TVT - Canardly the Tram

Discussion of Live Steam locomotives should be located here
Post Reply
User avatar
GTB
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1550
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:46 pm
Location: Australia

TVT - Canardly the Tram

Post by GTB » Mon Apr 13, 2020 3:53 pm

Background

This story started over two years ago and turned into a saga that added considerably to the scrap box contents..........

On the first of December 2017 I started a new steam loco project, designed to be a 'quicky' to keep me occupied over Christmas. At the time the AME series of articles for building the Ellie tram had been published and since a few steam trams had ended up in timber tram service, I decided to try building a wobbly cylinder tram for something different.

The mechanical design was based on Dave Watkin's 'Idris' design, with a couple of 'Ellie' features thrown in. The nominal prototype was a Wilkinson Patent steam tram, built in the early 1880s by Thos. Green & Sons of Leeds. It was purchased new by J. S. Lee for service on his timber tramway in N.W. Tasmania. Some bits of it were still running around in the Tassie bush in the early 1960s, although by then it was diesel powered. It was known to the employees as 'Coffee Pot', a name in common use in Aust. for small steam locos.

The best photo of this little steamer, as running in the '30s, can be found on the link below. Others exist from various times during it's service life, but most aren't very clear, or show it running as a diesel.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... smania.jpg


So, we now have a prototype, some photos, a drawing published in Narrow Gauge Downunder Issue 10, the materials and a workshop. What can go wrong. :roll:

The Build

The osmotor is basically that in the Idris drawings, modified for geared drive. That took a couple of weeks to make and assemble. When tested on air, it seemed to be working OK and ran smoothly in both directions, so construction was started on the chassis. The completed osmotor is shown in the next photo.

Canardly-1.jpg
Canardly-1.jpg (77.12 KiB) Viewed 4261 times

The chassis was a straight forward 0-4-0 with outside frames. The prototype was built with inside frames to run on 3'6" gauge, but I couldn't find suitable wheel castings and also the outside frames on a 45mm gauge model leave plenty of space for a 2" dia. boiler. The chassis went together easily and after another week we have a rolling chassis fitted with an osmotor, as shown in the next photo.

Canardly-4.jpg
Canardly-4.jpg (90.89 KiB) Viewed 4261 times

Christmas then intervened and it wasn't until the new year that the boiler was built and tested. Again based on the Idris boiler, but increased in diameter and length. The photo shows it having it's hydraulic test.

Canardly-8.jpg
Canardly-8.jpg (115 KiB) Viewed 4261 times

By now we are approaching Australia Day 2018 and the model has all the working bits finished. The photo shows it assembled and ready for a steam test on the rolling road. Plenty of time to fit bodywork and complete it by Easter 2018. Hah.....

Canardly-12.jpg
Canardly-12.jpg (176.98 KiB) Viewed 4261 times

That's when the trouble started. The first burner fitted was a ring burner built to the Idris drawings, which flat refused to work properly in the loco. The gas lit easily, but it burnt in a fireball outside the firebox and heated up everything but the boiler. Rude words were uttered......... :oops:

A ceramic burner was then fabricated and fitted. This worked OK and could build up steam pressure in the boiler, but the osmotor now decided it didn't like running on steam, for no discernible reason. More rude words were uttered and various modifications were made to the osmotor, all to no avail.

At this point the tram was named Canardly ** and left to sit in disgrace on the end of the bench while more promising projects were pursued. Now and again something else was tried, but basically it just sat there developing a nice antique patina.

Step forwards about two years and I was tidying up the workshop after finishing the track extension. The tram was still sitting there in disgrace and I decided to see if a Roundhouse boiler was capable of steaming the osmotor on it's own. It couldn't, but with the motor out of the chassis, I finally noticed something didn't seem right with the cylinders. This time when tested again on air, the osmotor refused to work at all.

To cut a long story short, I finally worked out that the cylinders were faulty and there was a path for the steam between the ports. I suspect that when the cylinders were originally soldered to the port blocks the solder didn't completely penetrate the joint and there was some flux left in there. This was enough to seal the joint when first tested on air, but was washed out by condensate during the first steam tests.

A few hours work, a new set of cylinders later, and the osmotor was running again on air. More importantly it now ran nicely on steam as well.

Bench testing the assembled chassis/boiler now showed that the boiler was struggling to maintain pressure and even with the burner on full, it could not run the chassis continuously. That was when I replaced the ceramic burner with a poker burner. The boiler could now maintain about 20psi, which was enough to keep the loco running without stopping every couple of minutes to raise pressure. The photo shows the three burners tried in this boiler. From left to right, the original Idris gas ring, the 2" dia. ceramic burner and the final poker burner.

