2016 July Oilcan - Tracks and Trains

July 2016
Official publication of the
Queensland Society of Model
and Experimental Engineers Inc.
After 26 years of construction, Lloyd Dannenberg is seen here with his 7-1/4” gauge Chesapeake and
Ohio Berkshire locomotive soon to have its maiden run. This magnificent engine is 13’-6” long overall
(including tender), weighs around 1200 pounds (loco only) and has drivers 8-13/16” in diameter.
Cylinder dimensions are 3.3” diameter and 4.4” stroke.
• Grandchester MLSA Birthday Run weekend,
05th – 07th August 2016
• Track and Tent Run,
11th - 14th August 2016
The Brisbane Model
Train Show, 8 - 9 May, 2016
By Chris Hillyard
It’s that time of the year when all boys both big and small
are off to the annual Brisbane Train show. This year the
train show returned to the RNA Showground Marquee.
Neil Dannenberg. The whole train was placed on ground
level sitting on aluminium profile rail and sleepers
supplied by Don Bell.
Behind this train and sitting on its own stand was the
C&O GP9 Locomotive and gondola riding car owned
and operated by the author.
There did not seem to be as many table top clubs
represented as in previous years however this may
only be an illusion as there were forty-five exhibitors
on site. Extra space under the marquee was created as
the ride-on trains had to be run outside the marquee,
creating additional space for the organising committee.
Unfortunately the ride-on trains did not eventuate but
thanks to the Queensland Railways Heritage Fleet,
patrons could ride the full-sized version operating from
the adjacent Exhibition Railway Station and doing a
circuit of the inner city loop.
Additionally, on display at the eastern end of the stand
was a bright red traction engine which generated a lot of
interest from the older boys who could remember seeing
similar units on the roads of Brisbane.
The traction engine was built by Bob Campbell. Due to
WHS concerns Bob was not allowed to run the traction
engine inside the marquee.
On Friday afternoon we set up our stand which occupied
a long thin narrow footprint to showcase what was billed
by the organisers as the longest model train so far at
the Brisbane Model Train Show although it was 7¼ inch
guage. The special train was a representation of a typical
QGR freight train hauled by a PB15 locomotive, tender
and water gin being supplied by Lloyd Dannenberg.
The Queensland rolling stock consisting of flat car,
gondola, pig van, three cattle wagons, five coal wagons,
louvered fruit wagon and a guards-van being supplied by
Also on display were the usual assortments of photos,
model engineering magazines and videos of Pine Valley
Railway events. Stationary steam engines also ran on
compressed air.
The biggest crowd was reserved for Saturday, not
surprisingly as Sunday was Mother’s Day. Over the
two days we attracted a lot of interest from the public
who did not know that Pine Valley Railway existed
- even from people who live near Warner Rd. Our
stand was well attended and manned by our members
despite Sunday being our scheduled running day.
Thanks go to all members who worked together to make
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and several of the ladies solved the problem of the cool
conditions by staying in the marquee and playing mah
jong. The local area Sunday bus tour was almost full.
It visited Port Campbell, Loch Ard Gorge, the Twelve
Apostles, Gorge chocolates and Apostles Whey Cheese
with all stops well received.
our exhibition possible. Special thanks to Dave Pearson
and Ian Crawford for being the main organisers.
Next year is not that far away. QSMEE will be looking
for a new convener for our stand as Dave would like to
take a well-earned rest. If you are interested in the role
of chief convener please speak to any member of the
management team.
Cobden Convention,
25th – 28th March 2016
By Hugh Elsol
Warren Starr and his 5” NSWGR 60 class Garratt with the
Bolton Australian Prototype Trophy, the eighth winner from
QSMEE
Business at the Convention saw Warwick Allison of
SLSLS retire after seven very successful years as ALSSC
Chairman (Safety sub-Committee) – a new Chairman
and webmaster is sought; and David Thomas of SLSLS
became AMBSC Secretary (Boiler sub-Committee).
Other AALS Board members continue in their roles.
The 60th Annual Convention was hosted at Cobden,
Victoria, by the SWME Inc. Though it was a March
Easter, days were in the mid teens temperature-wise,
cold winds from the south made it feel chillier. Light
drizzly rain annoyed us on Saturday, but the other days
were fine though mostly overcast.
QSMEE was well represented by Bruce and Cheryl
Innes, Shane Ferris, Ivo Bunker, Betty and Warren Starr,
Rod Harris, Ann and Steve Robertson and Janet and
Hugh Elsol.
Warren Starr receives the Bolton Trophy at the Cobden
“Bogies” from AALS President, David Proctor.
From the AGM: AALS Affiliation fees remain at $4
per member. The Victorian Miniature Railway Inc was
granted affiliation. The Gas Firing Code was approved
to go into the Code of Practice. Drivers and Guards shall
not use mobile ‘phones whilst a train is in motion. Note
that this does NOT apply to two way radios.
