathe motor drive. This attempt was carried out with the wife Cath on the drill and me watching the pen. It was sort of successful but the drill speed control was unstable and not easy for her or me in the time it took to complete one revolution of the band.

In the end, pushing or pulling the countershaft to drive the spindle whilst looking at the pen was a very smooth and controllable way of lining the bands, with the added bonus of the ability to space the lines accurately using the cross slide engaged onto the lead-screw.

I used a Peter Spoerer lining pen with a 0.025″ stylus for the orange and a 0.050″ for the thicker black centreline (two passes).

Happy Lining !

Trial by Injector

Michael Mee

Steam trains have always held a fascination for me since I was very young. When we used to live close to the main line from the Channel ports to London, Mr Bullied‟s Merchant Navy Class often put in an appearance, awe inspiring !

Then there was the day Dad took me to see a friend who had a 5” garden railway, no less, and a whole day spent driving a Speedy ! The seed was sown.

Decades later at sea, a fellow engineer produced a set of drawings for a Martin Evans tank loco which he was building and the penny dropped – I could build one of these. After all, had I not been trained to fix ships when they broke down (which they did from time to time, sometimes quite spectacularly) ?

My own Speedy took shape, all made at home including the boiler, except the injectors, which later proved to be a little problematic at times. Still, it did have the axle pump, but that had its problems as well. It was quite powerful and would quickly fill the boiler and have to be re-circulated, it also depressed the steam pressure somewhat. It was fed from both tanks but only re-circulated to the left tank, so that overflowed, as the other tank went dry, not ideal and what happens when stopped? Use one of the injectors if they would condescend to work, or the hand pump. No – that‟s too much like hard work.

I did years ago come across a little gem of one of the tricks that was tried, fullsize, before injectors were invented, the engine was run up against the buffers and the regulator left open to keep the wheels turning and thus the axle pump going!!! The wear on the wheels and track must have been terrible, still I suppose it did stop the boiler running dry and exploding in the station! But back to the injectors.

It is well known that steam engines have a soul and a mind of their own, some days at the track will be wonderful, all will go well and on others it will take a right huff and nothing will go right, and in my experience it‟s usually the injectors in a bad mood.

So what goes wrong ? Simple as an injector may seem, it really is quite a sophisticated device. For instance, take the steam cone – it‟s about 1/2” long, the inlet taper of 13deg narrows down to the orifice at about .040” dia and then opens up again at 9deg. So it is a surprise to find out that on leaving the cone the steam is travelling at well over the speed of sound and I‟ve seen that in two different sources ! Around the cone exit is feed water which is picked up by the steam and hurtles in to the combining cone where the mixture condenses into a mass of warm water travelling somewhat slower, from there it enters the discharge cone where speed is traded into pressure and then into the pipe-work leading to the boiler check valve. The warm water is still travelling at some speed, sufficient to lift the check valve and enter the boiler.

There is quite a delicate heat balance going on here, too much steam or too little water and condensation is not complete, the flow is disrupted and hot steamy water comes out of the overflow. Too much water, the flow rate is low, not enough to enter the boiler and you get a jet of water from the overflow. It is also vital that all these nozzles and cones are perfectly in line, anything not flowing straight will disrupt the flow, concentricity is important. Scale has a similar effect, so it is useful to pickle the individual pieces in dilute citric acid annually, particularly the steam cone.

Manufacturing errors can upset everything, its important that all the internal parts are perfectly made and correctly spaced from each other or it may function badly if at all. The worst I have seen is where the cones were not machined, just a drilled hole through the various parts.

Speedy‟s injectors were a cantankerous lot, sometimes O.K. sometimes not, a very moody bunch! The problem was eventually solved when I heard about Chiverton Type Injectors, they are made by Len Steel in small batches and sold by PavierSteam, there was a 16oz vertical one left, fitted it to Speedy and instant success, you could even put the steam on first. It also coped well with the warm feed water that tank locos suffer from.

Try www.paviersteam.com/fittings-accessories/chiverton-injectors/

By this time I had a copy D.A.G.Brown‟s book Miniature Injectors, inside and out which is a mine of information and suggests that if you can make the parts perfect to the nearest thou it will work and he gives drawing for several sizes. The Merchant Navy, Brockell Bank Line, by this time already had a pair of Chiverton type vertical injectors, but was in need of a brake vacuum ejector and there was one in DAG Browns book. The Bullied locos have a few funnies about them one of which is steam brakes on the loco and vacuum on the tender, it was worth a try so an afternoon in the workshop and much to my surprise I had a perfectly working ejector, it is now on the loco. On this engine, vacuum puts the tender brakes on, I know this is the wrong way round, but it means that one simple steam valve works everything and the whole loco stops without needing the hand brake on the driving truck.

Buoyed by success with the vacuum ejector was it possible to make an injector? Worth a try, nearly everything is covered in the book. The first thing is to make a jig to hold all the body parts together while soldering them together, no problems there. Now come the taper reamers and this is a bit of a testy job, you will need 13deg and 9deg tapers and the 9deg needs to be accurate, but setting the topslide over to 4.5deg needs a bit of cunning to get it accurate, this is detailed in the book, then there is halving the tapered bit and hardening it is a test of skills.

One thing I did not find in the book was how to set the depth collar on the taper reamer. Eventually the penny dropped, taking the 18oz injector, the steam cone requires an orifice of .041” dia at .180” in from the cone outlet, the answer is to machine a brass button of .180” thick and once a pilot hole is through, use the taper reamer to enlarge it until a .041” gauge will just go through ( the chuck end of miniature drills is handy here ) then lock the depth collar in place. It‟s worth noting here that the injectors are dimensioned for 80psi boilers, if using on 100psi the .041” orifice is probably better reduced to about .038” — .039” It restricts the steam quantity a bit to suit the rest of the injector. The rest of the parts just need thou perfect machining and accurate positioning within the body. One other point found was that when machining the cones the first cut to produce a flat end to drill the pilot in will need a needle file brushed over it to get rid of the microscopic pip which will throw the drill off sideways, normal pilot drills are too big here but might be used to make an accurately centred dent which the drill can centre in. It was found that if accurately centred the pilot hole drill would not wander even down to 1/2” depth. ( new quality drill used here ) Not bad for a 30 thou drill.

I made two of these injectors reckoning that the first would probably be a disaster, but no, both worked perfectly, nearly as good as the Chiverton Types.

So it is possible to make your own injectors, just follow the instructions and be thou-perfect with the dimensions. I can see no reason why those of us in the club with machining experience could not make injectors, they are not difficult but do need care and precision. Go on give it a try, it‟s not really a black art.

The Old Man’s Link

Martin Ashley

I seem to remember from reading the various tales of the old railwaymen that Top Link drivers whose legs (or eyesight) had gone were put out to grass in the “Old Man‟s Link”. A bit like the days when we had “remedial streams” in schools that were taught “by PE Teachers whose legs had gone” (I quote from an in-service training day I attended during the non-PC early 1990s, with all relevant disclaimers).

Moving from the Top Link to the Old Man‟s Link basically meant moving from commanding a Royal Scot out of Euston (ok – A2 out of the „Cross for Green Engine people) to a Jinty pottering in the goods sidings at Crewe.

Covid has prompted me to join the Old Man‟s Link ! It‟s an idea that‟s been fermenting for some time. A 94-mile round trip to the Club has always been a disincentive, and loading a large main-line engine (until recently a B1) back into a workshop that you can‟t reverse a car up to at the end of it is even more of a disincentive for regular running. So, for this year, I added a spur to an engine shed on my short garden line. It‟s now just a matter of unlocking the doors of Shed 52D and wheeling her out. It works beautifully with my 0-4-4 Ajax/Achilles, but that has a pole reverser. Problem with the B1 is that it can almost take longer to wind from full forwards to full reverse than it takes to run the length of the line !

Then the penny dropped. Being a GL5 member, I thought “why not do what GL5 do – shunt trucks !” I can‟t extend my line across the village green (much as the occasional admiring bystander would like me to) but I can extend the network of sidings. So, the B1 has been duly traded in for a proverbial Jinty and I‟m now on my third wagon project whilst marking out the trackbed for a start in March when, hopefully, the weather is dry enough. I‟ll write another article on the pitfalls for a beginner builder of 5” gauge wagons when I have enough convincing photos of No. 3, an LNWR cattle wagon. All I can say at this stage is that I wish I‟d acquired a copy of Doug Hewson‟s amazing HMRS book Constructing 5” Gauge Wagons before I‟d started nos. 1 and 2. Meanwhile the picture is of wagon number 2 doing duty on the Christmas Eve beer train.

Of course, I hope to bring the Jinty to the club just as soon as it‟s allowed as it‟ll be interesting to see what she‟ll do on the main line!

Quite Interesting

Jim Scott

Poplars have flowers carried on catkins, and pollen from male flowers on one tree is transferred on the wind to female flowers on another tree. Female and male catkins look very similar but male catkins soon drop off after releasing pollen, whereas female catkins turn green when fertilised and then later release white seeds which litter the ground like cotton. The four Grey Poplars near the station comprise both male and female trees, but I can’t tell you which is which. We also have several White Poplars at the far west of the site, suckers from these can be found coming up a considerable distance from the parent trees. Also, as part of the Brewery landscaping, a fairly rare (to these parts) Black Poplar was planted in the north boundary hedge.

This photo was taken on 30th June 2020. Not snow of course but a carpet of airborne seed from the female Poplar tree.

Postamble

Thanks as ever to those contributors who have made this issue possible. I was fortunate to have a couple of items “in hand” from December – otherwise this would have been a rather thin affair.

I really would rather have too much material than too little, so to your New Year Resolutions add “Send Mike Something”. Meanwhile, keep well and keep busy.

Keep safe, keep well and keep busy.

Contact information
  • Newsletter Editor – Mike Maguire – mike.maguire@btinternet.com
  • Club Secretary – Linda Nicholls – lindanic@sky.com – 01 670 816072
  • Website – www.tsmee.co.uk
  • Webmaster – John Rowley – johnrowley@btinternet.com

Headquarters and Multi-gauge Track – Exhibition Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4PZ

INSIDE MOTION No 11 December 2020

News and Views from the
TYNESIDE SOCIETY of MODEL and EXPERIMENTAL ENGINEERS

Download IM document in PDF format here

Preamble

Another year is fast approaching its end, and what an odd one it’s been !

Covid-19 shut everything down in March and, apart from a minor respite over the summer, activities at the Club have been severely curtailed. A few stalwarts soldiered on with various projects whilst restrictions were eased, and a few more took full advantage of a limited number of “social” and “running” days, often with several engines in steam.

It wasn’t to last however, and with no prospect of being able to use the Clubhouse as winter approached, all was shut down again.

An up-side has been that members have taken to writing about the things they are doing at home, witness the nine newsletters published since April. As well as helping to keep members in touch, these have also raised the visibility of the Club to the wider engineering community and beyond as they appear on the website and are copied to “Model Engineer” magazine.

Although “tis the season to be jolly ” there will be no festive gathering this year so I hope this slightly bumper issue of IM will provide some small measure of compensation. Oh, and to make sure you read it thoroughly, there‟s a little bit of nonsense thrown in somewhere, just for the fun of it. If you spot it, email me (see “Contacts”) – first in will get an honourable mention in the next IM.

Chairman’s Corner

As you all know, our good friend and ex-Chairman Jimmy Stephenson moved up to that great railway above where I have no doubt he will be setting up his workshop and starting loco build number 71.

Our ever energetic Secretary Linda has come up with an idea to name the Signal Box in honour of Jimmy and towards that end we are looking for suitable names that incorporate Jimmy‟s name and, of course, have a railway theme i.e. Jim‟s Station, Jimmy’s Halt etc.

Once chosen we will make up a suitable railway-looking sign to attach to the box. If you have any ideas could you forward them to Linda, and the Committee will choose the most appropriate name.

This will be last Inside Motion before the Christmas holidays so myself and Committee wish you all Seasons Greetings and hopefully a better and more normal New Year where we hope our lives and the Club can get back to full operation.

Peter Newby

Subscriptions 2021

As mentioned in last month‟s Inside Motion, annual fees will be due at the end of the December. (£35 single members, £45 family membership).

Cheques should be made payable to TSMEE Ltd, posted to Ian Spencer at 39 Briardene Crescent, Kenton Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 4RX.

If you prefer to pay by Bank Transfer please email Linda for the Bank details

Member’s Musings

ROBEY & Co. of LINCOLN
Peter Angus

In the September issue of IM, Mick Jordison detailed his model of a Southworth 6in Duplex Steam Pump made by the firm of Robey & Co. of Lincoln, and I wondered if members were aware that this company also manufactured steam locomotives.

Robey & Co., founded in 1854, was just one of a vast number of firms making steam engines and related items in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Their major products were steam wagons, steam rollers, portable steam engines and all types of vertical and horizontal steam engines. Eventually they also produced winding engines and other mining products. In their catalogue of 1894 “Upwards of 14,000 engines are now at work”, in 1904 it was 21,000.

They also produced a few steam locomotives but information on them is very limited and incomplete. Their first venture into railway locomotives would appear to be a conversion of a traction engine, probably in 1865, which was fitted with buffers and flanged wheels. In 1870, a conventional 0-4-0 locomotive was produced with inside frames and cylinders to be used as the works shunter. A further two locomotives were built to a similar design and all three were probably standard gauge.

It is in the world of narrow gauge that the Robey locomotives become interesting. Far from conventional, the cylinders were placed at the leading end of the extended frames and drove from the crankshaft to the front axle using spur gears. Access to the engine was obtained by lifting a plate over the front frame extension. The engraving above illustrates the layout of one of these narrow gauge saddle tank locomotives with the crankshaft just visible in front of the leading wheels.
The second locomotive illustrated is locomotive 15576 of 1895 supplied to Rose Innes & Co for a 500mm gauge railway. The photograph shows how the drive from the engine was taken through the right hand frame to drive to the front wheels via a gear mounted on the driving axle.

With the outside frames, the opportunity has been taken to combine the outside spur gear and the outside crank. There is also another feature which is not so obvious. Look at the saddle which is divided to contain water in the front main part with a smaller tank to supply refined petroleum for the burner.

Next is a 16mm scale model of PERLA using a twin cylinder double acting oscillating engine located as the prototype at the front extension of the frames. Drive is then through 2:1 spur gears outside the frame, the axle gear also acting as the crank. Access to the engine is through a front cover as per the full size locomotive.

The next photograph shows a model of locomotive 15903, the last of the geared saddle tank engines and originally to be supplied to British Gold Fields SA. The eventual destination is unknown. The cover over the engine and the forward/reverse lever along with the extended front frame are clearly visible. Notice the roof held up by four pillars, typical of locomotives destined for hot countries.

The final photograph shows a later model based on the same locomotive 15903. Here the opportunity has been taken to add a front cab sheet. In such small models it is difficult to construct and retain the cab roof square. By adding a front cab sheet the roof can be mounted square and firm. Remember that full size locomotives are not lifted by the roof and swung about to be deposited in a carrying box.

So this is a brief look at the locomotive output of a lesser known British locomotive builder. The output was small and records are incomplete, but they were at least original even if they were not a commercial success.
References:
The Industrial Locomotive No. 50 and No. 51, Summer and Autumn 1988. Some notes on Robey Locomotives by Frank Jux.
Some Early ROBEY STEAM ENGINES by P.J.M. Southworth.
Robey – Cat 76 – Engraving – courtesy of the Robey Trust
[The three models were all built by Peter – Ed]

“Oh ! – not another one …”
Gordon Bullard

Those words were spoken by the Domestic Manager when she caught me working at the drawing board, calculator and ruler in hand. Quickly followed by “and what do you intend to do with the three already in the workshop that you never run ?”. Her next observation was nearer the mark she noted that I could not lift the “Sweet Pea” locomotive I had just finished building, and hoped that the next one would not be as heavy and therefore more manageable.

The newly-completed “Sweet Pea” is the sixth locomotive I have built over the last fifty-five years and quite a change from the others that had followed mainly traditional near-scale models.

The first was started in my late teens and was a simple tank locomotive to the LBSC P.V.Baker design. This was followed by a Derby 4F to Don Young‟s design which steamed well and had a greater pulling capacity. Wanting more pulling power I built a Hunslet quarry locomotive called “Charles” with my friend Sid Bennet who designed the model and is now marketed by Blackgates Engineering. This loco. was built to prove the design and, because it is a narrow-gauge locomotive running on 3½” gauge, proved to be a very powerful engine and also rather heavy.

The West Riding Small Locomotive Society, which was my club at this time, was just completing a ground-level 7¼” gauge track so I decided that this was the way to go and started looking for a good design to build. Martin Evans‟ Black Five design really caught my eye, but the cost of castings and materials was out of the question with a young family to finance. I eventually decided on a 7 ¼” gauge “Tich” to Kennon‟s design. This locomotive was a joy to build although the boiler was the biggest I had built and proved to be a challenge with my limited propane equipment. The engine proved to be a very free steamer and had amazing pulling power, but it was too heavy to move about.

Looking again for a smaller locomotive, easily transportable and with a good track performance record, I decided on another LBSC design in the guise of the Atlantic called “Maisie*. This engine has also found to be free-steaming but a bit fiddly to construct with its Stephenson‟s valve-gear and other eccentrics squeezed between the frames.