Canardly-15.jpg
Canardly-15.jpg (65.52 KiB) Viewed 4261 times

The next photo shows the tram with the fairly rudimentary bodywork of the prototype fitted and sitting out on the track ready for a light loco test run.

Canardly-16.jpg
Canardly-16.jpg (162.91 KiB) Viewed 4261 times

I don't usually bother insulating the boiler and steam lines on large locos. as the boilers can generate more steam than the cylinders use anyway. I this case the boiler output was marginal and it was worth trying. The results weren't startling, but the tram will now maintain 20-25psi while toddling around the track for 25 minutes with a load of three timber pairs. This photo shows it on the final test run last week before being dismantled for painting. The model has an interesting action when running, as due to the gearing the cylinders run in reverse to the wheels. This model also has no exhaust sound, or visible steam plume when running. When I fitted the ceramic burner I also fitted an exhaust water/oil trap, so this model is the cleanest running one in the steam fleet, but also the quietest.

Canardly-20.jpg
Canardly-20.jpg (315.8 KiB) Viewed 4261 times

Painting was completed over the Easter weekend and the last photos show the model standing in the afternoon sun today. The paint is dry, but not fully cured, so the first revenue run won't be for a while yet. At least I know it now runs, so there's no hurry and the next run will depend on the weather.

Canardly-21.jpg
Canardly-21.jpg (154.66 KiB) Viewed 4261 times

Canardly-22.jpg
Canardly-22.jpg (142.47 KiB) Viewed 4261 times

Conclusion

Would I build another wobbler? Probably, as there's a timber tram loco I'd like to build where I could use them, but it is big enough to fit a boiler that can steam the osmotor properly. I've sworn off building any locos with small boilers for a while though.

Regards,
Graeme

** The name 'Canardly'? Well that comes from the Rolls-Canardly, a small British car well known in Australia. It rolls down a hill and can 'ardly climb up the next one............ 8)

User avatar
LNR
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1533
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2016 5:26 am
Location: Australia

Re: TVT - Canardly the Tram

Post by LNR » Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:46 am

Well at least your project is finally finished. I don't think mine will ever end!!
Grant.
PS you'll have to bring it round when this is all over, and give it a grade test!!.

Puddlejumper
Cleaner
Cleaner
Posts: 31
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2020 9:53 am

Re: TVT - Canardly the Tram

Post by Puddlejumper » Tue Apr 14, 2020 8:40 am

That’s a rather pretty thing in an industrial sort of way. Well done for sticking at it, if it had been me it would have been in bits in the scrap bin by now :D
Doug

Hopelessly bodging stuff into some sort of semblance of a railway up in the frozen wasteland of County Durham.
16mm(ish) scale NG on 32mm track

11thHour
Trainee Fireman
Trainee Fireman
Posts: 116
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2012 4:00 am
Location: Wodonga, Vic. Land of Oz

Re: TVT - Canardly the Tram

Post by 11thHour » Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:59 pm

Hi Graeme,
Nice to see a long term project run.
What reduction ratio is Canardly running?
Tim

User avatar
GTB
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1550
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:46 pm
Location: Australia

Re: TVT - Canardly the Tram

Post by GTB » Wed Apr 15, 2020 7:49 am

11thHour wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:59 pm What reduction ratio is Canardly running?
The gear ratio is 2:1, chosen as a trade-off between controllability and steam usage.

It is certainly controllable, but steam usage is a bit higher than hoped for.

Regards,
Graeme

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: TVT - Canardly the Tram

Post by philipy » Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:21 am

I'm lost for words as usual. Just wish I had the skills to do something like that. Looking forward to seeing a video.
Justa quick aside, what is the origin of the driver? Not only does he look the part, but it looks a lovely moulding.
Philip

User avatar
GTB
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1550
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:46 pm
Location: Australia

Re: TVT - Canardly the Tram

Post by GTB » Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:54 am

philipy wrote: Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:21 am Looking forward to seeing a video.
Justa quick aside, what is the origin of the driver? Not only does he look the part, but it looks a lovely moulding.
I'm afraid you will be waiting a long time for a video, as I don't own a suitable camera and I don't own a mobile phone. Just your common garden variety luddite.....

The driver figure was made by Schleich some years ago as part of a family set of wild west settlers. Long gone from the catalogue, but I guess they turn up from time to time. As supplied he had a cowboy hat in his left hand, but I carved that away so it looks like he is holding a rag.

Regards,
Graeme

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests