| Archive for Freesteam For collectors and enthusiasts of all steam engines |
| MTA |
'Victor' - Completion draws inAs some of you may know I have had my MSS 0-4-0T loco 'Victor', named after my late grandfather, in bits for some time with a view to fully upgrading him as well as aesthically upgrading him too.Well, I took the boiler off yesterday to fit a Dream Steam lubricator. I had a little problem in that the pipe was a bit to long I felt, as well as the T piece which goes into the back of the forward/reverse block. So I emailed Alan of Dream Steam stating so, and he appreciated my feedback and offered either a replacement or a refund. But I shall endeavour, as I think it will be alright.... Unfortunately upon fitting, the self tapping screw decided to round off the hole in the smokebox side so refitting will only be possibly when a Dream Steam copper boiler is fitted. 
The bolt fouls the tee piece, as is visible here: 
As for the colour when Victor is finished, well: 
I have sent the pics of the lubricator to Alan, to see what can be done. |
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| Mamod Collector |
He might send you a replacement lubricator Simon when he see's the photos 
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| Spokesmann |
Can the case of the part be filed down? | ||||
| MFSteam |
Re: 'Victor' - Completion draws in
I'd go for using a shorter spring and bolt to solve the problem |
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| steamyjim |
I milled mine down 
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| MFSteam |
Points to a bad bit of design as more than one person has had the same problem. Its a shame when this sort of thing happens, mind you its easy enough to get round. |
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| steamyjim |
Indeed, it is a bad design. On my other Mamod locos I fitted an inline in cab lubricator. But on County Of Somerset I didn't have space in the cab so had to fit one of these
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| Minor1PJG |
I was thinking of buying one of those, so I'll be interested to know how this works out.
Good luck
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| MTA |
'Victor' is now somewhere in the postal system, on a voyage to Plymouth 
Alun, of Dream Steam, kindly offered to sort out the problem so when Victor gets back I'll be posting pics of how he has been sorted out 8) |
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| Minor1PJG |
Jolly, good. Do keep us posted
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| SillyBilly |
Lets hope that Royal Mail don't do any damage! | ||||
| MTA |
Loco arrived safe and sound in Plymouth last Thursday.
Alun has just emailed me statin that the pipe was 5mm too long, and he is making up a new batch shortly so will be fitting a new one to 'Victor'. More news soon, hopefully 
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| Spokesmann |
Alan is about 15 minute cycle ride from em, had a good chat with him at Exeter. | ||||
| SillyBilly |
You'd be better off getting in the car then  .
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| Spokesmann |
I dont drive much.
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| MTA |
'Victor' has arrived back safe and sound, and Alan has done a brilliant job of installing the displacement lubricator. Pics tomorrow...
Now with this completed, I intend to borrow 'Jane''s boiler to steam him whilst repainting of 'Jane' takes place. This will help me do two things: 1) Run in the O ring pistons fitted to Victor 2) Test the seals on 'Jane''s boiler, which was sealed up with pipe sealant some weeks ago. |
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| MTA |
The pics of the lubricator now in place are below, the pipe run is a lot smarter now.
Victor will probably get his own, brand new boiler at the beginning of 2009. |
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| MTA |
I have just partially reassembled 'Victor', now that he has returned from Plymouth.
First off, the coupling rods were reattached to quarter the wheels. The rods were given the brasso treatment, one has been done with elbow grease and the other with my Dremel. Can you tell the difference? 
Next, I retrieved the E clips and washers from their resting place for these past few months. These were degreased and put out into matching sets. 
And the reassembly went perfectly
The cylinder assemblies were a bit more fiddly to put back into place. First off though, when I upgraded the cylinders I had to remove the piston rod ends to slide on the piston glands. One of them went back on OK, the other needed reattaching with thread lock. 
One of the cylinders was a doddle to bolt on, the same can't be said for the other. I had to pull out the lubricator from the reversing block, then drive a wedge between the cylinder bolt and the trunnion bolt so that I could get the cylinder started on the cylinder bolt end. This was achieved after many expletives! 
Up until now, Victor has had brass strips over the inner surface of the frames which have covered up the vent holes. I shall see how I get on without these when it comes to lighting him up again, if the flame of the meths burner is blown about too much then these will be reintroduced. |
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| MTA |
Done a little bit more to Victor today.
