Author Topic: Another Simplex Refurbishment  (Read 57716 times)

Offline doubletop

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 362
  • Wellington NZ
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #30 on: September 04, 2012, 10:34:40 AM »
Thanks guys

Carl; just like eating an elephant one piece at a time and before you know it you are there. OK elephants are off the menu these days but you know what I mean.

Dave; Of course they'll be a video when I get it going but not until the weekend at the earliest.

Tonight I started the standard (column) for the brakes, it didn't have any but when I did the frames I drilled for the hanging points and made some of the parts, while waiting for deliveries. Now I've got it back together and waiting for the weekend I can make those other parts for the brakes. No photos though, I've just got in and I'm not going out again, its dark.

Club night tomorrow

Pete

?To achieve anything in this game, you must be prepared to dabble on the boundary of disaster.? - Stirling Moss

Offline doubletop

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 362
  • Wellington NZ
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #31 on: September 06, 2012, 10:24:55 AM »
You may recall Stew made 6 drain cocks over here http://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php/topic,240.0.html and offered the two spares to a good home. Well they arrived in NZ today and it didn't take long to get them fitted.



Thanks a lot Stew the are great. Hopefully the weather will hold out for the weekend and I'll be able to try them on my first steaming and give you a report.

That got me out to the workshop so I was able to do a bit more of the brakes. I'd made the standard on Tuesday evening and the hand wheel and shaft tonight.



Pete

« Last Edit: July 16, 2017, 08:17:53 AM by doubletop »
?To achieve anything in this game, you must be prepared to dabble on the boundary of disaster.? - Stirling Moss

Offline doubletop

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 362
  • Wellington NZ
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #32 on: September 11, 2012, 07:15:32 AM »
I'm afraid the weather has been a bit iffy so no first steaming yet. So I've been locked away making parts for the brakes which it didn't have.



The base Simplex wasn't designed with brakes the drawings are for the Super Simplex The brackets bottom left are to convert the Simplex frames to provide the correct location point for the bushes for the cross shaft. Now I've just got to get the linkage rods and shoes made.

Before somebody asks I've made everything for brakes on all 6 wheels but getting the suspension links and shoes onto the front wheels may be a problem as space is tight on the Simplex so it may just end up with 4 wheel brakes. The Super has longer frames.

Pete
« Last Edit: July 16, 2017, 08:18:36 AM by doubletop »
?To achieve anything in this game, you must be prepared to dabble on the boundary of disaster.? - Stirling Moss

Offline steamer

  • Global Moderator
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12697
  • Central Massachusetts, USA
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #33 on: September 11, 2012, 09:18:38 AM »
NICE!  Looks like this is coming along very well Pete...4 is still greater than ZERO.....

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline doubletop

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 362
  • Wellington NZ
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #34 on: September 11, 2012, 09:31:42 AM »
Thanks Dave

I've just been to the workshop to see about making a start on the installation. It looks like a bit of re-routing of the plumbing is required. Not something to be tackled on a Tuesday evening so I shut everything down and came back in. I'll save that job for the weekend.

 Pete
?To achieve anything in this game, you must be prepared to dabble on the boundary of disaster.? - Stirling Moss

Offline zeeprogrammer

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6811
  • West Chester, PA, USA
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #35 on: September 11, 2012, 12:17:20 PM »
No brakes?! Just wait for lack of water or fire?  ;D
Sorry to hear about the weather.
Carl (aka Zee) Will sometimes respond to 'hey' but never 'hey you'.
"To work. To work."
Zee-Another Thread Trasher.

Offline Bearcar1

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 829
  • Chicagoland Area, USA
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #36 on: September 11, 2012, 03:14:09 PM »
Bummer about the weather Pete, but watching your progress, it seems that you have been making the most of it. Soon the clouds will part and the skies will clear and then the air can be filled with plumes of steam and smoke. YOUSA!!!!  :pinkelephant:


BC1
Jim

Online Jo

  • Administrator
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15294
  • Hampshire, england.
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #37 on: September 11, 2012, 08:21:25 PM »

......there may be a problem as space is tight on the Simplex so it may just end up with 4 wheel brakes. The Super has longer frames.

Pete

My Super may have longer frames but be warned as designed the leading shoes hit the rear cylinder covers   :rant:

Jo
Enjoyment is more important than achievement.

Offline doubletop

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 362
  • Wellington NZ
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #38 on: September 12, 2012, 07:59:36 AM »
Carl/Jim

Look at the weather as a positive, I've now got time to do things I may well have skipped over and then never got around too as I would be too busy playing trains.

