Sunday 29 April 2012

Mechanical delights

Coal Tank; Progress 


Horizontal balance weight shaft in place

The balance weight shaft is part of the chassis and spans only between its supports, it is divided at the reversing arm end to enable the chassis and superstructure to be taken apart. The reversing arm is soldered to the inside of the side tank and the lever, with its stub of weight shaft, is fastened to the footplate. The boiler assembly has to be removable at this stage so I can work on the sandbox operating mechanism.

Boiler assembly in place

The vertical rod beside the smokebox is the key element of the sanding mechanism and is now in the right position after some trial and tribulation. There's a hole in front of it in the smokebox with a tube soldered in which will house the elbow that connects to the mechanism on the other side. The LGM castings I bought for the sanding mechanism looked the part but when I tried to fit them they didn't fit and the right hand mechanism was made as a left-hander. I couldn't use them as they were so I cut them up as the elbow pieces are useable though I'll have to devise some way of making the casting that supports the rod and attaches it to the smokebox. 

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