Garden Railway Forum

Chris Cairns:75017 wrote: Welcome to the Forum Roy.

One item that many of us use is the replacement steel wheels. These were originally designed by IP Eng as multi holed disks. Sadly the holes were dropped over the years and we now have some boringly plain steel disks instead. What is needed is some form of insert which would enhance the look of these wheels. These were available from Alan Briggs but following some major Customer Service problems he left the business rather abruptly. Perhaps dougrail can provide us wth a photo of the ones he obtained (Wayback Machine has not stored anything from www.loco-plates.co.uk - Alan Brigg's business).

Another item would be some smoke box door handles like the DJB Engineering ones.

It is not on your current lists on-line but are/will you be doing the turned brass domes for the IP Jane/PPS Janet? These are also good replacements for those lost on old Mamod SL locos, or to improve the looks of the MSS loco (it has a smaller steam dome), and even an addition to the current Mamod William IIs & Mark 1 & 2 locos.

As you will be aware the UK postage increases have killed a lot of business and it would be nice to get as many of the required Mamodifications from one source - one of the goals of the original owner of Dream Steam I believe which never really came to fruition.

Chris Cairns

You called?

Now Alan Briggs I'd rather not discuss - £40 stock gone walkies, enough said.

Right, references...

1)As provided.


Plain steel wheels. Some people have ingeniously painted them to make them look better. However, still...

2)With Briggs spokings as delivered - Swordbreaker on a test build...



You can see where the brass spokes are and that between them have been left hollowed out, save for the balance weights.

A small note here. I was offered these as a prototype - there was the choice of TR Fletcher Jennings style, or SR Boxpok styling. I believe that something more wide appealing might be a better commercial idea.

3)Finished result.



Wheels had their tyres taped over and Thermacure Satin Black VHT paint applied, coating the entirety of the wheel faces. Baked in my oven and let to settle. Since then the heat from the gas fire has helped cure them too. The effect however of the spokings I believe helps.

Hope that helps.

Pleasure to meet you too Roy - I for one am particularly keen to see what your workshop does to develop the PPS/ Janet range as my engine as photoed above is infact a PPS Janet in terms of, well, the heart of the loco under the bodywork

Excellent Doug,

Just what the Doctor ordered. Thank You.

I actually have 2 locos which have these very plain looking steel disks, and inserts would certainly improve their looks. I have a set of 45mm IP Eng holed disk wheels which I'm half way through converting to 32mm, and I'm trying to fit alternative shafts to a set of Mamod wheels to stop the loose wheel syndrome.

Chris Cairns.

You're welcome Chris.

I would suggest as said, for anyone thinking about going commercial to go for a spoke pattern that would satisfy a wider range than the TR style I obtained mind.

Not to throw a wrench in the works.....

Looking at Doug's wheels, the wheels I got from PPS have thicker rims. So maybe the PPS and IP wheels are different?

This was something I was discussing with Alan Briggs when "he done R-U-N-N-O-F-T" as we say here in the Southern USofA.

Good morning all
I'm really heartened by the interest in my new activities and items. Please keep suggestions for new items rolling in. I can't promise to do everything of course.
In the meantime, I have no details of a tender but it sounds like a good idea. Also, I have no details on a dome either. Does anyone have one they could measure for me please?
The wheel overlays are an interesting idea too....
Kind regards
Roy Wood

Also, I have no details on a dome either. Does anyone have one they could measure for me please?

It would be possible for me to loan you mine to measure up. The tricky part of the dome is the part that contours with the boiler. The dome itself is in fact the same size as a Mamod dome. These were pressed. The IP domes were machined.

Basic dims are:

19mm OD the domed end having a radius of 8mm

Height from top of boiler is 28mm - it has a radius at the base that allows it to sit flush on the boiler.

The disc it sits onto that is held by the water filler valve is 17mm OD.

One suggestion: water tank top doors? I know there are some elsewhere but I'm thinking different ones - I can provide a picture of what I mean later today.

Cab-roof dummy whistles? Brandbright stopped doing theirs I have a cabfront based one I'd gladly swap if I could.

Cab-roof dummy whistles? Brandbright stopped doing theirs

You can get them from Roundhouse:

Superbiker_uk:75044 wrote:

Cab-roof dummy whistles? Brandbright stopped doing theirs

You can get them from Roundhouse:

I have one on Major Hitchcock, just drill a hole in one of the front rivet of the Mamod/MSS roof and volia....

Shame about no tooling for the tender.

Spule4 wrote:So maybe the PPS and IP wheels are different?

A good point Garrett. The wheels that both Doug & I use are Dream Steam ones, which were developed/copied from the IP Eng ones - on the 2nd set I got the bearings and retaining nuts are different between the 2 axles.

Superbiker_uk & Spule4 wrote:You can get them from Roundhouse

Cannot find a BDW whistle in their on-line catalogue, only the following

RSA65 Whistle (dummy) - Cab front No Longer Available

RSA66 Whistle (dummy) - Chime £4.50 *Only while stocks last

RSA92 Whistle (dummy) - roof mount No Longer Available

dougrail wrote:water tank top doors?

I got these from Steam4Fun before he stopped doing them. His current water tank filler is too big in my opinion and as it is currently at a reduced price I assume it is another loco enhancement which he is dropping for his range.

Spule4 wrote:Did the tooling for the nice little PPS Janet tender survive?

Roy Wood wrote:I have no details of a tender but it sounds like a good idea.

