Table of contents for Issue 4761 in Model Engineer

The editor can be contacted via the email below and would be delighted to receive your contributions, in the form of items of correspondence, comment or articles. MEeditor@mortons.co.uk All Change Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that the dates on the front cover of this issue indicate a ‘lifetime’ of a full month rather than the customary two weeks. This indicates a major change in the way that Model Engineer is published. After this issue, Model Engineer will become a monthly publication. Furthermore, the magazine will incorporate Model Engineer's Workshop, which will now cease to exist as a separate magazine and the title of the combined magazine will be Model Engineer and Workshop. This raises a number of questions, which I will attempt to answer here. First, a little history. The…

Portsmouth Model Engineering Society Model Railway, Boats and Planes on a Budget Introduction My name is Spencer. I've always had a love of trains and modelling and this all started, as with many young people, with Thomas the Tank Engine. I joined Portsmouth Model Engineering Society (PMES) in 2022 along with my dad. Since joining I have entered the Federation of Model Engineers Young Engineers competition and this article documents my 2023 entry for which I was one of the winners awarded the Very Highly Commended Certificate at the 2024 AGM (photos 1 and 2). The project After I was given a large number of Model Engineer magazines from the late 1980s to the early 1990s from a fellow society member, I set about reading them over the Christmas school…

Views and opinions expressed in letters published in Postbag should not be assumed to be in accordance with those of the Editor, other contributors, or Mortons Media Group Ltd. Correspondence for Postbag should be sent to: Martin R. Evans, The Editor, Model Engineer, Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR F. 01507 371066 E. MEeditor@mortons.co.uk Publication is at the discretion of the Editor. The content of letters may be edited to suit the magazine style and space available. Correspondents should note that production schedules normally involve a minimum lead time of six weeks for material submitted for publication. In the interests of security, correspondents’ details are not published unless specific instructions to do so are given. Responses to published letters are forwarded as appropriate. Cherry…

Published by Pen and Sword Transport, 2024 ISBN 978-1-39904-834-7 252pp, hardback, £29.99 This book is a remarkably detailed tale of a minor railway barely three miles long. Technically it wasn't a railway but built under the Tramways Act and remained a roadside tramway. When the line closed, the directors saved company records by donating them to Berkshire Archives. Most minor railways would have lost records through amalgamations or other reasons making re-creation of their working almost impossible. So this book is of particular interest as a local history of a short rural railway, also shedding light on traffic and perhaps problems of other rural lines. After several attempts to connect Wantage to the Great Western at Wantage Road a company was registered in 1871. It was very much a local…

The steam chests and covers are mostly basic machining jobs so not much need be said apart from discussion around and about. To start with the steam chest and cover - these are shown in fig 22 and come as part of the casting set. Things to note about these the cover is rather hard to get truly flat, as it must be in order to seal properly to the steam chest, it's fairly thin and surface stresses caused by machining may cause it to curve but sharp tools can keep this to a minimum. This effect is common and does put a lower limit on thickness in the manufacturing world. In our case one flat face to go against the steam chest and the other a bit curved will…

The world of model engineering has lost a great engineer - Cherry Hill, who died on Dec 3rd. Others will fill in the details (see M.E.4759, p.68 – Ed.). I only met her a handful of times and was impressed by her down-to-earth way of interacting with her peers and youngsters alike. It was in her humility - not too grand to make tea or see that the admin. team were kept fed and watered. We shall not see her like again. I caught a mention on t'interweb about atomic batteries that need no recharging. They are powered by a radioactive isotope like nickel 28, the half life of which is about 125 years, so if one were bought now, it would probably outlive the product it is used in.…

Abright, warm, spring day dawned for my visit to the Worthing & District Society of Model Engineers which is located at Field Place, situated about a mile from Worthing town centre. The impressively smart club site is in an attractive area and has been built by the members to blend in very well with its surroundings. I went on one of the club's working days and was met by vice chairman, Geoff Bashall who introduced me to the many members, working away and chatting about their various projects (photo 1). It really is an immaculate site with neatly mown grass areas, which are available to the public during open days, and a very smart and substantial brick-built clubhouse along with equally impressive infrastructure. The present club was reformed in 1974…

Idon't know if other people's memory resembles mine – hopefully not - but when I went as an electrician into someone's house preparatory to doing something major like replacing a consumer unit, the conversation was always the same… Hi, I'm Mike, qualified electrician, blah, blah. Have you made any significant changes to the household electrics? The reply is always ‘Oh, we haven't done anything much…’ and oftentimes there is the new extension, a brand new kitchen, the rows of downlighters, etc. and even the outside electric vehicle charging point… I have not done much to my lathe. Not much. Actually more than I thought, so maybe you could have a look in a quiet time at your own tools. Not in any real order, I have made the following changes:…

Philip Bellamy was one of the founders of the Surface Warship Association (SWA) and a philanthropic supporter of the society. He was born in Wolverhampton but the family soon relocated to Wimbledon where he grew up. During the war years he was evacuated for a time and was a pupil at Cheltenham Ladies College, of which he was justly proud, his report noting his dexterity at needlework and enquiring mind in religious studies. He acquired his first woodworking tools at the age of 5 and was taught by craftsmen in the family business. Even then he built boats, selling his collection for the war fund and receiving a personal letter from Clementine Churchill. In Wimbledon he was in trouble with the police for removing parts of a Messerschmitt from a…

