16mm NGM Peterborough Show 2014 - the Mamod Chapter

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16mm NGM Peterborough Show 2014 - the Mamod Chapter

Post by Chris Cairns » Mon Apr 14, 2014 5:41 pm

I attended this show last year and posted the Mamod Chapter here - http://gardenrails.myfreeforum.org/ftop ... 0-asc-.php

So what of this years show developments. This show is too big to get around in 1 day so I apologise to any traders that got missed out this time (I started my travelling from Aberdeen at 19:15 on the Friday).

Mamod Ltd - Again David Terry was manning a basic trade stall, but none the less business was still hectic so it took several returns to the stand to get the opportunity to talk with David. On display he had a Brunel (just a couple of the current batch to sell out then the re-geared Brunel will be on sale - the gearing ratio will be 4 to 1), a Diamond Jubilee Saddle Tank loco with matching ruby tender (still about 20 of the Limited Edition remaining), a Mark II with matching grey tender, the latest Thomas Telford with a matching green tender, a stationary engine plus several accessories & spare parts. I've already covered the Thomas Telford update elsewhere (3 actual locomotives were sold at the show plus a couple of advance orders taken including mine). During my short visit he sold a Brunel, a Mark II which the buyer's wife then said needed a matching tender (nice one), and at least 1 more advance order.

Dream Steam - They were on a larger stand this time so the folded shelf display cupboard was split in two & bracketing the stand. Obviously arrived earlier that day as Paul Junior was still doing quality control on new stock in front of the visitors. I had a small list of MSS spares to get so I gave these to Paul Senior and whilst completing the sale asked about their new steel wheels. These now have tapered axle ends onto which the wheels are securely pressed. The wheels were being sold at the old 2013 prices, which apparently barely covers their production costs, and will go up in price (£10-ish more) shortly. There was no sign of any of the projects discussed last year (Radio Control for MSS/Mark II/Brunel & a opening bench seat for the Brunel) but I still felt uneasy with their customer interaction to ask any more questions so thanked them for the steel wheel update and left. Talking with ace later he told me he has been sent 2 pairs of these new steel wheels after all his troubles so it will be interesting to hear his experiences in due course.

RWM Steam - It was a great pleasure meeting Roy at last years show and I was eager to discuss recent developments which were on display at his stand. He was sharing the stand (with Swanage Models I think) and being in the corner it got very crowded, so again I had to return twice before I could talk with Roy. Firstly I asked what had happened to the RWM James and he said I was the 2nd person to ask that and James was currently resting. I explained that discussion of James after last years show had sparked some interest in obtaining James's bodywork so he has said that he will need to look into his development again. I've been following developments on Roy's website and the 'Coming Soon' items were literally still 'hot' from the etching process in time to make the show.

Image

As you can see these were just available as the plain etches but Roy explained how to form the cylinder covers curve, suggesting to solder a nut inside for easy securing (exactly what I've done with a similar pair of covers on one of my IP Jane's), and that he uses an embossed riveting tool on the overlays but again explained how to emboss them using simple tools (the embossing has already been marked out on the overlays). So I bought a set of cylinder covers, 2 coal baskets and overlays for an IP Jane. He also showed me the new cast brass tank fillers and said he had finally meet the person that does the casting when he visited the stand at the show.

Swift Sixteen - Since last year Rob Bushill has introduced some rolling stock which compliments the Mamod family of locomotives (short coach & 3 plank wagon) plus a brass kit tender designed to suit the Mamod/MSS/IP Jane/RWM Janet range. These were all on display on his stand and I was interested to see if his latest brass casting had made it to the show - it had and was painted in red. It is a steam dome which has been made for the Mamod/IP Jane/RWM Janet, something that has been missing from the after market range for a while now and was something that Roy Wood had been unable to source when we made the suggestion. Should help hide all those water filler valves on the high pressure boilers (I've been lucky to pick up several old Mamod brass dome covers recently).

HGLW - Not a trader that some may identify with Mamod complimentary rolling stock but on display was a customer's commissioned coach which is actually just slightly bigger than the standard Mamod/MSS coach and looks great behind David's IP Jane. It includes plastic glazing and bench seats. Look out for 'Coach J' (named after the originating customer) being added to the 'Everyman' range very shortly.

