Stuart Beam Engine in Diorama

[J.L.]

Jason, I took your suggestion and lowered the cast iron base from 1 1/4" to 1" on the mock-up. That 1/4" reduction in height was significant. It let the base settle down so nicely. And as you note, any casting protrusion exposed below can be cut into the Coiran floor material.

Thanks. 

John

[J.L.]

Lowering the brick plinth mean altering the depth of the flywheel pit.
This picture is not pretty, but it is an example of what I mentioned above. With foam board, it is so easy to make alterations to prototype changes.
The depth of the pit has been changed three times as seen here...

The pit will be lined with brick and the floor tiled with cement tile.

[Flyboy Jim]

John........it's fascinating seeing how your thought process is working through this engine building/diorama exercise. 

Also, thanks for the pic of the flywheel. I see the lugs that Jason mentioned. Personally, I like the flywheel he shows with them removed much better.

Jim

[Chipswitheverything]

Very interesting to see your careful design process illustrated in the photo sequences , John.  Certainly, making the physical mock ups has paid dividends in the visualisation of the end result.  I know that this will before too long be another lovely model in an appropriate setting!   Dave

[J.L.]

Thank you Dave and Jim,

The prototype continues with the determining of the floor height around the engine. The column is six feet high. The cast iron engine base,   steel engine plate and brick plinth add another 1 1/2 feet. That puts the floor of the gallery at 7 1/2 feet.

This is good. Take away the distance of the beams under that upper floor and the headroom is 7 feet.

[J.L.]

Tom's Google research on page four of his thread showed many sketches of beam houses. I noticed in most all of the houses that the upper floor was located level with the entablature. This meant that the beam bearings were at or above the floor level.

I have never been thrilled with the Stuart design of the entablature beams. They extend outward to support bearings and then just seem cut off unlike the Stuart Major Beam, where there is a nice rounded nose to join them.

Here, in a rectangular hole in the floor, the abrupt beam ends will seem have a purpose being cut as they are.

Notice in the second photo the stairs rising to the upper floor.  Interesting.

[Jasonb]

Those seem to be larger engines, on the fiorst pic if you take 3ft as a common railing height then that is a considerably larger engine than the Stuart. The second engien has a 10-11ft flywheel and also has the beam a lot higher above the top of te flywheel than a stuart.

To have a hand rail like teh first photo would need an engien with a flywheel about this size say 14ft

[J.L.]

Hi Jason,

Yes, much, much larger works than we are working with here. The column on the Stuart Beam is only 6 feet high. However, in a small beam house, a 7 foot ceiling height could be normal. Ceilings in my home are 8' on the main floor and 7' in the basement. I added a  family room off our dining room on the main floor, with a step down of one foot  and notice quite a visual difference with a ceiling height of 9'.

So, I think the 1:12 scale will allow for an upper gallery or floor at the 7.5' level.

Cheers...John

[Jasonb]

Having worked in many victorian and edwardian houses 12-14ft ceilings are not uncommon, commercial properties and engine houses would have been built to suit the engine

[J.L.]

Yes Jason, our roof will be 15' high from floor to roof out in front of the upper beam gallery.
John

[J.L.]

Bob Gordon's booklet "Model Steam Engines" published by Shire Library has a photo on page 10 that  I would love to show here in this thread. However,  it has a copyright restriction.

It shows a three story beam house with the engine on the second floor. Downstairs, the large flywheel can be seen through  arches. The beam passes through a hole in the third floor. Above that, a section of roof with rafters is represented.

Rather a neat doll house!

A lot can be gleaned by just looking at photos of model dioramas in these publications. On page 14, metal stairs decent to the boiler room in the basement. The horizontal mill engine on the floor upstairs sits on chequered black an white flagstones.

[Jasonb]

Maybe thats where we differ, I would always prefer to look at old images of actual engines rather than other models where you never know how much artistic license has been taken. George Watkins series of books are very good for this as he captured the last days of steam before many of these engines were scrapped

I was talking about 1 storey being 12-14ft not ground floor to roof

[J.L.]

Jason,

I think we are confusing each other. This will be only a one storey room 15 feet tall. I think I have misled you by referring to 'a floor above'. It's not really. It's just a gallery that projects out into the room to the front of the entablature. 

A narrow staircase will lead up to it on the left.

John

[b.lindsey]

John, as long as you just post the picture you mentioned and give credit to the author/publisher, that should be ok. You are doing so for illustrative purposes only.

Bill

[J.L.]

Hi Bill,

I think you are right. When I was teaching, there was some descression in making photocopies of copyrighted material in the classroom for educational purposes.

Thanks for stepping in on this one. However, rather than muddy the waters further I will go ahead with my design. Artistic licence may rear its ugly head as I continue...

Cheers...John