As the Romulant is more or less finished, I will be doing other things which I will put on this page. This will include any additions which I might make to the Romulant. For example, I have changed the whistle set up as not enough steam was getting through and I also wanted to make the operating system as per full size; i.e. by pulling on a cord. Then there is also the CNC work on the nameplate or maybe etching. And after that, I'll be getting the 'George Henry' coffee pot out of store and changing a few things on it.

This first picture shows how I've fixed the new whistle valve. It works on the same principle as a safety valve, so I've had to make sure the spring is strong enough not to allow the valve to lift at boiler pressure. As yet, I haven't tried it on steam, but I have connected it to my airline and it worked well. Of course, it's another matter when it comes to using steam. The valve is now right close to the whistle and so there is no tube to fill first, which must be a good thing. One thing I did notice on air and that was I got a clearer, louder note when the pressure dropped to around 50 psi.

In spite of changing the draincocks' design so that they were not so close to the track, one got badly damaged when the loco de-railed on a new set of points which weren't quite right. So I've added a de-railing bar on the front buffer beam. Just in case the brackets aren't capable of taking the full weight, I made the bar a cow-catcher shape so that the bar is under the buffer beam and thus the beam will take the weight. It is made from 25 mm angle with the brackets going right through and all edges are welded, so it should be plenty strong enough.

One thing I have discovered with this lovely red paint is that it can't take the heat. So all the careful painting of the manifold and valves is going to waste. Patches of black are appearing on the hot spots. This is because the paint is acrylic and not the usual cellulose. So I'll have to re-paint them, probably with Humbrol enamel which I know stands the heat.

I've got the 'George Henry' DeWinton coffee pot loco out from under the sheets and made a start on getting it ready to take a boiler test and then sell. I wasn't happy with all sorts of things and some of them I'm going to change. First off is the safety valves. This Ramsbottom type may look the part but it's not very efficient as it seems to start losing steam anytime after 40 psi. I'm keeping the appearance but turning each side into a conventional ball type, probably a semi-pop variety. This first photo is of the original with the blower valve removed, which screws into the right hand side.

This next picture, on the right, shows how I changed them. The valve on the left is the original and sealed on the top rim. I replaced it with the usual set up of parts on the right. I threaded the inside of the tube top and bottom. The bottom seat being a sealed thread to prevent leakage. The last picture shows it fitted. It doesn't look much different, but the long hexagon top isn't just for adjustment, it hides the shorter centre rod. Normally they stick out, but this lets me keep the original lever and the pointed bits rest in the top of the holes above the rod end. The spring looks the part, but is only holding the unit in place and has no load setting. The safety valves can operate normally underneath.
Another job was to reduce the size of the blower hole.

I've set the valve springs with a different method. Last time I used the air compressor but to save making yet another adapter, I used some weighing scales. I put a bolt up in the end to press against the ball. I pushed down on this using a weighing scale and noted when the ball moved. I'd calculated that a 1/4" hole required a force of 4.9 lbs to equate to 100 psi. The compressor method gave me a good start and was quite close to the correct setting. I'll be interested to see if this way is as accurate.

I got everything set up for a steam up having done an hydraulic test first. Wheels blocked up so that I could run it in situ, lit the fire and waited. The boiler pressure was coming up nicely to 60 psi when a rather loud bang and clouds of steam woke up the neighbourhood. The site glass had burst. When I found the pieces I discovered that it had split neatly in two from top to bottom. It was the sort with a blue line down the back and must have had a weakness. I usually make my site glasses with an outer cover but not on this one. So the idea of using a three cock system was a waste of time as I couldn't get anywhere near to turn the two cocks to the off position. I hastily dropped the fire and called it a day until the thing had cooled down.

Set everything up again and found the settings on the safety valves weren't far out, opened the regulator and nothing happened. To cut a long story short, I had to resort to turning the wheels over with a lever and work some steam oil into the cylinders. That was all that was necessary, so I left it ticking over both in forward and reverse and it did this right down to 30 psi. So, all I need now is the boiler test.

The hot weather is not conducive to working in the workshop!! However, I've finished the lantern at last.
It's surprising how long it takes to make such an item. It's not a copy of any make, just an interpretation. Being white it's quite hard to photo with other dark objects, like the engine. The flash glares back. So far, I haven't had it on when running and the pictures were taken with the loco on the trailer.
The beauty of a steel boiler is that you can drill holes wherever you like so I drilled and threaded the smokebox for the bracket bolts. I rather fancied some holes in the sides of the bracket and thought I'd make use of my CNC set up. Took me a while but I like the result without any handwork at all. It is a working lamp adapted from a LED lamp and running of re-chargeable batteries. The photo doesn't show it off properly and makes it look bigger than it is. The lens is just a lump of perspex turned in the lathe. It wasn't quite thick enough to get a bull's eye effect.

I haven't been able to do much on the Hunslet yet, but I have ordered a copy of the GA from the Leeds Industrial Museum. They were very helpful and the cost is a nominal £8.46 which covered VAT and postage. Once I've got that, I can press on. I have been to see the boiler man and put my name down on the waiting list - 18 months at the moment!