Having watched on many occasions the locomotives on the superb TSMEE ground-level track my thoughts again turned to a loco. to run on this track and, with weight again in mind, decided on the “Sweet Pea” design. It‟s basically a very simple engine with a very simple Hackworth valve-gear and a simple marine-type boiler compared to a traditional locomotive boiler with its multitude of stays. The engine is now complete and awaits its boiler testing and trial run when things get back to normal. But it is, again, heavier than I thought and the hydraulic lifting table is my saviour.

So, “what next” you might ask, as this locomotive building seems to be an obsession ! As a young boy, my village had a very large eight-road ex-GNR motive power depot (Ardsley 56B) which had about seventy locomotives ranging from A3s down to J50s, but my favourite ones were the Riddles WD Austerity 2-8-0 heavy freight locomotives. Having always had an urge to construct one, I think it will be my final loco. but, apart from Clarkson‟s 2-10-0 and LBSC‟s “Austere Ada” there are not any commercial designs available. My initial thoughts were to build it to 5” gauge, but then the Domestic Manager‟s comments rang in my ears regarding weight, so that idea was abandoned. Downsizing to “Austere Ada” in 2½” gauge was not really a contender bearing in mind it would only pull a driver and, of course, TSMEE does not have that gauge anyway.

So, it looks like 3½” gauge, and that is what‟s on the drawing board now. My initial basic drawings gave me the dimensions of components such as wheel diameters. Looking through the Blackgates list of wheel patterns it dawned on me that the Martin Evans Euston wheels were the size I required, but, of course, to the wrong design being spoked rather than boxpok pattern. Knowing that the Riddles Austerities were based heavily on the LMS 8F freight loco. design, I compared my basic general arrangement drawing with the Euston design, and they were almost identical. So, apart from having to make patterns for the driving wheels and having them cast, I can utilise commercially-available castings for most of the chassis and motion which will be a considerable help and reduce construction time.

Finally – do I have worries about the final weight of the loco ? Not really, but the Domestic Manager may not be too pleased !

The New Project – Background and Progress
Ian Spencer

The V1 was a 2-6-2 tank locomotive designed by Sir Nigel Gresley in 1930. It had 3 cylinders, with derived motion to drive the middle cylinder. The V3 was introduced in 1939, and was the same locomotive, but with a higher boiler pressure. The classes were used on suburban passenger duties and were concentrated in three main areas – Glasgow, Edinburgh and the north-east of England. Locally, examples were allocated to sheds including Gateshead, Heaton, Blaydon , and Middlesborough. After their passenger duties on Tyneside were largely taken over by diesel multiple units, they were retained for working parcels traffic and empty stock trains from Newcastle Central to the carriage sidings. Their last regular passenger duties were the boat trains to the Tyne Commissioners‟ Quay. The last V3‟s were withdrawn in 1963.

About 5 years ago, when I was still fully occupied with the construction of the V2, I was offered a part-built Martin Evans “Enterprise”. “Enterprise” is a 5” gauge model, based on the V1 or V3.

I always had a particular soft spot for the prototype. Also, I had driven an “Enterprise” built by my good friend Geoff Routledge in the Carlisle Society, and had been very impressed by its excellent performance, so I decided to investigate further. What I found was a rolling chassis, fully machined cylinders, and a commercially built boiler.

Taking on another‟s project has clearly a risk element, but the workmanship seemed to be to a very high standard, so I decided to accept. The “Enterprise” came back to Gosforth, then went into the loft for four years while I finished the V2.

I have now been working on the V3 for about a year. My initial assessment of the workmanship proved to be correct, and I have found little to criticize in what I inherited. In fact, the axle-boxes may even be a little too tight in the horn-blocks, and may need easing. During the year, I have made coupling and connecting rods, valve gear, brake gear and some plate-work.

Crunch time came last month. I timed the valves and coupled a compressor to the cylinders, and I was pleasantly surprised when the chassis sprang into life. I am pleased to say that there are no stiff spots, and it notches up in both forward and back gears. I find the derived motion fascinating to watch, and am only sorry that it will be hidden when the loco is finished.
This is the first tank locomotive I have built. I had always thought that a tank loco. would be less work than a tender loco, but I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that two tanks and a bunker are nearly as much work as a tender.
How long will it take to complete ? That depends on the length of the lockdown, but perhaps another year.


DIY Chequer-plate
Dave Nesbitt

Whilst finishing off “Princess Victoria” it became clear I needed a small amount of chequer-plate to complete the buffer steps.

Years ago when I first purchased my Myford Super 7 it came with lots of bits and pieces including some nice scale mild steel chequer-plate which I have used up over the years on a “Rob Roy” and later on 46205 where I ran out.

I am not keen on the aluminium chequer plate available these days but have used it on the “Princess” footplate/tender access although it would not have looked right for the buffer anti-slip plate. As I only needed a small area of plate I came up with the following made from 1/32″ copper.

The former was made from 5/8″ square mild steel because there were only the two small plates to make in copper – obviously it would be better with hardened steel if you needed to make a lot more.

The grooves were cut with a 0.025″ slitting saw to a depth of 0.025″ with the former set over in the vice to 45 degrees. The slitting saw was lowered by 0.050″ for each groove to give an even separation. Obviously you can change the angle, widths and depth to give a different pattern to whatever you require, within reason. The grooves were then filed with a good triangular needle file to help the former penetrate the annealed copper.

Place the former and backing plate in the vice with the copper sandwiched between and squeeze together as hard as you can, releasing a bit then tightening again to get good penetration. Take the copper out, turn it 90 degrees and repeat, hopefully you should get a good defined pattern.
Obviously the larger the area of chequer-plate needed, the more pressure is required.

A Steam Launch
Brian Nicholls

The Launch build has been on the back-burner for a few years. Covid and the completion of my Six-Couple Koppel prompted the restart of the project.

The 5½” diameter x 10” long boiler tube was given to me by Stu Davidson as it was destined for the scrap bin as an off-cut. I decided to make a twin-burner boiler with horizontal fire tubes in which are angled smaller water tubes to increase the efficiency. It is fitted with twin gas burners from Macc Steam.

The engine, a Stuart Turner Double 10, believe it or not I made as an apprentice in the shipyard over 50 years ago. However, when I decided to make the launch I obviously needed to add reversing gear. I managed to acquire the last un-machined set of parts from Polly Model Engineering. Two displacement lubricators are fitted.

I also had a steam pump – originally, I had fitted it to my Wren, but found it incapable of supplying enough water for a large engine. An internal water tank in the forward section allows the steam pump and hand pump to draw water from here instead of the lake. A condenser is fitted as required to ensure the lake is not polluted.

The four-foot hull also came from Stu‟s hoard (at a price !). The four-blade brass propeller from Prop Shop completes the installation.

As many people know I‟m not a woodworking expert, so I purchased the DVD set by Keith Appleton called “Building a Steam Launch” in which he describes the construction of the superstructure. By following this, the final model turned out reasonably well considering I hate wood & cannot knock a nail in square !
The model is radio controlled – again a learning curve, but a successful outcome eventually !

Due to circumstances at the lake and the shutdown of the Club, the boat has not yet been tested on the water. The plant has run successfully on compressed air. Hopefully this situation will be resolved in 2021 !

Quite Interesting
Hugh Janus

The great Radio Telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire rotates horizontally on two concentric circles of railway line 352 ft in diameter. When first built, the non-powered wheels it rolled on were those salvaged from the front bogies of scrapped ex-GWR “Castle” Class locomotives.
Whilst Sir Humphry Davy is widely credited with the invention of the Mine Safety Lamp, he was actually beaten to it by a month by George Stephenson, who had been conducting his own experiments at Killingworth Colliery. There, he had demonstrated a working device at a known fire-damp-affected coal-face in the company of two independent witnesses and a canary called Trevor.

Postamble

Thanks as ever to those contributors who have made this issue possible. With us now plunging into the “silly season” it might be too much to ask for material to kick off the New Year in January, but hope springs eternal ! Meanwhile, whether you are a “Ho ho ho” or a “Humbug”, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas doing whatever makes your life buzz. Do find a moment, though, to remember and perhaps raise a glass to Absent Friends.

As to a Happy New Year – only time will tell …..

Keep safe, keep well and keep busy.

Contact information
  • Newsletter Editor – Mike Maguire – mike.maguire@btinternet.com
  • Club Secretary – Linda Nicholls – lindanic@sky.com – 01 670 816072
  • Website – www.tsmee.co.uk
  • Webmaster – John Rowley – webmaster@tsmee.co.uk

Headquarters and Multi-gauge Track – Exhibition Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4PZ

INSIDE MOTION No 10 Special Edition mid- November 2020

News and Views from the
TYNESIDE SOCIETY of MODEL and EXPERIMENTAL ENGINEERS

Download Special in PDF format here

Jim Stephenson

It is with great sadness that we record the passing of Jim Stephenson, who died on the 5th November.

Jim was a stalwart member of the Society for over fifty years and its Chairman for over ten, a prolific and skilled model engineer and a friend and mentor to many. He will be sorely missed, but not forgotten. This IM Special Edition is TSMEE‟s tribute and thankyou to him, and a celebration of a life well-spent.

From Steve Lowe

I knew Jimmy for over 50 years.

When I joined TSMEE as a junior member, Jimmy was our section leader and a frequent runner on the track with his Jubilee tank loco. Always friendly and approachable he was immediately someone I looked up to, and of course he worked on the footplate at Gateshead Shed, so in my eyes he was very much one of the elite !!

It wasn‟t long before I was spending many happy hours driving that engine and his newly finished 9F, and as time went on, the social side of TSMEE developed, with Jimmy being the accepted “leader” of the band of younger members. I well remember being led astray by Jim and introduced to drinking in Newcastle, and along with the likes of Stuart Laidler, Dave Bradwell, Bob and Pete Johnson and more, the friendships and the social bonds developed.

Jimmy left the railway in the early „70s and after a while moved to Willington where he took his first steps into the model engineering business, and again the frequent trips we all made down to his place to help him get established also included the mandatory visit to the pub to put the world to rights.

I myself made a career move in 1975 and started on the footplate at Gateshead Shed. Jimmy was always referred to as “Rocket” (obviously) and he was remembered with much affection by Drivers and Secondmen alike and had been a “good mate” to work with. I never ever heard a bad word said about him ! I would often mention Driver‟s names to Jimmy and the tales were legendary and typical of that unique occupation.

Life took its twists and turns and Jimmy continued with his modelling, both professionally and for himself, completing a vast number of models, both large and small, culminating in the two 5” gauge 9Fs which were a magnificent epitaph to his model engineering skills.

Jimmy had a vast knowledge and experience which he gladly shared with other members, and it was all achieved with quite modest equipment such was his ability to get on with the build, making tools was not one of Jimmy‟s priorities.

Jimmy always had the Society at heart and worked tirelessly over the years to enhance and improve our facilities at the Park, ultimately serving as Chairman through the building programmes for the new Clubhouse and the extended railway infrastructure we all now enjoy.

Jimmy was a great friend and a stalwart member of the club. We will all miss him – driving the grass cutter, serving the tea, standing in the Signalbox, the jokes and the banter, but most of all because Jimmy simply was TSMEE !!!

From Philip Work

I had known Jim for many years before joining TSMEE. He, like myself, had been a former British Rail employee. We met pursuing our hobby on a visit to TSMEE in the 1960’s, and also at the home of the late Bill Longstaffe in Sherburn, Durham.

Jim was always a jovial character, a prolific builder of locomotives (some 70 ) and always available to give advice to a novice newcomer to our hobby. He spent many hours of his free time to both Committee and background work at the track.

During the building of the ground-level track he would be in charge of the cement mixer, and with myself cutting sleepers to size. He loved driving the grass-cutter, and I hope in his resting place there will be plenty of grass and places of peace where he can tell his tales of the life below, and, most importantly, the kettle will always be full and on the boil. A sad loss to myself and all at TSMEE.

From Lindsay Oliver

One of my earliest recollections of Jim Stephenson was when visiting Blackgates Track, West Riding Small Locomotive Society, being the official name, back in the mid 1960‟s when we used to visit for their open weekend held in early June each year. Most people arrived on the Friday evening and camped there until the Sunday, everyone either slept in the big marquee or in their cars.

It was one big adventure for a small boy like me and of course great fun being able to drive engines in the dark. Jim being a fashionable Teddy Boy at this time would arrive from Newcastle with his brother in his dark green mini-van, which they usually slept in. Being early June it was often quite cold at night, I remember Jim telling me it was so cold one night that they steamed their engine up, dropped the fire and loaded the engine into their van to keep themselves warm.

True to form they had spent most of the evening in the local pub !

Jim was quite a character in his day and will be greatly missed

From Richard Sharp

As many probably know, Jim did a magnificent job on my 120-year old 5” gauge NER 4-4-0, restoring it to full running order following decades of neglect by the previous owner. The work was carried out gradually, between 2000 and 2017, and we enjoyed many conversations, both in person at his workshop and on the telephone.

In the face of health problems which would have daunted many other men, Jim steadily insisted that he wanted to complete the job on my engine. His cheerfulness and courage were inspirational, matched only by his ability as an engineer.

The glorious result which Jim eventually accomplished bears witness to his great skill, and my locomotive (which must return to Exhibition Park just as soon as we are clear of this pandemic) carries a second works-plate to ensure that Jim’s achievement in restoring it to life is never forgotten.

From Norman Blackburn

What can you say about Jimmy ? – “I‟ve na Idea” …

He was also a prolific builder of O gauge models for Rolling Stock in North Shields as well as all the live steam that he built for various customers. He once told me that it does not take much longer to build two models at the same time as one. Hence my building of two Highland Railway “Lochs”.

He not only built for customers in this country. A 7¼” “Bridget”, track and carriages were produced for export to Japan. He was also a boiler maker for Don Young.

I remember assisting him with checking two Jubilees prior to their steam test at the Track. On opening the regulator nothing happened except for a slight hissing sound, the wheels did not move. After about half an hour of investigating, time to put the kettle on ! Fire dropped and left to cool down. Got the second loco in steam. It was then that as we moved it into forward gear we realised that was what was wrong with the first loco. – nothing happens in mid gear ! Put the kettle on !

It is surprising that along with building 5” gauge he also had an interest in N gauge. After selling his workshop he dismantled his N gauge layout from the attic and rebuilt it in the workshop. In less than a year he had a new fully built N gauge layout filling the space of his old workshop with 4 main line tracks to play trains on.

From Peter Newby

When I first joined TSMEE and started coming to the track, Jim was the first to make me very welcome. This was just after the previous administration took the Club to near extinction. He had taken over as Chairman and, with Ian and Linda, brought the Club back to life.

Jim was always most generous with both his help and advice – when he knew I was building Martin Evans‟ 2-6-4 tank engine, he gave me many laser cut parts thus saving me many hours of tedious work.

All the time I have known Jim he was never in good health and not able to do the more heavy manual work, but I do vividly remember Jim and his cement mixer guiding everyone in mixing cement for the ground-level track.

When we were building the new Clubhouse, Jim was there giving both practical advice – from his building experience gained from work before joining the railway – as well as encouragement. I am so glad he was able to see the Club come from a very low place when he first became Chairman up to the standard we now enjoy.

I think we all will miss Jim standing in the Club kitchen making tea, riding around on the lawn mower cutting the grass, or standing in his Signal Box. Rest in peace Jim – you will be sorely missed.

From Stu Davidson

When I joined TSMEE in 1972 {I can‟t believe it is forty two years ago} I was introduced to many of the members and one of the first was Jim Stephenson. It was obvious from the outset that he had a great deal of knowledge about steam locomotives, especially when he told me he had been a fireman on the full size ones. He recalled some of his experiences on the footplate but unfortunately the passage of time has erased them from my memory. As I recall Jim left the railway about 1973 having decided to set up a model-making business.

As time passed I recall seeing Jim driving his 3½” gauge Juliet together with a 3½” gauge “Evening Star”. If I remember correctly he also had a 3½” gauge Jubilee tank locomotive and all of these engines had been built by him. I soon discovered that Jim and I had a common interest in copper boiler construction and in the mid 1970‟s I used to go to his workshop and help him with some of the construction and silver soldering operations. This was all part of his commercial model-making activities.

During this time I came to know Don Young who, as many of you will know, used to design model steam locomotives, and many of his design drawings were published in Model Engineer. On one of my visits to Don‟s home on the Isle of Wight he said he was wanting someone to make boilers and I mentioned Jim‟s name. Things moved on from there for Jim with his commercial boiler making activities and, as they say, “the rest is history”.

I also recall driving down to the West Country to meet Keith Downer who was the owner of a firm called Loco Parts. I had done some work for Keith but as I had a full time job and wasn‟t able to devote as much time to making boilers for him as he needed, so enter Jim !

We stayed at Keith‟s home for a night or two, consumed one or two pints at the local hostelry and then drove home. During the following months Jim made his own way with Don and Keith on the boiler front, and other activities (marriage} in the late 70‟s took me in a different direction for a while. Latterly Jim built two 5” gauge 9F”s.

