Garden Railway Forum

Busted Bricks wrote: ↑Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:55 pm It's a very simple design and meths fired. There was also the BAGRS some years ago:

http://www.panyo.com/mso/BPE.htm

I reckon I could make kits or RTR locos along those lines at very affordable prices but it seems like scale, highly detailed locos is what is in demand these days.

The Basic Project Engine is a marvellous design and easy to build and great fun to steam. You need to watch out for low bridges and tunnels though when running on some lines and portable layouts. You can't lower the funnel much without affecting the boiler draft. These three run successfully on Sterno indoors or outside.

Thanks to all that have posted their opinion. I'm taking it onboard but I can't promise to heed all the warnings and I will ultimately do what I always do - follow my own instincts. That may lead to success or failure - time will tell. I have a fairly clear idea of how I want to go about this now. As mentioned earlier, the investment is not huge. Most expensive item to date is the Schaublin automatic lathe I bought recently. That was under £2K fully tooled. It won't be used solely for making model steam parts. Parts I can't make myself will be subbed out and I can have them made locally to prices comparable to China prices at the volume I need manufactured.I intend to work from a range of standard components as much as possible so I can produce different models without a large investment in tooling for each model. Chassis and bodywork is easy to draw up in CAD and does not cost much to have laser cut. Boilers, gas firing and engines can be sold separately so they can be used for stationary steam engines, boats etc.

I'm still hoping I can somehow manage to acquire a fiber metal cutting laser but the main role for that will not be model railway parts. I have other lines of business where it will be used. However, having one inhouse will give me more flexibility in developing new designs and cutting small batches at reasonable cost.

People sometimes seem to forget that UK is not the only market for live steam engines, nor are buyers purely scale enthusiasts. In fact, given the low value of the Pound currently, sales to UK will probably be quite low. There may also be tariffs imposed in the not too distant future. UK also seems to be the only place where 32mm is widely used as has been mentioned previously. 45mm is a bigger market. I intend to make Cracker locos for 32mm track but any other designs will most likely be for 45mm track if it is not feasible to make them re-gaugeable.

I agree with you regarding 45mm, I do regret not running this type of track as there is more on offer than 32mm.

I do like the look of my 32mm track though. The Peco 45mm is huge!

That's why I like 7/8ths. Less fiddly to build as well.

Not long before I move to Denmark now. I have not been idle though - I've been busy finding material suppliers and getting quotes. It's worth shopping around as prices can vary quite a lot. For instance copper tube is nearly half the price in Germany compared to Denmark, even with shipping.

I have found another supplier for CNC turned parts who can handle some of the smaller parts that my other supplier can't make (he might be getting a swiss lathe before long though). I do need to invest a fair amount of money in parts but since they can also be used for stationary or marine models, this lessons the risk of being stuck with stock that cannot be shifted.

I still think there is a market for budget locos judging by responses in the "Ellie tram" thread and the "new Roundhouse" thread. Once I get the fiber laser I will have a lot of flexibility with regards to quantity as I only have to cut what I need and don't rely on external suppliers with MOQ and setup charges per order.

Looking forward to seeing your 1st model.

FWLR wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:47 am Looking forward to seeing your 1st model.

That makes two of us. Just getting my hands on my lathe again makes me excited. It's been mothballed for the past couple of years. I fly to Denmark on 14/1 and the container with all my belongings should arrive a few days later.

Busted Bricks wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2017 12:11 pm

FWLR wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:47 am Looking forward to seeing your 1st model.

That makes two of us. Just getting my hands on my lathe again makes me excited. It's been mothballed for the past couple of years. I fly to Denmark on 14/1 and the container with all my belongings should arrive a few days later.

Another small step in the right direction. Looks like I'm finally getting a fiber laser for cutting metal. Just waiting for the paperwork from the leasing company to come through. It will be a machine with 1300x2500mm cutting area and a 1000W laser source. Should be able to cut up to 10mm carbon steel and 1.5mm brass. If all goes well I will have it here before Christmas.

A couple of weeks ago I started the first 20 week course at the metal college. So far I have spent a lot of my time assisting the teachers but we will soon get on to the more juicy topics so I can learn something. First up is ISO programming (G-codes) of CNC lathes and mills.

Excellent, good luck!

Good luck with your training and manufacturing projects.

At last something to get your teeth into. Have some fun also, I did when I did my course 30 years ago. It was one of the best things I did in my long career in engineering.

Thanks gents. The laser is built now so will start it's journey from China to Denmark. Can't wait!

School is OK but the pace is a bit slow for my liking. I prefer to be at work and learn more there. My boss has just bought another lathe with C-axis, Y- axis and sub-spindle so I hope I can get some training on that soon.

Wish I was going back 30 years into engineering. I miss it, making things from a bit of steel or brass, even aluminium, but had to be a bit gentle with the material.

In terms of locomotive production, the pace should pick up a bit when the laser arrives. Then I can have a play with chassis and bodywork. With regards to the engine, it will use components that can also be used in stationary and marine steam plants. Because of the advanced machinery I have access to it is possible to make a lot of parts in a single workholding which cuts down on cost. I'm still aiming for the budget market - last time I looked there was little choice below £500 for a live steamer.

I've always liked the "Project Loco" and I've been in touch with Hale Bros. about ladder chain. The sprockets can be cut on the fiber laser.

Shipping got delayed because of the October holiday in China and a misunderstanding at the leasing company I'm using. However tomorrow is the day the laser sails from China and according to the sailing schedule the ship will dock in Hamburg on 29/11. I expect it will arrive here in Denmark app. a week after that. I still don't have a date for when the technician will arrive to do final installation and training but I really hope it can be sorted before Christmas so I can spend the week of holiday I have on tinkering with the machine.

I have collected a big stack of bar ends at work and I'm getting a lot of training on a CNC lathe so I hope to have a go at making some wheels after working hours.

That sounds like good news.

Hope all goes well….Hopefully you will be making some Xmas presents then.

I'm happy to say the laser is operational now. The technician was not able to come last week of December and I was not available in January due to an exam at the tech college I attend. However he did turn up on February 3rd. 3 days had been set aside for installation and training. However after 1.5 day we were done so he headed back to China (he had been to customer sites in Portugal, Italy and Greece before visiting me).

I'm very pleased with the machine. It's fast and has good edge quality. Between my day job and the laser cutting I do for regular customers there is not much time left for playing around with the machine but I have tried a few things out. I was keen to see if it could cut small, detailed parts. No problem there. Here is a video of the part being cut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bbfPXCvpk0

Progress on loco building is stalled for the time being as I lack funds to buy in parts. Even though I can obtain parts at an attractive price from my place at work, they still need to be made in quantity to make it viable. An apprentice salary is minimum pay and unexpected expenses means I will need to start saving up again. It's not a project investors stand in line to support

Steel body kits with that kind of detail, sign me up!