Image

Plenty of new and 2nd hand Mamod & MSS's for sale on the traders stands. Good to see several Mamod/MSS/etc. running on a couple of the layouts. I do have some very short clips of some action on Rhydypenderhyn - I'll see if they can be edited together shortly.

Chris Cairns.

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Post by pauly » Mon Apr 14, 2014 6:14 pm

I was the 1st to ask him about James, I went over to his stall before the show opened and had chat with him.
Bought a set of I dust rail couplings for my Jane as well.
A steam propelled life-style.

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Post by Chris Cairns » Mon Apr 14, 2014 6:30 pm

His multi-height couplings are simply the best and very reasonably priced. I've just recently fitted a painted set to my ongoing IPS Janet project (a composite IP Jane/ PPS Janet).

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Re: 16mm NGM Peterborough Show 2014 - the Mamod Chapter

Post by kandnwlr » Mon Apr 14, 2014 8:47 pm

Thanks for this, Chris. It´s not just useful for Mamod oscillatory people, but for anyone who fires up small locos.

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Post by mikewakefielduk@btinterne » Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:14 am

Certainly agree about the couplings.

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Post by Chris Cairns » Fri Apr 18, 2014 9:12 pm

Short video with some photos & clips to accompany this Mamod chapter.

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gNTZBAdSSC8?ve ... width="640" height="390"></embed>

http://youtu.be/gNTZBAdSSC8

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PS - The old embed code option has disappeared from YouTube again, but rather strangely the Share Embed iframe coding works on another myfreeforums but not here. What gives this time?

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Post by Bill/Rubery » Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:21 am

Can you tell me more about this re-gearing thing you mentioned please concerning the Mamod Brunel at the !6mm 'show'? I have always thought The Brunel was/is a 'work in progress' locomotive and should have not been put up for sale till it was in a saleable condition.... I wonder if MY Brunel can have the new gearing??
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Post by kandnwlr » Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:36 am

Bill/Rubery:100102 wrote:Can you tell me more about this re-gearing thing you mentioned please concerning the Mamod Brunel at the !6mm 'show'? I have always thought The Brunel was/is a 'work in progress' locomotive and should have not been put up for sale till it was in a saleable condition.... I wonder if MY Brunel can have the new gearing??
Yup, I´d be interested by this too. :?

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Post by kandnwlr » Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:37 am

Chris Cairns:99727 wrote:Short video with some photos & clips to accompany this Mamod chapter.

Chris Cairns.

PS - The old embed code option has disappeared from YouTube again, but rather strangely the Share Embed iframe coding works on another myfreeforums but not here. What gives this time?
Thanks for the video. Some interesting developments, here.

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Post by mikewakefielduk@btinterne » Tue Apr 29, 2014 12:02 pm

Although I've personally never considered the Brunel a "work in progress" its certainly the loco I've had to tinker with most to get it to run on my garden layout (tight curves and gradient). I first fitted radio control to the regulator which worked fine but was ugly so I removed it and instead re-geared it from 2:1 to around 4:1. I have the advantage of being a clock repairer so have a wheel cutting machine. However the cutters I have are for clock wheels, which have a round tip, while engineering gears are flat topped.

(The loco is also somewhat top heavy and the centre of gravity over to one side because of the cylinder location, so I also moved the gas tank and fitted counter weights underneath).

That's has been successful and it now trundles around the track quite happily without running away on the downhill and derailing on the first curve at the bottom.

If its not too difficult, I would still like to re-gear my Brunel "properly" but its not going to be just a case of swapping a few cogs. The new re-geared Brunel (which is now on sale incidentally) has had a host of other changes as well. As well as new frames (to accommodate the different gearing) I understand the cylinder has been  repositioned lower and the pressure gauge moved.