As many of you will know, Jim was our Chairman for many years and we shall all miss seeing him in the signal cabin at the track, or making tea at the kitchen counter. I have just given brief details of some of my memories of early times with Jim and I am sure others will have their own stories. Rest in peace old friend.

From Jim Scott

Sad news indeed. I respected his advice which resulted from a lifetime of experience. When we get back to ‘normal’ his presence at the top table will be greatly missed by that little group in particular. His involvement with TSMEE is considerable and will be long remembered.

From Don Fosket

Very sad news. Jim was a very knowledgeable person and a first class engineer.

From Eddie Yarwood

Very sad news. I had a lot of time and respect for him. He will be sadly missed.

From Linda Nicholls

A quiet, quite private person, my memories of Jimmy are like photographs – sitting in the Clubhouse with a group of members around him, serving tea and coffee in the kitchen, sitting on the ride-on mower cutting the grass with our dog Millie chasing him around, directing public running, initially from the Station platform and latterly from “Jim‟s Signal box”. When we return to the Club, these will be enormous holes where Jim should be.

In his time as Chairman of TSMEE, Jim oversaw massive changes – from the installation of the ground-level track and public running to the building of a new Clubhouse and Workshop.

He had a total dislike of public speaking at any social event, and had to be coerced into standing at the front. But, in his own way, Jimmy encouraged and supported others to fulfil their potential for the benefit of the Club.

Jim‟s leadership made TSMEE the successful Club it is today. He will be a massive miss to us all.

From Brian Nicholls

I‟ve known Jimmy for a number of years, can‟t remember how many, but a lot. He was a font of knowledge to me.

I will always be extremely grateful for a very important event he was instrumental in – namely resurrecting the Club from almost certain demise due to the actions of two individuals. His intervention and determination had them removed and since then, under his leadership, the Club has flourished until it is now a great place for the enjoyment of like-minded members. I will miss his presence greatly.

From Ian Spencer

I still remember the first time I met Jim. It was 1961, and I came to the track wanting to join TSMEE. Jim was there in his B.R. steam fireman‟s bib and brace, driving a 5” gauge “Netta” belonging to Jack Hall. He gave me a ride around the track, and we had the first of many chats about model engineering and working on the big railway. After a few visits, the conversation came round to what would be a good first loco to build. Jim invited me round to his workshop to see his near complete “Juliet”, and it was as a result of these discussions I began construction of a “Netta”. Jim and one or two others gave much assistance on a steep learning curve, and the result was a rough but serviceable locomotive which gave me many hours of pleasure.

Those early years at TSMEE were great fun. Jim quickly became a good friend. Engines seem to be running every time, there were portable track outings where Jim always took a lead, and the banter amongst the younger members (yes, there were quite a few of us under 21 at that time), was always good-natured and amusing. I could never have imagined that over 50 years later, he and I would still be meeting regularly at the Park.

Jim‟s passing leaves a void in the life of the Society and in my group of friends. Thank you Jim, for everything we have done together.

From your Editor

There can be no doubt at all that TSMEE in 2020 is, in large part, a result of Jim‟s leadership during his tenure as Chairman. When I joined four years or so ago, much of the infrastructure we all enjoy was already in place, and the further improvements programme has continued since.

For me, the icing was the Garden Railway track which re-kindled an interest that had lain dormant for over two decades. Knowing something of Jim‟s model engineering background, it was never clear to me exactly what he thought about the little engines, but he always seemed to display a kindly tolerance toward these activities. That he occasionally referred to it as “Toy Town” never upset me in the slightest, as it was always said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Along with the multitude of memories recorded here (and many more elsewhere I‟ll warrant), there couldn‟t be a finer tribute or legacy than “the Club”. Thank you Jim.

Contact information
  • Newsletter Editor – Mike Maguire – mike.maguire@btinternet.com
  • Club Secretary – Linda Nicholls – lindanic@sky.com – 01 670 816072
  • Website – www.tsmee.co.uk
  • Webmaster – John Rowley – webmaster@tsmee.co.uk

Headquarters and Multi-gauge Track – Exhibition Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4PZ

Picture Gallery

The Likely Lads

Some more examples of Jim‟s handiwork

Happiness was … Team-work …

… or Mowing Grass, or Mixing Concrete …

… or Signalling Trains, or Showing How …

… or driving his 9Fs …

or simply being Jim

INSIDE MOTION No 9 November 2020

News and Views from the
TYNESIDE SOCIETY of MODEL and EXPERIMENTAL ENGINEERS

Download Bulletin in PDF format here

Preamble from the Chairman’s Corner

I hope you are all coping with this pandemic that is affecting all our lives and, I suspect, will do so for many years. The increased tax that will be imposed to cover the cost of all the support schemes and the loss of Government income plus the change in many other aspects of daily lives.

The Club Committee has had a lot of head-scratching to make possible the continuation of Club activities, being ever mindful of the “Duty of Care” we have. Linda has always been in the lead with ways through the mire of Government guidelines and finding ways to continue Club activities.

It is with much regret that we have had to close the Club completely to comply with the latest regional lockdown. We had not really come up with an answer as to how we continue meeting when the weather became colder and wetter.

By initiating the monthly newsletter “Inside Motion” we hope that it helps keep you informed as to what is continuing to happen in member’s lives and workshops. This will only continue if we provide Mike with articles to fill and enhance each edition.

As far as Club projects go we are nearing the end of the work that has seen the Club facilities greatly enhanced over the last decade plus. We are now going to be concentrating on tweaking and maintenance.

The Club workshop is coming together nicely – Steve Lowe is doing a great job finding homes for all the equipment we have been donated while trying to keep it all tidy and organised.

Jim Scott and his band are continuing to keep the site tidy and well kept, although by the time you read this the grass should have stopped growing, removing a huge chore.

Our new member Adrian Morley has volunteered to repaint all the steaming bays and traverser – they were looking very tired and he is doing an excellent job, de-rusting, priming and painting in the site colour of Buckingham Green.

You will see Ian has prepared a short summary of our financial expenditure and income and why we decided to keep the membership cost for 2021 the same. Some of the life members are going to pay the annual membership for this coming year to help things along.

We can only hope that after the winter we can start to get the Club back to the new normal and start enjoying the facilities again.
Peter Newby, Chairman

Subscriptions 2021

I am sure you are all aware that the activities of the Society have been much reduced this year as a result of the Covid pandemic. We have had to close completely for part of the time, and even when open, we have had to stay out of the clubhouse and workshop. There has been no public running.

Apart from the inconvenience to members, the restrictions have had a detrimental effect on our income. To put it in simplistic terms, about a quarter of our income is from the tea-box, a quarter from public running, a quarter from subscriptions, and a quarter from miscellaneous sales and events. Of these, our only income this financial year will be that from subscriptions.

With regard to expenditure, this too has been reduced, but not to the same extent. We still have substantial outgoings which we must pay. These include insurance (a condition of our lease), ground rent, electricity charges, web page maintenance, postage and so on.

The Committee and I have spent some time considering subscriptions for the coming year. I am pleased to say that due to the hard work and generosity of the membership, we do not have an immediate financial problem. However, there is clearly a possibility that we may still not be “back to normal” next summer, and that would result in further depletion of our reserves.

It is for this reason that we have decided that subscriptions for 2021-22 will remain as for this year, i.e. £35 for ordinary membership and £45 for family membership. Could I thank you in anticipation for your continued support, and hope that next summer will bring better times.
Ian Spencer, Treasurer

Website developments

The realisation now that we know for certain there is no immediate chance of getting back to the track has spurred some of us to find other ways of us staying connected.

Since the new website was launched in 2019 it has included a section on “Members’ Projects”. This has largely focused on Eddie Gibbons’ impressive efforts on his 5-inch gauge GNR H4 & LNER K3 2-6-0. However, it has always been the intention to broaden the scope of this section as-and-when material from other members becomes available.

The outcome of this has been to produce a new online section “Members and their Projects” and you can see what I’m talking about if you follow the link; https://www.tsmee.co.uk/members-projects-2/

Here you will find links to various member’s projects which I hope is self-explanatory. Incidentally, it includes the latest update from Eddie which is well worth checking out.

Alongside these projects is a section devoted entirely to Ken Swan and his outstanding contribution to the model engineering fraternity. Ken, as many know, was a great friend, an outstanding engineer and inspiration to many of us here at TSMEE and Beamish. I am incredibly grateful to his friends – notably Adrian Morley, Jim Mountjoy, Mick Jordison, Ian Spencer, Robin Hedley and Brian and Linda Nicholls – for their help in making this section possible.

Whilst working on this project I get the impression that Ken’s work of then and his legacy of now is very much a story of work-in-progress. It will be obvious to his friends that my efforts follow much the same theme. It’s only part of Ken’s story and I’d much appreciate contributions from those who knew and worked with Ken to fill in some of the gaps so look forward to hearing from you soon.

