Frederick SRL(S)
+26
LiveSteam
He Who Must Not Be Blamed
the governer
Brian M
ChriX
Heavyhaul
MrStationHouse
HStannard
Kiwiconnection
Steam Traction World
the coleman
ejparrott
SSGR
Adam Brown
Kevster
highpressure
mikero
Flasback
bjwlancashire
Richard
lynnr
IanL
Steve Traill
Robfishman
Tony King
Tim Watson
30 posters
Page 11 of 12
Page 11 of 12 • 1, 2, 3 ... , 10, 11, 12
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
Is the name indicative of what the suspension does to the posterior?
Mike
Mike
mikero- Number of posts : 261
Location : Brighton
Registration date : 2011-07-19
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
mikero wrote:Is the name indicative of what the suspension does to the posterior?
Mike
I suspect it's more indicative of what the engine does to ones eardrums.
Eric
He Who Must Not Be Blamed- Number of posts : 53
Location : Europe
Registration date : 2013-08-02
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
Great pictures, Frederick looking very smart, bit mean leaving Cecily in the car whilst you're in the pub though!! or was she on security detail!.
Steve Traill- Number of posts : 800
Age : 67
Location : Illogan Redruth Cornwall
Registration date : 2008-06-29
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
He Who Must Not Be Blamed wrote:mikero wrote:Is the name indicative of what the suspension does to the posterior?
Mike
I suspect it's more indicative of what the engine does to ones eardrums.
Eric
Quite right Eric. When idling the engine thumps along well, at 70+ MPH the sound is something else.
Tim
Tim Watson- Number of posts : 585
Location : Herts
Registration date : 2008-07-02
Moving 1.6.ton
During the rally season Frederick nowadays tends to live in my Ifor Williams BV85 box trailer. The all up weight is 1.6 ton and with wide plant-type trailer wheels underneath it is an immovable lump. We are shortly getting a new motorhome and so the ability to shunt the trailer on the driveway has become imperative. I had looked into this some while ago and there are a number of systems out there. Conventional caravan movers would be very difficult to fit and, quite honestly, the front jockey wheel is pretty useless.
So I purchased the 'Big Foot' that you can see in the picture below from Ebay. This also came with a very heavy duty jack (rated at 3 tons) that's more than up to the job and simply required the bracket fixing to the chassis beam. This allows the trailer to be tipped up onto its rear wheels to allow easier manouevring.
Single handedly the trailer was backed into its normal spot. Just needs the wiring tidied up - it uses the on-board trailer winch battery - and a storage area needs to be sorted at home for the Big Foot. This is removed when the trailer is travelling. I doubt the Big Foot would be much use on a rally field (although some were fitted with what looks like a tractor tyre when these were in production).
Should save a lot of awkward shifting, even when the trailer is empty.
Tim
So I purchased the 'Big Foot' that you can see in the picture below from Ebay. This also came with a very heavy duty jack (rated at 3 tons) that's more than up to the job and simply required the bracket fixing to the chassis beam. This allows the trailer to be tipped up onto its rear wheels to allow easier manouevring.
Single handedly the trailer was backed into its normal spot. Just needs the wiring tidied up - it uses the on-board trailer winch battery - and a storage area needs to be sorted at home for the Big Foot. This is removed when the trailer is travelling. I doubt the Big Foot would be much use on a rally field (although some were fitted with what looks like a tractor tyre when these were in production).
Should save a lot of awkward shifting, even when the trailer is empty.
Tim
Tim Watson- Number of posts : 585
Location : Herts
Registration date : 2008-07-02
Frederick at GDSF
Bit late, but thought I would post some pics of Frederick at GDSF. The weather was pretty near spot on: no dust, no mud.
Engine polished up and showing the benefit of some re-guilding of the boiler cladding and tanks (Max in charge).
Engine cooking
Smoke box cuisine: Rib of beef
Bacon on the shovel
Up-market filter coffee machine
Smoke box cuisine: poussin, stuffed with apricots, wrapped in bacon.
Generating by Carter's Steam Fair early on the Saturday night.
Impressive line up of SRLs about to leave the playpen on Sunday night.
Looking down on Frederick generating, from the man stand of a nearby Burrell SRL: 'The Masterpiece'
Three very contented gents at the top of the playpen (photo Jan Huigen)
Tim
Engine polished up and showing the benefit of some re-guilding of the boiler cladding and tanks (Max in charge).
Engine cooking
Smoke box cuisine: Rib of beef
Bacon on the shovel
Up-market filter coffee machine
Smoke box cuisine: poussin, stuffed with apricots, wrapped in bacon.
Generating by Carter's Steam Fair early on the Saturday night.
Impressive line up of SRLs about to leave the playpen on Sunday night.
