Author Topic: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins  (Read 7093 times)

Offline doubletop

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7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« on: March 16, 2016, 09:21:39 AM »
 I've not been here for a while. In August 2014 I purchased a second hand 7.25" gauge "Dart" locomotive based on a GWR 0-4-2T. The intention was to tidy it up a bit. Here's the story in 6 minutes.

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

Where possible I retained as many original parts as I could............

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

Offline joe d

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2016, 12:08:48 PM »
Pete:

Great job on the re-furb!  Wish I could do that in 6 minutes :Lol:

Cheers, Joe

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2016, 06:32:11 PM »
Pete, that is an amazing amount of work but you must be pleased with the results. I can only dream of riding behind a scale loco I built or had a hand in building. Well done!!

Bill

Offline doubletop

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2016, 05:25:27 AM »
Joe/Bill

Thanks guys. It's been a bit of a journey but i've enjoyed it and learned heaps. I'm over the big stuff but still a bit more to do. With locos there's always a bit more to do.

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

Offline sbwhart

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2016, 06:22:45 AM »
What a cracking job Pete, it looked like it had been well used before you did the rebuild, why was the boiler scrapped?. It will certainly be good for a lot more years running now.

Cheers
Stew
A little bit of clearance never got in the way

Offline Stuart

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2016, 07:55:40 AM »
Nice work on the refurb

I built a Didcot 1400 0 4 2 in 5 inch g full scale so I know the work involved

At your gauge setting the valve between the cylinders would have a bit easier , it was a swine on mine

Stew it looked like the fusible plug had melted indicating a boiler run dry , being a steel boiler other joints may have sprung


Stuart
My aim is for a accurate part with a good finish

Offline doubletop

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2016, 08:35:38 AM »
Stew and Stuart

Thanks

The boiler had a very tiny firehole so the plan was to increase its size so the old one was cut out and a larger tube prepared to replace it. We had ourselves set up on Saturday morning with the propane and oxy kit available and started to heat the boiler. Pretty soon we had soft solder dripping out of the tube joints in the firebox. Being two Poms we switched everything off and went for a cup of tea. Clearly somebody had caulked the tubes with soft solder, something that was never going to last and could not be fixed as silver solder could not be applied over the soft. We weren’t going to waste time trying anyway. The price was renegotiated and I purchased it sans boiler.

When it came to the valve gear I asked a question on the MECH forum where the loco gurus hang out. Don Ashton of valve gear fame offered to redesign the valve gear and pretty soon I had a new set of drawings with subtle changes to the size and location of all the valve gear parts. That's where my article in ME came about "Frame Mapping" I used my DRO's to locate every hole on the frames so I could place the valve gear parts exactly where they should be to Dons design. Don's design has a defined lead so the eccentrics are pinned to the crank webs. No grub screws and one variable out of the way.

Martin Evans provided holes in the valve chest to set the gear. Don advised the only place to set valve gear was from the ends of the valve rod extensions. Hence the two photos of them both being just 2 thou different in length and the depth micrometer being used to set the position with a protractor being used to set the crank angle. It all got set up like that and all pinned in place and It has never been changed since. The whole thing is within a few thou of Dons design when the axle boxes set at the correct height. It runs beautifully with a nice even beat.

Pete

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

Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2016, 08:50:53 PM »
Good to see you again Pete.

Fantastic video and fantastic job.
Your stuff always gets me thinking of my dream again.
Carl (aka Zee) Will sometimes respond to 'hey' but never 'hey you'.
"To work. To work."
Zee-Another Thread Trasher.

Offline doubletop

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #8 on: March 19, 2016, 08:21:59 PM »
Thanks Carl

Yes its been a while I've been going loco the past few years, this is my fourth, so tend to spend my time on other forums.

To state the obvious don't just dream it take steps to do it. (note to self; go and check what Zee has been up to lately)

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

Offline scc

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #9 on: March 19, 2016, 09:36:13 PM »
Great informative video Pete, and lovely workmanship.  Coming from Devon I always like to see the GWR represented. My father-in-law was a  cleaner/fireman/driver on GWR and ended his career driving top link HST's wearing a tie and a white shirt!  I have a great photo of him as a young man firing King Edward 1st .   When I was still at school I had many trips behind 14xx locos.   Thank you for posting.               Terry

Offline doubletop

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2016, 12:22:31 AM »
Terry

Thanks

I'm from GWR country and used to go to school on the train hauled by steam. They soon got replaced by diesel and then "multi's", (multiple unit railcars)

 1466 as my first school holidays job was at the then new, and now gone, Didcot power station. My sister lives 15mins from the Didcot Railway centre.

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

Offline yogi

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2016, 11:59:27 AM »
Great work Pete! That's a wonderful locomotive.  :ThumbsUp:
Also, the video/slide show turned out great. Thank's for sharing.  :cheers:

Offline Steamer5

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #12 on: March 23, 2016, 02:09:58 PM »
Hi Pete,
Looks like you've been busy since last time we played trains! Saw your picture on the video for Palmerton's open weekend, looked to have been a fun couple of days. Would loved to have been there but we had a 4 yearly maintenance shutdown, had 14 night shifts to do... :insane: must catch up sometime soon.

Cheers Kerrin
Get excited and make something!

Offline doubletop

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #13 on: April 03, 2016, 07:13:59 AM »
Yogi/Kerrin

Thanks and apologies for my tardy reply. I had seen your posts but have been away.

Kerrin

I have noticed your absence from Locomotion these past two years. Its a pity as this year was particularly good and not just because I got to play with the big boys.

Hope to see you there next year if not before

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

Offline pp2076

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Re: 7.25" gauge locomotive restoration in 6 mins
« Reply #14 on: July 28, 2017, 05:05:26 AM »
Judging by the scrap box, the only parts remaining of the original are the wheels.
Nice job though

 

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