John Rowley, Webmaster

[John has devoted considerable effort and expertise to re-vamping the Club’s website, but is not at all “precious” about its content or appearance. He would be glad to hear from anyone who would like to offer content, comment or constructive criticism. Even a “thankyou” would not go amiss – Ed]

People

As reported in the Spring (April) issue, Junior Engineer Sam Yeeles has a passion for photographing twelve-inch scale locomotives. So good is his work that Heritage Railway Magazine carried his shot (reproduced below) of A1 No.60163 “Tornado” at Newcastle Central Station on the front cover of its October issue. He also has a couple of pictures featured in the “Gallery” section of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust website.

Member’s Musings

A Pilgrim’s Tale – [Part 4]
David Dunbar

The wilderness years weren’t devoid of engineering. A friend and myself spent many happy hours restocking air rifles and fine tuning them. My own had a spring guide fitted, a new trigger and was completely refinished in the wood-work department. Sadly my friend broke two fingers while trying to reassemble his Airsporter and it went off from the cocked position. I think even I learned a few new swear words that day. My ever suffering father duly transported us to A&E and I’m still not sure what we told the nurse was the origin of the “accident”.

So I was still using the workshop but had dropped out of TSMEE. I got into hiking and rock climbing and had gone via a few girlfriends to being married. The workshop was dismantled as I no longer could use it. Life started to settle down and out of the blue I was offered a very good condition Myford ML7B lathe with lots of accessories. The bug re-emerged and I was away again.

My then new house was brilliant for a workshop and at the same time I re-acquainted myself with TSMEE. Lots of old friends were still there and I loved the atmosphere.

Having been involved with several committees in the intervening years I was determined to be a normal member. This was not to be. Our Chairman had to stand down due to ill health and I was asked to be his successor. Talk about straight into the fire.

I’ll not say much about the years of Chairmanship or being Treasurer apart from it was in part the most stressful and also the most enjoyable of times. I have to say the fulfilment of the new raised track happened during my time and I was very pleased to be involved, even with some of the arguments about its construction. I so enjoyed the hard work that all of us put in to make it happen on the ground. This phase taught me just how much talent and skill was embodied in the membership of TSMEE.

3 ½” HIGHLAND RAILWAY “LOCH”

Norman Blackburn

The “Lochs” were designed by David Jones for the Highland Railway and 15 were built by Dubs and Co. in Glasgow during 1896. A second batch of 3 was built by the North British Locomotive Co. In 1917. They were withdrawn between 1936 and 1950

I decided to build two Clarkson “Lochs” after I was told that it didn’t take much longer to build two than just building one. The drawings were from Blackgates who now have all of the Clarkson Drawings as well as the castings. I wouldn’t say that the drawings were wrong – just that a lot of information, dimensions etc. were missing. I had to redo the drawings in Autocad.

The frames were laser-cut by Impress in Ryton. I already had CAD drawings for them.

Time was definitely saved by building two. After making the boiler forming plates it does not take long to make two sets of plates. The same applies for machined parts – after thinking the machining process through, the second part can be completed in relatively short time.

The painting used mainly Halfords spray cans with the main body colour in cellulose, matched to a tin of enamel paint that I had by Auto Panels in Birtley. The number and works plates were produced for me by Guilplates, and the transfers came from The Old Time Workshop and Fox.

How long did they take? With one not quite finished – just over 5 years.

Postamble

As we descend into Winter and the further grip of Covid-19, it would be easy to be glum and despondent. The antidote is to keep busy. Busy gives a sense of purpose and accomplishment, passes the time without clock-watching and lifts the spirits. There’s always something do. When it’s done, take some photographs, write a few words about it and send it for publication here for others to enjoy as well. We can’t meet physically at the Club, but we don’t have to be completely apart either. IM is not “my” newsletter – it’s your forum for keeping the “society” of the Society going.

Keep safe, keep well and keep busy.

Contact information
  • Newsletter Editor – Mike Maguire – mike.maguire@btinternet.com
  • Club Secretary – Linda Nicholls – lindanic@sky.com – 01 670 816072
  • Website – www.tsmee.co.uk
  • Webmaster – John Rowley – webmaster@tsmee.co.uk

Headquarters and Multi-gauge Track – Exhibition Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4PZ

Toytown …

There always seems to be plenty of pictures of “big” engines. Here’s something for the littler folk

INSIDE MOTION No 8 October 2020

News and Views from the
TYNESIDE SOCIETY of MODEL and EXPERIMENTAL ENGINEERS

Download Bulletin in PDF format here

Preamble

It was good while it lasted – a couple of months of mostly fine weather and plenty of activity around the Club site. Works were progressed, locomotives run, boilers tested and meets-and-greets aplenty. Sadly (and rather predictably) the brakes are back on and everything is shut down again. Perhaps the header should read “Outside Motionless”.

Club Matters

Apart from a lick of paint on the steelwork, alterations to the locomotive shed doors are complete. The next phase of work – laying out the traverser – had just started when the shut-down was announced.

A further refinement has been made by Jim Scott to the point and signal interlocking on the main line of the ground-level track. The train detector which locks the points at the two junctions between the station loop and the main line is now adjacent to the main-line signal that controls the approach.

The deck of the Garden Railway track received its first preservative treatment since installation three or so years ago. Treating each slat at a time with a half-inch brush was a tedious and time-consuming affair. Kudos to Linda Nicholls, Peter Angus, Steve Fisher and (no false modesty) yours truly for getting it done.

Member’s Musings

Boiler Water Feed Pump for “Wren” …

Mick Jordison

Garden Railway Activities

Peter Dawes

These are pictures of my garden railway. I have done a lot of improvements to the railway and work is progressing on loco building.

David Dunbar

A Pilgrim’s Tale – [Part 3]
David Dunbar

The Seventies rolled on. As a 12, 13, 14, 15 16 year-old I enjoyed the wonderful friendship of brilliant people within TSMEE. During these years we hosted two IMLEC* events, which not only involved myself but both my parents.

Those two weekends were such good fun but I have to stress a lot of hard work. The organisation must have been a complete nightmare. IMLEC saw the building of our footbridge. As a teenager this thing was a magic structure. It later became to be a major headache but more of that later.

As time rolled on I was trusted to drive more peoples locos and was having the time of my life. I remember watching a boiler being constructed in the workshop end of the site with lots of flames from the propane torches. This was truly a magical world.

My workshop had now been established in the shed because my mum deemed it should be so. I soon discovered that when people realised you had such facilities then you ended up doing a lot of work for the neighbours. Simplex moved on slowly.

My dad joined a model engineering course at Gateshead College with the intention of enrolling me but it appeared I was too young so he had to machine my newly acquired cast gunmetal cylinders. This was another thing TSMEE offered, they had a large pattern library that allowed things to be cast locally. Sadly such foundries are not around anymore. George Jennings actually bored them for me, so back to the connection with my youth.

In these next few years I discovered the limitations of my lathe and, to be honest things, waned because of this. But there was still great fun and friendship at TSMEE and I still got to drive steam engines.

My life moved ever on and by age 17 I started looking at things like girls and work and beer. By 18 I had started my first and only job and sadly TSMEE went well to the back burner. The wilderness years started.

(* International Model Locomotive Efficiency Competition – Ed)

Postamble

It seems likely this present phase of Covid restrictions will last at least until the end of the year or, pessimistically, into Spring of next. Like the lockdown before, this will present the Club again with the particular challenge of maintaining some sense of “belonging” for the membership.

The “Lockdown Specials” seemed to be well-received, but were only made possible by members penning a few words about their activities and interests. It would be good if this continued, so please send something, big or small, for us all to enjoy.

Meanwhile, keep happy and healthy.

Contact information
  • Newsletter Editor – Mike Maguire – mike.maguire@btinternet.com
  • Club Secretary – Linda Nicholls – lindanic@sky.com – 01 670 816072
  • Website – www.tsmee.co.uk
  • Webmaster – John Rowley – webmaster@tsmee.co.uk

Headquarters and Multi-gauge Track – Exhibition Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4PZ

Happier Days …

INSIDE MOTION No 7 September 2020

News and Views from the
TYNESIDE SOCIETY of MODEL and EXPERIMENTAL ENGINEERS

Download Bulletin in PDF format here

Preamble – an announcement from the Committee

Another post-lockdown month has passed with many members remaining happy to pursue their social or running activities in the great outdoors. Sundays in particular have been very popular, and the weather has been (mostly) kind. As we slide into Autumn, however, it remains to be seen how much longer this will be sustainable.

