Spitfire's G3 Workbench

Spitfire2865

Western Thunderer
Well Ive made a decision last night with a quick but significant purchase.
My first G3 loco definitely is going to be a Neilson 12" with Ogee tank. And for simplicity now, Im using the technically incorrect but justifiable Slaters 3'6" wheels. As I want an industrial example rather than GER owned, I can just say the GER sold one off after the first rebuild for whatever reason. Rule 1 and all that.
And later-on, I can always commission those lovely Mark Wood wheels if I change my mind.
Ive also done a lot of 3D cad work for the superstructure as its all going to be 3D printed in WSF material. Itll be rough, but the size should make it easy to fill and smooth out. Just have to work out how to drop the cost of the parts from almost $200 to something a little more justifiable.
The Ogee tank alone is almost $75. Hopefully I can sprue some of the bigger parts together to try to save on machine space.

Unfortunately, my progress on the L&Y D1 and D21 has been halted due to the wood order taking longer than I was quoted. But hopefully Ill soon have something to report.
 

Spitfire2865

Western Thunderer
Well some significant effort has been made, and at this point I think all the 3D components have been designed aside from firebox backhead which still needs further research. Anyone know any good photos of the backhead of the GER class 209?


Autocad 1_27_18.png
Different thicknesses should interlock perfectly. The stainless parts will be epoxied in place. I sprued them together as they are relatively small parts.


Solidworks 1_27_18.png
Since last update, springs, rear wall, and side compartments were added. Motion was refined, just requiring checking with the actual wheelset for clearances. So much redesigning of almost every part to get it all to work right and as cheap as possible. Ive managed to optimize everything down to just over $200 for all 3D parts from shapeways.
For anyone curious, the Ogee tank at 6mm thick was $75 from Shapeways, but at 3mm thick it drops down to about $50. Every large part was made as thin as possible with as little solid sections as possible to reduce material costs.

I cant even estimate how many hours Ive spent in Solidworks and Autocad the past few days.
 

Spitfire2865

Western Thunderer
A bit of difference.
An LBSCR N07 axlebox.
LBSCR axlebox.png

And I have received the Slaters wheels for the Neilson. Beautiful little things, though I will have to modify the crankpin to fit behind the slidebars.
Less than 6mm between wheel and crosshead, 1 for crankpin boss, 1.5 for coupling rod, 1.75 for the nut, and enough room for a little axle slop.

A couple nights of AutoCAD and I believe my designs are finally finished. 2 materials, 4 different gauges, and 46 individual parts.
And I just realized I didnt draw the parts for the brake linkages.
 

Jon Nazareth

Western Thunderer
Trevor
Sorry for not being more explicit. What I should have said was,....Can you produce an early LBSCR axlebox that would have had the above lettering and date on it's face as opposed to the later style that you have created? I hope that is a bit clearer .

Jon
 

Spitfire2865

Western Thunderer
Trevor
Sorry for not being more explicit. What I should have said was,....Can you produce an early LBSCR axlebox that would have had the above lettering and date on it's face as opposed to the later style that you have created? I hope that is a bit clearer .

Jon

More like the lefthand picture .....

View attachment 83636
Any other photos or drawings? Im not an LBSC modeller so I have none of the books.
 

Spitfire2865

Western Thunderer
Well some good news regarding the Neilson tank loco.
Shapeways order is now being produced, and my lasercut parts have been paid for. Much cheaper than I was expecting too!
Hopefully in the next few weeks Ill have the parts to start building.
 

Spitfire2865

Western Thunderer
Slight change from last time I showed this.
Got the top ring and horse hooks on. To no surprise no one I can see makes 2'6" G3 wheelsets. Oh well, 3D printing will have to do.
L&Y Bogie 2_10_18.png
Still need to figure out the brake gear. And me being me, Id want it to work.
 

