Lots of Activity – Only two Fridays before Steam Up Day on 17th March.

A pleasant dry day if a little chilly with only two Fridays to go  saw a lot of activity at Ashton Court. 

The signal box has now been jacked to its  full height and all props removed.  We will no longer have to employ dwarfs to operate the signals if they ever work again.   I am a little worried by the cables and connections which have been lying on the floor smothered in brick and cement dust – We will see next week when the brickies have finished and the sparks are allowed  back in.  I have to say it is much more comfortable now with a much improved view.

David Giles was busy giving Pegasus a pressure wash and it’s annual service ready for another busy season on the track.

In the warm Geof Hinbest was busy  analysing the batteries test results.   We have 5 sets of batteries and the surprising thing is that the oldest set which have covered 2,500 laps are the best set and the newest which we purchased last year and have covered 370 laps are the worst.  Clem Culverhouse is busy sorting out the badges for running days.

Meanwhile out in the cold our mystery personality was busy staining the fence.  Can you identify the mystery personality ?   The clue is we have two of them.
Did you know that we paint the back side of our fences with creosote but the face where the public have access we use Ronseal stain so that they don’t get it on their clothes.  Just another instance of our attention to detail when caring for our customers!

Last but by no means least our raised track team were checking carriages to find out why No 3 derails and No 5 bumps.     Maurice Wheatley has recently overhauled No 3 and he will be delighted to know that the team identified the cause of the derailment which is due the carriage riding up on the anti-tip rail.  We will be sorting this before public running.

A Cold Cold Day

Before I start on this weeks Blog you will remember I mentioned last week that I had a video of brake testing well this is it.

You may not think very much of that but for me it is a major piece of technological progress.   Had to get the phone to take video, transfer it to the computer, remove the unwanted bit -yes there was more of my feet- upload to the BSMEE YouTube site then add a link to this blog.  Finally it was stabilised and enhanced.  Thanks to Sean Griffiths for all his help and confusion.   One small step but brace yourself, you will no doubt get more in the future now I have mastered the process.

While we are on the technology did you know that you can click on any of the photographs  in the blog and get a bigger version.

At the Track

Everybody was hard at work today as you can see from the picture below – drinking tea in the club hut.  It was bitterly cold but the ground level gang got a bit more tracked laid.  Last I heard, because they all have bad knees, nobody could bend down to insert the bolts and do up the fishplates and hence  there is a lot of unjoined track.  Mark Phillips used to do it, but no longer.  I think they might have found somebody – more news on this next week.

We had a good turn out today with over 25 cars in the car park so a lot of tea was drunk and stories told.   The one blessing was that the ground is frozen so you do not get stuck in the mud.

Being half term in Devon, we had two grandsons to entertain, so I thought I would get them building the  oscillating engine designed by Trevor Chambers and drawn by Kevin Slater. Click on here to get a video and drawings.    I thought it was already on our site but cannot find it.
The picture below shows progress so far. An excellent exercise in reading drawings and simple workshop skills, I can thoroughly recommend it.  Should finish it at the next visit.

Brakes on Ground Level Carriages

For some time Phil Bridgeway and Ron James have been working on the brakes for the four new ground level carriages.  The new development uses a PNP vacuum diaphragm unit operating callipers which are marketed for go carts.  The pictures above shows a braked bogie and the vacuum unit and callipers can be clearly seen.    In this system the vacuum unit is mounted between the callipers mounted on each axle and when it air is introduced the vacuum collapses which shortens the operating arm which applies brakes on both axles.   Ron is working on a similar design which pulls on one set of brakes and the other callipers are puled on by a tie rod.  Both systems have their merits and we intend to have two  carriages equipped with each system.

All four carriages will be operational by the first running day and we will trial them through the season keeping careful note of their performance.

The brakes on the existing carriages have proved to be very difficult to keep in adjustment and the bogies themselves have had a good deal of wear.  It is therefor proposed to replace them with new bogies with new wheels and rubber suspension using this much simpler braking system.  This will of course depend on  the results of the test runs.

Testing carriage brakes behind a loco is difficult because you cannot be sure if the loco or the carriage is doing the braking.  Phil therefore came up with battery driven stand alone vacuum unit using a £7.50 tyre compressor suitably modified.    The pictures show this on a carriage which was the loaded with volunteers and pushed rapidly along the track.   Releasing the vacuum operated the brakes and the carriage quickly came to a halt.  In some cases the wheels locked.  I have a video of the test crew in action but technology prevents  me showing it in the blog.    I understand we ail shortly have our own u-tube channel so watch out for the movie clip.

Even our chairman was persuaded to give it a go.

Lots of other activity going on all enjoying a very pleasant sunny day.

Tim Hims was there putting the finishing touches to the lift.   It is now fully operational from the black control box.  The electrical supply switch is inside the workshop next to the water heater switch and the cubicle key is attached to the switch.  We will be fitting a Parazia padlock shortly.  Let us know how you get on with it, it is a lot easier than muscle power.