Club Matters

Work continues steadily with alterations to the locomotive shed. The double steel doors are fitted and now have closing bolts and a lock – an improvement on the temporary tack-welding used to secure them previously.

A new length of dual-gauge track has been laid inside beside the original. The trackbed of the approach has been broken out over a short distance to allow re-profiling of this so as to align correctly with the traverser.

Adrian Morley, who only joined us fairly recently, has been earning his spurs by taking on the job of re-painting the steaming bays. He started with the scissor-lift and is steadily working northwards.

Steve Lowe, Workshop Manager, has also been busy. He reports “Since the easing of restrictions, and now that we are back at the club, it has been possible to progress further on the workshop reorganisation. However, this is under the guidance of the current distancing rules which clearly, in the immediate future, will hinder any return to normality.

The current priority is to install the two machines acquired from the late Peter Federoff’s workshop. The Myford lathe was already in its basic position before lockdown and by the time you read this the Warco milling machine should be in place in its corner. This requires relocation of the surface grinder which follows a reorganisation of the wooden racking on the back wall. The availability of a crystal ball when we built the workshop would clearly have saved some work !!

These installations will see things completed on the machinery front, although if anyone has a redundant Dean Smith and Grace they wish to dispose of I could just see it down the middle of the shop !!!! Do I hear cries of anguish in my ear?

As previously discussed, we have looked at the logistics for moving storage items from the workshop to the tin hut and the new carriage shed, and we now know where what to do. This will leave the workshop solely for engineering work (I hope), a pipe dream possibly some may ponder, but I will get there in the end.

Having said all of this and wanting to see the tools being used we are, like everyone now awaiting developments to see how this pandemic shapes the future, how many if any we can safely accommodate especially in the winter months will be anyone’s guess at the moment but the workshop will be there for members to use once we can move forward, I do have a glass half empty approach to this I’m afraid, the news doesn’t give much confidence really but we will have to wait and see.

In the meantime can I ask for donations of NON ferrous scrap if you wish to dispose of it. Our last trip to the scrapyard gave us a very welcome boost – our income has been seriously diminished without the public running this year, and will be so for the foreseeable future. Any donations will be very welcome.

Member’s Musings

Southworth 6″ Duplex Steam Pump …

Mick Jordison

This design originated from a pump produced by Robey’s of Lincoln. The tie bars overcame the problems of the complicated castings which combined the steam and water cylinders in one.

The valve gear is driven from both piston rods and operates two slide valves. It has a crossover steam passage system where each slide valve operates both pistons in opposite directions.

The crossover steam passages are milled into separate plates to eliminate complex angle drilling.

I think the main issue with the smooth running of this pump depends on the accuracy of the bore pitches on water and steam cylinders.

I have also included an image of the drilling set-up for drilling the compound angles for passages from cylinder bore to slide valve as I often hear of others having problems with this.

These images relate to repairing a porous casting by boring oversize and pressing sleeves in, then “clocking in” to re-bore.

David Dunbar

A Pilgrim’s Tale – [Part 2]
David Dunbar

In the 1970’s the world was a different place. I was allowed to get on a bus on a Sunday afternoon by myself to visit TSMEE. I was only allowed once to visit the headquarters at Montague, I now know why. The area at the time was a bit rough.

But zipping back, the visits to Manors were like arriving into an Aladdin’s cave. Not only was I in a railway station but also a haven of modelling and engineering.

My most vivid memories of the place were the massive lock on the front door, probably thanks to BR and the absolutely wonderful slot car track. I never saw it working but it fired my imagination that people could build such things.

Not long after I joined, TSMEE had to move out of Manors and re-homed in the basement of the old Baths at Montague. It was a large space but came with the added bonus of huge concrete plinths that the old washing machines had been attached to.

So the membership set to to remove said with power hammers. It very quickly became apparent that both from a security point of view (we had to have people watching the cars outside) and also the amount of work involved that Montague was now a non-starter.

TSMEE moved to the Clubhouse at Exhibition Park. A lot of things had to be got rid of, we always had a small workshop at the park but several lathes and other equipment were disposed of because of space. So TSMEE’s new headquarters were now Exhibition Park. This was great, the number 10 bus would pick me up at home and set me down on the Great North Road, just a stone’s throw away from TSMEE.

While all this was happening I decided to build a steam loco. I didn’t have a workshop or any funds but my father decided to give me the benefit of the doubt.

Plans for Simplex were bought and frame steel was obtained from one of my dad’s suppliers and I set to to mark it out. The frames were cut out and drilled at school (when there was such a thing as metalwork classes) and so
many bits were begged and borrowed. My teachers must have been saints as they put up with my requests.

Then came the day that Andy Robson announced that there was a lathe for sale due to a bereavement. My father and myself went to see said machine and it was bought for the princely sum of £40. It was then transported back home using the flat bed truck of Express Lifts and installed in the back lobby of our home.

Still no workshop! I worked in that lobby for several years until mum took umbrage and insisted on a workshop. A shed was bought and equipped with electricity and the lathe moved. I then discovered what I had bought (well dad had) and my machining learning curve started.

Postamble

Thanks as ever to those who contributed to this issue. With Autumn and then Winter ahead of us, we may not be going back into lock-down (fingers firmly crossed) but certainly into slow-down. More reason, then, to keep sending stuff in for others to enjoy at home. Keep busy and keep safe.

Contact information
  • Newsletter Editor – Mike Maguire – mike.maguire@btinternet.com
  • Club Secretary – Linda Nicholls – lindanic@sky.com – 01 670 816072
  • Website – www.tsmee.co.uk
  • Webmaster – John Rowley – webmaster@tsmee.co.uk

Headquarters and Multi-gauge Track – Exhibition Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4PZ

Life goes on …

INSIDE MOTION No 6 August 2020

News and Views from the
TYNESIDE SOCIETY of MODEL and EXPERIMENTAL ENGINEERS

Download Bulletin in PDF format here

Preamble – an announcement from the Committee

The relaxation of Covid-19 lockdown rules has seen a modest return of activity at the Club over the last four weeks or so.

Whilst still required to maintain social distancing and with the Clubhouse presently out-of-bounds, members have none-the-less managed a measure of socialising, benefitting from (mostly) good weather.

Not “back to normal” by any means, but very welcome to those who have ventured out thus far. If members are planning a track visit it is important you contact the secretary before hand.

You will be turned away if not pre-booked.

All activities will be outside. We suggest you bring your own refreshments, possibly a chair and provide your own mask and gloves if you feel they are needed. We will have hand sanitiser and sanitising sprays where appropriate.

The Committee has completed the appropriate risk assessments and a full set of rules explaining how it works can be down loaded here …..

Please read them carefully before considering visiting the track. Anyone arriving without previously booking will NOT BE ADMITTED onto the site.

For your own safety and the safety of fellow members and our families you should respect the following rules

  • Members only, no visitors or public access
  • Social distancing of 2 metres to be maintained
  • Maximum 20 attendees, pre-booked with the secretary (lindanic@sky.com, 07761960788)
  • To have a boiler test please pre-book with the secretary
  • A designated responsible officer (committee member) will oversee safe activities on site
  • Report to the designated officer/Sign in the book on arrival and departure for contact tracing purposes
  • No entry into the clubroom, except the Responsible officer or Boiler Inspector
  • Workshop may be accessed by one person at a time
  • One person at a time in the entrance lobby/toilet area
  • No use of club facilities, bring your own refreshments and seat
  • Drivers only in the steaming bays to enable social distancing
  • The toilet must be sanitised after use with product provided
  • Store may be accessed by one person at a time
  • Keep gates closed to help stop public access
Club Matters

Locomotives have been out running on all tracks and the new carriage shed has proved its worth with the easy deployment of riding trucks to the raised track.

With the new shed completed, Team Newby has turned its attention to the alterations to the locomotive “bunker”. The entrance wall has been broken out to the full internal width and the steel frame holding the door has been altered to fit this new aperture.

The gardeners have continued their good works keeping the grounds looking trim.

Good Home Wanted

Ian Spencer has an air compressor which is surplus to his requirements and he is happy for it to be given a new home, free of charge. It can be viewed in the TSMEE workshop. Ian will answer any questions you may have.

Member’s Musings

A small helping of inertia …

Jim Scott & Robert Hopper

One of the less desirable characteristics of 16mm scale “Garden Railway” type steam locomotives is their tendency towards Le Mans type starts and emergency stops, as well as “lumpiness” when travelling slowly.

Careful setting up of the valve gear and radio control equipment can minimise this but what really helps is a good dollop of inertia.

This can be purchased (expensively) from Australia in the form of a commercial offering called a “Slo-mo”, a beautifully crafted flywheel device that hides between the loco wheels and is driven from the crank axle. Certainly the various video clips on YouTube show that very realistic slow speed operation can be obtained.

