It is with a heavy heart that we have to report that one of our members – a certain Lee Mikeston-King was spotted at Ashton Court last Friday with his normally pristine car in a disgraceful condition.  See photos below for the full horror story.  Dirt was spotted on one of his rear wheels.

Mr Mikeston-King’s normally pristine motor:

But wait a minute….have a look at that offside rear wheel….surely, that can’t be….it is!  It’s dirt!  Filthy!  Disgusting!!

Mr Mikeston-King was said to be too upset to comment, but clearly heads will roll for this lack of perfection.

Doughnuts

Three birthdays resulted in in  70 doughnuts arriving for us all to eat.  Needles to say all were eaten by the end of the day.  Fuelled by doughnuts and encouraged by the sunshine everybody was very busy.  Cutting the grass clearing  bushes, painting fences, checking rail and points there is always something to do.

Three boiler tests, some including hydraulic, kept the testers busy and pleased to report all passed.  They seemed be well organised led by Bernard North and it was good to see John Milton and our latest tester Peter Pearson hard at work.

We have been having a lot of derailments on the ground level track and are therefore bringing forward the replacement of all bogies on the older trucks which have been running for something like twenty years.   Good to see Mark Phillips back as he has been poorly for some time.  He was working withe Ron James and Phil Bridgeway measuring the trucks and preparing the design for the new bogies which will use rubber suspension based on the Ron James design and fitted with calliper brakes.

Having purchased a dynamometer module from Station Road Steam, Paul Keller their technical expert came along to sort out a few bugs and Bernard was busy measuring our dynamometer car to see how it could be fitted in.   It will replace the existing mechanical setup which has given excellent service and  bring  us up to date with the latest technology  using an  Android tablet or  phone to display the results.  Bernard and Don Cordall will working to fit it into our dynamometer car but not sure we can make the change before Brimlec on 3rd July.

On Tuesday I visited Ashton Court and was delighted to find it being used by members running their locos –  hence the pictures.  There were five on the truck and they had a good run in the sunshine. After adjusting the anti tipping rail I took the opportunity to check all the raised rack carriages and all are bump free except No3 which Maurice Wheatley will be sorting.

Hope you like the new web site host – it seems a lot faster and easier to use.

Off for four weeks I look forward to all the progress made when I come back.

Bob

PS.  Have a look at the blog by John Chaddock it is excellent and I am sure all aero engine nuts will find it enthralling.  Well done John

Goodbye Geoff

Today was the funeral of Geoff Sheppard.   Held at Westerleigh Cremeatorium several hundred people turned up to pay their last respects.  Many friends and colleagues from the Model Engineers were there, together with similar numbers from  other Societies where clearly Geoff was held in the same high esteem.

A simple but poignant service was held in the crematorium followed by a well supported gathering at Kendleshire Golf Club where we were invited to celebrate Geoff’s life. His son spoke of the huge love and respect for him by the family and a number of humorous but touching eulogies were presented by individuals from the many and varied Societies he supported – mainly from the top.   George Ganley spoke on behalf of BSMEE of his long relationship with Geoff at work and and with the club and there were similar speeches by representatives from, Vintage Cars, Austin Seven, Heritage Trust and  BIAS not forgetting the Red Lion.  He clearly had a full and interesting life and was respected by all he met with his sensitive, personal approach, engineering expertise and ready support and assistance to so many people in so many ways.

He was a good friend, giving me much help and support, and for me it was a sad, sad day.

After Easter

A busy day today putting right some of the problems which occurred during our running over the Easter weekend when we had a very cold wind, very few locomotives from members and a reasonable number of passengers. 

The platform entry signals failed Sunday afternoon and this was tracked down to a failed microswitch in the treadle just before the main gate.  This was replaced today with some difficulty, because the soldering iron wouldn’t heat up in the cold wind, and is now working OK.

The signal men complained of cold feet so Andy Harding was busy laying carpet tiles in the signal box whilst Arthur Clark continued on repointing the brickwork.

The new section of ground level track had settled with all the use and required some attention by the track gang.  It is surprising how quickly people can work when there is a biting cold wind and they were soon back in the hut drinking coffee.

