Garden Railway Forum

Here I plan to document my build of a Lady Anne with a Riverdale coal fired 'Amy' boiler.

The chassis kit is a birthday present, however, I was allowed to open it yesterday (because I am a child really) so I got started straight away!



I am trying not to use CSK screws as I think they ruin the look of locos.

Could I ask those in the know if I can clean the chassis using white spirit or even enamel thinners after rubbing down with Scotch-Brite green or do I have to buy cellulose thinners?

this is gonna be special!!!

I would probably recommend celulose thinners just as a note, I have used the other stuff and did not clean it as much but purely opinion.

Tom_tom_go_go,
That is going to be a lovely model. A chassis is a good birthday present indeed.

Would you mind measuring the diameter of the expansion link bearing hole diameter and the distance from the top of the hole to the top of the mainframe? I am starting to work on a project that involved Roundhouse running gear componenets, and I need to establish this dimension for layout of the frame in preparation for cutting.

Paul

Paul H:80754 wrote:I am starting to work on a project that involved Roundhouse running gear componenets, and I need to establish this dimension for layout of the frame in preparation for cutting.

If you download the Walscaerts Valve gear instruction book from the Roundhouse website, it has a drawing with the critical dimensions for laying out their valve gear on a scratchbuilt chassis.

You will find it on the download page. The vertical position of the pivot hole is set from the horizontal centre line of the cylinders, not the top of the frames.

Graeme

GTB,
Thanks for the lead to that diagram. It will be very useful when laying out my chassis for cutting. The only piece of information that it does not provide is the distance from the center of the expansion link bearing to the top of the chassis. I need the aforementioned dimension to be able to use the weight shaft brackets (penguin brackets) from stock instead of modifying or making my own.

Regards,
Paul

Paul H:80834 wrote: I need the aforementioned dimension to be able to use the weight shaft brackets (penguin brackets) from stock instead of modifying or making my own.

Roundhouse don't supply that, as they've no idea what shape frames are being used on a scratch built chassis.

Once you've laid out the driving axles, that sets the position of the cylinders, which sets the position of the trunnion bearing. You then measure the penguin bracket to determine where it sit on the frames.

It will depend on the depth of the frames of your chosen prototype whether the bracket has to sit in a recess, or on a bump, unless you are lucky....

If you change the size of the penguin bracket, then you need to make new lifting links and so it goes. Laying out valve gear is always fun

Graeme

I am fortunate in that the upper frame edge is hidden by skirting, so I can use the stock dimension without fear of ruining the aesthetics.

http://www.16mm.org.uk/newsite/images/w ... hoto66.jpg

Erin is the subject of my project, of course using as many commercial parts as practical to preserve what little remains of my sanity...

Paul

4.8mm - I asked Roger at last year's RH open day. It doesn't matter what frames are being used, if you plan on using the RH 'penguin' bracket, the distance from the centre of the trunnion bearing hole to the top edge of the frame in that region has to be 4.8mm otherwise the penguin will either not fit or it'll waddle. This might be amusing in the antarctic but not on a loco.

Mike

So back on topic after my thread was hijacked



I always thought I would only ever have just one live steamer, how wrong was I

Molly (the cat) looks annoyed because I sold the diesel chassis that was meant to have her name on it to help fund this coal fired project.

Looks like a sweet little project you have there....

I always thought I would only ever have just one live steamer, how wrong was I

Humm Yes, too true, I've got 4 now!

Your projects looking good though and maybe you could rename the cat

I was wondering if you could persuade Roundhouse to part with a Silver Lady chassis, it's the same dimensions as Lady Ann but has sprung wheels so the centre one actually does some work.

Boustrophedon:84221 wrote:I was wondering if you could persuade Roundhouse to part with a Silver Lady chassis, it's the same dimensions as Lady Ann but has sprung wheels so the centre one actually does some work.

So this thread doesn't get hijacked again, this topic was covered recently in the following thread. The answer is not what most people think........

http://gardenrails.myfreeforum.org/ftop ... asc-30.php

Graeme

tom_tom_go:84172 wrote: Molly (the cat) looks annoyed because I sold the diesel chassis that was meant to have her name on it to help fund this coal fired project.

My sub-miniature tiger wears that expression frequently, especially when I chase her out of the workshop.

Nice paint finish on the new chassis. When is your Riverdale boiler due for delivery?

I see Riverdale are proposing to do a coal fired kit for Katie. Now you know the next project to start saving up for........

Regards,
Graeme

Having owned a RH SL for a few years now I can say although it's very pretty and has rivet detail, simulated drain cocks, sprung chassis, etc if I could start again in this hobby with the knowledge I have now I would of gone down the kit building route and bought a Lady Anne saving myself quite a few quid. I really don't think the sprung chassis makes a difference in performance in this scale.

I can't take credit for the paint job on the chassis as this was done by a family member who runs www.smtsmodels.com as I am building their website. It has a satin finish unlike the RH factory paint which I prefer. The boiler is due in October which seems a long, long time away!

I would of liked a 0-4-0 from Riverdale, however, Elke (Billy) was only on offer at the time and I wanted a British looking loco. Also, Amy (Lady Anne) has all her batteries hidden inside the body whereas on Elke and Irene (Katie) the batteries are underneath the cab roof.

I think I need a diesel next for the line as sometimes you just want to sit back and watch a train go by.

GTB:84275 wrote:

Boustrophedon:84221 wrote:I was wondering if you could persuade Roundhouse to part with a Silver Lady chassis, it's the same dimensions as Lady Ann but has sprung wheels so the centre one actually does some work.

So this thread doesn't get hijacked again, this topic was covered recently in the following thread. The answer is not what most people think........

http://gardenrails.myfreeforum.org/ftop ... asc-30.php

Graeme

Actually that conclusion is obvious assuming classical friction.

But that is not what I was talking about at all.

I like my models to be functional, if it's there then it ought to work. Two wheels not touching the rails are doing no "work" and that slightly offends my  sense of good modelling.

Given the choice and money no object, I would prefer a Silver Lady chassis with 6 sprung wheels all touching to a Lady Ann one with only  four touching and two pretend wheels, irrespective of whether this improves performance or not. Wouldn't you?

I had no wish to hijack the thread, so please continue this discussion here: http://gardenrails.myfreeforum.org/ftop ... asc-30.php

Has anything happened to this thread or is it just not happening at the moment.

Hi Matt,

No progress yet as I am waiting on the boiler to come in October as I need the Riverdale exhaust/inlet tees otherwise it means taking one of the cylinders off later on which I would rather not do.

Boiler on the way!