Bruce Innes awaits a green for the log train on his 5” steeple
cab at Cobden.
The Society has an elevated 3½” and 5” oval track and
5” and 7 ¼” ground level track. Fourteen locos ran on the
elevated while approximately fifty – I did not count them,
polished steel on the ground. Meals were well provided
by the local scouts with ample choice and quantity. Janet
At Sunday night’s “Bogies” two prestigious awards were
received by QSMEE members: the Bolton Trophy for
the best Australian prototype to Warren Starr for his 5” G
NSWGR 60 class Garratt; and the Southern Federation
Trophy for service to the hobby to Hugh Elsol. The
QSMEE Warner owner-built steam locomotive was
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given to Andrew Allison of SLSLS for his 5” QR A10, a
loco that runs even better than it appears.
AALS President, David Proctor, watches as the 2015 Southern
Federation awardee, Ross Walker, presents the 2016 Trophy to
Hugh Elsol at Cobden.
Andrew Allison has his 5” QR A10 well-timed and steaming
sweetly.
The week before and after Conventions have scheduled
runs at other clubs. Janet and I visited Bluescope’s 5”
track at Hastings on the Tuesday following. It is a good
quality permanent way. Since it was the coldest day –
overcast, but no rain – that we had in Victoria, the warm
and large clubhouse was most welcome. Hospitality and
the welcome from members was tops. On Wednesday,
we caught up with QSMEE and Wandong members John
and Anne Andrews for lunch. John’s 5” 4-6-0 Baldwin is
complete and awaits the construction of the bogie tender.
Hugh Elsol and his LNWR ‘Jumbo’, No 790 ‘Hardwicke’
with the Southern Federation Trophy awarded for service to
the hobby, joins Jim Jackson in 1990, Eric Evans in 1994 and
Lloyd Dannenberg in 2010 as QSMEE recipients of the award.
Other awards were as follows: DNC for best first attempt
to Jack Soames of SASMEE for his 7 ¼” GWR brake
van; SASMEE Best Non-steam prototype to Ian Arkell
of Altona for his CLP CoCo; AME Under 25 Award
to James Sanders of SLSLS for his gauge one ‘Eric’;
Tullamarine Road Steam to Neil Sanders of Ballarat
for his 3” scale Atkinson steam wagon and trailer; and
SSME most popular to Steve Konky of WWSME for his
7¼” NSWGR 4480.
John Andrews’ highly detailed 5” gauge Baldwin.
A pleasant couple of hours was spent later in the afternoon
at Box Hill’s 5” and 7¼” track where the club house was
also a welcome retreat from the cool overcast outside.
Allan Wallace from SASMEE and Steve Robertson’s 7¼”
Black Fives await their turn to enter the station at Cobden
Andrew Allison of SLSLS with his QR A10 and the Warner
Steam Trophy.
The only warm and sunny day was at SLSV’s Rowans
Road at Moorabbin. There are four tracks: gauge one; a
2½” and 3½” circle; 3½” and 5” elevated that is currently
being rebuilt to a high standard; and a 5” ground level.
Facilities, hospitality and the running were first class.
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LMLSLS at Edgeworth is the 2017 Convention venue,
13th to 17th April. It has three tracks: 3½” and 5”
elevated, 5” ground and 7 ¼” ground. Its annual Birthday
Run and the Convention will be combined, so book your
motel accommodation NOW or contact Robert Ogden,
(02) 4946 9084, ASAP to reserve your campsite. It is a
$25 flat registration fee (the club does not need to hire a
marquee with seating for meals and meetings or a cold
room like QSMEE). Only tea/coffee and morning and
afternoon teas will be supplied. Lunches will be third
party catered. Evening meals will be available at the
adjoining Bowls Club. Locomotive fees are: large 7¼”
loco over 250 kg $40; other 7¼” $30; all 5” and smaller,
$25; non-steam, $25; pay only for the largest if more
than one is taken.
weighbridge quickly revealed my suspicion was correct.
The back drivers were carrying far too much weight.
So I redistributed the weight by adjusting the springs.
I reset them so that the bogie and the drivers carried
equal weight as per the original QR general arrangement
drawings. When I returned the loco to the track, the
difference was remarkable. It now went through points
without any problems and stuck to the track like glue.
The weighbridge’s digital readout is located on the rear
side wall of the carriage shed adjacent to the weighbridge.
The 2018 Convention is expected to be in WA at Bunbury.
With a mid-April Easter in 2019, QSMEE’s committee
has offered to host.