The rear dragbeam has been profiled so that it fits the curvature of the new buffer beams. It has been cut, filed and ground so that it doesn't stick out from the cutaways on the beams. The buffer beams were made by Alan2525, and they are of a very good quality: http://www.loco-plates.co.uk/ Owing to the profiling process, alot of the paint has dissapeared so this is currently in Nitromors as well as one of the side tanks. As Paul (Minor1PJG) can testify the tanks didn't turn out to well after my last attempt at painting them. Too thick a coats 
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| MTA |
Seeing as I will be getting some parts from Dream Steam any day soon which should see the completion of 'Victor', I thought I should do what I can in the meantime.
I have touched up parts of the smokebox with black enamel so the bare metal in places isn't such an eyesore anymore! I am going to have to repaint the wheels as well, a colour change is on the cards... |
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| Spokesmann |
Look forward to seeing Victor take shape further . . . . | ||||
| MTA |
Just received my order from Dream Steam, so re-assembly can start in earnest now
I won't be painting him just yet, I want to make sure that everything works first. |
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| Minor1PJG |
Great news Si. I look forward to seeing your latest progress
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| MTA |
Just put it all together, and steamed him but all did not go to plan.
The regulator/steam pipe nut won't seal properly and I don't have the right size spanner. 1BA is too small and 0BA is too big! As well as this, the cap on the lubricator is leaking steam as well as the steam pipe when it enters the reversing block. I'm letting it cool down now before sorting the leaks. |
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| Minor1PJG |
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| MTA |
I have just had another attempt.
The lubricator cap has stopped leaking, and the regulator leakage is much improved. The problem I am still having is with the combination pipe at the end of the lubricator, I shall try and angle it to the reversing block as that is also at an angle. I'll smear some steam oil around the pipes as well which should help seal it a bit. |
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| SillyBilly |
I used graphite grease to seal up pipes on mine, as you'd expect, it worked quite well. | ||||
| Minor1PJG |
Glad to hear it's improving - a little
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| MTA |
Just tried it again, steam pipe is still leaking. No wonder as you can slightly move the pipe up and down in the combination pipe of the lubricator.
So I will now be sealing it up with pipe sealant. |
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| MTA |
Good and bas news.
The good news is that the steam pipe no longer leaks! Bad news is that it now leaks at the reversing block  I'm going to pull the combi pipe out a little as I think it might be in a bit too far, I'm also going to put some steam oil on the faces so it seals a bit better
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| MTA |
Some more limited success today!
The wheels turn, but only by a quarter of a revolution before locking up
I'm going to run him back and forth over a length of track so I can get the pistons worn in further, this should help
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| MTA |
So close, but yet so far!
I've been pushing Victor up and down a length of track to wear in the O ring pistons, he was running fairly freely so I was about to steam him up when I noticed one of the piston ends had fallen off! Luckily it was hanging off of the crankpin so I didn't have to do a mad search.
I've stuck it back on with some Loctite, and I'm going to be leaving it overnight to set. I also received my order from Macc Models today (I only ordered it yesterday!) of 6BA fixings. I've put some in place and the steel hex head bolts look far better than the brass cheese head ones fitted as standard
Hopefully I'll get a run in tomorrow! |
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| Mamod Collector |
Any chance of some photos Simon
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| MTA |
Once it is all back together, Mike! As in to check the fit of everything, not when it is fully completed. I doubt I could make you wait that long!
And now, some bad news. I ran Victor again. He was near enough there, the wheels were turning but I had to help them on their way, then I noticed that one wheel was out of sync. You guessed it, one of them has come loose on the axle 
Instead of repressing them (they will only come loose again) I will be spending £25 on the upgraded steel versions from Dream Steam. Needless to say I am very annoyed (punches wall). I've already taken the old wheelsets out, I might sell them to recoup some of my losses. 
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| MTA |
I've done a little bit of aesthetic work on Victor today. I am sending the parts off to CJW Steam for powder coating so this is currently taking top priority.