7 ¼ Gauge Lifting Table

When the ground level track was first put in locomotives were unloaded from their vehicle or trailer using a ramp – sometimes known as the rocket launcher.  As locomotives got heavier this became something of a struggle and Jim Lewis installed an hydraulic lift based on a motor cycle lift.   This has given many years of satisfactory service but is coming to the end of its useful life and getting very stiff to operate – not sure if this due to the age of the lift or the age of the operator.

The possibility of replacing the facility with an electrically operated lift was discussed amongst members and Tim Hims came up with a new small car lift which he came across on ebay.  It seemed to meet our requirements and after measuring the existing pit and ensuring it would go in we decided to go ahead.   The new lift is hydraulically operated with an electrically driven hydraulic pump.  The pump, hydraulic reservoir and controls came mounted on a trolley but Tim has found a suitable lockable cabinet which will stand adjacent to the lift housing the equipment and controls.    Today he brought along the new lift complete with an aluminium top and running frame which he fitted it into the existing pit.

It looks a very sturdy job and will certainly make life much easier when unloading locomotives one advantage being that it goes straight up and down so there is less likelihood of raising into the body work of a car.  With the main structure complete, Tim is coming back next week to mount the safety footboards and install the cabinet.

I have several other photographs to show but am afraid the web site is playing up even more than usual and has  given me the following message so I think it is time to pack up when I am winning.

Fatal error: Out of memory (allocated 72089600) (tried to allocate 13056 bytes) in /websites/123reg/LinuxPackage21/br/is/to/bristolmodelengineers.co.uk/public_html/wp-includes/media.php on line 258

Steam Pump

A pleasant February day but very wet underfoot and wheel.  Just about every body who ventured off the gravel onto the grass had to be pushed or towed out by the tractor.

You probably remember I am building the Beattie Well tank locomotive.   It was designed and built in 1862 before injectors were used and had crosshead pumps and a steam pump on the running board to provide water.  This clearly visible in the photograph.

The model has been designed by Chris Rayward and serialised.  Recently he published his design of the donkey pump and Phil Bridgeway thought it an attractive model and decided to build it.  Well today Phil brought along the finished steam pump.   The steam engine is fairly conventional and sits on top of the pump which is housed in the block below.   The piston road drives a scotch yoke to operate the vale gear and then carries on down to drive the pump piston.  Phil has made an excellent job and it is a real work of art with very fine machining and finishing of even the smallest of components.    Keep an eye out for it at the next on the table or exhibition it is well worth a look.

A Snowy Day at Ashton Court

Still a lot of snow at Ashton Court and today there was also a cold wind.  Despite this there was a good turn out and we were able to celebrate a 70th birthday in normal fashion by eating donuts.   I think people were glad to get out for a chat and a bit of fresh air.

Not a lot of work done outside but the Ground Level team were busy making up for lost time building new track in the workshop.   Inspection carried out and no frost damage to report with the small thermostically controlled heater in the station toilet area doing it’s job.
The rest of the site was under quite a deep layer of snow as you will see from the pictures below.    Maurice Weakley who looks after our Raised Track Carriages came along to see what work needed doing – we presently have two carriages out of operation

Before the snow came Terry Phelps was getting on well with raising the signal box, so that we no longer have to employ dwarves as signalmen.  You can see below the box is supported at it’s new height by timber props.   Terry now has to add brick course inside and the props can then be taken away.  Today was a day for admiring progress, not bricklaying.

A snowy scene

Heavy snow on the track. Scale 3 feet – it would take a good snow
plough to shift it .

A Birthday greeting ?

Away on baby sitting duties this week so no progress to report.

However, I have been producing a web site for Thomas Telford.  I continue to get queries from other clubs receiving one from New Zealand this week.   Now I can point them to this web site for information.

If you want to have a look click on Thomas Telford

Closed for the Winter

The track may be closed for the winter but this is our busiest time when all the work can be done which requires the track to be closed.   We had an excellent turn out for our first working party of the year with everybody working on the numerous projects we have in hand.   All projects have to be completed to allow us to run there is no time to spare and we took advantage of the dry weather to work on the following tasks.

• Relaying the Ground level track.  The track bed is now complete and the team under Colin McEke will concentrate on making the necessary curved sections of track.
• Raising the Signal Box.  Terry is busy doing the preparation work and all is ready to start raising the structure next week.
• Pegasus Annual Service.    David Giles has taken on the responsibility for this work and it was great to see Geoff Hinbest back to give David the benfit of all his knowledge and experience.   Geoff was involved with the build with Jim Lewis and has kept Pegasus going for the last ten years or so.
• Replacing the 7¼” lift.    Tim Hims turned up with his trailer and took away the existing lift.    He will modify the new lift using bits from the old one and bring it all back when ready.  It will not be long knowing  Tim.
• Fitting a new controller to the Class 52.   The lead has once more got run over and is beyond repair.  It is a good time to fit a new hand control as the existing one is looking rather tired.
• New braked bogies for Ground Level Trucks.  Phil Bridgeway and Ron James have developed a new braking system using go-kart calliper brakes and before we next run the four new carriages will each be fitted with a braked bogie.   This will mean all carriages will be fitted with brakes.
• Clearing the Site of leaves is a never ending job and it was good to see Roger Sykes back to lend a hand.

You can click on a picture if you want see a larger image.