Mike

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Post by kandnwlr » Tue Apr 29, 2014 12:19 pm

mikewakefielduk@btinterne:100107 wrote:Although I've personally never considered the Brunel a "work in progress" its certainly the loco I've had to tinker with most to get it to run on my garden layout (tight curves and gradient). I first fitted radio control to the regulator which worked fine but was ugly so I removed it and instead re-geared it from 2:1 to around 4:1. I have the advantage of being a clock repairer so have a wheel cutting machine. However the cutters I have are for clock wheels, which have a round tip, while engineering gears are flat topped.

(The loco is also somewhat top heavy and the centre of gravity over to one side because of the cylinder location, so I also moved the gas tank and fitted counter weights underneath).

That's has been successful and it now trundles around the track quite happily without running away on the downhill and derailing on the first curve at the bottom.

If its not too difficult, I would still like to re-gear my Brunel "properly" but its not going to be just a case of swapping a few cogs. The new re-geared Brunel (which is now on sale incidentally) has had a host of other changes as well. As well as new frames (to accommodate the different gearing) I understand the cylinder has been  repositioned lower and the pressure gauge moved.

Mike
Thanks. I didn´t have a chance to look at Brunel at Peterboro, but have been thinking about buying one - I was a little concerned that the speed and centre of gravity might lead it to be a locomotive that preferred life off rather than on the rails.

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Post by Chris Cairns » Tue Apr 29, 2014 1:02 pm

Bill/Rubery wrote:I wonder if MY Brunel can have the new gearing??
As was posted back in December 2012 the frames needed redesigning as the middle shaft has 2 gears on it so an upgrade will not be possible. I know Mike will be inquiring about the possibility of obtaining replacement frames and the new gearing.
mikewakefielduk@btinterne wrote:As well as new frames (to accommodate the different gearing) I understand the cylinder has been re-positioned lower and the pressure gauge moved.
I asked David Terry at Peterborough what changes had been made to the Brunel but apart from saying the gearing was now 4:1 and the air slot being changed in the chassis frames he was rather vague about anything else. However if you look closely at their recent display photos posted on Facebook you can just see that the regulator housing has been re-positioned and so has the pressure gauge. Cylinder appears to be at the same height and I cannot see how this could be lowered without lowering the position of the first drive shaft with the flywheel as well.

Image

Mamod could do better with releasing more information about these changes to boost further sales (their website photo still shows an earlier version of the Brunel which was superseded).

I have only run my Brunel on level tracks (both 32mm & 45mm) and found it is best to run it with the cylinder on the inside of the curves (of course that does not cater for reverse curves). I have not experienced any of these uncommanded direction changes as seen on YouTube videos although mine used to come to a stop for other reasons which now seem to have been resolved.

Chris Cairns.

(edited as I forgot to attach the photo!)

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Post by mikewakefielduk@btinterne » Tue Apr 29, 2014 1:54 pm

Spoke to Mamod today about something else and while on the phone asked Peter about the Brunel. He said the cylinder was now some 8mm lower than the original. That's probably too little to be noticeable on their photo, I certainly didn't spot it.

I like the new location of the regulator as it makes radio control a lot easier. When I did it I had the servo at one end by the gas tank and the receiver and battery at the other end. This made running wires from one end to the other difficult as the boiler is wider than the frames.

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Post by kandnwlr » Tue Apr 29, 2014 4:41 pm

Chris Cairns:100110 wrote:
Bill/Rubery wrote:I wonder if MY Brunel can have the new gearing??
As was posted back in December 2012 the frames needed redesigning as the middle shaft has 2 gears on it so an upgrade will not be possible. I know Mike will be inquiring about the possibility of obtaining replacement frames and the new gearing.
mikewakefielduk@btinterne wrote:As well as new frames (to accommodate the different gearing) I understand the cylinder has been re-positioned lower and the pressure gauge moved.
I asked David Terry at Peterborough what changes had been made to the Brunel but apart from saying the gearing was now 4:1 and the air slot being changed in the chassis frames he was rather vague about anything else. However if you look closely at their recent display photos posted on Facebook you can just see that the regulator housing has been re-positioned and so has the pressure gauge. Cylinder appears to be at the same height and I cannot see how this could be lowered without lowering the position of the first drive shaft with the flywheel as well.