Looking down on Frederick generating, from the man stand of a nearby Burrell SRL: 'The Masterpiece'
Three very contented gents at the top of the playpen (photo Jan Huigen)
Tim
Tim Watson- Number of posts : 585
Location : Herts
Registration date : 2008-07-02
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
Frederick is all tucked up for the winter, so I've been working on the small scale model railway stuff:
This will be a 2mm : 1ft scale model of the LNER class P2 "Lord President". Everything in the pictures is hand made. The driving wheels are 11.5 mm diameter. The Walschaerts valve gear can be set in forward or reverse positions.
Tim
This will be a 2mm : 1ft scale model of the LNER class P2 "Lord President". Everything in the pictures is hand made. The driving wheels are 11.5 mm diameter. The Walschaerts valve gear can be set in forward or reverse positions.
Tim
Tim Watson- Number of posts : 585
Location : Herts
Registration date : 2008-07-02
Rosebud grate
Following some posts on Facebook from Doug Fleet regarding Rosebud grates I decided to make one for Frederick. They were developed in America to cope with bad coal and produce very effective burning of the coal with very little ash production. They consist of a slab of steel with holes in it rather than bars. I find that the bars tend to let a lot of material through them and the ash pan fills quickly. They also do not last well.
So I ordered a slab of 12.5mm steel plate to be a loose fit in the firebox (to allow for expansion). The fire bar supports were modified to take the plate by milling out the intermediate raised bits and slots, leaving just two ears either side of the support. The slab was modified to suit. The holes are 5mm diameter on an 10-11mm pitch. After marking up using an optical centre punch, they were drilled through and then a step drill used to open up the underside of the grate. This was then followed by a Screfix cone drill (set of three £24) to make the smooth conical underside of the hole (this allows ash to fall through and also accelerates the air speed as it passes through). There are just shy of 400 holes in Fredrick's new grate.
We tested the grate yesterday on a 6 mile road run to Redbourn, boiling water for three hours and then return. The photo below shows the amount of ash at the end of the day. The bigger bits were probably from material falling through front and rear of the grate, when I was removing unburnt coal at the end of the day. We burnt 2/3rds of a sack of coal: would normally have burnt more - nearer a complete sack. We would usually have had to empty the ash pan at least once, likely twice, over the course of the day.
The best thing was that the fire really performed much better. The engine really buzzed and we were clocked at 15mph by a St Albans speed camera (🙂). The lack of ash makes long road runs a much more practical proposition.
Tim
(Apologies for the cropped images, but you should get the idea)
So I ordered a slab of 12.5mm steel plate to be a loose fit in the firebox (to allow for expansion). The fire bar supports were modified to take the plate by milling out the intermediate raised bits and slots, leaving just two ears either side of the support. The slab was modified to suit. The holes are 5mm diameter on an 10-11mm pitch. After marking up using an optical centre punch, they were drilled through and then a step drill used to open up the underside of the grate. This was then followed by a Screfix cone drill (set of three £24) to make the smooth conical underside of the hole (this allows ash to fall through and also accelerates the air speed as it passes through). There are just shy of 400 holes in Fredrick's new grate.
We tested the grate yesterday on a 6 mile road run to Redbourn, boiling water for three hours and then return. The photo below shows the amount of ash at the end of the day. The bigger bits were probably from material falling through front and rear of the grate, when I was removing unburnt coal at the end of the day. We burnt 2/3rds of a sack of coal: would normally have burnt more - nearer a complete sack. We would usually have had to empty the ash pan at least once, likely twice, over the course of the day.
The best thing was that the fire really performed much better. The engine really buzzed and we were clocked at 15mph by a St Albans speed camera (🙂). The lack of ash makes long road runs a much more practical proposition.
Tim
(Apologies for the cropped images, but you should get the idea)
Tim Watson- Number of posts : 585
Location : Herts
Registration date : 2008-07-02
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
Thats interesting Tim, I've got one of the original cast MW grates which is getting very sad now, the centre 3 bars have all but fused together now I've got two cracks on the front at well now. Several folks have questioned how it manages to keep going, but I've found its actually improved, I've got a spare new seperate bar grate to replace it when it does give way but I was surprised at how big the gaps were in it.
I'll be interested to see how the plate fairs over time and if it stays straight as thats a fair chunk of steel.
I'll be interested to see how the plate fairs over time and if it stays straight as thats a fair chunk of steel.
LiveSteam- Number of posts : 777
Location : Hampshire
Registration date : 2013-09-08
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
Hi Tim. I like your new grate. Shane and I here in New Zealand have had some problems with our fires on the open road with regard to ash pans filling rapidly, and once loosing most of the fire through the grate on a very rough piece of road. I have had to use small nut size coal to help alleviate this problem. What size coal are you burning on this new grate? Could you give me an idea of the detail dimensions of the profile of your grate please, including cut outs?
