Author Topic: Out & About in New Zealand (Read 4778 times)

Steamer5 · « **on:** January 09, 2016, 01:53:06 AM »

Hi Guys & Girls,
The New Zealand Model Engineer Convention is currently on in Tauranga. If you would like to check out the photos posted please check here...

http://www.tmmec.org.nz/?Convention

Looks like the guys are posting up each day. My daughter txt Thursday & wanted to know why I wasn't there.....

work schedule got changed!! Anyway Friday was a bit of a wash out, so hopefully its better for the remaining 3 days.

Cheers Kerrin

bruedney · « **Reply #1 on:** January 09, 2016, 03:50:16 AM »

A little envious but a bit far to come from Dunedin. Good to see my favourite traction engine out - Dave Turner's Case

Nicolas · « **Reply #2 on:** January 09, 2016, 04:19:37 AM »

A few friends from around here went but I didn't as I had other plans which have since been cancelled....

Steamer5 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 18, 2016, 04:35:17 AM »

Hi all,
Well 14 straight 12 1/2 hour night shifts are finally behind me..

just got 6 normal 12 hour shifts to go & then some time off!

Here's a link to an open weekend at one of the clubs I belong to a couple of weeks back, about a 3 hour drive, unfortunately I was working

....there even a photo of one of our member, but won't mention names ...a Pete? Hope you all enjoy.....the vid of the radial running is great!

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

Cheers Kerrin

Steamer5 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 15, 2017, 06:54:15 AM »

Hi all,
Well the road trip is over (a bit over a week) so thought for loco types out there, & anyone else who like's engineering stuff may find this interesting.

Pic 1 we went looking for the sun & found it!

We visited the Fell Railway museum in Featherston. www.fellmusseum.org.nz.

If any of you come to New Zealand & are interested I can recommend a stop to check it out, those that live in this neck of the woods as well. It celeabrates 6 little hard working locos, the people who worked on & kept it running. The line was opened in 1878/9 & closed in 1955 when a tunnel was finally built! These little engines only worked 3 miles of the line where the ruling grade was 1:15!! It varied a little from 1:14 to 1:16!! The Fell system used was 1 of only 3 in the world & the longest running, these locos racked up an impressive mileage in there time considering the length of line, over 1 million!
The Fell system was quite cunning, a standard loco lay out driving the usual wheels, but a second engine driving a double set of horizontal wheels that could be brought into use via a wheel clamp system to grip an elevated central rail, given that the slope started at the end of the lower yard & ended at the beginning of the upper they got plenty of use!
On any train running up the hill they would put on 5 engines spaced thru the train & 6 brake vans. I didn't take a photo but the cab had a note on it saying they started with 1500 weight of coal on the footplate, plus what was in the bunker, by they time they reach Summit, the top of the line, all the 1500 weight would be gone! The other interesting thing was they had 2 regulators, from all accounts going thru the tunnels on the up run was no fun, I guess if you were driving the last engine it was worst!
On down trips the brake vans wore out a set of brake blocks! We had one of the guards living next to us, we found a photo of the last engine & crew & he was in the photo & the blocks were changed while they were cooling down from red hot!
All that remains now is the rail bed & a few other odds & sods. The railbed is a cycle way & buy all accounts has some great views.

Pic 2 the last remaining Fell loco
Pic 3 hopefully you can make out the horizontal wheel set in the mirror
Pic 4 the last brake van
Pic 5 the interior of the brake van
Pic 6 the gradient of the whole line, the Fell locos on ran the grey section, as you can see the rest of the line wasn't exactly flat either!
Pic 7 we saw this outside the Tui brewery, it's a Kiwi icon! Given that some of us have to make some parts a couple of times to get it right, I think it's quite appropriate!

Cheers Kerrin

Ian S C · « **Reply #5 on:** March 15, 2017, 11:48:14 AM »

Not 1500 weight, but 15 hundred weight, 1 hundred weight is 112lb, so 15 HW is 1680 lb.

