INSIDE MOTION No 8 October 2020 - Tyneside Society of Model & Experimental Engineers

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

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.

*Locomotive Shed – outer and inner doors in place and secure*

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

Completed parts – pump, air bottle, piston rod, clack boxes, gland and union nuts

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.

mdf kit and model of a Planet diesel running on 4.5V hauling three laden tippers. The running time appears to be upward of 6 hours. The drive from a cheap motor is to both axles and it keeps my 18 month old grandson enthralled for a while.

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.