Contractors Loco Project

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-steves-
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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by -steves- » Wed Feb 02, 2022 2:27 pm

philipy wrote: Wed Feb 02, 2022 11:48 am
GTB wrote: Wed Feb 02, 2022 11:06 am
I wondered if you'd found a source for an N20 with a worm drive gearbox, but they aren't available from the local suppliers.
I got mine from a UK supplier called "The Pi-Hut", who specialise in Raspberry Pi and similar, mainly for robotics I think, and they have it available at 6v with 42:1, 118:1 and 300:1 options.
However there are a few on UK ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203531982725 ... Swujtg9-KF but coming from China.
This is a 12v one but I'm sure that when I was looking a month or so ago there were more options from China.
I do wonder if you unscrew that gearbox and try to knock out the final drive shaft and replace it with a longer one. No idea if it would work, might need some heat, but worth an idea.
The buck stops here .......

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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by philipy » Wed Feb 02, 2022 2:36 pm

-steves- wrote: Wed Feb 02, 2022 2:27 pm
I do wonder if you unscrew that gearbox and try to knock out the final drive shaft and replace it with a longer one. No idea if it would work, might need some heat, but worth an idea.
Something along those lines did cross my mind, but the gears themselves are so fine, that the chances of getting it run smoothly after all the heavy surgery are vanishingly small, I suspect.
Philip

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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by Lonsdaler » Thu Feb 03, 2022 4:39 pm

Thanks for the extra post re. the drive Philip. I think the orientation you have fitted the motor explains why I hadn't noticed your use of that motor/gear combination.👍

Graeme - take a look on Aliexpress - several suppliers it seems.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKeSTfw
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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by ge_rik » Fri Feb 04, 2022 6:48 pm

Lonsdaler wrote: Thu Feb 03, 2022 4:39 pm take a look on Aliexpress - several suppliers it seems.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKeSTfw
I bought mine from Ali Express. Take a bit longer to arrive but they are slightly cheaper and there's a wider selection.
I also bought my HO gauge wheels and couplings from Ali Express for my GVT project. I'm really pleased with the quality.

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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by philipy » Tue Feb 08, 2022 9:20 am

Well the loco is finished....sort of!
I had expected to post some pics and a video over the weekend when I hit a snag. The plan was to use the "LED Controller" r/c system from SMT 157 & 159 and I had that wired in and working. The only snag is that it doesn't have reverse, but Mike Jeffries, who wrote it up, has designed an add-on board to provide that function. It actually also has other functions that I don't need so I dropped Mike a line asking about omitting part of the circuit, to save space in my very tight location. We've exchanged half a dozen emails and got it down to a managable physical size. Trouble is that I then had to get the components. Then I discovered that the controller I had is a different version to the one Mike wrote up, but he has done a revised write up for that, so that meant more emails asking for the update! Then that required two more components that I didn't have, so I'm currently waiting for Mr Amazon to deliver what I hope is the last package.

Anyway, I've used the last few days to sort out the loco crew and I'm feeling quite pleased with them. The driver is sitting on the water tank with his hand on the regulator, but the regulator is part of the body and the tank is part of the chassis and whichever part I fix him to means that I can't separate the two. Normally I'd put a screw up his leg from underneath, but that won't work with this because I can't get to the bottom at that point. Then I remembered reading about people using magnets to hold figures and thought that might be the answer. I managed to find some 3mm diam by 1.5mm thick Neodym magnets and got some to try. I filed the drivers heels off and Gorilla-glued a magnet to each heel, then a small piece of tinplate can lid was glued to the floor and hey presto! If I do this in future I'll print a hole for the mgnet, because the resin is too brittle to drill.

This shows him sitting in mid air to show the strength of these little magnets, and a view of the magnets from underneath, and finally, just so he doesn't feel left out, his mate leaning against the can! I'll magnet him in due course, once I can put the body back on the chassis to get the alignment right.
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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by ge_rik » Tue Feb 08, 2022 11:38 am

They look pretty darn good!

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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by Andrew » Wed Feb 09, 2022 9:09 am

ge_rik wrote: Tue Feb 08, 2022 11:38 am They look pretty darn good!
They do indeed!

Out of interest, and at the risk of revealing my ignorance of all things 3D printing related, were they "found" files that you modified to suit your needs? They look like they'll be perfectly suited to their quirky little loco...

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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by philipy » Wed Feb 09, 2022 11:37 am

Andrew wrote: Wed Feb 09, 2022 9:09 am
Out of interest, and at the risk of revealing my ignorance of all things 3D printing related, were they "found" files that you modified to suit your needs? They look like they'll be perfectly suited to their quirky little loco...
No, basically I created a basic figure, with clothes etc, in Makehuman,
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exported that to Blender to pose it to roughly what I wanted.
Blender start.jpg
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Saved that and exported it to get it into Sketchup and put it in position inside the complete drawn loco.
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Had a look at what needed to be done to the arms and legs to adjust them i.e move at the shoulder or elbow and hips or knees, angle of head, etc. Went back to Blender and made some adjustments,
Blender adjusted.jpg
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re-exported to Sketchup and offered in again. Had to do this several times until I got it right, then exported from Blender into Chitubox ( the slicer) and loaded it into the printer, pushed go and waited just under 4 hours!

