Thread: Stephenson's Rocket

And yet again the old artisan junk master's influence and your attention to detail has won out..... Keep up the top work Keith, Cheers, Peter

Bringing it in closer does look nicer but it would seem to me in the real world it would surely get a lot hotter closer the boiler but maybe that's a good thing?
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Bruce,

Appreciate your comments.

Here is 1935 replica Rocket in the British National Railway Museum.

Regards

Keith

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Could the white be a jacket to shield the heat and keep someone from getting fried?
But I think probable not, they didn't worry about such things back then as much me thinks.

Originally Posted by htl

Could the white be a jacket to shield the heat and keep someone from getting fried?
But I think probable not, they didn't worry about such things back then as much me thinks.

I think you are correct there. I don't think there was OHS in those days

Regards

Keith

Hi All,

I have been working on the "crown" on top of the smoke stack. I was not sure how I could get the top section tapered out as in the original Rocket.

I purchased a 65mm straight PVC pipe coupling from Bunnings ($2).

I sketched up the sections I needed to cutout and then copied and pasted onto the pipe coupling.

I then drilled the bottom of the crown with a forstner bit.

Then cut out with a hacksaw and smoothed off with my dremel and then a smooth file, 80 grit and then 120 grit to smooth off the tapers.

I then used my hot air gun to soften the PVC and bend out the tapers. Didn't need to heat much - which was good because they then set pretty quickly.

Then primed with Automotive Primer.

Regards

Keith

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I'm glad you said it's the crown for smoke stack ...

I was thinking may Keith had been granted King Of Geelong Lawn Bowls for a micro-second having won all the ends!!

Cheers, Peter

Beautiful work, you could get into the crown making business with that as the base. But stick to trains planes and automobile please!!!
We don't want this turning into the jewellery channel!!!

G'Day All,

I have been working on the cylinder exhaust pipes.

I used solid PVC as my pipe and have used wire and body for my bends. The beauty of this is that you can get any angle of bend and you can use any medium you like as the "pipe". Timber dowel would work just as well as the PVC or aluminium tube.
The first photo shows how I positioned the "tube" and got my correct length and angle using 4mm mild steel. The next photo shows the curve / bend being built up with bodyfiller and the next photo shows after I had cleaned up the bend using files and sandpaper.
The next couple of photo shows where I am up to with Rocket. Cathie took a photo of with the loco to give an indication of the size of my "toy".

The next item will be a mercurial manometer fitted to the side of the smokestack. This indicates steam pressure.

Regards

Keith

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Hey Keith, you usually use a beer can for photo scale reference but this time its you, all be it with a glum look, is that because you ran out of beer to use a can as a scale reference

I hit the thanks for the picture because I could just see the smile on his face if a beer was near!!!

Originally Posted by rwbuild

Hey Keith, you usually use a beer can for photo scale reference but this time its you, all be it with a glum look, is that because you ran out of beer to use a can as a scale reference

Hey Ray - That's my smile

PS Cathie only took one photo and I couldn't be bothered getting the loco back out of the shed - I was a bit lazy, By the way - no cans left but plenty of
stubbies

Regards

Keith

Great pictures Keith and gives a better sense of scale than the beer can. The model is looking great (the one with the wheels that is)

Hi All,

I said in my previous post that the next item I make would be the manometer on the side of the smokestack. However, things change and i decided that it would be better to make the smokestack support struts and the front brackets that support the boiler to the subframe.

I am glad I did because it has really "stiffened up" the locomotive and I think less prone to damage as I continue work on it.

I made the support brackets on the smokestack and on the cylinder brackets out of light gauge aluminium angle. The actual tensioning bars are made out of 4mm MS rod. I threaded these with an M4 X 0.75 die (this is the standard thread pitch on the nuts you get from Bunnings). The good thing about the threads is that it allows you to straighten up and then tension the components.

The front struts from frame to boiler - I cut out of 12mm X 2mm aluminium flat bar - split up the middle so they are 5mm wide. The screws are 3mm. Made up 3mm studs into the boiler front plate.

I have also made up the footplate. Made from 6mm and 3mm MDF.

Everything at this stage can be dismantled so I will be able to paint to the correct livery at a later date.

At this stage - my next component will be the manometer.

Regards

Keith

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