Lord Darby (4"RL)

With Crystal I rounded off the outer edge of the pinions and skimmed the bearings so they orbit further out on the main ring. This gave a much improved and so far faultless running. I have done the same to Mikes road loco.

Thanks Tim, I have emailed Steve and I am waiting for a reply.

Inner bevel gear of the differential is a very loose fit to the axle and keys. How did any of you retain the bevel gear to the shaft?

Not sure the problem. Quick pic would help.

There should be a large bush BS42343 that fills the gap between the outer & the inner bevel gear. It needs to be locktited to one or the other, the instructions are silent on that point! I locktited it to BS42341 so that it rotates on the outside of it's surface which is larger. None of it should be slack but a nice sliding/rotating fit.

OK guys panic over, all sorted. Showman Shane pointed me in the right direction. Thanks Shane .

Can anyone give me an idea of what grade of lapping paste to use on the regulator. I have a fine IC engine valve lapping paste to hand?

Possibly too rough.

If you can get Timesaver 60, 80 , 120

Have you had the Mod kit for the regulator?



Lots easier and more reliable.

we also used the Timesaver kit then finished off with some peak metal polish.

Timesaver lapping kit on the way, thanks guys.

Taking a break from his lordship and concentrating on some metal bashing for the bowser. I didn’t like the seat stand and seat arrangement, which actually can’t be towed directly behind the RL. So I took out my trusty hacksaw and removed all the welded sections from the front frame section. With a bit more pruning I have managed to rearrange the seat stand sections into a new extended draw bar in a tripod formation re-welded to the front frame. The existing drawbar was modified to be able to rotate within the RL seat frame and shortened. This was then welded to the tripod extension. I think it makes the whole bowser assembly look a great deal better than before.  

This was also my first outing in anger with my new TIG welder, which I have found to be great to work with. My stick welding is not my strongest skill by any stretch of the imagination, but the TIG welding has proved to be much easier to control and form decent welds.  







I might deck the triangular section of the drawbar.

Anybody had any problems with the front axles on their engines? I have had the front offside wheel seize when turning left into our street.    
Thinking it was the bushes I wasn't a happy bunny. Fortunately I was within spitting distance of my driveway. Removing the wheel was actually a lot easier than I expected, just a couple of quarter rotations and a big tug. Low and behold the bushes where absolutely fine and well lubricated. The seizure was the inner hub inner diameter binding against the outer diameter step in the axle. Not sure why this has happened as the bushes have no play in them and the wheel rotated freely when fitted to the front axle shaft. Just a heads-up for other users.

looks like you picked up a bit if grit or sand
if the clearance is tight that's all you would need to cause a problem
mark

Could it be the inner bush has moved into the hub assembly, allowing the hub plate to rub on the axle flange/collar?... I don't think I've seen anyone else with this problem!

Regards,
Tony

Hi

Tony. You can see the end of the bush in the hub. It's ok. My flanges were very tight and as Mark says all it needs is a bit of grit. By the appearance on the axial that is what it looks like.

Do you use oil or grease? Oil allows "self cleaning" where grease will hold dirt and grit.

Hi Phil
just got home and checked my front wheels (which are not painted yet) the fit is very close so I think I will machine a grove in the axel to take a "o" ring to keep grit out
Your problem was in my opinion grit
mark

Spoke to Steve about this and showed him the photo and his immediate response was a bit of grit or sh*t had been picked up.

Dean

Hi Phil,My two bits worth is that the inner plate of the hub when screwed up may not have been strictly concentric with the collar on the shaft. This occurred on one of my wagon wheels which was binding. Engineers dye to ascertain the offending area and a quick sand with the dremel sorted the problem. One of the many little things that are sent to test our patience. Cheers, Shane

Showmanshane was the closest in diagnoses. Checking out both wheels and axles has shown me that the binding wheel inner boss was slightly eccentric. Only by about 0.3mm, but obviously enough. The nearside wheel appears to be OK, about 0.05mm. I probably didn’t give enough thought to any eccentricity when assembling the wheels as everything fitted so well at the time. I have given the Dremel a good workout by relieving the obvious tight spot in the hub and the axle. Hopefully this will cure the problem. I will take sharper turnings at a much slower speed for a while and check the wheels and axles again after a few more miles on the clock.

A grand day, sunshine, warm temperature, boiler certified by the local inspector, what else could one wish for, except maybe a couple of beers to celebrate.

Lord Darby is now allowed out in public to show off. All I need to next week is to road register his lordship then I can terrorise the locals. I have had quite a turnout of onlookers watching the running in progress of Lord Darby over the last couple of months, with plenty of well wishers. They are all looking forward to seeing the final paint job and canopy fitted.



Keeping the boiler inspector on side by letting him have a drive after the certification.

Phil. I am so pleased you can finally call yourself "legal" - no better present for a live steamer off the rails on his birthday. congratulations. I'm sure you deserve more than just a couple of beers. Once you are road registered we better celebrate in appropriate fashion with a road run to the pub for a cold ale. Best wishes Shane

Excellent  and congratulations. He looks wonderful..

Well done Phil, can't wait till see photos and film of you and Shane out on the road together. Also look forward to canopy being finished and fitted.

Walked into my local vehicle registration office yesterday, 10 mins and $177 later Lord Darby is now road legal boasting a new registration.  

Well done indeed Phil.

Now to rack up some road miles.

congrats on getting her road registered, shame we cant just walk into one in the uk as there all shut down

Russ