Steamer5 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 04, 2018, 06:25:02 AM »

Hi All,
Well got up early yesterday, picked my Dad & headed south 250 k’s to play trains! So thought I’d share some photos, haven’t included any trains, but thought you would like this section that Graham brought this year! Last year he had the Anzani under construction, he had it running...lovely sound, I took a video but not having a photo account can’t post it......here’s the first 8......

Steamer5 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 04, 2018, 06:32:36 AM »

And some more.....maybe Brian my recognize them! Got a video of the saw working, it does a lovely job!

And one especially for Jo......Graham was telling me that the castings for this engine are rarer than the proverbial rocking horse manure! Hopefully by next year it will be running.......he hasn’t started it yet!

Cheers Kerrin

Jo · « **Reply #8 on:** March 04, 2018, 08:24:51 AM »

Nice collection of engines. I was trying to work out whose castings he had used for the Y type

Yes the Morton is a desirable one to build. I have the drawings

Jo

Jasonb · « **Reply #9 on:** March 04, 2018, 10:32:30 AM »

A nice collection of engines there, if you want to post the video you can upload to Youtube for free and just post the link here.

Jo I have the build articles for the Morton that were in MEB should you ever need them, you will have to talk Mike C into making some patterns

Jo · « **Reply #10 on:** March 04, 2018, 11:10:18 AM »

Quote from: Jasonb on March 04, 2018, 10:32:30 AM

Jo I have the build articles for the Morton that were in MEB should you ever need them, you will have to talk Mike C into making some patterns

I feel a need to read the article so if I could borrow those mags

Seemingly there was a set of Morton M5 castings but my supplier sold them to someone else

He has a pattern for the crankcase and is going to see if the person he sold the castings to ever did anything with them.

The Morton is a very difficult engine to build I am told

Jo

Alyn Foundry · « **Reply #11 on:** March 04, 2018, 11:11:01 AM »

Hi Kerrin.

Love the top picture of the scale Atkinson cycle engine.

Was it scratch built?

Cheers Graham.

Vixen · « **Reply #12 on:** March 04, 2018, 11:18:24 AM »

What ever happened to the steel dies that Bruce Satra of Vernal Engineering made for the Morten? Bruce was the main source of Morton and P+W Wasp die casting for many years.

After Bruce passed away much of his model engineering bits went to SS Machine and Engineering in Fayette OH. Try rsholl@cncengines.com Maybe he can point you in the right direction to obtain Morton M5 and the P+W Wasp castings.

Mike

Vixen · « **Reply #13 on:** March 04, 2018, 11:31:09 AM »

Hay Kerrin,

Sorry about the hi-jacking of your thread with Morton talk.

That is an impressive collection of engines on display. Lots of nice engines with propellers.

Where were they displayed? 250k south of the Naki is still a big area. Are there many such gatherings in NZ at this time of the year (late Summer?)

We are planning a month long tour of NZ around Christmas and New Year. My wife has all the 'must do' beauty spots listed. I want to make a much shorter list of the Model Engineers and the events and the places of engineering interest that I could or should visit. It's a once in a lifetime trip, so don't want to miss anyone or any thing

Cheers

Mike

b.lindsey · « **Reply #14 on:** March 04, 2018, 02:18:55 PM »

Thanks for posting the pictures Kerrin. Some really nice models there and the radials are always fascinating. Hope you are able to post the video as well.

Bill

Steamer5 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 04, 2018, 11:46:25 PM »

Quote from: Alyn Foundry on March 04, 2018, 11:11:01 AM

Hi Kerrin.

Love the top picture of the scale Atkinson cycle engine.

Was it scratch built?

Cheers Graham.

Hi Graham,
Yes the Atkinson is scratch built, I think Graham said it’s a 4 stroke but fires every stroke, it ran very nicely

Jo,
Glad you enjoyed the photos! The Anasazi castings came from the UK, Graham was over your way visiting family & picked up the crackcase only, hopefully I got that right. Thanks for posting the info on the Morton, I’ll try & get ahold of Graham & pass it along, oh he got the casting for it from the UK, but from several sources

Jason,
If possible could I get a copy of the article from you to pass along, I’m not sure how much info Graham has, & every little bit helps!

