Merrie Carlisle, more progress

LMS 5050, Merrie Carlisle

When we observe a real steam engine the viewpoint is usually low, however in the case of a model it's quite different, we view the model from above and one of the first things we notice is the space under the boiler between the frames where the inside motion sits and a Precedent displays her inside motion quite prominently. At the moment Merrie Carlisle has no inside motion, a very noticeable omission which needs to be remedied. I'm working on it and if I can make the motion work then I will, if not then it'll have to be simply cosmetic motion, non-working that is, either way it'll fill the gap.

The crew's working space...

I'm working on the loco crew now, they need to be designed so they don't both stand in the cab which is a very restricted area and even more so since the splashers are closer together than on the real engine, it's tighter by about a scale 5 or 6 inches, so watch this space...

The cab and backhead in detail.

The pale green floor area is Milliput into which a brass fret had been pressed to simulate the small wooden blocks that formed the lower cab floor on these engines, it'll work better when it's glued down and painted. There are two wooden inserts in the upper cab floor which have been made out of planking from a model ship kit. Most of the backhead detail owes something to castings from LGM. I think I've included everything you can see on the real thing though I never found room for the blower handle which I think was in the right hand corner somewhere.

HR Loch 4-4-0 Chassis Details

HR Loch class 4-4-0 chassis detail

The chassis frames are cut from 0.7 nickle silver sheet. The slide bars and connecting rods are from Laurie Griffin though they have had to be modified to suit the engine. A start has been made on the inside motion which is Allan's Straight Link Motion which is somewhat different to Stevenson's motion. Behind the motion plate can be seen the reversing shaft from which are suspended the levers to which are attached the lifting links that support the valve gear. Eccentrics will be mounted on the front driving axle...at least that's the plan at the moment! I await parts from LGM to enable more progress.







Loch chassis with superstructure in place.

The superstructure is mounted on the chassis here so you can see the position of the M1833 motor which will have to run without a flywheel as there's just not room for one inside the boiler when the motor is mounted upright on the rear axle. The motor is held in place by a fork mounted on the cross member which allows some movement...as recommended on the ABCgears website. There is room to add some weight to the chassis in front of the motor.
The 14BA screws retaining the front axle bearing in its slot can be seen, the axle needs to be dismountable so that the eccentrics and their straps can be fitted. These will be supported by the links depending from the brake shaft (or will appear to be) and the valve rods will pass through the motion plate and locate into a gland in the valve chest. The forked end of the brake lever can be seen on the left of the brake shaft passing behind the splasher.