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Walton
Park Trains - Run by Sale Area Model Engineering Society
' SAMES ' |
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| This Washington Loco 4-4-0 configuration
has taken the owner 7 years to build and was run very successfully for the first
time in March 2005. I think you will agree this is a shining example of what can
be done with ALOT of patience & skill.
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The Washington Underway
The Brew Also Underway | click
on pictures to enlarge | | | The
Washington
Featured in
'Engineering in Miniature'
December 2008 |
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| The "Washington" Story
I am a model maker and not a train spotter so it was difficult for me to choose
a loco that I really wanted to build. A holiday in California took me to a Live
Steamer Event in Griffiths Park, L.A. and I was fascinated by the old American
profile locos.
Washington is a Reeves design and the drawings were prepared
from originals by David Piddington. Very few (if any) models have been completed
and this is probably the only one in UK.
The American 4-4-0 is very different
in structure to British profiles and is very attractive to the "experts"
i.e. the children in the park !
It took 2000 hours spread over 7 years
to build.
It is my first loco and it probably would have been better to build
a well tried design first.
My model building experience was gained via Stuart
stationary engines and the Minnie traction engine.
Of course a lot of loco
experience was available from the members at Sale Area MES.
Not quite finished
yet (are they ever?) with jobs like the following to be done :-
-fitting
the wheel splashers (looks a very fiddly job)
-making the cylinder cladding
(spinning the brass end covers will be a new skill to be learned)
-tool boxes
for the tender
-lettering on the sides of the tender.
Washington
runs very well now that I have been trained as a driver and after a couple of
design problems were overcome.
The main ones were :-
-the valve slides
were not the correct dimension for the ports
-not enough air getting through
the fire with the blower or on blast. Fixed by drilling a row of holes along the
front of the ashpan just below the grate.
-the jet holes in the blower were
enlarged
-the spark deflector was raised higher above the chimney extension.
I haven't managed to get the whistle (two tone) working properly yet on steam
(this seems to be an art rather than science) and I have found that the oil reservoir
runs out after about 90 minutes of continuous running (using too much oil?)
All things considered this project has been a real challenge but extremely satisfying.
Stuart Clayton
20/4/2005
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