A chance conversation with our Newsletter Editor pointed me towards an alternative arrangement where the flywheel is located under the cab floor.

For a home-made device this is an easier option to make and fit and, as grandson Robert was helping construct yet another Roundhouse “Lady Anne” loco, it was thought to be worth fitting at the outset. Moreover, I remember stashing away a box of 40 DP stainless steel gears many years ago, could I find them and would they be suitable..?

The required inertia is provided by a pair of flywheels driven via three shaft step up gearing from a gear fixed to the crank axle, with the best available combination giving an overall ratio of 1:8.5.

Space limitations restrict the maximum diameter of flywheel that can be accommodated below the cab floor but the relatively low gearing also limits the rotational speed which actually has the greater effect.

All shafts are ball-raced and the gearbox frame is closed top and bottom by cover plates.

The gears are lightly greased in an attempt to minimise noise as well as to provide lubrication. Location of the gearbox at the front is in-between the crank axle wheels, the axle carrying the primary gear passing through the gearbox via ball races.

The rear is attached to a repositioned frame stretcher by a bracket and single screw.

The machining of the gearbox side plates is pretty straightforward using a vertical mill. However, care is required when setting the shaft centre distances to ensure that the gears mesh and turn absolutely freely but with minimal backlash. No adjustment is possible…!

Although the locomotive is as yet unfinished it has been run on air with the inertia device in place.

Initial testing was encouraging with very slow speed running being obtained even though the motion is new and not yet run in. It is hoped that the improvement in the operating characteristics of the loco will be worth the time and effort involved in construction.

Also very satisfying was the fact that all of the required materials, including gearing and ball races, were to hand and therefore there was no financial outlay – it really was “for free”!

A secondary effect of the additional inertia is that the exhaust sound is more pronounced at starting. To maximise this, a voice pipe (as produced by Messrs Summerland Chuffers) was added to the twin cylinder exhaust pipes, located out of sight within the chimney.

The engine will be finished in typical German livery of vermillion frames and running gear with the upper-works semi-gloss black.

Mounting a Digital Readout (DRO)
Jim Nolan

Most of my hole drilling is through-holes but I do on occasion want a specific depth on the lathe. For some time, I have been thinking of fitting a DRO to the DS&G (Dean Smith & Grace) tail-stock but have shied away from it as I am not a fan of drilling holes in machines.

CV-19 and my hair being longer than it was in 1968 persuaded me that leaning over the chuck measuring the depth with a ruler was not a good idea. So, I decided to consult the oracle, in this case YouTube and thought the following was not a bad idea.

Basically, it’s all due to the magic of cheap ebay magnets, I started off with a piece of 3″ square aluminium I had lying around, and chain-drilled out a 2″ square. I also drilled though a ½” hole at the intersection of the cut-out for clearance around the fillets on the tailstock casting.

This enabled me to get in with a 2″ face mill and clean off the chain-drilled faces. I then milled out an 8mm X 2mm dp slot to take the magnets in both faces.

From there it was on to an angle vice to mill a flat face for the DRO. This was slightly more difficult than I thought. Due to deciding what was the right angle I needed, to clear the tailstock lock handle that would not be so steep that it was difficult to read. I ended up on 32 degrees as my perfect solution, others are available.

The last job was a couple of holes for the securing 3mm bolts to hold the DRO onto the block. This was surprisingly difficult as the holes in the DRO are only about three threads deep and getting the bolts to catch was fiddley bought 5, 8X20 X2 mm magnets, four for the block and one to catch the tailstock arbour. They were all secured with super glue.

Most of the time I leave the DRO on the shelf, just sticking it on when I need a specific depth. This is handy as it means I haven’t added a permanent obstacle onto the tailstock to get in the way of normal use. The only thing I would change is it would have been nice to have a bigger display on the DRO as my lamp oil isn’t what it was

A Pilgrim’s Tale
David Dunbar


So in 1972 I expressed my love of steam engines to my then Junior School teacher, the wonderful Mrs. Le-`Patterel. She turned out to be the sister of George Jennings, a long-standing member of TSMEE.

My teacher brought in a wheel and cylinder from her brother‟s build at the time which I think was a B1, but it was a long time ago. And so was born my love/infatuation/stupidity/etc for Model Engineering.

Through my teacher I learned of TSMEE and was allowed to take the bus from Wreckenton to the Great North Road bus stop to attend meetings at TSMEE.

Once there I found a wealth of lovely people. I’ll mention them, but in no particular order – Jim Stephenson, Steven Lowe, George Jennings, Malcolm Halliday and a host of others. They accepted me and taught me so much when I was but a 14 year old.

Then there was Len Weedon. A man with a vision. He so much encouraged youth to be involved with Model Engineering that I owe him a massive debt of gratitude. He nurtured my love of steam and engineering. He allowed me to prep and steam up his locos and then taught me to drive them. This allowed me to drive other people’s locos as I was then trusted.

Several years of brilliant work and running with TSMEE, including portable track and exhibitions. My thanks to my long suffering Dad and also Mum for their help and guidance.

There is lots more ….

( For those (me included) who don’t know, David is a past Chairman of TSMEE – Ed.)

Postamble

Although some Club activity has resumed, there will be members who may not wish, or are not yet able, to come along in these still straitened times. So, please keep stuff coming in – for them, especially, so they feel perhaps a little less detached – as well as the wider readership. Your contributions are much appreciated, even if no-one gets around to telling you so !

Meantime, care and caution are the watchwords wherever you’re out-and-about. Keep safe and well.

Contact information
  • Newsletter Editor – Mike Maguire – mike.maguire@btinternet.com
  • Club Secretary – Linda Nicholls – lindanic@sky.com – 01 670 816072
  • Website – www.tsmee.co.uk
  • Webmaster – John Rowley – webmaster@tsmee.co.uk

Headquarters and Multi-gauge Track – Exhibition Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4PZ

Life goes on …

INSIDE MOTION No 5 July 2020

LOCKDOWN SPECIAL IV – KEEP KEEPING CALM – IT’S PARTLY OVER

Download Bulletin in PDF format here

Preamble – an announcement from the Committee

In response to the Government‟s easing of lockdown measures, the Committee has decided to partially restart Club activities from Tuesday 7th July 2020.

Due to the demographic of our members, (mainly older!!) we are going to start cautiously and review after 2 weeks.

Anyone attending will be expected to maintain the 2 metre social distancing wherever possible.

There will be a book to sign in on arrival (for Track & Trace purposes if necessary).

There are currently two groups attending the track to do garden maintenance and building work on a Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, and these will continue.

The Government recommendation is a maximum group size of six, therefore we plan the following activities with two groups of six each time.

The groups must still maintain social distancing and be independent of each other.

To make this work and ensure there are not too many people or engines, we need you to book a place via the Secretary (lindanic@sky.com or 07761960788)

DayGroup 1Group 2
TuesdayGarden maintenanceBoiler tests
WednesdayBuilding maintenance16mm layout running
SundayLocomotives runningSocial group
Group Activities

All activities will be outside. We suggest you bring your own refreshments, possibly a chair and provide your own mask and gloves if you feel they are needed. We will have hand sanitiser and sanitising sprays where appropriate.

The Committee has completed the appropriate risk assessments and a full set of rules explaining how it works can be down loaded here …..

Please read them carefully before considering visiting the track. Anyone arriving without previously booking will NOT BE ADMITTED onto the site.

People

A very warm welcome is extended to Jim Mountjoy who joined us recently. He is also a member of the Beamish Model Engineering Group.

Club Matters

The maintenance teams have continued their good works caring for the grounds and progressing various projects.

The new Raised Track Carriage Shed is complete apart from a final coat of green paint on the doors.

The ground level track points have been greased and operation of same and the signals has been checked.

The smart stainless steel TSMEE sign has been fixed to the gable end of the hut.

Member’s Doings

hover/click – and image reveals all ….

[the-post-grid id=”2263″ title=”Inside Motion no 5 July 2020″]

Postamble

It’s been a long time since the lockdown began, but, through the good offices of the membership via the Newsletter, Bulletin and now this new-look merging of the two, some sense of community and common purpose has been maintained.

If you‟ve enjoyed the content so far, do consider submitting something for future issues – the cupboard is already rather bare. Thanks as ever to those who‟ve contributed thus far, and to the Committee members who have continued to Zoom-meet to keep everything under review.

Contact information
  • Newsletter/Bulletin Editor – Mike Maguire – mike.maguire@btinternet.com
  • Club Secretary – Linda Nicholls – lindanic@sky.com – 01 670 816072
  • Website – www.tsmee.co.uk Webmaster – John Rowley – webmaster@tsmee.co.uk
Gallery