Progress Report 93

 It doesn't feel as if three months have passed since my last progress report. There are quite a few developments which have kept me very busy and so writing the blog has taken a bit of a back seat for a while.

It's coming to that time of year when the railway goes into hibernation and so there's nothing to report about the railway's infrastructure. However, I have managed to get a couple of good running sessions in since my last progress report and hosted a visitor when live steam was the only motive power. I have constructed another locomotive and another two and a half Cleminson six wheeled open wagons - all of which were 3D printed. I have now acquired a resin 3D printer and have discovered the delights of printing small objects with fine detailing (including a figure). I have also shared my experiences with 3D printing and drawing via blog posts and had a short article about my Southwold rolling stock published in the Southwold Railway Trust.

On related issues, I have been fortunate enough to have a footplate ride on the Walsingham Light Railway in Norfolk and have made a start on an indoor project - an 0-16.5 representation of a small part of the Glyn Valley Tramway.

Rolling stock

Southwold Railway Cleminson open wagons

Having already constructed a Southwold Railway Cleminson six wheeled open wagon from my own 3D printed parts (see How I constructed a Southwold Railway Cleminson open wagon), I modified the drawings to produce two variants on the original design. 

One variant has additional metal straps across the planking on the side doors .......

...... and the other has the name of the local coal merchant, MOY, in large raised letters across the three side doors.

Although the first variant has been constructed, the second variant is awaiting the delivery of Bachmann metal wheels which have been on a back order from a supplier for two months. Apparently, there is a national shortage of these parts!

Metropolitan Water Board Kerr Stuart 0-4-2T

Having used a Bachmann Lyn motor block to construct a 3D printed model of a Schull & Skibbereen 0-4-2T loco, I was was generously given another Lyn motor block by a fellow modeller. This block was from a more recent version of the Lyn and was completely re-engineered from the original which I had found to be seriously under-powered. Then new design is a great improvement but my block had some significant faults - the flanges on two of the wheels were completely worn away on around a quarter of their circumference and the non replaceable brushes on the motor had disintegrated. Furthermore, the cylinders and associated coupling rods were also missing. 

Replacements were acquired from Bachmann Industries in the USA. The postage costs were almost as much as the cost of the spares but considering the motor block had been donated to me, I felt the costs were acceptable and much less than the cost of a secondhand Lyn.

After a quick internet search revealed, not only a suitable outside framed prototype, but some line drawings of the actual and the proposed locomotives. Using these, I produced 3D drawings for an amalgamation of the two designs - the proposed design better suited the dimensions of the motor block while the actual locos were more attractive in appearance (and provided several photographs for reference).

Once the parts had been printed out .......

..... it was remarkably easy to construct (or maybe I'm just getting the hang of designing, printing and constructing 3D printed locos).

However, I was unhappy with the way the body sat on the block - the larger diameter driving wheels made the body sit higher above the track than the original locos. So, back to the workshop and after a few cuts from the razor saw, I was much happier with how she looked.

The 3D drawings were modified to reflect these changes and have now been uploaded to Thingiverse.

3D printing

Having acquired a very cheap 3D printer just before Covid lockdowns started nearly two years ago, I have produced a wide range of items for the railway. A few people have asked me about the basics of 3D printing and so I put together a beginners' guide - see A beginners' guide to 3D printing

I have now also acquired an AnyCubic resin printer which produces highly detailed smaller items.

For example, here's a comparison between the builder's plate printed on my FDM printer and my SLA resin printer.

Operation

I managed to organise a couple of really good full operating sessions towards the end of August and early September.

In addition, I had another visit from Zach Bond and we had a good session running live steamers.

A new venture

With winter weather already making its presence felt, I was looking for something different to occupy my time before it's warm enough to return to working outside. 

I have always found the Glyn Valley Tramway interesting. Partly because of its location (less than an hour from here by car), partly because of its rolling stock and partly because of the type of goods it carried.

Source: NGRS WJK Davies Collection

Rather than attempting to squeeze a 16mm scale railway into the cramped space in my workshop, I thought I would experiment with 0-16.5. so far, I have drawn one of the Beyer Peacock tram locos for 3D printing and downloaded a wagon and a coach for 3D printing.

I am finding the challenge of working in a smaller scale to be interesting and already discovered I need to over engineer some of the parts to ensure they will print successfully. I am also beginning to realise that the resin printer will be more successful at producing the level of detail needed for the smaller scale models.

A grand day out

Towards the end of September, I was fortunate enough to be invited to take a footplate ride on the Wells  & Walsingham Light Railway in Norfolk.

The visit contributed to my retirement quest to visit all the narrow gauge and miniature railways in the UK and Ireland which I am logging on one of my other blogs - see ngruk.blogspot.co.uk

After taking some photos and video footage along the line I took my place in the confined space of the cab.

My driver (a certain Zach Bond), was an excellent and informative companion on the trip, explaining the complexities and intricacies of driving a loaded train up and down the undulating track which was laid lightly across the Norfolk countryside.

I can certainly appreciate the attraction and challenges of driving a real steam locomotive - even one which has been miniaturised. I am still not fully convinced that reducing the scale to 1:19 provides a comparable experience but, if I had the space and the capital, I would be sorely tempted to invest in a live steam ride-on loco.

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