Loco Weighbridge
Garry Menzies
QSMEE has a loco weighbridge. This bridge is at the
southern end of the carriage shed in the track leading
into the workshop. It’s incorporated into the track for
weighing both 5 and 7 1/4 inch locos. Unlike a fixed
vehicular weighbridge that can weigh the whole vehicle
in one weighing, our weighbridge weighs only one axle
at a time. To determine the gross weight, all axles of the
loco have to be weighed separately and totalled.
Determining the individual axle weight is in itself very
useful. Having the correct axle weights helps to ensure
correct tracking and maximum pulling power of the
locomotive.
When I first ran my PB15 loco, running through points
was a nightmare. I was never sure the loco would stay
on the rails. I built the loco as an exact model of the
original with its very effective swing link front bogie.
In full size the bogie faithfully guided the loco through
curves and points. So what was wrong with mine? After
some thought about possibilities, I suspected there
wasn’t enough weight on the front of the loco. The
To use the machine, turn on the power at the power point
beside the readout, wait 10 seconds and then zero the
unit by pressing the zero button on the display. Now
advance the loco’s wheels onto the track unit and read
the weight on the display in kilograms.
The photo below shows our club loco Warner on the
weighbridge having a health check. Good news: no
weight gain with aging (if only, we say!) and no need
for statins.
Grandchester’s Qld Scale day.
Garry Menzies
Grandchester did it again. Over the recent Labour Day
long weekend, the Grandchester Model Live Steam
Association turned on a wonderful Queensland Scale
Day. Rather than a scale ‘day’, the event spanned four
days from early Friday to Monday afternoon. Fortunately
for us all, fine weather prevailed throughout.
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QSMEE’s Bill Bagley took out the best 7 1/4 inch scale
model. Congrats, Bill!
Almost 30 QSMEE members attended for all or part
of the event. Some camped for the full duration, while
others visited for just a day. Those of us who brought our
locos for a run agreed that the new loader was a success
and the track provided excellent running conditions.
Another highlight for us all were the wonderful meals –
breakfasts, lunches and dinners – that the Grandchester
cooks provided. Saturday night’s dinner exemplifies:
homemade ham and pea soup, followed by choice of
three mains – baked chicken and salad, Thai chicken
and vegetables, vegetarian lasagna – finished off with
home-made apple crumble, custard and ice-cream.
While we enjoyed our meal, a really interesting video
on the Puffing Billy Railway, a 2 ft 6 inch narrow
gauge heritage railway in the Dandenong Ranges near
Melbourne, entertained us.
Page 6
Grandchester MLSA will turn on the hospitality again
later this year for the club’s annual Birthday run on 6–7
August. Camping is encouraged so it’s easy for visitors
from outside to stay for the whole weekend. With the
Labour Day weekend as a guide, the Birthday run in
August will be one not to miss. It will also be a good
opportunity to warm up your locos before our own Track
and Tent event the following weekend. Just remember to
let our secretary, Andrew Sturmey, know if you plan to
attend the Birthday run.
Garry Menzies
Welcome to the first ‘Blast from Our Past’!
In each new issue of The Oilcan, we’ll hear a blast
from QSMEE’s recorded steaming past – 58 years and
counting!! – through a dip into The Oilcan archive.
A big thank you to members of Grandchester MLSA
for running such a great weekend for all who attended.
We’re looking forward to the Birthday run in August.
Pratt & Whitney R-1340-G
restoration..
Neville Robertson
After the May gathering debacle that constituted my
“presentation” of the restoration and first run of John
Rutherford’s Pratt & Whitney R-1340-G aircraft engine,
those who were there (and those who weren’t) can now
see what it should have looked like. The same photos
and video footage were used to assemble a montage that
has been posted on YouTube. The link is below:
https://youtu.be/KQWDM6cS5c8
One positive result stemming from the unfortunate
episode at the May gathering is that the society will now
purchase a selection of connection cables to be kept
permanently with the projector.
When I recently looked through old copies in the library,
I realised how much valuable information is tucked away
inside them. These quarterly booklets are literally as well
as metaphorically blasts from our past. I think we’ll all
find something informative, interesting or insightful
in the information these ‘blasts’ will bring back to us.
When I first stumbled on the old Oilcans, two aspects
especially struck me.
The first and most important is the valuable historical
record this archive provides. Here are accounts of what
QSMEE members have achieved/learned/done and
undone over more than half a century. I think most of us
will find at least some lessons from the past useful for
our needs today, not only on specific engineering matters
but also on matters concerning club activities, members,
and who knows what else. As the French saying goes,
the more things change, the more they stay the same …
The second striking aspect of The Oilcan collection
is publication style. In the techno dark ages from the
late 1950s, editors of The Oilcan used hand drawings,
handwriting and typewriters. The earliest copies were
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first run off on a spirit duplicator and later a hand-operated
Gestetner machine. They were folded, stapled, tucked
into hand-addressed envelopes and mailed to members.
