A Corliss Cross Compound

[Bobp]

Thanks Jo. I have not seen this detail before. The gears for mine have just arrived so I can get them fitted.

Bob

[joeb]

Jo
I need more
whats happened to this build
cheers
Joe
PS love your work

[Jo]

Hi Joe,

My C3 was put on hold when the S&P took rather longer than expected.  I was looking at it yesterday 

Jo

[MHJ]

A GM casting was available for item 238, perhaps you didn't get it, ....so my advice would be to sleeve with GM or PB the one you have already made. The little flat on the top of the spigot was to take an oiler. The casting I have for 237 is scant top to bottom, or the print was put in the wrong place.
My valve bonnets are made from 303 stainless, with a PB liner.
As to the comments re the aluminium patterns cast from the originals, this is mentioned on one issue of the drawings, which BTW note many more castings NLA.
Re the slipper, I made a GM foot which is slotted to take the keeper bars, and I have yet to find anything which will represent (to my satisfaction) the brushes which were bolted fore and aft on the slipper.
H.

[MHJ]

Work being the curse of the modelling classes, I haven't had much time recently to get on with mine, but referring to my notes I find that I was pondering on a suitable design and situation for drain valves and relief valves for the Corliss HP cylinders. On the drawings there is a section shown of a postulated design for drain v/v's on the LP slide valve cylinders (which I have). As a youth I visited a number of engine houses and if memory serves me correctly d/vs were operated from a central point, as indeed was the main steam inlet. This of course made many a yard of pipework subject to full cylinder/boiler pressure, a situation which exists to this day in most power stations.
I do have room for this pipe work as my model is of 2 story construction, the engines are above the hot wells which are fed from the jet condensers. The boiler feed pumps will also be on the "ground floor".
I should mention that I am not a slave to the published drawings and I'm quite content to swipe ideas from Watkins' books and Throps' too, for that matter. I'm making new (longer) items 74 to avoid that horrid "all in one" piston rod and i'll go with coupling boxes, thank you. Imagine (in the real world) having to dismantle both cylinders to get to the piston rings on just one of them. Someone here was moaning about the bosses cast into the bedplates and soleplates. They never are quite round are they? No matter whose castings they are. Mine are all machined off and will be replaced with bosses which are round and have a nice fillet on the bottom.
Finally, for the lovers of stainless studs, try tig rod. It does not have the same tensile strength as m/s, so put a few more in.

[Jo]

A GM casting was available for item 238, perhaps you didn't get it, ....H.

I have the Gunmetal casting you referred to (238 = cover for the governor) and threw it away: I think it was because the spigot was too short for the corrected drawing.

H: Would you like to post an introduction about yourself in the introduction section  .

Jo

[MHJ]

A different main bearing cap, this is on a single with the outboard bearing stand, but I see no reason why the bedplate bearing stands on a twin can't be altered to suit:

[MHJ]

More photos, this time of a potential pitfall, note the bend introduced into the steam coupling rod to link with the steam lever.
The fix here I think will be to nibble a bit off the bottom of the steam lever.

[MHJ]

Oh dear I'm new to this attachment stuff:

[pgp001]

MHJ

Your chequer board floor and brick sided base looks good, what materials did you use to produce it please.

Thanks
Phil

[Tennessee Whiskey]

H, great looking work. You will get the hang of the piccy attaching. If you can, you may want to down size them to around a 600-700 range.

Whiskey

[smfr]

Now I'm confused about whose build log this is

MHJ, perhaps you'd care to start a new build log for your engine and let Jo continue with this one when she gets back to it?

Simon

[MHJ]

Sorry Phil, I have committed the sin of omission. I did not mention that the photographs are of an engine which I am fortunate to own but have not built.
The builder was Peter B Slater, (the writer of the book on the Elkesley Pumping station engines) and a friend of Peter Southworths'.
Hope this ends the confusion and apologies once again for barging in.
H.

[Jo]

H, If you look at your governor you will see that the original builder made the pulley wider than it should be to make up for the fact that the cover plate is too short  .

Jo

[Bobp]

Following Jo's comments earlier making me aware of the problem with the governor cover I have this in hand to modify the pattern. I have been concentrating on the Southworth pumps as these are very popular and I wanted to get the drawings on cad. A task which is now complete.

The Lincoln range and the Corliss have taken a back seat as the numbers as the number of people wanting them is small. As I said in an earlier post, I am building the cross compound version with slide and corliss cylinders. As I work through it I will find some of the issues but in the meantime please let me know of anything you find. I have a few notes of what people have found and will gladly pass on to anyone that wants a copy.

I intend to keep the Corliss engine available to us model engineers because despite it's faults there is nothing else like it as far as I know and Peter Southworth and Arnold Throp put a lot of work into developing it. It will always be a labour of love because economically it does not make sense but as I am a model engineer it does, if you get my drift!

Bob P