I purchased this tender at the Bring & Buy stand at the Merstham Steam Rally back in 2008. At the same time MTA bought his Jane which was identified as an IP Jane - http://gardenrails.myfreeforum.org/abou ... ne&start=0

I had assumed that this tender was an IP Eng model, although I now realise that I have no documentary proof that IP Eng did in fact produce a tender for the IP Jane. PPS introduced the PPS Janet around 2003 and listed in the Janet accessories was this tender for £65. It was last listed around Oct 2008 (still at £65), and certainly was no longer listed when PPS ceased trading.







Is this the tender you are craving for Garrett?

I have attached a PDF file to this posting with the original PPS Janet accessories that were available.

Chris Cairns.


Click to download file

This used to be advertised on the IP engineering website?
http://web.archive.org/web/200211141608 ... page5.html
Looks similar if not same as yours.

Never knew these exsisted, I have certainly never seen one in public. Is there a demand for mamod tenders ?

90733 wrote:This used to be advertised on the IP engineering website?

Well Done Jack. I had thought they were originally an IP Eng design, but it is not in their 1999/2000 catalogue, and my later IP Eng catalogues do not have the IP Jane in them. Presumably PPS got access to the moulds for the coal doors and the false axleboxes.

DLRdan wrote:Is there a demand for mamod tenders ?

I believe there is, as both MSS and the current Mamod produce tenders. Many Mamod owners run their locos without the full cab back, so the addition of a tender can be prototypical. Does mean you need a good loco to tender coupling when running tender first.

Keith&Joanna wrote:If I remember rightly Tony W does a nice little tender suitable for Mamod's

Would be interested to see one if that is the case. I know he does one for the Roundhouse Millie & Bertie, but at £150 it is out of the Mamod league.

Chris Cairns.

Hmm, for some reason, I remember it being smaller?   Sure it was my memory, not different tenders.

UPDATE: Thanks to google images, I think I was confusing them with Doug's old tender:

http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/archi ... index.html

..or DLR Dan's:

http://www.freewebs.com/dlrail/locomotives.htm

The large size and reversed slope of the side sheet of the MSS tender always bothered me, ditto with the PPS/IP one as well apparently!

Chris Cairns:75049 wrote:

Superbiker_uk & Spule4 wrote:You can get them from Roundhouse

Cannot find a BDW whistle in their on-line catalogue, only the following

RSA65 Whistle (dummy) - Cab front  No Longer Available

RSA66 Whistle (dummy) - Chime  £4.50 *Only while stocks last

RSA92 Whistle (dummy) - roof mount  No Longer Available

Chris Cairns.

Chris, page 4 of 8, top of the page.  GBP 0.92 sans VAT!  Roundhouse reminds me of owning a Mercedes, the initial purchase price is a bit steep, but the repair bits (at least in the US) are dirt cheap!

http://www.roundhouse-eng.com/pdf/pricesexp.pdf

They are a nice little unit, they also did one similar to the Jane type for the Millie, but I don't see it listed. (See Tag Gorton's "Jack Tar" Millie for reference).

Chris - I think you must have been looking on the Brandbright site.

This thread has generated some intersting information

Regarding tenders...

IPE: very impressed with the chassis of it - new wheels and good looking axleboxes used on what actusally looks a good chassis compared to the Mamod/MSS one.

However the bodywork - oh dearie me. Similar to MSS's own and inherits the same 'toy alike' look alas. I know people can [and have] worked to improve their looks but as bought they aren't very handsome or realistic.

On my own tenders:
The black one that you found Garrett, posed next to No.2, 'Great Star' was bought off Ebay, unknown origin. However the chassis was a Mamod one and it was riveted together. Potentially a late, late IPE??

dougrail:75085 wrote:Regarding tenders...

IPE: very impressed with the chassis of it - new wheels and good looking axleboxes used on what actusally looks a good chassis compared to the Mamod/MSS one.

On my own tenders:
The black one that you found Garrett, posed next to No.2, 'Great Star' was bought off Ebay, unknown origin. However the chassis was a Mamod one and it was riveted together. Potentially a late, late IPE??

The IP's tender chassis looks a lot like my IP Lucy's chasis. Draw your own conclusions.

Do you still have that Tender Doug? It would be a nice design to scratchbuild another from.

Superbiker_uk:75083 wrote: This thread has generated some intersting information

Peter, would you expect anythign else?

I wonder if my efforts would have been different back in the 1980s if I had access to 16mm modelling and Mamod stuff outside of the occasional article in Garden Railways magazine here in the US. The share of info on the net worldwide is just great!

Spule4 & Superbiker_uk wrote:Chris, page 4 of 8, top of the page.

Chris - I think you must have been looking on the Brandbright site

D'oh!! Guilty as charged. Yes the recent talk about Brandbright had mislead me.

dougrail wrote:IPE: very impressed with the chassis of it - new wheels and good looking axleboxes used on what actually looks a good chassis compared to the Mamod/MSS one.

Advantage of the Mamod/MSS one is you can replace the wheels to change between 32mm & 45mm. The axleboxes are dummys which have a locating pin and nut to hold them onto the chassis - not sure if IP Eng ever offered these separately. The working part of the chassis is essentially the budget electric chassis without a hole for the motor.

Your 'Great Star' tender is a close copy of the IP Eng tender. The point where the sides change height is slightly further back on your tender compared to the IP Eng one.

I've taken the opportunity to clean up this tender (will look good behind my IPS Janet if I ever finish it!! - http://gardenrails.myfreeforum.org/sutra6568.php#6568 ).

Chris Cairns.

(this post was edited as Photobucket was playing up again!).