It's been a while I know, but this time if year is always difficult, with the annual trip to holland and my own railway to run and sort out it's been a busy time,
The workshop has been fairly busy too, engines in and out the workshop being sorted. Fixed. Played with and all that,
So what been going on..... Well... The Fowler BB1 wasn't a complete success, so it's having some love and attention,
I've re-built the lubricator completely, went round and sorted some minor issues with bits n bobs. Sorted the injector out, and modified some pipe work. I've made a new water lifter steam cone so that now works, not as well as the one I made for the Foden which will move 4 pints a minute but it's a good start. Now I've moved on and started looking at valves and .. It's a bit of a mess in there. Someone has " tried" to make the valve ports right with a brass plate soft soldered to the port faces. And that's just as bad as the original ports and no where bear flat so new valves and new port faces are on the go.
Unlike most engines where the port face is the top of the cylinder casting, the bb1 is a little different. The port faces are a block on top of the cylinders at. 8.5 degree angle and they are pressed into the steam chest and bolted down with a gasket to the cylinder block. So stage one was to re-machine the steam chest.
Haveing made something that's square and a known size I moved onto the valve faces. I haven't got that far just yet, I've profiled them and put. 1 exhaust port in, but that's about it. Mostly the issues is finding time on the Cnc mill to do some work but it's getting there
Once the ports are in I shall cut the valves out the block and then put them up on the. 8.5 degree angle and mill the valve face. And then they can be shrunk into the block, I've made them about .002" bigger than the steam chest so they won't fit, until I put the steam chest in the oven and get it hot and then they should drop in and when they cool shrink on, meaning they should be a steam tight fit and stay where they need to be, then I can move into the valves.
The Burrell. Well not a lot has happened. I've finally got round to tiring the wheels,
Thy are just about ready for paint now and ill get on that as soon as I've sorted some of the other plate work so I can paint a lot of stuff in one hit,
The boiler arrived!!! ......... And went back, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting to be honest. I was expecting a brand new professional boiler. But this one was a little ..... Messy! Plus I had problems with some of the fittings and a few other things so I sent it back to them. They are looking at it at the moment so we shall see what they say ! I'm sure it will resolve itself sooner rather than later!
.......………PUG!
Pug well.... Pugs been back together with a few minor tweaks and has run on a couple of occasions .... And what a little beast! I had it up my railway not too long ago and the circuit is. 3/4 of a mile and I managed 2 1/2 laps before I had issues with a break bar falling off and catching the coupling rod, also for half a. Lap I was pushing a dead terrier and it's driving truck back on the up hill stretch, so I'm well I pressed with it! I need to do a few bits. The timing ain't right, and it could use some other minor tweaks but as it stands I shall be running it for a while before I get too involved in ripping it to bits again to fix things! Also ..... Pug has a new play mate!
Hopefully ill get round to doing a bit more in here soon but things are hectic at the moment, so much going on and so little time!
Have a fantastic day.... And rock out ... As much as possable!