The fold over dummy filler caps rivetted in place look horrible. So I drilled out the rivet, bent up the fillers and cut them off with a razor saw. The tanks are folded steel plate, so there are some nasty joins at the edges. I have started to fill these up with soft solder and file them down to shape. Before: 
After (it looks better in person, honest!): 
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| Minor1PJG |
Look sgood to me
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| MTA |
Thanks, Paul
I've just ordered some new steel wheelsets from Dream Steam. Once some other cheques have cleared then I can get a gas burner from Forest Classics. |
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| Minor1PJG |
Oooh, gas. Good choice Now I know someone with a very nice Bix gas burner under a SL1...................me
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| MTA |
Your vid of the SL1 cooking on gas made me get the gas burner.
That means I have bought an SE3 and SE2 from you and been influenced to get a gas burner by you When do I get the opportunity to spend some of your money?!
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| Minor1PJG |
I seem to remember a very nice Latimer Plane L4 that I purchased from you You've influenced me too much already
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| Spokesmann |
Si any chance of a few images of 'Victor'? | ||||
| MTA |
I'll get some pics tomorrow, Mike. Not a lot to see at the mo as he is in bits again after the wheel incident. | ||||
| MTA |
Argh!
Just spent three hours putting in the new wheelsets and one hour of that was trying to get one of the cylinders back on! The new wheelsets have longer crankpins, so I had to take one of the cylinders off to slide the piston end over it. Putting it back on was an altogether different matter. Because the thread on the roll pin is so short the thread in the cylinder block hardly has anything to grip on. After many unsuccesful attempts (one resulting in losing half a finger nail ) I gave up and took one half of the frames off, bolted the cylinder to the port block and eventually it all worked out. Needless to say I'm still very annoyed with the work involved just to put in two wheelsets!
I did a test steaming and the steam pipe is leaking again. I do ask why do I bother
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| SillyBilly |
This is why I dislike mamods, you have the same trouble just know how to not dislike them. | ||||
| Spokesmann |
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| SillyBilly |
I dislike mamod locos because it takes forever to try and get them running or just assembled, everyone else has the same problems, they just have more time for them. | ||||
| MHLR |
I am going to add Will, that you do have a Mamod loco as your avatar! ........... I share your veiws though, I've never been able to take one apart and put it back without something going amis!
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| Minor1PJG |
Sorry to hear this Si It will be worth it in the end, I'm sure
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| MTA |
I've just taken Victor to bits again, as the cylinders wouldn't turn under steam.
Turns out the O rings have been bulging against the cylinder bore, then cutting lumps off of themselves when they passed the steam ports. I contacted Alan of Dream Steam and he is sending a couple more O rings of a better size to see how I get on. If this doesn't work I will be getting a new set of cylinders. |
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| MTA |
Here's a pic of the worse off O ring:
I had painted these buffers a little while ago, but I've only just taken off the masking tape. Sorry they are a bit dark... 
I removed the chemical blackening which was originally applied by running a wire brush in my Dremel over it until it was shiny. I masked off the buffer head and stem then sprayed on primer and then brush painted the body with Humbrol Enamel red. |
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| Spokesmann |
O rings hopefully working, will be cheaper than the new cylinders!! | ||||
| MTA |
I do hope so!
Anyway, it also gave me the opportunity to check the cylinder bores. A good layer of oil was in there so the displacement lubricator is working! |
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| MTA |
I forgot to add in the above post that I've just bought one of these for 'Victor'.
http://andelmodels.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=41 Many of the little locos that worked in slate quarries had a converted slate wagon behind them to carry coal. As I plan to have a little chalk quarry scenario once the railway is up and running this colliery hutch is ideal to carry some extra coal for 'Victor'. |
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| Chris |
I like the idea of a chalk quarry... now if you only knew somewhere to get some chalk...
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| Minor1PJG |
Chalk, chalk, chalk......hmm there might be a place in Sussex............. .hmm
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| MTA |
Well seeing as I volunteer at Amberley and the South Downs has tonnes of the stuff it seemed the natural choice!
Thanks to Alan, I received four new O rings within twenty four hours. I've fitted them and now put 'Victor' back together, I've done it so many times it only takes a matter of minutes! I also had to stick the brass end in the lubricator back in as it had come adrift when I took it to bits. 'Victor' at present. 
