POP POP POWER

A place for discussing diverse methods of powering locomotives, such as Internal Combustion, Wind, etc...
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Dr. Bond of the DVLR
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POP POP POWER

Post by Dr. Bond of the DVLR » Wed Sep 12, 2012 11:46 pm

Pop pop power

I'll upload a diagram/ emmet style drawing tomorrow but has anyone ever laid a trough between the tails and mounted a pop pop boat boiler in between a set of wheels for power? The idea came to me today out of the blue... Should I be worried? :lol:
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Post by tuppenced » Thu Sep 13, 2012 12:22 am

Yes, very worried!
The thrust from a pop-pop engine is on a par with that of a fairy's kiss.

Then again people have built Hot Air engined locomotives for Garden Gauges, so please give it a try and let us know.

David

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Post by Crackingjob » Thu Sep 13, 2012 7:27 am

is that not a canal????

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Post by Dr. Bond of the DVLR » Thu Sep 13, 2012 8:39 am

A canal with rails on each side...
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Post by GTB » Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:05 pm

Mr. Bond of the DVLR:74747 wrote:A canal with rails on each side...
I'd call it a steam/hydraulic linear motor.......

The vehicle would need to be very light, with low friction pinpoint bearings. It may work , although the motor in the average pop-pop boat is rated in fractional mosquito power.

There is an article on building a pop-pop boat by Marc Horovitz here, which looks like it might be worth a try using the motor part of the design.

http://www.nmia.com/~vrbass/pop-pop/buildpop.htm

I look forward to the video.

Graeme

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Post by Pendo Pilot » Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:16 pm

Sounds like a lot of work for little reward, however if you are going to lay stuff in the 2ft/2ft 7(whatever broad gauge is) then why not try Brunels atmospheric railway design? Using a hoover for propulsion, although points could be complex & getting a good seal might be as tough as the real thing. :D
Tommy Dodd may have an ARS key but I have a TASS button & a Rope Ladder, just like pirates, except the TASS button bit.

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Post by Dr. Bond of the DVLR » Thu Sep 13, 2012 2:05 pm

There are two problems with the design:

Non reversible
It has to be absolutely flat!
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Post by TommyDodd » Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:00 pm

It might be easier if you were to separate the prime mover from the payload...

THOUGHT EXPERIMENT:
Take a small circular lake (use a washing-up bowl or similar). Place a large-ish number of pop-pop boats (8 or 12) thereon. Connect them up in a "wheel" arrangement so they all face in the same direction (clockwise or anticlockwise). Connect the "hub" of the wheel to a drum. Connect the drum to a loop of cord for cable haulage. Attach rail vehicles to cord, set fire to pop-pop boats, sit back and watch...
Well, now we know the buffer-stops work! (Heard at 2013 "Longest Day" solstice steamup)

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Post by Keith S » Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:20 am

Pop-pop boats can barely overcome surface tension. I would be very surprised indeed if your idea would work. But, I have been surprised by things before.

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Post by benchmark » Sat Sep 15, 2012 8:09 pm

tuppenced:74743 wrote:Yes, very worried!
The thrust from a pop-pop engine is on a par with that of a fairy's kiss.
How do you know? have you been kissing fairies :lol: :lol:

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