Garden Railway Forum

New design of rear bogie, basically done as the prototype the bogie rotates in the ring on the centre plate which also can move side to side, there is about 3mm movement each way with the stops in present position but on next one I will move them out another 1mm. The cross shaped support pillar will be fixed to chassis, bogie pivots on the 6mm dowel.
It tracks well on curves now, minimum at the moment is PIKO R5 at 1243r will need some mods to front pony truck to get it navigate a LGB R3 might look at that at later stage. Leonard seems happy with the modifications

Found this picture through the many shots I have taken of Meenglas, it shows the middle of the pony truck, it appears that the front may of had a similar side to side movement as the rear as there appears also to be stops, but I cant see how its possible as the frame and arm from the swivel point are all welded together, and space from the wheels to the inside of frame is only 50mm from my notes, plus I know from my model the inverted top hat cross member you see in photo also limits movement as wheels come in contact with it.

Can anyone shed any light on something done similar on other prototypes, will need to go and look again at meenglas once the lockdown measures allow.

SeamusOD wrote: ↑Mon May 11, 2020 1:34 pm Can anyone shed any light on something done similar on other prototypes, will need to go and look again at meenglas once the lockdown measures allow.

I can't see any evidence of swing links in the photos, so if we assume the front truck is complete (not always a safe assumption on preserved locos.), that would suggest it is a Bissell truck. That design used inclined surfaces in the form of an inverted V to centre the truck and provide some side control. There may be a drawing of the arrangement somewhere on the net.

The side play allowed would depend on the minimum track radius used by the CDJR.

On working models which have to run on smaller than scale radius curves, more side play will be needed and may require compromises like more clearance in frame openings, etc., etc.

Regards,
Graeme

Thanks Graeme I have looked up some info on the Bissell truck it mentions that apart from swinging radially some rotate on the vertical axes but I cant see how that is possible in this case, unless the axle framework is separate to the main frame but from my sketches and measurements plus the rivets you can see on the front frame in picture above its not. I really need to go a have a look again has me confused.
Below is another picture showing rear of pony truck and radial arm if that is correct term. My version of the pony truck

SeamusOD wrote: ↑Mon May 11, 2020 8:41 pm I have looked up some info on the Bissell truck it mentions that apart from swinging radially some rotate on the vertical axes but I cant see how that is possible in this case, unless the axle framework is separate to the main frame but from my sketches and measurements plus the rivets you can see on the front frame in picture above its not. I really need to go a have a look again has me confused.

The Bissell truck/bogie was an early design, which came in 2 wheel trucks and 4 wheel bogies. Both types had the radial arm, but the 4 wheel ones had a centre pin as well, so the wheel frame could swivel, as well as bodily move from side to side, with the side control on both types coming from the inclined surfaces. The 4 wheel Bissell bogie is easily recognised, it has a very short wheelbase compared to later designs.

Regards,
Graeme

Thanks will get better idea when I get a look again at prototype

Wasnt sure how to paint linkages and connecting rods, so painted them black then some flat silver on top, think they dont look too bad. Leonard wondering what is taking so long getting these engines built, dont think he likes the red steam dome either too shiney

This is coming along nicely.

How much will these kits cost?

tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2020 8:41 pm This is coming along nicely.

How much will these kits cost?

Havnt thought about it much yet, this started as a simple project, a laser cut kit that looked like Drumboe for the DRHC as mentioned in first post, but has developed into more!

As I have now re-designed the rear bogie I have a few of the old ones, which I think will be ideal for a coach or rail car, had a plastic motor and gearbox lying around so made a end plate to suit seems to work well on 4.8v

On my first knock up of this model I just made cab roof in strips from same thickness ply but have now redone it in one piece out of 1/16", "pre-curved" overnight in the vice without wetting, not essential as it does bend fairly well with the orientation I have cut it on the sheet, but makes it less springy when clamping down till glue sets.
Think it looks much better and being thinner material also is more prototypical.
You can also see I have also added coal rack to back and step to first model, (its always the guinea pig to see how things fit)

Managed to get to foyle valley railway yesterday, its obviously still closed but Meeglas is outside and easy to view, so had a look at front pony truck again, and it was difficult to see as I couldnt get head in to look, but held camera in underneath and keep clicking till I got a good picture
The front wheel axle set does move sideways and is sprung like rear, due to the plates each side of the wheels it can only move about 1" each way. Going by the photo the middle of the axle is attached to the square sliding plate above it shown in a previous picture, this does explain the deep axle boxes.

Leonard wanted to take her out for a test run, lot of discussion back in the works as whether the steam dome should be red or black. what do we think? Mr Forbes who was watching down from the signal box also declared that maybe the tops of the water tanks should be black The red looks very pinky is this picture,
some gauges and portholes have been added, looks like also Leonard has let the fire go out

Yep, dome and top of the tanks black, but that is just my opinion

I like the black as well.

Looking through books and pictures I have, both Drumboe and Meenglas had red domes when they were sitting in strabane during the 60s after the railway closed,(see pic below) but all the running photos I have when the railway was operational, show them with a black dome.
Columbkille which was apparently freshly painted and put in storage around the closure, also has red dome, as she can be seen inside the FVR museum. So think the red domes may have been a change in the last couple of years of the railway.
Think for my model the black dome will look better to break up all the red.

Good news on the Drumboe restoration, while up at the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre AGM it was announced that funding has been raised for Drumboes stage 1 cosmetic restoration with work starting in next couple weeks and its hoped to have the engine back in Donegal Town beginning of next year which will be great to see.

Rik

Any more news on whether this engine will become a kit?