The melee of pipework and controls at the business end. 
The pressure gauge currently faces outward so I can see it more easily when testing. 
This pressure gauge is far more easier to read than the one fitted to my Jane. Larger text and logical increments of pressure on the dial! Finally just a shot of the front end... 
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| Spokesmann |
GRADUALLY ALL COMING TOGETHER.... | ||||
| MTA |
I wish...
Just fired him up and the steam pipe is leaking at the combi pipe. Once he has cooled down I'll be applying the pipe sealant and I'll try later on in the day. |
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| made-in-england |
Oh dear 
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| MTA |
AnDel have been very quick as per usual, I received the colliery hutch/tender for 'Victor' and it took me under half an hour to make.
All the parts laid out for assembly. 
The coupling pin holes were drilled out, then the chassis bases were stuck onto the main body. Don't drill out to 1.5mm as the instructions suggest, as the coupling pins will fall straight through. I suggest 1.2mm or smaller. If going smaller, work your way up by .1mm at a time until the pin just fits. 
The chassis sides were added, the axles threaded through the holes and the wheels pressed on and the back to backs checked. 
The dummy coal load had the supports stuck on 
and then the coupling pins were added.The instructions say to leave it as a straight pin, but I can foresee the wagon uncoupling itself from the rest of the train an awful lot! So I just bent the end over using a pair of needle nose pliers. 
There we have it, one wagon cum tender. 
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| made-in-england |
Very nice simon!
Nice to know about the couplings when I do mine
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| made-in-england |
Could you getta Pic of it behind a loco? | ||||
| Mamod Collector |
Looks nice I like the detail on the tender
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| MTA |
Here ya go:
I'm sure you'll agree that it looks to be in proportion. Not too big, nor not too small. |
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| made-in-england |
Kool! Cheers! | ||||
| SillyBilly |
Suits it very well as an auxillaryu tender. | ||||
| MTA |
The new cylinders arrived from Dream Steam today, and have since been fitted.
Whilst tightening up one of the screws (luckily not one of the four in the reversing block) it sheared, so I took the opportunity to replace the brass cheesehead screws with steel hex headed ones. 
The bolts have been cut down by about 3-5mm to be a good fit in the reversing block and not be too long to foul anything in between the frames. The hex heads look better, and there will be less chance of chewing them as with the brass chesseheads! I have also decided to fit a Roundhouse displacement lubricator as 1) It will minimise leaks at the reversing block. 2) Easier to remove should the need arise. 3) They work brilliantly, as my Jane can prove! I have literally just gotten off the phone from Roundhouse and the lubricator should be with me by Thursday 
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| Spokesmann |
They look solid! | ||||
| made-in-england |
Innit Mike
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| Spokesmann |
Quite! Practicle too. | ||||
| MTA |
My Jane has the same cylinders fitted, and as Andy can back me up she can pull an awful lot for her size.
I've just ordered the ferrules for the steam pipe and union nuts for the lubricator from Macc Models. I'll be getting the pipe from the shop I work in on Saturday
I plan to solder the ferrules onto the pipe on Tuesday all being well. 'Victor' should be turning his wheels in anger at last by the end of next week
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| made-in-england |
Sounds great! | ||||
| MTA |
Huzzah!
And several dancing emoticons       
After at least two years, Victor has run for the first time today! With the new lubricator in place and some temporary piping (yet to be formed and cut to size) inserted into the reversing block the gas burner was lit and after a momentary seizure of the wheels I opened the regulator and away he went! At the moment he gulps the pressure up as the cylinders need running in, with it being as low as 10psi at times (maximum pressure is set to 40psi) I am happy to report that there are no live steam leaks, only from the base of the join where the boiler meets the smokebox. This is only exhaust steam so nothing to worry about, although when I come to take him apart again I will smear some steam oil around the join which should help matters. A few more runs and it will be time to make up the proper pipe runs and move onto the aesthetics. I think I earned one of these 
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| Spokesmann |
Pic/videos, usual pack drill
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| made-in-england |
great news si! | ||||
| Mamod Collector |
I think you've earned several drinks Simon, and a big pat on the back
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| Chris |
Yep, post some pics and a video Simon
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| John Chapman |
Excellent news Simon
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