Andrew Honychurch | 17/01/2021 17:32:24 |
4 forum posts | Good evening members, thank you for letting me join your community. I have signed up to learn more about some live model engines my siblings and I have been left by my father. There is a locomotive and tender, a traction engine and a stationary engine. Its the usual story, I didn't ask enough questions whilst Dad was around and now my knowledge is patchy. They have been in my Dads ownership since at least 1966 and never steamed. Any help would be much appreciated. Firstly I am trying to understand the gauging of sizes. With a locomotive is the Inch gauge the track width? And if so how does the sizing work with the Traction Engine please? |
Paul Kemp | 17/01/2021 19:14:03 |
600 forum posts 18 photos | Andrew, Gauge for loco's (larger scale anyway) is generally the distance between the rails, common sizes are 2 1/2", 3 1/2", 5" and 7 1/4" Traction engines generally are scaled by 1" to foot so 1" scale is 1/12 full size, 1 1/2" is 1/8 full size, 2" is 1/6 full size, 3" is 1/4 full size, 4" is 1/3 full size, 6" is half! Unfortunately the size of the model is not always a good guide to scale as with railway loco's narrow gauge prototypes are common and a 2" scale ploughing engine will be close to the same overall dimensions as a 4" scale small steam tractor! If you want to steam any of them you will need a boiler test to get insurance to run them in public. Even if you want to use them in private it's a good idea to at least do your own pressure test before lighting up! Check any paperwork your dad may have had, it may be they have been previously tested which will make re test easier! Paul. |
Andrew Honychurch | 17/01/2021 19:33:16 |
4 forum posts | hi Paul and thank you for the very detailed reply. I had thought that would be how the scaling worked, must have been some subliminal message from Dad! I can easily measure the rail width, I suspect she is a 3.1/2 inch. I recall Dad saying they were quite difficult to run and balance because its not very wide. We have some carriages as well The Traction will be much harder to size , unless you are an expert, as I could not guess the size of the original . Perhaps I can post a photo. I will try to load up my photos to a remote server and stick them on this thread. As for steaming, yes I would like to learn how to at least do my own pressure test. I noticed the Traction has some , what looks like asbestos lagging underneath which is a bit of a concern. Need to know what to do about that!
many thanks Andrew |
Grindstone Cowboy | 17/01/2021 20:13:36 |
491 forum posts 44 photos | Welcome Andrew Here's a link on how to post photos on here - it's not the most intuitive of processes, but you get used to it. Rob |
Roger Best | 17/01/2021 20:34:22 |
216 forum posts 31 photos | Fascinating. Put a ruler in the photo or a tape measure, that will help. If he had it in 1966 then it may be asbestos. best leave alone until you are ready. Cheers Rog |
br | 17/01/2021 21:37:03 |
461 forum posts 3 photos | Traction engine should not be a problem as wheel diameters and overall length is usually enough. Basically 3/4inch, 1 inch, then 1.5 inch, then 2 inch - all a sit on the bench one man lift type, followed by the stay on the ground sizes of 3 inch and 4 inch. Photos will be a big help. br |
Andrew Honychurch | 17/01/2021 22:13:47 |
4 forum posts | I hope this will work. I have loaded some photos to my remote server via my phone as the laptop is on strike. Maybe this will work !
Edited By Andrew Honychurch on 17/01/2021 22:14:52 Edited By Andrew Honychurch on 17/01/2021 22:38:43 |
noel shelley | 17/01/2021 22:35:06 |
387 forum posts 9 photos | Your initial questions have been answered, so I will say welcome aboard ship mate ! If you have a question then someone here will be able to answer it and remember There is no such thing as a silly question only silly answers. So do not be afraid to ask !!! Best wishes Noel. Edited By noel shelley on 17/01/2021 22:35:53 |
Andrew Honychurch | 17/01/2021 22:41:25 |
4 forum posts | Thank you all for the help and advice. I hope the photos are now there to be seen. I can add more in the next few days. |
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