Today those early issues of The Oilcan are themselves
historical relics – far from 21st century computer and
internet technology that sees almost everything processed
electronically, from editing and photography to printing/
distribution.
Over the coming editions I’ll delve into The Oilcan
archive to present some ‘blasts from our past’. To start
the ball rolling, I’ve jumped back exactly half a century
to The Oilcan for May 1966 (edited by Jim Jackson and
Jim Fainges). Its cover is shown above and the first article
follows. The second item is from June 1977 and both
were submitted by then member Bob Kimber. Jim Fainges
provided some drawings. Jim went on to adopt the later
CAD technology and produced many scale drawings,
some of which can be seen presented in the Australian
Model Engineering magazine.
We happily encourage readers to send in feedback or
comments about any ‘Blasts from Our Past’. As well, if
you have a past Oilcan article that really struck oil for you,
please send it in so we can include it as a Blast from Our
Past to share with current Oilcan readers. Who knows how
past Oilcans will lubricate our present club activities and
connect us with like-minded others.
Meantime, thanks to everyone who’s edited, contributed
to, and helped keep The Oilcan well-oiled for the past
58 years. It’s only with our shared contributions that The
Oilcan keeps steaming on.
oooooo0oooooo
H I N T S A N D T I P S -- from Bob Kimber
Can’t pickle steel after brazing ? Course
you can! Use Phosphoric acid (Phostreat or
Ferropro). Takes up to half an hour. Job must be
painted afterwards. No good if you want a bright
finish.
Spent a bit of time recently seeking steel
rod sufficiently ductile for bending shackle eyes,
chain links etc. Welding rods with the coating
stripped off are excellent. Mild steel of course.
Biggest time saver in my workshop is a ¼
H.P. motor (ex washing machine) with a 7 inch
plywood disc secured to the table set up in front
of disc. Excellent for squaring ends of angle and
such like. Quickly produces a straight edge on loco
frames.
To get a square end on small angle, put
a piece of rod in the angle and grip in the three
jaw chuck, with one jaw on the rod and the
other two on the flats of the angle. The rod needs
to be big enough to allow an even grip on the
sides of the angle.
Needed a handle for needle files. After
unsuccessful attempts to make same, now use a
Stewart T-handle tap wrench, smallest size.
From June 1977
7 ¼” Duke of Gloucester in
England.
Ron Griffiths
The full size “Duke of Gloucester” is a one-off class 8P
3 cylinder pacific type locomotive built by British Rail in
1954. It was fitted with BRITISH CAPROTTI rotary cam
valve gear which operated separate double beat inlet and
exhaust valves in each cylinder. This set-up allowed very
short cut-off settings to the inlet valves without constricting
the exhaust cycle as link motion gears do on short cut-offs.
The engine as built was unsuccessful due to the inside of
the funnel being too small, the exhaust nozzle being too
small and the ashpan being incorrectly constructed.
When restored, these problems were solved which
completely transformed the engine from a failure to a huge
success.
From March 1966
MEETING DENIS EVANS
While holidaying in England in 1975, I stumbled across
a running day of a 5”and 7 ¼” track in Blackpool, which
is where my in-laws lived. I got talking to a member who
introduced himself as Denis Evans. He mentioned he had
a 7 ¼”G Duke with the proper British Caprotti valve gear,
and would I like to see it?
Page 8
with a severe grade. We coupled 8 bogie passenger cars
behind it. It took one man pulling and another pushing to
move these cars, and I was amazed at how easily the Duke
pulled them, even on the severe grade.
This engine was delightful to drive, and driving with wide-
Denis Evans aboard his Duke of Gloucester.
MEETING THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER
On 17 August 1975, I went to his house and saw this
fabulous loco for the first time. Denis was able to buy all
the BR drawings for it, but those did not include the British
Caprotti valve gear. He was able to get these drawings from
Associated Locomotive Equipment, who were reluctant to
give him prints.
Inspecting this loco took quite a while, and it was hard to
take it all in, as everything is to scale. A lot of bolts and
nuts in the Caprotti gear are 9BA. Even the splines and
universal joints are all to scale. Most of the material used
in the gear is heat treated EN32, but the double beat poppet
valves, seats, and cages are stainless steel. The boiler was
made from a 6 feet x 3 foot x 3/16” copper sheet and was
brazed up with an LPG torch using Easyflow.
open regulator and controlling the power by altering the
cut off was quite possible. Minimum cut-off was 5%, but
at this setting, power delivery was quite jerky – more like
a slow-running diesel than a smooth steam engine. For this
reason, we didn’t normally use less than 10% cut- off.
END OF PLAY FOR THE DAY
Pack-up time came around all too soon, but we had to have
the hire van back in Blackpool by 6pm. The travelling time
in the van was an opportunity to ask Denis a lot of questions.