Jo

I'm not sure of the chronology of the two but the Rob Roy and Simplex just look to me like clones of each other but with different valve gear. My Rob Roy has the front brakes squeezed in with slim line hangers, relieved to clear the covers, so I thought I may end up doing something similar here. I've included all 6 pivot points but, as Dave says, 4 brakes are better than non and the front set most probably won't get fitted.

regards

Pete
?To achieve anything in this game, you must be prepared to dabble on the boundary of disaster.? - Stirling Moss

Online Jo

  • Administrator
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15294
  • Hampshire, england.
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #39 on: September 12, 2012, 08:45:54 AM »
Very likely, most of Martin Errors Evans designs follow the same design principals as originally laid down by LBSC. So they will all share many characteristics and design corrections :disappointed:/improvements :D will be interchangable.

Jo
Enjoyment is more important than achievement.

Offline doubletop

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 362
  • Wellington NZ
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #40 on: September 16, 2012, 09:40:49 AM »
Jo

How right you are. I was at the club today and had reason to go into the storeroom. I picked up an old ME from the shelf  from 1951, randomly opened it and there were the parts for the brakes of I'm making. I think they were for a Tich.

Despite the forecast for a wet weekend, this morning was fine so time to wheel the out the loco and show it the sun and get some more pictures. No time for steaming though as I was on track duty today, it was raining after an hour so we didn't run for long. Hence the opportunity to skim through old ME's



I did get a chance to fill it with water and do a preliminary pressure check using the hand pump. That was after I'd done up the unions I had only done finger tight :???: . Got those sorted and found a few minor leaks which needed some work, but nothing major.

I've also started to fit the brakes, here's the standard installed



And the cross shaft and die nut.



One thing I have discovered, the frame spacing on the Super Simplex is 4 1/8" but the standard Simplex is 4 3/16"  this means the cross beams I've made are 1/16" too short. Easily fixed, I'll replace the stubs with something slightly longer and put a washer behind each brake hanger.

On the last photo you'll also notice the pipework for the water feed to the axle pump runs between the wheels and springs. This means the pipework needs moving or the brake hangers will need to be longer. Moving the pipework is going to be a problem as I don't want to run it up and over the wheels, under the running boards, as that could cause an air lock. Making the brake hangers longer will limit the range of movement slightly and may have clearance problems being 1/4" longer. I'll come up with something.

Pete
« Last Edit: July 16, 2017, 08:19:40 AM by doubletop »
?To achieve anything in this game, you must be prepared to dabble on the boundary of disaster.? - Stirling Moss

Offline doubletop

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 362
  • Wellington NZ
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #41 on: September 23, 2012, 10:09:50 AM »
Well today was the day. We?ve had a fine weekend so no excuses so it was time to get some water, oil and fire into the thing to see what happens.

First thing was to fill it with water, and use the hand pump to fill the boiler all the way to the top, holding the whistle valve open and pump until water came out of the whistle. Making sure the regulator and blower valve are closed,aa couple of extra stokes on the hand pump and the pressure gauge can be used for an impromptu pressure test while doing a leak check. A small leak from a union on the blower was quickly fixed. Then I drained down the boiler to get the water level right. Lubricated everything and was ready to go.

Raising steam was pretty much drama free. However it wouldn?t start when I opened the regulator. I suspected a hydraulic lock so removed the drain cocks and it eventually started. Put the drain cocks back in and it ran OK from then on. I must have primed the system doing the leak check. (see the muck on the smokebox)

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF7uVoRkTqI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF7uVoRkTqI</a>

There?s a bit of a knock in there but the occasional rattling noise is the clacks ?clacking? you?ll see me adjusting the bypass at some point and can hear them coming on and off.

I did try the drain cocks Stew had made me but with sorting out the priming they got removed and removing variables I put the manual drain cocks back in. I?ll give them a better go next time.

And I?ve found a problem with the work trolley. The wheels are urethane or some such plastic. When the safeties blow the whole loco gets a static charge!!  I got a shock each time I went to adjust something, this happened every time the safeties went, so I wasn't imagining it. The trolley needs an earth strap or something.

Regards

Pete

?To achieve anything in this game, you must be prepared to dabble on the boundary of disaster.? - Stirling Moss

Offline zeeprogrammer

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6811
  • West Chester, PA, USA
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #42 on: September 23, 2012, 12:32:00 PM »
Well that's just beautiful Pete. And Congratulations!
The pic of the cab was astounding to me...as well as the rest of it.
Very nice.
Carl (aka Zee) Will sometimes respond to 'hey' but never 'hey you'.
"To work. To work."
Zee-Another Thread Trasher.

Online ozzie46

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 342
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #43 on: September 23, 2012, 02:36:18 PM »



  Lovely Pete. Absolutely musical.   :whoohoo: :whoohoo: :whoohoo:

  Ron

Offline sbwhart

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 745
  • Live Long and Prosper
Re: Another Simplex Refurbishment
« Reply #44 on: September 23, 2012, 04:29:01 PM »
 :whoohoo: :whoohoo: :whoohoo: :whoohoo: :whoohoo:

We have a steam Loco

Nice work Pete next thing:- on the track with a few pasengers behind a beaming driver.

 :ROFL: :ROFL: :Lol: :Lol:

Stew
A little bit of clearance never got in the way

 

SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal