Innehållsförteckning för June 2022 från Engineering in Miniature

I concluded last month's column with our 6-inch scale Lynton & Barnstaple 2-6-2T ‘Yeo’ (Photo 1) back in traffic after its steaming issues were sorted out - this did not last long… A couple of days later the locomotive came limping back into the station wheezing horrendously on one half of the stroke of the left-hand side cylinder. This immediately told me the gasket between the valve face and the cylinder bore had failed. On this engine there is a split between the cylinder bore casting and the valve face - this split runs right through the middle of where the exhaust passage goes through the frames. This requires a gasket that seals between the inlet passageways and the exhaust passageways with the nearest compressing fixture about three inches away…

A productive time for Mr James who is also responsible for this useful review of miniature lines, a special edition of the Narrow Gauge Railway Society magazine The Narrow Gauge distributed to members. This is according to Jonathan the result of an excess of miniature railway reports sent in by members. The Society has previously put out only an annual listing so this 32 page booklet with plenty of colour photos is a step up. Close to 120 lines are listed, from model engineering society tracks to major 2¼-inch and 15-inch lines such as at Fairbourne, Ravenglass and Romney and the 20-inch North Bay Railway in Scarborough. It's an interesting overview - our only thoughts would be that a county by county listing would be more useful than the simply…

I first came across model engineering as a teenager in the form of a 3-inch scale traction engine at a local fete and was fascinated. I determined that at some point I would own one. Work and lack of money - as a junior civil servant meant that it remained just a dream for many years. Regular visits to steam rallies retained my interest, though did nothing to really improve my knowledge. In 1991, after several promotions and with my wife also earning we had the money and opportunity to fulfil my ambition. I have basic DIY skills including gas and arc welding, but no experience of lathe work or milling, so I decided it would be sensible to buy a ready-built model and I duly purchased a brand-new 3-inch…

The annual ‘GL5 Rally’ of the Ground Level 5” Gauge Mainline Association took place over the 22nd to 24th May, on the East Somerset Society of Model and Experimental Engineers (ESSMEE) track at Bath & Western Showground near Shepton Mallet, with a good attendance by GL5 members and the promise of a good weekend. I arrived on Saturday morning and the line was already in full operational mode, the steaming bays busy and plenty of rolling stock in the top yard. There was a plentiful supply of tea and cake available in the ESSMEE clubhouse and a good atmosphere prevailing throughout the club. It was also good to catch up with many GL5 members who I hadn't seen for some time and as usual they were all ready for the…

In last month's edition describing my restoration of a Gauge 1 Midland Compound, bought on the used market and in need of a lot of work, I focused on the tender bottom end. Now it was time to turn to the bodywork and to fully restore it required total removal of the remaining paint as it interfered with soldering. Doing that did enable me to sort out various basic problems I discovered in various parts of the build, or perhaps repairs with epoxy glue. I was able to repair these and so strengthen everything with soldered joints. After stripping the paint, the whole tender body started to come apart more than ever! I will return to this later. The buffer beam was part of the main tender body and I…

A friend of mine from the Wakefield SMEE and I had for some time been throwing around the idea of making a slate wagon to go along with his 3-inch scale 7¼-gauge quarry Hunslet and Kerr Stuart Wren 0-4-0STs, the intention being that the wagon would require as little machining as possible. During the first lockdown I finally had the spare time to really sit down and think about how to do it. Of course we chose one of the more complex wagons to build, a Penrhyn Quarry cut-slate wagon built by de Winton & Co of Caernarfon in around 1879, and latterly modified in the quarry's works at Coed-y-Parc. The reason for choosing this particular wagon was that I like the builder and its products, my friend liked the…

Back in part 2 of this series, in the October 2021 issue of EIM, I carried out the main construction work on my traction engine boiler - now it was time to return to the boiler to finish it and install the burners. As mentioned earlier, I plan to run this traction engine on propane, since it has proven to be a very trustworthy and hassle-free fuel for all three of the live-steam locomotives I have built. I re-used the burner design from my Ten-wheeler, namely the ‘Swiss Cheese’ propane burners - they got their name from the many holes… They have performed well in that loco for seven running seasons as I write, so I decided to use a burner type that I know to work well, in this…

This is an attractive and inexpensive softback survey of one of the UK's leading 7¼-inch gauge public lines - the Swanley New Barn Railway has been running around its park in the Kent town since 1983, celebrating a necessarily quiet 35th anniversary last year. The author, known for his passion for miniature lines, has visited this particular railway many times and is able to provide an in-depth study that benefits from plenty of colour photos alongside the narrative. The book starts with a compact history of the railway, added to greatly by the memories of early members, and including four route maps showing how the route has developed over the years. Readers are taken on a photographic trip along the line before a chapter describing how the railway is operated.…