The first one was ‘Why hadn’t this engine appeared in the
pages of ME (the English Model Engineer)?’ Choosing his
words carefully, he said that an article had been submitted
shortly after completion in 1974, but it never went to print.
Apparently the late Martin Evans (no relation), who was
editor at the time, was very jealous of it and didn’t want to
be outshone!
THE CAPROTTI GEAR
Denis made all his own hobs for the worm wheel and the
matching worm in the cam boxes and same again for the
gearbox at the driving wheel. Most of this engine was
made in Nigeria and Borneo when Denis worked for an
earthmoving company as the workshop manager. The drive
shafts to the cam boxes are pushrods from a Caterpillar
diesel engine. I dropped in on Denis a few times during
that holiday. He was a very likeable, humble man, and the
hours spent with him are a treasured memory.
DRIVING THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER
After marvelling at the workmanship is this engine for
hours, Denis asked me if I would like to drive it. The
answer was of course a resounding “yes,” so he arranged
a running day with the owners of a private 7 ¼” track in
Yorkshire. The track was on the grounds of a pub called
The Squinting Cat, at Pannal Ash, Harrogate, Yorkshire.
We hired a van, drilled some holes in the floor for tie-down
points, and set off on 29 August 1975.
The Duke steamed up quickly, and was soon ready for the
track. This track was a pretty basic oval, about 1km long
MORE CAPROTTI LOCOS
In January 1984, we went to the UK again and of course
a few more days were spent with the master craftsman.
He had just finished a 3 ½” gauge Duke engine and was
starting on the tender. To see all the Caprotti gear in 3 ½”
gauge was just breathtaking. This engine was exhibited at
the 1992 ME exhibition in London, and won many awards
there.
Page 9
Denis subsequently made a 5” gauge Duke, a 5” gauge
Black 5 with Caprotti gear, and was working on a 3 ½”
gauge Gresley P2 2-8-2 with Lentz rotary valve gear when
he died.
The photo below is of the unfinished loco with the Caprotti
gear is Denis’s Black 5, taken at the Preston ME exhibition
in 1975.
THE DUKE: WHERE IS HE?
A few months ago, I decided to track down all of Denis’s
engines. An email was sent to The Fylde and District ME
Society, Denis’s old club. The secretary had never heard
of him or his engines, and referred my enquiry to an old
member. This reply was more forthcoming. Apparently the
Black 5 is owned and operated by somebody in another
UK club. The 3 ½” Duke supposedly came Down Under,
and the 5” Duke is in the family. But, nobody knows where
the fabulous 7 ¼” Duke is!
Editor’s Footnote: The only preserved Caprotti valvedgeared locomotive currently running in Britain is, of
course, the one-and-only full-size Duke of Gloucester. The
good news is that within the next decade (or earlier) it will
probably be joined by another of its brethren, a brand new
version of the Gresley-designed LNER 2007, a P2 Mikado
(2-8-2) loco. This will be equipped, as was the original,
with Lentz rotary cam valve gear which will be updated
using the latest in computer-aided design technology. The
cost is estimated to be of the order of £5 million. This is
around Au$10 million at current exchange rates. The funds
will be raised by soliciting donations from business and
individuals.
The original 2007 was rebuilt during the war years as a
not particularly successful 4-6-2 by Edward Thompson
who succeeded Nigel Gresley as Chief Mechanical
Engineer at the LNER. It was scrapped in 1961. The team
undertaking the re-creation of this Mikado is the same
one responsible for the replica of the Peppercorn Pacific,
Tornado, completed some years back. To see an excellent
documentary of this project, click on the following link:
https://youtu.be/inrGbj3EDFY
If you haven’t yet viewed this film, it is well worth doing
so.
Electroplating in the home
workshop.
Neville Robertson
Generally speaking, model engineers don’t have much
call for electroplating parts made for their creations. The
exceptions are those who build miniature IC engines,
where an exhaust system or some other feature may
require plating of one kind or another. Electro-galvanising
the odd workshop fixture, jig or special tool could also
be preferable to leaving it bright and prone to rust whilst
those among us who also pursue additional pastimes in the
form of restoring old cars and motorcycles will certainly
have need for this form of finish.
The simplest and cheapest way to achieve the desired end
has traditionally been to hand the job over to a commercial
operator for processing. However, faced with complying
with ever more strict environmental and workplace laws
and hence rocketing costs, most industrial platers now
impose a minimum charge which is usually of the order of
$80. So whether wants half-a-dozen small items or one or
two larger parts dealt with, the price is at least $80.