Kiwiconnection- Number of posts : 135
Age : 67
Location : Tauranga New Zealand
Registration date : 2011-10-25
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
The air gap in the as supplied grate from STW is far too large. I used to own a full size Aveling Barford piston valve roller and the bars were about 3/4" wide with a 5/8" air gap between them. I used to undertake trips to rallies of between 25 and 40 miles in a single day. Obviously burning large lumps and never had any problems with the ash pan filling up despite the sometimes bumpy ride with the iron rolls. And the ash was always small enough to never consider fishing out anything large enough to go back in the fire - not something you could say with the STW supplied grate. I've only steamed my road loco once on the drive for the initial trial and the ash pan was half full after around 3hrs. I didn't like the look of the fire bar spacing but thought I'd give it a go. I've re-drawn the supports to take more bars and will have a pair made for the next steaming once I've gone through the snagging list. Ideally the bars should be a tapered section with the widest section at the top, when the fuel has burnt away enough it then falls cleanly into the ash-pan without the risk of blocking up the air way and overheating the grate. On the "round-to-it" list is having a pattern 3D printed of a fire bar of full size section and having some cast in iron. Currently using house coal broken down to lumps around half the size of a walnut - this is all sorted to weed out the pieces of shale and occasional limestone. May consider anthracite after more use as it burns cleanly but is harder to get going initially.
Capricorn1- Number of posts : 119
Location : West Yorkshire.
Registration date : 2013-07-22
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
The grate was made from a slab of steel 12" x 7.5" x 1/2". The slot at the front is the width of the upright support and notched deep enough to take the outer wing of the as-supplied support. The rest are removed to let the grate slab fit between the wings. The back slot is open to the back, as can be seen, to allow grate expansion. I think the slab could have been a closer fit in the firebox, but I used the STW fire bars as a guide. Very important that it doesn't pinch on expansion with the considerable heat, as it would soon turn into a banana.
I generally start up on wood and then house coal (treble size: whatever that is). Most of the supplied coal that I get from rallies is Welsh steam coal. I usually work on the principle that if it goes through the fire box door hole then it's the right size - or slightly smaller. Firing is usually by hand with a little help from a shovel. Anthracite probably burns far too hot for large engines such as ours, unless simply being used for light duties. I used anthracite in an indoor exhibition in Germany on my previous engine and it was like cooking with gas. I think you would have tube problems using it on an engine at full chat on a road run.
Tim
I generally start up on wood and then house coal (treble size: whatever that is). Most of the supplied coal that I get from rallies is Welsh steam coal. I usually work on the principle that if it goes through the fire box door hole then it's the right size - or slightly smaller. Firing is usually by hand with a little help from a shovel. Anthracite probably burns far too hot for large engines such as ours, unless simply being used for light duties. I used anthracite in an indoor exhibition in Germany on my previous engine and it was like cooking with gas. I think you would have tube problems using it on an engine at full chat on a road run.
Tim
Tim Watson- Number of posts : 585
Location : Herts
Registration date : 2008-07-02
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
I do like your grate Tim and the theory behind it. Makes a lot of sense.
I think I shall make one for my SCC. I will keep the original one so a comparison can be made.
Thanks for tip
Jim
I think I shall make one for my SCC. I will keep the original one so a comparison can be made.
Thanks for tip
Jim
Jim the Shovel- Number of posts : 106
Location : Isle of Wight
Registration date : 2015-06-30
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
Once the coal has burnt down small enough to fall down a 5mm hole it is light enough to be drawn up the tubes by the draught coming up though the holes, no wonder the ash pan is empty and anyone sitting on the trailer is wearing it.
Mike
Mike
mikero- Number of posts : 261
Location : Brighton
Registration date : 2011-07-19
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
That's why you have a spark arrestor, to at least catch some of the bits; also larger lumps will escape at the sides.
Tim
Tim
Tim Watson- Number of posts : 585
Location : Herts
Registration date : 2008-07-02
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
mikero wrote:Once the coal has burnt down small enough to fall down a 5mm hole it is light enough to be drawn up the tubes by the draught coming up though the holes, no wonder the ash pan is empty and anyone sitting on the trailer is wearing it.
Mike
Sounds like a plan, emptying the ash pan is always such a pain, my ash pan is one of the early MW ones with the big flap in it, which of course has buckled quite badly over the years, but it does mean its almost self emptying when roading
LiveSteam- Number of posts : 777
Location : Hampshire
Registration date : 2013-09-08
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
Hi Mike
Are you suggesting it might be like the last days of Pompeii sitting behind the engine!!
Are you suggesting it might be like the last days of Pompeii sitting behind the engine!!