Mamod could do better with releasing more information about these changes to boost further sales (their website photo still shows an earlier version of the Brunel which was superseded).

I have only run my Brunel on level tracks (both 32mm & 45mm) and found it is best to run it with the cylinder on the inside of the curves (of course that does not cater for reverse curves). I have not experienced any of these uncommanded direction changes as seen on YouTube videos although mine used to come to a stop for other reasons which now seem to have been resolved.

Chris Cairns.

(edited as I forgot to attach the photo!)

Checked out the website, but I couldn´t see anything about the change to the gearing of the locomotive, which is a must IMHO.

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Post by steamyjim » Tue Apr 29, 2014 5:24 pm

At about 1:30 in the video below, the new piston valve marine engine is shown. It appears the piston rod is somewhat shorter than the style already in use by Mamod. Maybe they have used this on the Brunel to drop the cylinder to a lower level.

<object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/DRFDqG-0bPQ?hl=en_US& ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/DRFDqG-0bPQ?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
Check out my steam and engineering youtube channel at...

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8vX4P ... _PnvhldjjA

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Post by mikewakefielduk@btinterne » Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:07 pm

Just for info, here's how my Brunel looks at the moment:

Image

and

Image

Dunno what will happen in 30 days as that's when my free trial period with imageshack expires.


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Post by Chris Cairns » Tue Apr 29, 2014 11:05 pm

steamyjim wrote:It appears the piston rod is somewhat shorter
I guess both a change in length of the piston rod plus the slip eccentric could be used, but would this not affect the timing?

Mike,

Interesting to see you have re-orientated the boiler. As mine is fitted with the earlier version of axles & bearing retainers it would be a more expensive option to fit new frames, gearing, etc. Do you happen to know what size the banjo bolt for the pressure gauge is? My workshop/kitchen is already too full so I'd need to make space before getting my Brunel out of storage. Just wondering if it is the standard Mamod 1/4" x 28 BSF as that would make fitting a pressure gauge to the Thomas Telford a good possibility.

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Post by Bill/Rubery » Wed Apr 30, 2014 12:03 am

Today I have been putting new buffer beams plus buffers on my Brunel. While doing this I had a good look at the underside. If the new gearing has two cogs on the one shaft that would?? possibly mean that a bigger cut-out is needed at the footplate. It is simple to drill out the pop?? riveting and cut the footplate to accommodate this new gearing. I noticed that in the report about the 16mm show that Mamod was selling off the last of the 'old' models?? (i.e. like mine!) so they could start selling the new model. As I said before, this is a model in progress, I seem to have paid for a model that had not been finished properly hence this mark 2.....
Regards, Bill/Rubery

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Post by mikewakefielduk@btinterne » Wed Apr 30, 2014 8:00 am

Interesting to see you have re-orientated the boiler.
I altered the displacement lubricator to stop it using all its oil in the first 5 minutes, so rotating the boiler made connecting the steam pipe a bit easier (my pipe bender only does really gentle curves). It also meant the pressure gauge wasn't hanging out on one side.

Just wondering if it is the standard Mamod 1/4" x 28 BSF as that would make fitting a pressure gauge to the Thomas Telford a good possibility.
Yes, mine has the same thread as the safety valve and water filler so fitting a pressure gauge to a TT should be relatively easy.

If the new gearing has two cogs on the one shaft that would?? possibly mean that a bigger cut-out is needed at the footplate. It is simple to drill out the pop?? riveting and cut the footplate to accommodate this new gearing.
That's basically what I did when I regeared my Brunel. However I don't think Mamod have quite gone down that route. If you look at the photos I posted yesterday you'll see the cog on the flywheel shaft has very few teeth (in fact its from Meccano) and it drives a new thin cog (that's the one I cut myself) on the layshaft. Then the original Mamod layshaft cog drives the main axle cog.

I don't know for sure but I believe Mamod have retained the same size cog on the flywheel shaft. They can't make the cog on the main axle any bigger otherwise it would hit things on the track. So the only way I can see them altering the gearing would be to move the position of the other two shafts, particularly the layshaft, in relation to the main axle. I'll have a good look when I visit next week and take a few pictures.

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