Given that one would probably require several batches
of items treated during the course of, say, a motorcycle
rebuild, plating costs could escalate to the point where
doing the job oneself starts to become an attractive
proposition. The good news is that it’s neither difficult
nor overly expensive to set up a small electroplating plant
in the home workshop. Furthermore, once established it
can be used for many years into the future with the only
ongoing costs being the occasional purchase of electrolytes
and/or metals in the form of anodes (discs or slugs) needed
to give the required finish. Best of all, provided one is
meticulous in performing the preparatory work - this is
important - and that the plating bath and power supply are
properly constituted, the results are at least equal to those
obtained by industrial platers.
My own zinc plating set-up is simple in the extreme. It
consists of a 4 litre plastic bucket containing the electrolyte.
Three copper bars rest on the rim. The outer two, which
are electrically connected, carry the anodes (discs of pure
zinc) whilst the bar between these carries the items being
plated. The anodes are suspended in the liquid by stainless
wire and the plating items by light gauge galvanised tiewire. The 12 volt DC power supply is by battery charger.
The positive lead connects to the anode bars through an
automotive tail-light globe which acts as a simple but
effective current controller. The negative lead attaches to
the central bar carrying the pieces being plated. This entire
set-up is immersed in a deep(ish) plastic tray of warm
water that acts as an electrolyte temperature controller.
The electrolyte needs to be between 25 and 30 degrees
Celsius for best results. The photo below shows the set-up;
note the lit globe at the far side. Around forty-five minutes
Page 10
is required to deposit an adequate layer of zinc on about
ten small items.
Total initial cost, excluding the materials and battery
charger I already had was $99; $33 for two large zinc
anodes and $55 for the electrolyte powder, KL additive
and TMA brightener. The first batch of electrolyte gave
me three years of use whilst the original anodes are still
in service and will be for some time to come. Note that
smaller anodes are available for just $11 a pair; these
would be adequate for most home users. Regular filtration
of the electrolyte through coffee filter paper removes solid
impurities that build up over time and, unless eliminated,
are likely to cause problems.
The electrolyte comes in powder form and is mixed with
demineralised water. To this solution is added the KL
additive. A liquid brightener (supplied) known as TMA is
added to the bath in the ratio of 1 millilitre per litre of
electrolyte. This imparts a slight shine to the work-pieces
which would otherwise have a matt silver finish. The TMA
is replenished over time as it tends to be used up during the
plating process and enough is supplied for this purpose.
The two photos that follow show several items for the BSA
before and after plating. So far several dozen parts for this
restoration have been treated.
Plating is not restricted to zinc. Kits are also available
for copper, nickel, cobalt, silver and gold. I haven’t used
any of these but Alan Fern, a regular attendee at our
Exhibition Day, has achieved outstanding results in nickel
electroplating parts for some of his IC engines, including
the exhaust pipe for his Barr Stroud motorcycle engine.
Kits may also be bought for what is known as electroless
nickel or cobalt plating. This, as the name implies, is a
plating process that does not require electricity but
simply immersion of the part in a bath of an appropriate
chemical solution. It’s the most economical way to plate
a limited number of small parts with nickel since enough
concentrate to make 1 litre of reusable solution only costs
around $45 whilst sufficient concentrate to prepare 2
litres of cobalt solution costs around $88. A hotplate or
gas-fired camp stove will be needed to keep the liquid at
an elevated temperature. Cobalt, by all accounts, gives a
finish that closely resembles chrome plating. The life of
these solutions diminishes with usage so if one intends
doing a lot of plating the electroplating option may be
more economical in the long run.
Kits are available from Jane Kits and Caswell Australia
who also supply instruction manuals and, if required,
power supply units. Blackening kits for steel parts are also
sold as are various corrosion removal agents, de-greasers,
passivating solutions (for giving zinc plated parts a blue
or gold colour), buffing wheels and so on. Purchasing the
suppliers cleaners and degreasers isn’t strictly necessary
- my corrosion removal medium for steel is hydrochloric
acid (ex-hardware outlets) whilst effective de-greasing can
be done with ordinary dishwashing liquid and/or acetone.
Both Jane and Caswell have excellent websites which
provide prices of their products and also feature photos of
items that have been plated using their products.
Visit to Glenfinnen Railway
Springbrook – 20-22.05.16.
Chris Hillyard
Isn’t it amazing how time flies especially when you are
retired. It’s May already and time to head south and up into
the mountains. On Friday Neil and Chris Dannenberg and
I headed on up the mountain to “Glenfinnen Railway “in
readiness for another great week end on the rails. Pleased
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to be able to report that there were no incidents this time
round. The program was as follows: Saturday there was
a planned train scheduling exercise that would involve
two passenger trains operating in a clockwise direction
with two long freight trains operating in an anti-clockwise
direction all at the same time. On Sunday there would be a
general club and invited guest run.
We all arrived safely and were greeted by our host Don
Bell. The first priority was to unload the rolling stock and
diesel and gondola. Next on the agenda we settled into
our accommodation for the weekend. Neil and Chris had
decided to camp rough in their new camper, a last minute
shake down trial before their upcoming Simpson Desert
trip. I settled into the well-appointed QSMEE Lodge. Next
we had to get the basic essential out of the way – a cup of
tea hit the spot.
The afternoon was spent on some minor track maintenance
in readiness for the weekend. Rod Harris soon arrived with
his Black Five and fine collection of English rolling stock.
Rod also brought along his latest Castrol and Esso tank
cars He assured us that this now completed his rolling
major incidents and the locomotives and their crews all
arrived at “Glenfinnen Railway Station” in due course
for a refreshing lunch.
Special thanks to Sue
Bell for the excellent
tasty sandwiches tea
and coffee.
The two freight trains
spent
the
morning
session
shunting
designated rolling stock
at nominated sidings
whilst avoiding the
passenger trains that
stopped at the stations
or very cleverly ran
express through the
station only to take a return loop and come back into the
station from the other direction whilst you are trying to
recouple the train after shunting the wagons – nice one
Don.
The afternoon session was the reverse of the morning
schedule only the freight trains had to recover the rolling
stock that had been shunted all over the railway. The
afternoon session came to the end with all locomotives
stock period, no room left in the trailer and he was now
moving onto building another locomotive.
Saturday 21.05.16 – “T” day, would it all go as planned?
The Fat Controller looks worried. He has spent countless
nights working on the schedule. Has he covered all the
contingencies? Would there be enough time for each train
crew to complete their allocated tasks. There would be no
starting early, all locomotives must return to the engine shed
before we could start the exercise. But wait what’s coming
over the hill and down into “Ferntree Gully Station”. It’s
the 10:30am freight express from “Springbrook Station”.
This is not in the plan. A quick adjustment to the schedule
and we are all back on track ready to start.
returning to the shed on time. Special thanks to Don for the
countless hours spent putting the timed run together and
to the various members who acted as signal controllers by
switching the points.
Buy this time several other QSMEE members had arrived
and were quickly appointed as signal controllers and or
passengers for the day. All things considered the morning
session went really well. Suitable notes will be added to
the guard’s instruction sheet for next time. There were no
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The event was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We all want
to explore the possibility of a similar event being held at
Warner.
Given that we had finished early and there were an
abundance of members it was decided that we needed to
repair a section of track that ran up the back of the property
along the fence line heading to “Ferntree Gully Station”.
As there were several tree roots that had sprung up under
the track there was only one solution. The effected track
was lifted, ballast racked back and the offending tree roots
removed. The track was laid down, levelled and ballasted
in readiness for the Sunday Run. At one point it would be
fair to say that the “Fat Controller” looked worried as a
large piece of track was made to look like a roller coaster
in order to remove the offending tree roots. The track was
soon repaired and back to normal. Special thanks to all
the members who pitched in and made short order of the
necessary repairs. Drivers and passengers really noticed
the difference on Sunday.
Sunday 22.05.16 – General Run day Session.
In very quick succession Don’s invited guests and
additional members of QSMEE and their families arrived
for a fun day on the rails. The track had reverted to one
direction using the “Staff system”, to get from “Glenfinnen
For the visitors and members who have not been up
to Don’s place since his last run day at “Glenfinnen
Railway” in 2015 there was a pleasant surprise up at the
“Ferntree Gully Station”. Don has faithfully built a scaled
down version of a Queensland railways timber overhead
pedestrian bridge across the track and connecting to the
pathway (39 Steps) up to the back of the house. All up
it was a terrific weekend thoroughly enjoyed by all in
attendance. Special thanks to Don and Sue Bell for their
generous hospitality. I would recommend to anyone who
has not attended a run meet up at “Glenfinnen Railway”
that you put it down on your bucket list as a must do when
the next date is announced. Don is quite happy for people
to camp out on the property or share the excellent facilities
at the QSMEE Drivers Lodge.
PS! Don there is no charge for the weed control spraying
on the bottom part of your circuit. Only happy that C& O
could help out.
Workshop hint.
Neville Robertson
Station” up to “Fertree Gully Station” and back. It turned
out to be a perfect bright sunny day. In the end there were
quite a few people attending the run. The passenger trains
really started to come into their own as the climb up to the
back of the property started to become harder as the day
rolled on.
It’s almost a given that during the course of building a
miniature steam locomotive, extra holes, both plain and
tapped, will be required in the frames or elsewhere for
the mounting of additional components. Whether plain
or tapped, these will invariably require – especially as the
job progresses - the use of a hand-held power drill which
means that they’ll seldom be exactly square to the face of
the material in which they’re located. This is usually of
little consequence for a plain clearance hole but if it’s to be
tapped, the threads should be “square” to the surface.