Mike,
No problem for the side track! It was Palmerston North, so 250 ks each way for me! Pity you weren’t here this summer! It was the biannual model engineers convention, so none neat summer. I’ll sort out a link to the clubs up & down the country & you can then see what fits in to your plans! The clubs have open weekends scattered thru the year, so put on some form of display at the same time.

I’ll sort a YouTube account & post up the video’s

Cheers Kerrin

Roger B · « **Reply #16 on:** March 05, 2018, 09:50:02 AM »

Excellent pictures

That's one of the few ETW road rollers I have seen. Did they run it?

Steamer5 · « **Reply #17 on:** March 08, 2018, 08:13:42 AM »

Hi Rodger,
Sorry the roller didn’t run this trip. I haven’t seen it going on any of my trips. I do how ever have an invite to visit.....not sure when that will be but will see if I remember & hopefully get a video

Cheers Kerrin

Steamer5 · « **Reply #18 on:** May 20, 2018, 05:43:32 PM »

Hi Jo,
You may be interested in a picture in this newsletter......Looks like Graham has been busy!

http://www.pnmec.org.nz/news/GenMay2018.pdf

Cheers Kerrin

Jo · « **Reply #19 on:** May 20, 2018, 05:54:41 PM »

A Morton

Thanks Kerrin.

Jo

wirralcnc · « **Reply #20 on:** May 20, 2018, 07:06:03 PM »

The Morton castings/drawings where supplied by Bruce satra. Unfortunately Bruce passed away. I'm not sure who took over.
I know Paul Knapp took over the Pratt and Whitney radial castings that Bruce did.
http://vernal.modelenginenews.org/

Jo · « **Reply #21 on:** May 20, 2018, 07:49:24 PM »

The die cast Morton castings are no longer available

Every now and then someone attempts to take a sand casting off of a set but no one yet has succeeded.

My supplier keeps considering making a new set of dies

Jo

Jasonb · « **Reply #22 on:** May 20, 2018, 08:02:33 PM »

I suppose a silicon mould could be taken and some waxes made then sent off to the people Mike used ob his Jupiter. Would only really need the cylinder/heads done as the rest would not be too bad to cut from solid. I suppose they could even be drawn and printed if you did not have originals to pirate from and you could allow for shrinkage.

Vixen · « **Reply #23 on:** May 20, 2018, 08:16:25 PM »

If some generous person would lend me a Morton cylinder head for a few weeks, I would be pleased to take a silicon mould (or two) off the original.
I could also inject the waxes and get the aluminium castings done, five cylinder heads at a time for any interested MEM members.

Just thinkin

Mike

Jo · « **Reply #24 on:** May 20, 2018, 08:47:39 PM »

Bruce described how he originally made the Morton cylinders in SIC 11 page 3. Bruce made his moulds in ali, if they were made in steel they could be used to pour Ali

I have lined up one off early and one off late original Morton cylinders to fondle the week after next

Jo

wirralcnc · « **Reply #25 on:** May 24, 2018, 07:22:28 PM »

I have a complete set of Bruce satra castings if you want to borrow a cylinder head.

Jo · « **Reply #26 on:** May 24, 2018, 07:30:14 PM »

Thanks Robbie,

I have a set coming for a visit next week

Jo

Vixen · « **Reply #27 on:** May 24, 2018, 08:31:27 PM »

Robbie, check your message box

Cheers

Mike

wirralcnc · « **Reply #28 on:** May 25, 2018, 08:28:34 PM »

Here's a few pics.
Bruce satra Morton m5 castings. Head,crankcase, piston, master rod,link rod,rear cover assembly

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Author Topic: Out & About in New Zealand (Read 4778 times)