Spitfire2865

Western Thunderer
Well, no real work but I got something in the mail today.
In October, I found an interesting item on ebay which I promptly won the auction for. After 4 months of confusion, it has arrived.
A Gauge 3 bogie which looks distinctly American. The sideframes are definitely sand cast metal.
20180216_173320-1.jpgNow there was a small American following for G3 in the early 20th century, but it distinctly died off with only one person to my knowledge doing it today in any capacity. Hopefully eventually Ill be the second.
20180216_173408-1.jpg
There are even swinging axlebox covers for grease!
20180216_174010-1.jpg
And the wheels are to a finer tolerance than we enjoy today. Not to mention a wider BtB at 59.5mm. At this standard, Id certainly not have issues with crosshead clearances on my Neilson.

And on that subject, earlier this week I received an 8ba die with which I promptly rethreaded the spare Slaters crankpins. Extra length to be chopped off when I get the chassis built up.
Now its suited for 1.5mm rods. 20180216_173659-1.jpg

Now tomorrow I should hopefully have more to post here as Im expecting my shapeways order. Its certainly gone on an adventure, probably further than the loco will go for several years to come.
But all that tomorrow.
 
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Spitfire2865

Western Thunderer
Well as I had hoped, my shapeways order arrived. I quickly got to cleaning up the parts, filling them, sanding, and priming with a thick general aerosol primer.
Still needs a bit of work to smooth, but brush painting then sanding that back should finish the surface for final spraying.
20180217_192613-1.jpg
Smokebox, firebox, cylinder, splasher, and coalbox.
And a bouquet of fittings.
20180217_192813-1.jpg
Absolutely beautiful brass crossheads. They were more shiny before I attacked them with a saw and file.
20180217_192833-1.jpg

And an industrial needs a name.
20180217_192859-1.jpg
My girlfriend, not the flower show.

Now this isnt without fault. Eagle eyed will notice a lack of the Ogee tank. Well when I was adding internal fillets to clean up the inside cavity, I mustve accidentally missed and clicked an edge on the top face which royally screwed the tank top. I hadnt noticed at any point up until now.
20180217_192926-1.jpg
And I somehow managed to not upload the final version of the footplate coalboxes, so Ill have to carve into the top lip for the handrail support.

All ammended now and a new, slightly thinned tank part is on the way from Shapeways. WSF plastic is tough, flexible enough for rough handling, and takes paint very well. The first two characteristics make actually modifying any part made from it damn near impossible, so theres no bodging the tank into shape.
Luckily aside from those two parts, it looks like I havent made any significant errors in the design of the loco. Though it remains to be seen how the part fit with the chassis goes.
 

Jon Nazareth

Western Thunderer
Trevor
For what it's worth, many years ago, I built a 5" version of this little engine although, not quite so little in 5"gauge. As with most builds with me, It ran very well on air and I even steamed it once in the garden, on blocks. I eventually sold it at auction and it was bought by a chap in Hong Kong on the catalogue photo alone. If your parts come up in your parts shop, I may be tempted :D. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures before it went.

Jon

P.S. I've just had a look and they are there!
 

Spitfire2865

Western Thunderer
Trevor
For what it's worth, many years ago, I built a 5" version of this little engine although, not quite so little in 5"gauge. As with most builds with me, It ran very well on air and I even steamed it once in the garden, on blocks. I eventually sold it at auction and it was bought by a chap in Hong Kong on the catalogue photo alone. If your parts come up in your parts shop, I may be tempted :D. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures before it went.

Jon

P.S. I've just had a look and they are there!
Thank you.

If you or anyone else wants a go, just ask for the DXF files for the chassis, as almost every printed part *should* slot into place.

Lets hope when the chassis comes, I didnt make any stupid mistakes.
 

Spitfire2865

Western Thunderer
Painting has never been my forte.
But I managed to choose a colour for the Neilson. A greyish blue, or specifically Chrysler Engine Blue by Model Master.
20180219_174624-1.jpg

And I started on the boiler underside. Curved plasticcard with formers. Ill need to cut an opening in it later to fit the motor. 20180219_174526-1.jpg 20180219_174831-1.jpg
Everything else has been coated in either blue or black.
Still trying to get a perfect surface on the brass steamdome.
 
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