Enigma (Liverpool Lion)

Jon Nazareth

Western Thunderer
Before making the new chimney, I thought that I'd have a go at correcting the lean in the existing one. I tapped the skirt a little on the side of the lean thinking that this would 'push' it up straight. That didn't work and so, I tapped the skirt back again level. This simply spoiled the way that the skirt sat on the smoke box. I tapped it this way and that until it sat down as it should (I'm not sure why I was wasting my time doing this seeing as the chimney wasn't vertical). Well, the long and the short is that after all of this tapping, the chimney now seems to be at right angles to the smoke box, curiouser and curiouser.
I noticed that I'd forgotten to put in the ring of rivets where the chimney meets the base. I'd somehow misread the drawing and I thought that these were flush on the outside, apparently not. The first picture shows the whole held in the lathe prior to marking out for the rivets. The next two photos show the rivets in place and the front and rear views of the smoke box with the door and the dummy front and rear cylinder covers. The front covers will have a drain cocks fitted one into each of those spare holes that can be seen.

That's about it for the smoke box and the next task will be to make up the six brackets that hold the boiler to the frames.

Jon

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Jon Nazareth

Western Thunderer
I decided to put off making the boiler supports for the time being to make up the clack valves and to work on the cladding.
The first and second pictures are an experiment with a sample piece of veneer that I'm planning to use for the cladding. It is approximately 1.4 mm thick, but will reduce slightly with sanding. I cut the grooves to represent the gaps between the battens with a tool that I use to score styrene sheet. This piece was sanded again where the tool raised the grain. This particular piece has been dampened and then tied down onto a piece of tube of a lesser diameter than the boiler with the thinking that it would spring back slightly.
The next three show one of the clack valves. They do look big but I've checked them more than once against the drawing and they are the correct size.
The veneer that I have is only 100 mm wide and so, the final picture shows three pieces of veneer glued together and weighted until it goes off. This is all experimentation at the moment and may not work but I'm hoping that it does. The alternative is scored styrene but that is a very last resort.

Jon

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Jon Nazareth

Western Thunderer
I've changed the title a little as the loco is to be called ENIGMA and she does differ from Lion herself.

A couple of pictures to show the footplate and the guard rails/stanchions. The smokebox is fixed permanently as is the cowl. I made the smokebox support brackets too long and so, I'm having to make a second pair or, that may even be third pair. I've yet to mount the whistle and make and fit a pressure gauge unless, pressure gauges came in at a later date. Does anyone know? I think that apart those parts mentioned, everything else is made and stored in various rattle can lids. I did notice today that I forgot to blacken the main axleboxes before fixing the wheels. Too late now to do anything but at least they will be partially hidden behind the drivers.

Jon

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Jon Nazareth

Western Thunderer
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I think that I've finished making all of the bits and pieces. The front smokebox/boiler supports have been made and are in place. I've undercoated the footplate and the smokebox door and given a top coat to the bracket mount for the pressure gauge. I have run out of 0.8 mm nuts and bolts; these have been used to secure the top cover for the steam turret. New ones ordered and when they have been fitted, the bolts will be trimmed to length.
The small pieces in the picture are, reversing lever, rear tow bracket, front tow linkage, two front safety chains and hooks, regulator, water gauge, whistle (altered from one of Mike Williams') complete with operating lever/arm, a pair of safety valves and one of the rear steps. This looks quite big but, it is to scale.
I've thought again about the lack of space for the splashers. I think that in full size, these would have been a tight fit with a minimum of clearance and when scaled down, this clearance has disappeared meaning that I can't fit them. If I had known about this, I could have made the frames a bit wider to allow their fitting, hindsight and all of that.
The other thing that I've noticed is the yawning chasm of nothingness where the piston rods et al should be. A little will be hidden by the wheels but not much, shame.

Jon
 

Jon Nazareth

Western Thunderer
Mike
Re the regulator, all very simple, really. The quadrant is one of Geoff Nicholls' J65 castings that I have soldered to a 'fixing' flange that has a hole through that takes the locating pin from Geoff's quadrant. The flange has four bolts through it to make some sense of the whole. The lever/handle I fabricated from nickel shaping the handle in the lathe. The whole was dunked in blacking agent just to tone the brass down a bit.
There's another couple of pictures below.

Jon

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mswjr

Western Thunderer
Jon, super workmanship very nice work, Preasure gauges were invented in the mid 1800s, Developed around 1840s to stop boiler explosions and the like, I am pretty sure the same for the water gauges as well, early water gauge s were just a couple of taps that the crew opened and shut to test the water level.
 

mswjr

Western Thunderer
According to wicki, The first steam sight gauge glass was invented in 1829, so a bit earlier than the pressure gauge.
 

Martin Shaw

Western Thunderer
Jon
The bourdon tube pressure gauge (what you and I might just commonly call a locomotive pressure gauge) was patented in 1849 and undoubtedly due to royalty payments wasn't commonly used until the patent expired in 1875. I have seen early Salter valves with a scale engraved on the tube surrounding the spring, with a pointer working in a slot which is probably what Lion had, initially at least. What other forms might have been used to indicate pressure is open to question.
Regards
Martin
 

Jon Nazareth

Western Thunderer
MSWJ. There are two holes on the right hand side of the backhead which could have been for two such taps. I have a pair that I intend to fit after she's been painted.

Martin. That's interesting as your comments go along with MSWJ's and the possible use of a pair of taps.

John. Thank you, that's very kind. There are areas where I wished the workmanship was a lot better; the painting of the dial on the pressure gauge being just one.

Jon
 

Mike W

Western Thunderer
Thank you Geoff! That is a real one Jon. I happened to have one laying around, as one does. Its an LNWR design although that example is an LMS replacement for an LNWR standard one and they will be going into a pair of LNWR engines. Details later.

Mike
 

john lewsey

Western Thunderer
Thank you Geoff! That is a real one Jon. I happened to have one laying around, as one does. Its an LNWR design although that example is an LMS replacement for an LNWR standard one and they will be going into a pair of LNWR engines. Details later.

Mike
LNWR engines
 
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