Elmham Market in EM

[James Spooner]

Dave

Many thanks for your advice, and in particular for the help you gave me via a separate message; all much appreciated and it shows the value of a good forum such as this.

As a result of the advice, my current thinking is to lengthen the radius rod. It does seem to be the correct length already (if a trifle long, based on Dave’s measurements) and I think the slots that were milled into the frames to accept the motion bracket were cut in the wrong place. However, if I try to cut another pair of slots a couple of mm in front of the current set, I think I am likely to end up with a massive gouge in the frames and no real meat to hold the brackets in with. I might turn my attention to something else for a bit, to clear my head, then devise a way of stretching the radius rods.

Cheers

Nigel

 

[James Spooner]

I have been a bit distracted from the Ivatt recently. Last weekend a group of us worked on line side clearance on the Ffestiniog Railway (good fun and a good work out as well). The photo shows several of us removing trees that have the capability of bringing down the telegraph wires for the ETS system.



On my return I have been catching up on ‘stuff’ so it’s only this weekend that I have been able to turn my mind to the valve gear. At this point I must record my thanks to @Dave Holt and @dibateg for their help, advice and also etchings to get me through this stage. In the end I concluded that the principal issue was the slot in the frames to hold the motion bracket was in the wrong place (a point confirmed by Tony) so the logical thing to do was a bit of open heart surgery on the frames, which I did with my piercing saw.



Having moved the motion bracket forwards towards the cylinders things seemed to fall in place much better (unsurprisingly really I guess!). Reading the instructions carefully, there still didn’t seem to be any valve spindle or arrangement for holding the front end of the radius rod/top of combination lever in place so I have fudged that by cutting off the top of the combination lever and holding the spindle hole in place with a piece of 0.8mm brass wire. I will need to do the same for the front of the radius rod but can’t until I am sure of the location of the hole I need to drill for the wire (as the cylinders and motion bracket aren’t soldered in place yet). I have managed a trial assembly of the right hand valve gear and it seems to work OK. I’ll take the left hand assembly to the same stage then solder up the motion bracket and cylinders, keeping my fingers (metaphorically!) firmly crossed. The trial assembly of the right hand valve gear is in the photo below.

Nigel

 

[James Spooner]

Some more progress this evening. The driver’s side valve gear has been brought up to the same stage as the fireman’s. The cylinders have been tacked onto the smokebox saddle casting and the whole shebang trial assembled. There are one or two places where a bit more filing is needed to get a free running set of motion but I think it is progress.

Nigel

 

[Dave Holt]

Nigel.
If it's not a silly question, what's that vertical bit attached to the back of the LHS cross head?
Dave.

 

[James Spooner]

Nigel.
If it's not a silly question, what's that vertical bit attached to the back of the LHS cross head?
Dave.

Dave,

It is absolutely not as silly question. I have been puzzling over that myself but it is clearly an intended part of the nickel silver casting, rather than a piece of flash. As you have asked the question I will go through my photos of the Ivatts and see if I can find any clues. I may have to remove it.

Nigel

 

[dibateg]

I think that part of the casting is an arm for a vacuum pump Nigel. Not needed on an Ivatt I'm afraid!

Cheers
Tony

 

[Dave Holt]

I agree with Tony. Early Stanier locos were fitted with a vacuum pump below the slide-bars, GWR style. However, they were later removed and by Ivatt's time were not being fitted to new locos.
Sorry to say, it needs to come off.
Dave.

 

[James Spooner]

Thanks both! Off it will come!

cheers

Nigel

 

[James Spooner]

Well Tony @dibateg and Dave @Dave Holt as promised, the vacuum pump bracket, after an hour or so’s careful filing and use of the Dremel, has now been consigned to history. Many thanks both for pointing this out; much better at the construction stage than when it has all been finally assembled and painted!! Photo attached. Hopefully I will progress a bit further this evening!

Nigel

 

[James Spooner]

And the motion has been reassembled. The unattached front end of the radius rod was making it difficult to identify what might need trimming back so I have drilled a hole and inserted some 0.8mm wire to hold it up in the area of the valve spindle. I think that is me done for the evening.

Nigel