Search found 228 matches

by big-ted
Sun Jan 31, 2021 4:38 am
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Minor update: turns out my cylinder rebuild kit doesn't fit. My Dylan has the smaller (1/2”?) cylinders. I didn't even think to check. I'm a bit surprised, to be honest, as Roundhouse's museum section says the modular kits were introduced in 1987, but they switched to the 9/16” cylinders in 1984. So...
by big-ted
Mon Jan 25, 2021 3:40 am
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Well, the first steam test was.... A total failure. It gets up to pressure, but opening the regulator just sends jets of steam out the exhaust pipes & the wheels show only mild inclings to turn over. On the one hand, I'm not surprised, as the chassis feels very stiff. To the point where one has ...
by big-ted
Sat Jan 23, 2021 5:43 pm
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Hmm. Very interesting. Thanks Graeme. Yes, I was aware that it had at least a much higher methanol content. I suppose it makes sense that methanol is more readily absorbed through the skin than ethanol given its a shorter molecule. My other options seem to include a naptha (petroleum) based stove fu...
by big-ted
Sat Jan 23, 2021 4:22 am
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Looks great. A nice job you've made of setting the wicks, too. Appreciate this. My only experience of meths firing to date is with the old mamod trays, so setting wicks was new to me. My wicks actually sit slightly below the tops of the tubes, but the Roundhouse instructions say they shouldn't be &...
by big-ted
Fri Jan 22, 2021 5:52 am
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Next, onto setting the wicks in the burner. I decided to discard the original asbestos string wicks in favor of a modern equivalent. The included "Roundhouse Guide to Spirit Firing "was very helpful here. One thing I found helpful was to actually let the burner run dry once or twice before...
by big-ted
Fri Jan 22, 2021 5:46 am
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

With the cylinders mounted, I could now set the valve movement and timing via the eccentrics. I confess, this is probably my favourite part of building a loco as it's very satisfying once you get an understanding of what's going on and therefore how to adjust things to optimise performance. With a f...
by big-ted
Fri Jan 22, 2021 5:44 am
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Another overdue update... My kit was missing one firebox end. Simon at Anything Narrow Gauge had warned me of this. The front and rear ends are similar, but differ slightly to clear the inside valve gear. Still, it was pretty easy to figure out the necessary shape of the missing rear end from the fr...
by big-ted
Fri Jan 22, 2021 5:38 am
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Another overdue update... A care package arrived with some 6BA bolts courtesy of my Dad, so the cylinders were mounted. Upon mounting the motion bracket these fouled the front cranks, so some material was filed away for clearance. This has been one of the biggest differences between building this an...
by big-ted
Tue Jan 05, 2021 9:05 pm
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Overdue update on account of temporarily killing my laptop over the holidays... :oops: I decided to bite the bullet and get to soldering the bodywork. The cab and side tanks were basically the same as my Lady Anne, so no surprises there. The smokebox and saddle tanks took some creative setups to cla...
by big-ted
Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:38 pm
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

A quick ebay search for 6BA x 1/2" steel allen screws brought up cap head and countersunk versions. Admittedly they are UK suppliers but a quick search of Ebay Canada brings up the same results and appears to suggest they would post to you . https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trk...
by big-ted
Sun Dec 27, 2020 8:12 am
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Merry Christmas all! Two steps forward, one step back, or something like that... Frames etch primed and painted in Dupli-color black engine enamel: IMG_20201222_112712-1.jpg IMG_20201223_202721-1.jpg Cranks quartered and pinned. This was a daunting process. I've so far avoided drilling and pinning t...
by big-ted
Mon Dec 21, 2020 6:12 am
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Well, 70mm of rain over the weekend meant I had plenty of excuses to get stuck in. Before starting to put my new loco together, I had to begin by taking it apart. I first checked the wheel back-to-back measurement with my Roundhouse gauge from my Lady Anne to make sure the modern tool was still ok t...
by big-ted
Fri Dec 18, 2020 3:27 pm
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Oh, I've already started an email with a list of questions to send to them in the new year, along with an order for a cylinder rebuild kit & some buffers...
by big-ted
Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:25 pm
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

I'm going to make a conscious effort to hold back on building anything new and instead focus on quality rather than quantity. I am weak... :silent: IMG_20201217_080552-1.jpg This is a very early meths fired Dylan kit courtesy of Anything Narrow Gauge. I'll need to convert it to 45mm gauge, which sh...
by big-ted
Tue Dec 08, 2020 5:01 am
Forum: 3D Printing
Topic: Choosing and Using a Resin printer
Replies: 20
Views: 22700

Re: Choosing and Using a Resin printer

I'm using a Form3 from time to time. One important point not mentioned in the original post is that it is important to wear gloves when handling uncured parts, and the resin tanks. The resin is nasty stuff, and you don't want to be getting it in your eyes, or regularly getting it on your skin.
by big-ted
Fri Dec 04, 2020 6:50 am
Forum: 3D Printing
Topic: Resin 3D printers - wagon plates
Replies: 14
Views: 5135

Re: Resin 3D printers - wagon plates

Very nice. You may have missed my similar effort to make loco builders plates using a form3 resin printer:

https://gardenrails.org/viewtopic.php?f ... 90#p156551
by big-ted
Tue Nov 24, 2020 6:15 am
Forum: Mamods & MSS
Topic: Fitting new axles to Mamod locomotive wheels
Replies: 2
Views: 4856

Re: Fitting new axles to Mamod locomotive wheels

Great video. Thank-you. Bookmarked for when I return to fixing the loose wheels on my original mamod locomotives currently in storage.
by big-ted
Thu Sep 17, 2020 8:51 pm
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Sorry, I should have left something in the picture for scale! The plates are 17 x 13 mm. I'm using a Form 3 printer. Up until now I had been using an Ultimaker 2+. The Form 3 definitely has better resolution, and gives a smoother finish without visible layering. But it's a bit more involved in terms...
by big-ted
Thu Sep 17, 2020 6:00 pm
Forum: Projects
Topic: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread
Replies: 132
Views: 76640

Re: The Reading and Squamish Light Railway Stock Thread

Diesel had it's first outing last weekend. diesel_day_1.jpg I now have far more stock than I can reasonably store in my apartment, so I'm going to make a conscious effort to hold back on building anything new and instead focus on quality rather than quantity. My Lady Anne is set to receive some deta...
by big-ted
Tue Aug 25, 2020 4:17 am
Forum: General Garden Railways
Topic: eBay madness
Replies: 268
Views: 258414

Re: eBay madness

Some of the prices realised by the Abbott collection recently blew my mind, especially given that it was listed with a private auctioneer who adds ~25% in fees on top of the hammer price. Granted, proceeds were going to the Welshpool & Llanfair railway, so maybe people felt generous in light of ...