2" Scale Ruston 'Lincolnshire Lad'

A project that I really must get around to finishing at some stage...

A 2" scale Ruston 'Lincolnshire Lad' built to the Reeves design. It was bought cheaply several years ago and is...crude to say the least. For many years it used to just sit ticking over on a few pounds of compressed air when we did shows. The engine itself always ran well and had quite a bit of power, unfortunately, the boiler is soft soldered and has no paperwork - so pretty much useless! The plan is to build a new boiler with the help of a boiler maker friend of mine, get the engine working and then rebuild the niggles that I don't like once up and running!

One day!

The Engineer.

Building a Garden Railway Part VIII

Didn't think I'd be making a post pertaining to the garden railway while I was away at university. Anyway, it's barely progress, but I recently managed to pick up a bulk lot of Peco and Tenmille SM32 track for a very reasonable price. I managed to get hold of fourty-five yards of track and three sets of points and by combining this with what I have laid already and what I bought at the Exeter Garden Railway Show should allow me to complete the vast majority of the initial plans for my line as a double track rather than single track line!

The Engineer.

Faraday Motor - can you help?

Am looking for a bit of advice on this one - has anyone built a Faraday motor? I knocked this one up a while ago now just to try the principle but it never really worked properly. Basically, DC current is fed to the hook at the top of the stick which then feeds down through the dangling rod into the dish, which is full of a conductive liquid (Mercury in the original - but I'm using salt water). The circuit is completed by another wire leading out of the conductive liquid to the other side of the power source. A magnet is placed in the center of the dish and the dangling rod is supposed to spin around it.

However...my attempts to get it working resulted in the rod spiralling to the center and then just fizzing a bit. Has anyone built one of these and got it working successfully - without using Mercury? 

The Engineer.

Am I OCD?

Just a quick one today! My parents often say I'm a tad OCD...I don't think much of it until I find something like this in my room...

11 empty boxes of Mamod solid fuel...nothing weird about that right?

The Engineer.

Trebuchet Kit Part II

This post seemed to have got lost down the draft list and have only just found it again - so I am posting it now to put this thrilling two part saga to bed...

As expected, I just ran ahead with this project without taking photos...sort of defeats the object of a blog, but still! It was a nice little quick build when I couldn't be bothered to get too involved in a proper project! Just fill up the box with a load of coins and put a marble on the launch sling and it fires it about 20 feet!

The observant among you may notice we've changed the font this post is written in - it was recommended that the font we used was at times difficult to read so have changed to this. If we get time, we'll go back through and edit the old posts...

The Engineer.

A Bin Shopping Surprise!

An interesting little story from this years Dorset Steam fair, this charming print of a gypsy woman was found in a bin on the last day, well when 'twas found it was a little more grubby and had only a white surround. Anyhow somehow I was drawn to it so I thought I'd nab it.

It was only when home a few weeks later I thought I'd clean her up and take her out of the frame for refinishing that I discovered that her white surround was actually the reverse of an early hand painted advertising sign for what looks like a removal and piano moving company. Looks to be f.baker, or possibly raker based at a 3 manor road, anyhow if anyone has any information on the company I'd love to know more.

Anyhow it seemed a shame to leave this hidden so I decided to use the front as the surround which gives the print quite a distinctive standout look in my opinion. I'll clean up the frame and eventually adorn my wall with this distinctive piece!  

The Carpenter.

Exeter Garden Railway Exhibition

Doesn't need much explaining here - an exhibition, about garden railways in Exeter....

I went along on Saturday for the day with a couple of friends with their toy steam exhibits at this show. The show is one of the highlights on the Garden Railway calender and on top of that, all the money raised by the organisers goes to the Devon Air Ambulance Trust. The show consists of a large number of layouts in all the common scales - 16mm, 7/8", G1, as well as toy steam exhibits and a large selection of traders.

I got lucky and bought 12 yards of Peco SM32 track for £25 and a right hand point for £20 allowing some more progress on the railway when I go back at Christmas!

Not much to really say, so I'll just upload a couple of photos here and put the rest on the Flickr account.

A 16mm Fireless loco - an unusual model!

A Salem Garrett - based on Mamod technology...the urge to build one is strong!

A lovely 7/8" layout complete with working waterwheel!

A link to the Exeter Garden Railway Show's website.

The Engineer.

From the Collection - Hornby Rocket and Coach

I just wanted to show you my Hornby Rocket complete with the coach purchased at the Great Dorset Steam Fair a few weeks ago. The Rocket certainly makes an impressive model - would like another coach just to add to this!

The engine made for a very unusual toy - being quite an advanced for the market at the time, with a internally fired boiler, a gas burner and fixed cylinders. Extensive use of plastic was made in the model with the track, tender and even the gas tank being made from plastic. After a few years, the plastic gas tank would go brittle often leading to leaks and fire damaged tenders.

The track is in interesting design made up from small sections shaped like a straightened out 'Z'. One 'leg' of each 'Z' is longer than the other, meaning when joined in an opposing pattern, a straight section of track is produced but when placed together produce a curved shape to the track.

It was a shame the model never took off and the range continued, I read somewhere that there were plans afoot to produce the entire set of entrants for the Rainhill Trials - how on earth they'd have got a horse suitable for 3 1/2" gauge to power Brandreth's 'Cycloped' I do not know!

Must have been quite something in 1829.

More photos at our flickr account.

The Engineer.

Assembly of the Deans' Bioscope Show

Every year, we spend a fortnight at the Great Dorset Steam Fair with The Carpenter's family Bioscope show. For those of you that don't know, the Bioscope was a portable cinema that was taken to fairs to show the then new moving pictures and was the predecessor to the permanent cinema. The show consisted of an elaborate decorated front with a fairground organ and a stage on which free shows were put on to draw the crowds who were then charged to watch a series of films at the rear of the show. During the assembly of the stage, I tried to take a photo of each step from roughly the same place to try and piece together a video of the construction process.

An image of the completed show...

The video...

The Engineer.

From the Collection - The Cornish Maid

As I am quite busy with university, the progression of projects has slowed, so I shall inter space those posts with an insight into some of the more interesting aspects of my collection, starting with this lovely model traction engine, 'The Cornish Maid'. I was given this engine by a friend of mine several years ago now, along with a model of a steam roller powered by a Stuart 10H. I expect this engine was built in the 1950s out of whatever could be found around the place. The wheels are made from sections of steel tube, with tinplate spokes soldered on. The motion-work including full Stephenson's Link valve gear all seems to be handmade without a lathe, but everything runs beautifully on a few pounds of compressed air. The flywheel seems to be made from a sewing machine flywheel and the boiler from an old shell case. When I was given it, I was inclined to rebuild it, but, after running it I think it looks far more interesting like this.

The Engineer.