It sounds worse than it is :lol: and I couldn't have done it without Metalmunchers coaching a while ago, because Blender is a 'mare and a half, but Ok once you get the hang of this simple operation. I used the same process previously to position the figures for my Wickham Trolley project.
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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by Andrew » Wed Feb 09, 2022 11:41 am

Impressive stuff, thanks for the explanation.

I'm a little worried about the chap in the second picture, his seat looks VERY uncomfortable...

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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by philipy » Mon Feb 14, 2022 3:44 pm

Well... here she is:

This shot is as close as I can get to the original 'big' picture:
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The RH side, based on the very grainy picture from the the pair:
DSC_0017 small.jpg
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Graeme earlier commented about how I would get all the 'electrickery' in. So this is what is under the bonnet/coal bunker:
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From the left: On/Off switch; the 'LED Controller' Rx board flat on the floor; on edge above it is the reversing board; to the right of that is the charging socket; and behind that in the green sleeve is the voltage regulator supplying 5v to the reversing board. The flying lead with a small socket on the end is the connection to the sound system which is housed in the boiler. At the back, over the motor, are three of the 5 batteries, the other two being in the water tank at the back of the contraption!

Once I can get outside and find some track from under the vegetation, I'll get a short video of it in action and post a link.
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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by Peter Butler » Mon Feb 14, 2022 7:12 pm

Just amazing Philip, congratulations on managing to achieve the (almost) impossible. I do hope you can get some practical use out of it now.
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?

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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by Andrew » Mon Feb 14, 2022 7:41 pm

Peter Butler wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 7:12 pm I do hope you can get some practical use out of it now.
Is THAT why we do this??? No one told me!

The loco's fantastic Philip, I love the way you've finished it, the little details really bring it to life. The crew look great, and the rust on the roof is perfect. Congratulations!

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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by Lonsdaler » Mon Feb 14, 2022 8:54 pm

That looks the business, Philip. You've done an amazing job capturing the essence of that quirky little loco.
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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by ge_rik » Mon Feb 14, 2022 10:16 pm

A little gem!
Video next?

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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by philipy » Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:54 am

ge_rik wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 10:16 pm
Video next?
Thats the plan, once the weather improves enough to get the maintenance gang out to clear the line. New contractors were required, the previous lot having been sacked for neglecting their works!
To quote from the local press, "It is believed that this Excellent New Locomotive Engine will be highly beneficial in the efficient execution of the contract."
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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by philipy » Tue Feb 15, 2022 9:24 am

I've just found this piece in a local newspaper of the time, I wonder if this is what caused the need for major repairs/rebuild of our little monster?

It also gives a clue as to the size of the trains and the loads.

Fatal Accident 50%.jpg
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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by GTB » Tue Feb 15, 2022 11:11 am

philipy wrote: Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:54 am To quote from the local press, "It is believed that this Excellent New Locomotive Engine will be highly beneficial in the efficient execution of the contract."
How much did that piece of journalistic misdirection cost the railway management???? :shock:

philipy wrote: Tue Feb 15, 2022 9:24 am I've just found this piece in a local newspaper of the time, I wonder if this is what caused the need for major repairs/rebuild of our little monster?
The loco in the later photo certainly looked like it could have been in the reservoir for a while.......

If that steam powered tool shed could pull four loaded trucks they must have been small and the track flat.

Phil Sharples has a small box tipper in his range which looks like the sort of thing that might be used for spoil. Small flat trucks, or bulkhead flats would be a likely possibility, as they'd be more suitable for moving cement and bricks around. Cement would have been transported in barrels back then, not the paper bags used now.

Since the railway management seems to have been conned into using it for track maintenance after the completion of the reservoir, flat trucks would be more useful for carrying a few sleepers and rails.

Incidentally, congratulations on squeezing all that electrickery into such a limited space. :salute:

Regards,
Graeme

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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by philipy » Tue Feb 15, 2022 3:52 pm

An amazing coincidence this afternoon.

We had a visit from friends of ours who live in S. Wales and we who we haven't really seen since the dreaded pandemic started. He is a Norf Lunnen boy who was a loco fireman working out of Kings Cross until the end of steam and then became a cabby. He is always interested in my model making so I showed him the latest creation. He looked a bit puzzled for a few minutes but when I said what it was, his face cleared and he said " I know where you got that from." It transpired that he remembers seeing it as a wreck at one of the reservoir maintenance yards up until, he thinks, about the 1970's when he saw it being craned onto a low loader to be taken away. He also said thet his memory tells him that it was painted a sort of pale blu-ish colour and that of course could easily tie in with the apparent pale grey colour of the wreck photo. It could also be a weathered version of the fairly common 'Lead grey', or pale grey, often applied to plant.

Small world!
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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by ge_rik » Wed Feb 16, 2022 8:48 am

Wow! What a coincidence!! Amazes me sometimes how interconnected people and places can be.

I once met an unknown random person at a party in Ellesmere Port. After five minutes' conversation it transpired that he once lived in East Anglia (the opposite side of the country) and had been a bell ringer in a church with my brother and sister in law ......

It was a spine tingling moment!

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Re: Contractors Loco Project

Post by Andrew » Wed Feb 16, 2022 8:52 am

philipy wrote: Tue Feb 15, 2022 3:52 pm Small world!
Indeed! That's an amazing coincidence!

It's not uncommon to have to explain the concept of a narrow gauge railway to visitors, what are the chances of entertaining a guest who recognises a loco that niche?! Amazing it survived until the 70s - only to be scrapped...

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