The Home Machinist!

Our 4 inch Scale Clayton steam wagon is fitted with a mechanical pump driven from the engine as the main water feed. The secondary feed was by an injector. The injector got tired after 15 or so years of use and I have replaced it with a Stuart Turner steam pump, which fits easily and unobtrusively i...

I have been down this adventure a time or two ! Make the exhaust chamber in the valve equal to the distance between the inside edge of the ports you have. Make the valve an eight of an inch longer than the drawing shows. Build and assemble engine as to the drawings. Then simply watch the port openin...

I have not tried with a spring balance on any of my models, both road and rail. However, I have noticed that the pull needed to pull steam model traction engines and steam lorries varies immensely depending on the surface they are standing on., and whether I am pulling them in a straight line, or th...

Flaming dinosaurs do not all smell the same! I have been around traction engines, both full size and model since the mid 1950s. Owned, driven and repaired all sorts. At this very moment I have a 4 inch scale Clayton wagon and a 3 1/2 inch gauge model railway engine loaded ready to go to club boiler ...

There is a big difference between models built for museums, which show all details scaled, as exactly as possible and models built to the same standard of workmanship, BUT actually made to work. Both have merit, but the ones made to run are much more fun ! I have a splendid 2 inch scale traction eng...

We, That is son James and I have mainly burnt coal, and will continue to do so as long as it is available. We have experimentally, and not always entirely successfully burnt other burnables ranging fron parquet flooring, pine cones, hardwood in the form of chopped up furniture and lately banister ra...

Take a journey with me. Richmond Hill Club, engine Caribou 0-8-0 in good order, one car behind, 4 adults load, Stand in station, 90 lbs on the clock, 3/4 glass, blower on, bypass open in full gear. Crack regulator, move off slowly, travel gently over traverser, open regulator to 1/2 notch up one tur...

For those interested in driving models as if they were full size engines 3/4 inch scale models give a really good opportunity. If you take a heavy but free running driver;s car , driver ( in my case now 200 lbs) and a passenger( Say a 100 lbs child) you have a reasonable load for an 0-4-0. If you ca...

The more conventional locos, ie those which have fixed wheelbases, such as 0-6-0 s 4-6-2s etc and are not articulated , have a hard time on many tracks with less than 30 ft radius curves. I am currently doing a running restoration on a Caribou 0-8-0 and I have only a half circle of 30 ft radius with...

I used to be a fairly quick worker, not so nowadays. Just recently I decided to build up a bit of a stationary generating plant as a change from my big coal fired models. So far I have spent two weeks simply cleaning up a Stuart 504 boiler, a 10 v engine, making a propane burner for the boiler, arra...

I thoroughly second Pontiacguy.s advice. I have repaired and brought back to use some really poorly built engines. It is FAR more challenging work than simply buying a simple set of castings and drawings and building to the best of your ability. I would recommend you build a small simple stationary ...

My 93 yr old machinist pal calls all verniers, be they plain, dial or electronic.. VERY NEARS. Probably the most important tool in a beginners toolbox is a good quality 0 to 1 ( or 0 to 25 if you work in metric measure) inch micrometer. You will not be building space rockets so a good secondhand one...