In the summer of last year we visited Kempton Steam Museum on one of their open days to see the stationary steam engine running. This visit was so inspiring that a Driver Experience Day was booked for a date later in the year, when I was invited to operate the largest triple expansion engine in the world that's still running. Not bad for a simple day out! Kempton Great Engines Trust is located on the A 316, at Snakey Lane, Hanworth, Middlesex TW13 6XH (ref 1). The A316 is the extension of the M3 heading into London. The Trust and its beautiful engines are one of the best kept secrets of South West London. The splendid vista of this remarkable building can be seen from the elevated section of the…

Cutting speed and metal machinability Drilling is one of the cutting operations used to machine metal. Shortly, the selection of drilling speed shall be discussed. Beforehand, it is relevant to mention cutting speed, as it is from this that drilling speed is derived. Specific cutting speeds for metal originated in industry and are associated with economy and productivity. Each material has a nominated or recommended cutting speed that is calculated taking into account numerous factors including material hardness, metal removal rate, machine power usage, tool wear, tool life, material surface finish, etc. However, the values quoted for cutting speed in industry are generally unsuitable for use by the model engineer (ref 11). These have been adapted by some and are described as ‘a compromise between reasonable times between re sharpening…

The original drawings show the cladding sheets and pieces of brass angle needed for covering cylinders with square corners. Having chosen to make the high pressure cylinder with rounded top corners I needed to do a bit of design work for the cladding and the corner angles. A good way to start on that was to look at examples of original engines and see what was done when the engines were being built. In two visits to the UK, I managed to get to the Anson Engine Museum and the Bolton Steam Museum of the Northern Mill Engine Society where it is possible to get close to original engines and talk to knowledgeable people. At the Anson Museum (on a non-steaming day) I was allowed close enough to take pictures…

The City of Sunderland Model Engineering Society has a raised level multi-gauge track in Roker Park, Sunderland (photo 1). The track was built in the early 1980s and is 880 feet long (or 1/6 mile, if you prefer). It is in use almost every weekend hauling passengers - when the weather is kind enough. Initially, the transfer of locomotives between the steaming bays and the main track was by use of a steel plate, which allowed the locomotives to be slid across between the two. A few years after the track was finished a carriage shed was built and it was decided that a traverser should also be provided (photo 2). The traverser is pneumatically powered and controlled by two manual valves, one to provide a change over between straight…

We now come to something to whet anyone's appetite -making the valve gear. If you want to save a lot on time, then I wouldn't hesitate to buy a set of valve gear from Mike Jack in New Zealand. I can supply his name and address if required. It is all fully machined and all it needs is the bushes putting in. The valve gear is exactly the same as on my 4MT so that should not be a problem. Someone from the Teesside club has now taken charge of my 4MT and he has made some alterations to the piston valves. I used the Don Young method of fitting the piston valves in my engine and he didn't like that very much, so he made new ones. He made…

In making up my Stuart Turner Sirius model steam engine, I had made a mistake in the manufacturing sequence in machining the cylinder head. This led me to discover a mistake in the AutoCAD drawings that I had purchased from Bridport Foundries. I believe that the AutoCAD drawings were done when the Stuart Turner models were made by Jones & Bradburn in Guernsey. After machining the cylinder head face and boring the piston valve hole, what I should have done is carefully measured the position of the cast-in exhaust ports, that are inside the piston valve hole, and marked their position on the machined cylinder face. Then marked the ¼ inch diameter transfer hole for the steam inlet central between these port positions. Finally, marked and machined the transfer slots…

Every Sunday Warrington MES Running day. Contact: contact@wdmes.org.uk February 2 Guildford MES Small Model Steam Engine Group meeting, 14:00-17:00, Stoke Park. Contact: Mike Sleigh, pr@gmes.org.uk or see www.gmes.org.uk 12 Warrington MES ‘Natter Night’ at the Walton Arms. Contact: contact@wdmes.org.uk 15 Gauge 1 Yorkshire Group Runnning day, 09:30-15:30, Drax Power Station YO8 8PJ. Contact: secretary@gauge1north.org.uk March 11 Warrington MES AGM. Contact: contact@wdmes.org.uk 15 Gauge 1 Yorkshire Group Runnning day, 09:30-15:30, Drax Power Station YO8 8PJ. Contact: secretary@gauge1north.org.uk 16 Guildford MES Public open day, Stoke Park. Contact: Mike Sleigh, pr@gmes.org.uk or see www.gmes.org.uk April 6 Guildford MES Small Model Steam Engine Group meeting, 14:00-17:00, Stoke Park. Contact: Mike Sleigh, pr@gmes.org.uk or see www.gmes.org.uk 9 Warrington MES ‘Natter Night’ at the Walton Arms. Contact: contact@wdmes.org.uk 13 Guildford MES Public open day, Stoke Park.…