So....what do we have here?

[Scrat]

Digging through the backlog of repairs I found this loco:



The original wheels are gone. They seem to have become brittle and just crumbled.



One cylinder works, the other is a dummy.



It has a massive burner.

Can anyone identify this? I need new wheels to get her moving again.

[Chris Cairns]

http://sidestreet.info/locos/loco8.html

Chris Cairns

[GTB]

Digging through the backlog of repairs I found this loco:

Can anyone identify this? I need new wheels to get her moving again.

Looks like a Lindale 'Sam'. See here http://www.sidestreet.info/locos/loco8.html

Lindale used zinc die castings for some parts and it sounds like yours had die cast wheels, which have developed intergranular corrosion (zink pest in german).

Lindale went out of business four decades ago, so forget about parts being available. You may be able to find suitable iron castings in the Walsall range of wheel castings to replace the original wheels. I've used them on my scratchbuilt locos that require spoked wheels and found the castings to be good quality with no hard spots, as well as very easy to machine. For a price Walsall can supply machined wheels and axles that are self quartering.

https://www.walsallmodelindustries.co.uk/

Graeme

[Scrat]

Thanks for the info.
The axles including eccentric are still there.
The original wheels had a slotted boss so the quartering was done by pins driven through the axles.
I have some gauge 1 tinplate wheels that match the diameter shown in the pics.
I just need to figure out the distance from axle centre to the crankpin centre.
This is also the first time I see an exhaust regulator.
There is still no decision if I should fix her or try to swap her for something O-gauge.

[Scrat]

OK, decision has been taken yesterday after the Big Box O´Bits(tm) had two ancient gauge 1 wheelsets.
These have high flanges and are suitable for my tinplate tracks.
The piston (I thought) was stuck in the cylinder.
It was the rod that was seized in the bush. Cylinder, piston and O-ring look like new.
Eccentric has been moved to the new axle.
Minor issues have been fixed.
Now I need to make new rods. Getting the dimension for the coupling rods right might not be easy. I´ll start with just the connecting rod to check if she runs.
The model seems well-built but she seems to have been painted without using primer.
Wherever I touch, the paint comes off in flakes.
I´ll leave it like that for now.
Painting is really nothing for me.
If she runs well enough I might have her painted in the original colour scheme later.
First test on air (without wheels) showed that if I turn the rear axle, the eccentric works and the piston rod goes in and out when it should.
Looks promising.

[Old Man Aaron]

I'm quite taken with that engine, dripping with early 20th century charm. You do good work, looking forward to hearing more in time.

[Scrat]

She looks funny in some way.
Almost as big as a 3.5" Tich but running on O-Gauge tracks.

Is there any supplier of rolling stock?

[Scrat]

Next step is taken.
I made some temporary rods from brass.
(temporary....they might last longer)

Had to turn the backside of the wheels down by about 1/10th to make them fit over the frames.

The eccentric strap needed a guide piece to prevent it sliding off the eccentric into the space behind the spokes.
The old wheels had the spokes as wide as the rims so this could not happen.

First test on compressed air: she runs!
I have also put new wicks into the burner and tested it.
Maybe I can have a first run under her own steam tomorrow.

[GTB]

She looks funny in some way.
Almost as big as a 3.5" Tich but running on O-Gauge tracks.

Is there any supplier of rolling stock?

If the dimensions quoted by Mark Horovitz on his website are right, Sam is about 3/4 the size of Tich in linear measurement. Or about 1/2 the bulk.

It works out around the same size as an Accucraft Edrig, which is a chunky monkey by SM32 standards.

Some of the large 16mm scale rolling stock kits would be OK with it. IP Engineering has some freelance kits that are supposed to be designed to match large freelance locos. like Edrig and some of the other kit makers probably have something suitable, but I'd be checking the dimensions carefully before buying.

Graeme

[Scrat]

Success!

Sam ran on the blocks yesterday. Except for the lubricator filler plug not sealing completely there were no problems.
With the wheels in the air he had the right speed for a true shakedown test.
After a few minutes with wheels and rods in a blur I decided to test the exhaust regulator.
Works fine.
Even on the blocks the loco can be controlled to run nice and slow.

I suspect this was the first ever run of this loco.
The paintwork was not suitable for the heat and turned black, even got blisters in some places.
I guess the previous owner bought the kit, assembled it, painted it and put her in the mantelpiece until wheels and rods crumbled to bits.
There was absolutely no wear on the O-ring on the piston.

So now what will I do with her? I guess she needs a repaint. Not my strong point.
I have an O-gauge tinplate layout where she cannot run due to her huge loading gauge, but somehow I like it and do not really want to sell her. the more I worked to get her running the more I liked her.

[Scrat]

Update:

successful test run on the tinplate O-gauge circle.
Exhaust regulator is a really helpful thing. The loco hardly accellerates when going downhill.

Now it is time to start looking for rolling stock (or building something based on old O-gauge chassis) as my daughter wants the loco to stay in the collection.