Steve Traill- Number of posts : 800
Age : 67
Location : Illogan Redruth Cornwall
Registration date : 2008-06-29
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
I have a shirt with holes burnt in it and can still remember the smell of my hair catching fire Steve.
Mike
Mike
mikero- Number of posts : 261
Location : Brighton
Registration date : 2011-07-19
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
That was with Madeline, not Frederick, Mike. It's a steam engine; they do that.
To be fair, the ride for passengers was quite lively at full chat at 15mph, but then it would have been with the conventional grate.
Tim
To be fair, the ride for passengers was quite lively at full chat at 15mph, but then it would have been with the conventional grate.
Tim
Last edited by Tim Watson on Fri 23 Jun 2017, 8:50 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : More info)
Tim Watson- Number of posts : 585
Location : Herts
Registration date : 2008-07-02
Bit more brass
Frederick has now been fitted with a bell, as were many road locomotives. These were either used to warn other road users of the engine's presence (whistles were not originally allowed on the road) or for communication from the road train behind. The mechanism on my representation is from an up-market cycle bell and the gong from a hotel reception pinger.
I happened to have a nice piece of black anodised aluminium to act as a base. The mechanism needed a good deal of tweaking to make it work with the brass gong. To act as a sound and vibration insulator the bolt supporting the gong is a black nylon number plate fixing - the gong has to be loose, of course, in order to chime correctly. The bicycle thumb lever was cut back and a Tufnol handle turned and Araldited in place. The whole assembly fits onto the same screw holes that support the bunker extension straps.
Should make the engine more noticeable on a rally field than a whistle, whilst on the road, people might think it's a bicycle. Better get some Lycra then....
Tim
I happened to have a nice piece of black anodised aluminium to act as a base. The mechanism needed a good deal of tweaking to make it work with the brass gong. To act as a sound and vibration insulator the bolt supporting the gong is a black nylon number plate fixing - the gong has to be loose, of course, in order to chime correctly. The bicycle thumb lever was cut back and a Tufnol handle turned and Araldited in place. The whole assembly fits onto the same screw holes that support the bunker extension straps.
Should make the engine more noticeable on a rally field than a whistle, whilst on the road, people might think it's a bicycle. Better get some Lycra then....
Tim
Tim Watson- Number of posts : 585
Location : Herts
Registration date : 2008-07-02
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
More work for the brakeman then, I hope the wages will increase.
Mike
Mike
mikero- Number of posts : 261
Location : Brighton
Registration date : 2011-07-19
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
Hi
Can I enquire as to how are thing going with the rosebud grate? I now have material and tools for the job and ready to start. Not sure that I would like to embark on 400 plus holes if you have found that the modified grate isn’t performing as well as you initially thought.
Can I enquire as to how are thing going with the rosebud grate? I now have material and tools for the job and ready to start. Not sure that I would like to embark on 400 plus holes if you have found that the modified grate isn’t performing as well as you initially thought.
Kiwiconnection- Number of posts : 135
Age : 67
Location : Tauranga New Zealand
Registration date : 2011-10-25
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
Afraid that for various reasons Frederick has done very little work this summer Phil. We will be at GDSF in a couple of weeks time, so will have a full work up then. I'll keep you posted.
Tim
Tim
Tim Watson- Number of posts : 585
Location : Herts
Registration date : 2008-07-02
Rosebud grate at GDSF
Frederick was running for four days at GDSF, also generating for 10 hours over three nights (which is very steady work for an engine).
The grate worked exceptionally well. It needs a fairly thin fire, otherwise it is difficult to stop the engine blowing off. Every last ounce of coal is used and you can use a heavy poker without risk of pushing the coal through the grate or lifting a fire bar. When working hard the fire is white hot and indeed the grate glows.
The ashpan was only dropped on the fifth day (it's normally dropped every day), with the very small amount of ash produced each day being raked out, the morning after. Picture below shows the total amount of ash produced over the four days. The steel plate has slightly sagged in the middle.
Will make road running and indeed general rallying very much better.
Tim
The grate worked exceptionally well. It needs a fairly thin fire, otherwise it is difficult to stop the engine blowing off. Every last ounce of coal is used and you can use a heavy poker without risk of pushing the coal through the grate or lifting a fire bar. When working hard the fire is white hot and indeed the grate glows.
The ashpan was only dropped on the fifth day (it's normally dropped every day), with the very small amount of ash produced each day being raked out, the morning after. Picture below shows the total amount of ash produced over the four days. The steel plate has slightly sagged in the middle.
Will make road running and indeed general rallying very much better.
Tim
Tim Watson- Number of posts : 585
Location : Herts
Registration date : 2008-07-02
Re: Frederick SRL(S)
Thats very impressive, presumably it uses a lot less coal as well ??
LiveSteam- Number of posts : 777
Location : Hampshire
Registration date : 2013-09-08
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