The Apple Valley Railway (7 1/4") - Pt2

[Nomis]

A comparison of scale!

20120704_172314 by simon mace, on Flickr

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[Nomis]

Building No 2
The second locomotive for the Apple Valley Railway is actually a re-build of a very unusual 5” gauge machine. This was built by my father many years ago for a friend as an experiment to see if it was possible to build a “sit inside” loco for such a narrow gauge.
The chassis is constructed from solid steel bar, and was originally 18” wide and 36” long. A motor from a Sinclair C5 is positioned, driving the wheels via a worm & wheel gearbox and chains. The axle boxes are mounted in vertical slides, with springing provided by rubber blocks.
With the original loco, the driver sat low down, with his knees up under the bonnet, and his feet either side of the motor. The body was hinged so that it could be pulled down over the driver. The loco worked, and proved the concept, but was always quite unstable and eventually fell into disuse.
Once my railway was built, the chassis was very generously donated to see if it could be made into a useful 7 ¼” gauge loco.
The first task was to widen the gauge; this was relatively simple as the design of the wheels enabled them to slide on the axles (once the locking screws had been loosened). I also took the opportunity to shorten the chassis to 30” overall length, to better match the other stock on my railway.
As my line is very short, with steep gradients, I decided to reduce the overall gear ratio. To do this I purchased a small sprocket of the correct pattern from bearingboys.co.uk, and had it bored out at a local engineering company to match the output shaft of the worm & wheel gearbox. The sprocket was then welded to the output shaft.
The original body of the loco was constructed from sheet plywood. This was long gone, so I decided to build something more in keeping with my line. I work to rough scale of 1:5, giving a 3’ gauge prototype. In order to provide plenty of internal space for batteries etc, I chose a 23ton GE boxcab as the inspiration for my design.
Although the overall shape of this loco is very simple, it features a large number of cut outs for windows, which would need to be accurate and consistent to capture the feel of the prototype. As I wanted this to be a steel body, cutting these openings by hand would be difficult.
A friend recommended a local firm that offered laser cutting services at good rates, that he had recently used to produce components for a number of bridges on his gauge 1 garden railway. All I had to do was provide drawings of what I wanted, and they would do the rest. Advanced CAD skills were not necessary (I sent them a drawing that I made in about an hour on MS paint!), the important thing being to include all of the dimensions that will be needed.

The body parts were cut from 2mm thick mild steel sheet which was welded together as shown in the pictures. Sections of steel angle were used to reinforce the corner joints.
In order to achieve a good solid construction, I decided to seam weld the four main body joints. This allowed me to grind the joints down to a neat corner. A word of warning here, don’t underestimate the effect that the heat of welding can have on sheet metal, I was lucky to spot the first joint creeping apart due to expansion before any harm was done. The best approach is to make a series of tack welds, spaced 2-3” apart to hold everything together, then fill in the remaining gaps once you are happy that everything is square and true.
The window frame sections were tack welded into the body from behind, taking care to ensure that they are correctly positioned first. I held them in place for welding using normal DIY masking tape. I find this holds things long enough to get a few tacks in place, and as long as only a small quantity is used, it burns off harmlessly if exposed to direct heat.
The roof panel was made by cutting a length of 4 inch diameter steel tube lengthways using an angle grinder to create the curved edge sections, these were then welded to a rectangular plate, and small pieces of angle iron welded inside to locate the roof on the body. As the roof is made from thick (3mm) plate, it is heavy enough not to need any further attachment.
The body is painted using rustoleum spray cans. I find this particular brand to be very easy to apply, and a satin finish is available – far more suitable for railway models than high gloss car paint.
The buffer beams are lengths of stained 2x4” timber, bolted to short lengths of 1” steel angle, that are welded to the main chassis.
Control of this loco is via a speed controller produced by dawnmist studios, this is a heavy duty unit, capable of handling up to XXA continuously. As the motor is rated at 250W, and I use two 12V car batteries in series for power (giving a 24V supply), this is plenty for my needs.

[Nomis]

Some pics of No 2 under construction & complete:

2017-07-12_09-04-06 by simon mace, on Flickr

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[Nomis]

A weedkiller wagon, built using an old calor gas bottle and plumbing fittings from B&Q:

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[Nomis]

A track extension.

At first I tried a figure of 8, but the crossing proved too tricky:

2017-07-12_09-13-23 by simon mace, on Flickr

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[Nomis]

2017-07-12_08-57-49 by simon mace, on Flickr

An experimental "slab truck" with inside bearings and removable top:
(since broken up & re-built as a more conventional flat)

20150124_154254 by simon mace, on Flickr

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[Nomis]

Tiny ASF "Akku-loc".

A friend who models on 5" gauge was trying to build the smallest / most portable loco possible, and was having the components for a 1/12 scale version of a German standard gauge battery works shunter laser cut. He asked if I wanted a set of parts for a 7 1/4 version cut - so I said yes:

2017-07-12_08-56-19 by simon mace, on Flickr

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I got it complete enough to tow me around the garden (with a battery on a following wagon), then sold it off as it really didn't fit in.

The concept of a really small loco was good though, and something I keep meaning to return to....

[Nomis]

An overview of the garden looking East:

20151004_154635 by simon mace, on Flickr

And West:

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A second passenger wagon:

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[Nomis]

Another experiment, this time a ait astride well wagon.

A bit of a failure this one, never rode well and felt quite unstable:

2017-07-12_08-55-42 by simon mace, on Flickr

2017-07-12_08-55-26 by simon mace, on Flickr

The rebuilt slab truck:
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[Nomis]

I help out at another Cornish 7 1/4" gauge "garden" railway far more ambitious than my own, and in exchange get running rights.

Here are some pictures taken at the Kensey Valley Miniature Railway:

20160424_111652 by simon mace, on Flickr

20160424_122034 by simon mace, on Flickr

received_960972300682863 by simon mace, on Flickr

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[Nomis]

Some videos

A trip around the line behind No1:



Leaves on the line:



A few clips of No1:

[Nomis]

A friend's loco on it's first steam trials after a rebuild at the KVMR:



And a steam-up back in 2015:



A couple of day's spent playing trains at woody bay:

[Nomis]

After several years of living outdoors the wooden body of No1 was getting pretty tired, so it was time for general overhaul & rebuild. The new body is (loosely) styled after a Ruston LAT, to 4" scale:

20160131_153108 by simon mace, on Flickr

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[Nomis]

No craft knives and contact adhesive here:

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[Nomis]

A normal barbeque scene?

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Building a simple flat wagon:

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[Nomis]

Autumn steam-up on the KVMR in 2016:



And a full trip around the line, shot between 3 locos (including my Ruston):

[tom_tom_go]

Just caught up with all your posts and I love what you have achieved.

I love the larger proportions of the 7 1/4" narrow gauge locos compared to standard gauge ones. It would be my choice of scale if I ever had the chance!

[Big Jim]

I have been looking at larger stuff and to be honest you get an awful lot for your money.
Very tempted

[Nomis]

That is true.

Track (per yard) costs about the same for me in 7 1/4" as it does in g scale.

Locos are expensive if bought rtr, but how many are you ever going to need?

My battery locos probably cost me a couple of hundred each, and the steamer was about the same as a coal fired 16mm loco (or a top of the range roundhouse).

It just takes some "adjustment" when you first see the price of some locos....

[Nomis]

This is a great deal for anyone thinking of building a battery loco:

https://17d-miniatures.co.uk/store/narr ... rocket-set