We had a number of derailments on the ground level track and Phil Bridgeway and Ron James removed the bogies for examination from carriage 202 which seemed to be the main offender.  Examination of the wheels showed that they are badly worn on the flanges and whilst an attempt will be made to reprofile them there is insufficient metal left for them to be turned to meet our specification.    It seems that we will have to bring forward our plans to fit all the “old” carriages with new bogies complete with the calliper brakes we have been experimenting with.  Work is now going ahead to produce a specification and drawings for the new bogies.

Maurice Weakley came along to work on the Raised Track Carriages and removed a faulty bogie from No7 carriage which has taken away to refurbish.  We still have quite a bit of work to do on these carriages – any volunteers would be most welcome.

Frank Buffham aided by David Ward (2) lit an enormous bonfire to burn all the rubbish.  We were very concerned about the exhibition shed going up in flames but happily all is well.

We have taken delivery of a dynamometer module from Station Road Steam and Bernard North found time between boiler tests to spend some time examining our dynamometer car to see how it could be fitted.  I will bring you more information on the interesting experimental project as it proceeds.

Finally, I did not have time to take any photos so you will have to make do with one of my Dock Tank with which a spent a very happy afternoon on Tuesday doing quite a few laps of the tracks.  Happiness is driving a steam loco in the sunshine, which has plenty of water a good fire and never runs out of steam.  Incidentally the new lift made things a lot easier.

A Day for Reflection

Busy getting ready for our first running day of 2013 but news of the loss of Geoff Sheppard meant that a there was a somber mood in the club hut.

Geoff was a pillar of support , a personal friend and will be sadly missed by me, the club and club members and throughout the model engineering world where he had tremendous presence and was known and respected by all.

Still work had to go on preparing and testing the rolling stock, signals and track ready for our passengers on Sunday when Ian Biddiscombe will be duty manager.  With the cold wind and threat of a sharp frost we felt it wise to leave the water turned off and we will have to go round and restore it on Sunday morning.  The forecast for the weekend is dry with some sun and hopefully the wind will drop and it it will be a bit warmer.  Ashton Court always seem to catch the worst of the cold wind,

I remembered the hot cross buns this week and they were warmed and eaten with our coffee and tea.     David Hathway checked out Telford and gave it run to make sure the batteries were recharged and tested the signals on the way round.  All ground level trucks are operational but unfortunately the testing team on the raised track found two faulty  trucks.  One had a seized bogie and the other fouled the rubbing rail  so had to be withdrawn from service.   Derek Taylor is working on two new carriages and this will allow us to overhaul the other trucks in turn.

Bar Stools Wanted

With a Tuesday visit to install the plywood cladding and the reinstallation of the signal frames and control box today, the signal box is now ready for action.

The operating conditions inside the box are transformed and we will no doubt have a queue of members who want to get in if just to get out of the cold and wet.   There is plenty of room to stand up  and the view of the track and station is very good indeed.   Thanks to Terry Phelps for coming up with the idea, taking the plunge and getting the job done before the start of the running season.  We have been promised a new carpet and the only remaining problem is that no doubt the signalman will want to take an occasional rest and sit  down.  If anybody has any stools that they are throwing out and think might be suitable please let us know.  It would be a shame to buy some if there are some about waiting to be dumped.

My blogs tend to concentrate on projects and big jobs but we shouldn’t forget all the mundane work which goes on each week to keep the track operational.  Alan Grinstead and Clem Culverhouse went off with cans to fill with petrol and Mike Keighley is busy organising the steam oil ready for steam up day on the 17th March.  Frank Gribben was repairing the station roof soffits and David Giles sorted the ground level track where it approaches the carriage shed.  This has been the cause of numerous derailments and frustration.   David cleared the stones and rubbish from the concrete gaps and points.  With his usual skill and attention to detail he dressed the leading edge of the points and made such a good job you have difficulty seeing the join – see photo.

PS.  Don’t forget to click on the pictures to get a better view – the resolution of the new phone is excellent.

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.