I'm afraid that drafting Ivy Hall has become very tedious, as proud of that locomotive as I am. The fact that it absolute reeks havoc on my computer doesn't help matters any.

Here begins Zoe, Curly's only Mikado. It's a fantastic design in gauge 1, truly a hodgepodge of parts ranging from Tich wheels, hornblocks and cylinders to an Ayesha style boiler.

I really don't understand why this design was not more popular, for people like myself that suffer from a small garden it would be the perfect locomotive, combine that with the rather simple layout of the locomotive it would make a wonderful basis for other designs.

One nice thing about this locomotive opposed to Ivy is that many of the parts I draft now will be reused later, which I cannot say about Ivy all that much.

The castings alone will appear elsewhere, of that I am certain.

Evidence of the rut that Ivy drove me in came from the boiler today- which I had mostly drafted in the span of an hour.

Normally, I enjoy drafting boilers. With Ivy I lost my sanity a little bit, with Zoe however it was a good time.

Until next time, best regards,
-Dean da Silva

I made mention of the fact that this is a design that was forgotten that REALLY shouldn't have been. Here's why.

It really is the best of many worlds- like a 2.5" gauge locomotive it is powerfully enough to pull a person (then again, considering that Sir Morris is capable of such a task, it should be said two or three people perhaps?), it still offers the delight of mechanical complexity of a 2.5" gauge locomotive, uses common castings, AND to top it all off, has the advantages of a tighter radius, smaller size of a gauge 1 locomotive.

In my personal opinion also, the freelance SAR prototype of this locomotive is also a plus, as I have said to a few of my friends here in the US and abroad before, SAR locomotives represent one of the largest untapped prototypes that I believe would sell quite well if they were produced.

They are the only locomotives I can think of that have both the look of the large, brutish American super power era locomotives and the elegance of British locomotives combined. Truly, the South Africans have some absolutely magnificent machines. The fact that my grandfather was a railroader in Mozambique may have been a factor in my opinion in this matter.

Alas, here is Zoe with the tender attached.

Edited By Dean da Silva on 11/03/2018 00:34:41

Google photos works wonderfully

Tell you what Red, you fly to the US and teach me to machine and I'll build this locomotive myself. 

PS: it can reach nearly 50 degrees here in the summer and my garage doesn't have AC. 
 

Edited By Dean da Silva on 11/03/2018 09:28:11

Freezing? I've heard rumor that things actually get that cold outside of that box inside my kitchen.
Arizona literally gets so hot that there are solar panel companies that will actually not honor their warranties if their products are used where I live (Yuma) because of the heat.

Yes, really. The heat here is so bad in fact there are many homes here that have TWO aircon units just to keep the house comfortable.

I had a thought hit me, Red was right.

So it's high time that I build a Curly locomotive.

I've decided on Dot, and took to drafting up the parts for her and assembling them here of course.
Why on the computer first? To go to the laser cutter of course! I'll be ordering the castings on the 12th.

If you want to cry foul that is 100% a matter of perspective.
A younger Curly might have called foul on anyone that didn't use a treadle lathe.
Kozo could call foul on anyone that bought castings for anything but wheels.

Now, regarding the reasons why Dot:

1. There are a few gauge 1 railways in my town presently.
2. Since I am not a very large fellow, it could probably pull me (Ford Pacific pulled a much fatter American than me decades ago)
3. I could fit a gauge 1 high line for riding in my back yard.
4. Was advised from a VERY reputable source in the UK it makes a great beginners locomotive.

I could very well have this thing done by friday, Diana too.

Then plan to build one (maybe more?) of these beasts is coming together, my friend/client in Las Vegas and I have started discussing this little monsters, I think that he is keen to help me with the boilers and with the machining since my machining is awful at this point. AKA: he's doing the castings while I do my best to NOT screw up the simple parts.

Naturally, Model Engineer's Laser is going to receive an order from me, as well as anyone else that sells blobs and bits for these locomotives I might find handy.

As far as modifications to the original design goes, I think that the axle pump would be a welcome addition on Dot (even though it is a Diana feature) and as far as the Atlantic is concerned? I have never seen one before, ever, based off this locomotive. The Atlantic wheel arrangement is one of my favorites, so I figured I would draft it up to see what it looks like.

Until next time, best regards,
-Dean da Silva

No renders today, however, there is someone I would like to mention, one Jose Filho from Brazil.

He scratch built this 10cm gauge monster himself, built a massive railroad and has done it all basically on his own.
I don't think I have ever been more awestruck by such a display of talent in this hobby before.

My Portuguese is atrocious, but from what I gathered I was simply blown away. Truly a modern master. 

Edited By Dean da Silva on 14/03/2018 01:09:51

I haven't forgot this!
I have family in from out of state (despite California being next to Arizona they live closer to Oregon, which is far I can assure you) which I am spending time with.

I'm ordering the casts for Dot/Doris soon here and look forward to getting these beasts started.

I'm afraid I have some both good and bad news- starting with the good.

The good news is that I have been hired by one of the leading firms in the US, Little Engines, to do a lot of CAD work for them. The bad is that the sheer volume of it means that I am going to have to shelf the Curly work for a while.

However, when the Curly work does resume, I hope that I can figure out how to make what I am doing more consistent and of better quality. I have found errors, and one that really upset me came up from a builder in Australia.

Once again, I went too fast and with the only person reviewing my work being myself, it is going to be rather easy to make mistakes. 

Until next time, best regards,
-Dean da Silva

Edited By Dean da Silva on 20/03/2018 02:32:30

Neil,
I won't.

I've actually had a windfall which is going to be a huge help to me, since I now have a better idea of what I am up against with a lot more of Curly's designs, I have a large portion of the ones that were published in English Mechanics now. There are a fair number of "super brief" designs which I really don't even want to bother with, since they are rather incomplete. I've now had a chance to sort through these, and I must say it's quite a relief to see what I will and will not be engaging in with the project in the future. 

I'm also starting to consider what exactly I should and should not include on the drafts, frames wheels and what not are the obvious, but things like fittings and the like really don't need to be drawn, the information covered in the articles (which can never be discarded) covers these bits perfectly. I still have been really bad about making drawings I confess.

Unfortunately I am engaging in some… blasphemy… to my love of British locomotives.
Right now though I have been working on a little 0-4-4T that was bought in pieces, moved across the US and is being built for a private owner.

I also found out that there is an NG16 in the US, Texas of all places.
A South African Beyer Garratt in Texas, I've heard it all now.

-Dean

Edited By Dean da Silva on 21/03/2018 05:14:31