A simple and effective way to achieve this is by making
use of a simple tapping guide in the form of a short length
of bright mild steel shafting. Using the three-jaw chuck,
square the ends, then drill a through-hole large enough to
provide neat but easy clearance for the required tap. Form a
small countersink at the business end, or better still, at both
ends so that no matter which way round it’s held against
the material, it’ll sit firmly in contact with it.
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The outside diameter will vary with the tap size – use your
judgement to determine what is suitable. The photo below
shows the device in use.
Giant” and it is said that his “carefree ways” make him
many friends along the track.
The real steel that inspired the new character of Shane is
A set of these, with one for each of the commonest sizes,
can be made in less than an hour. Keep together with the
appropriate taps or using number and/or letter punches,
mark accordingly.
the SteamRanger 520, Sir Malcolm Barclay Harvey, built
to cater for fast-growing passenger numbers during the
hostilities in World War II. Similarly to Shane, the train
was painted green and gold.
There is no word on whether a big-name Australian is all
aboard to give voice to Shane.
From Rhys Jones....
Recently Susie and I spent some time at the Naval Museum
at Pearl Harbour on the Battleship Missouri. Attached is a
panorama of the machine shop on that ship.
On the extreme left is a very large milling machine, and
on the extreme right is a large radial drill. On the drill
table is a twist drill with a diameter somewhere between
2-1/2”-3”.
The lathe in the centre of the photo is a Lodge & Shipley
that will swing 635mm or in the new numbers, 25 inches,
just the shot for a model engineer!
Old track, pointwork and the crossover is removed near
the signal cabin to allow for a changed track plan. As this
metal is being removed, new track is being set in concrete
at the site of the level crossing, just north of the workshop.
From Chris Hillyard....
Thomas the Tank Engine will soon meet his first Australian
mate.
Shane is a fun-loving carefree, and, most importantly,
green and gold engine. Based on a real engine that rolled
out of a South Australian workshop in 1944, Shane will
join the world’s most famous little engine in his next
animated movie, Thomas & Friends: the Great Race.
The pair will meet at “The Great Railway Show” where
they are both set to compete against a host of international
engines in a race. Shane’s nickname is the “Whispering
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Coming Club and
Model Engineering Events.
Andrew Sturmey
QSMEE EVENTS IN 2016
The website ‘Bulletin Board’ has event details, too.
November
Working Bee: Sunday 06th
Trophy and Exhibition Day: Sunday 13th
Committee Meeting: Monday 21st
Member’s Gathering: Monday 28th
Senior’s Day: every Wednesday
•
Family Run Days: Saturdays before the Track
Day: 10th September and 12th November; BYO meat
for an evening BBQ, but contact Noel Eberhardt for
further information.
•
Next Show and Tell night is September
gathering.
•
Trophy & Exhibition Day: November 13th - set
a goal to exhibit this year?
•
Christmas Tree: December 11th.
MODEL ENGINEERING EVENTS SE QLD
05th – 07th August 2016: Grandchester MLSA, Birthday
Run, 5 & 7 ¼”; camping available, book meals:
Cath 07 5465 5264 or Secretary
mipetmcgovern@bigpond.com
INTERSTATE
16th – 18th September, 2016: Canberra Invitation run.
Enquiries to Greg Peters 0412 179899
04th-06th November, 2016: Wagga Wagga invitation run.
REGULAR CLUB TIMETABLE
August
Working Bee: Sunday 07th
Track and Tent: 11th - 14th
Committee Meeting: Monday 22nd
Member’s Gathering: Monday 29th
Senior’s Day: every Wednesday
September
Working Bee: Sunday 04th
Track Day: Sunday 11th
Committee Meeting: Monday 19th
Member’s Gathering: Monday 26th
Senior’s Day: every Wednesday
October
Working Bee: Sunday 02nd
Track Day: Sunday 09nd
Committee Meeting: Monday 17th
Member’s Gathering: Monday 24th
Senior’s Day: every Wednesday
President: Don Bell 0418 726 301
V-President: Chris Hillyard (07) 3269 3239
Secretary: Andrew Sturmey (07) 38866107
Treasurer: Ian Crawford (07) 3889 9929
Boiler Inspectors:
E. Evans, (07) 3800 4164
R. Jones, (07) 3349 9443
L. Dannenberg, (07) 5497 9405
G. Menzies, (07) 3378 7852
Committee: Terry Daley, Allan Dekker,
Graham Larkin, Norm MacKenzie, Garry Menzies
Please address all correspondence to:
The Secretary, QSMEE
PO Box 322
Everton Park, Qld 4053
Email: qsmee@tracksandtrains.com
website: www.tracksandtrains.com/qsmee
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