I am sorry William -but I don’t understand your question?
I normally use a Mac at home and work.
The browser is Safari and the shots from my key ring camera are processed using iPhoto. The working drawings are made using Appleworks 6, (I have finally taken all my files from Claris Works 4!). When at work I use the Mac X.11 libraries with X-Windows as a terminal and this enables me to use the BSD 4.3 Unix CAD system there, which it should do -I did afterall design it to do so!!! The CAD system is written by us, (the head office in Berne wrote it in “C” -ugh!), with our own very unique libraries of parts!!! For the normal office functions we use UNIPLEX. I will admit my new PA did expect us to use MS Office -but MS refuse to a port to UNIX…
We use Mac because it far more versatile than a PC and we can guarentee that each Mac will be the same as any other. When you are travelling around the EU you want something that can connect to any mains electricty supply and is at least tolerant of any phone connection that you care to shove into it.
Have I missed the question?
regards
ralph
Yeah, sorry, I should have made it clear wanted to know what program op sys you was using for the drawing rendering.
Don’t think this poor ole country boy ever learn CAD. All my college was in heavy equipment and such. Well, you do have to go to college for becoming a Peace Officer and it was 357 hours now it is 900+. Bad thing about that is the real training happens on the street I found out.
Toad
William,
As stated above, the working drawings are all in Appleworks 6, (they do a PC version too I believe). The drawing file is simply: “Save As JPG”, to get into the WWW. As to using the system I have at work for drawing locos etc -that is a definate no go area!!!
If I wanted to build my locos out of the parts that we make out computers from -then I could do so…
regards
ralph
Sorry, have to go back and apply more rivits…
As I am one of those people with an almost lethal sense of humour I have decided to apply it to the "S"motor. After having shared my thoughts with T.S.Ruby MSc -I will explain what I intend to do here…
This circuit has been around since I was at College (in fact I think it comes from the J Lindsey Hood Cassette deck design in Wireless World). Anyway it is simple, rugged, and cheap -all the best circuits are!!!

The 10k resistor is added to prevent small fingers turning the knob too far… What I intend to do is mimic the collection of resistors on the roof of the "S"motor and the switching system for it. To this end I will produce “fake” resistors on the roof, but hidden inside the “fake” resistors -will be real 470 ohm 1/4 watt metal films…

The collection of metal film resistors will be step switched to replace the 22k potentiometer in (2x) 470 ohm steps. If this sounds strange then I actually have a pre-amplifier that uses exactly the same technique(!)
regards
ralph
Well as my father told me; “If you want to produce something repeatably -then you have to use a jig. So, take great care when you build one. A true jig will produce precise and exact copies, a poor jig will produce precise and exact trash”

So several hours have been spent with lengths of K&S section and drawings to produce what you see above… Several lengths of 5mm sq pine stuck to a couple of scraps of MDF. HOWEVER they are all specific lengths and distances apart. I can drop the required pieces into the jig and then drill them -knowing that they will not move and the pieces will all be fixed in position while the CA sets.
The top jig is the main chassis system -the horizontals hold the frame beam and the verticals will hold the horn guides. The jig below, (with the 50p coin), is the one for the end assemblies. There will be four of these, one at each end of the main chassis beam. The end result should be -two sets of mirror images.
When everything is fixed with M3 nuts and bolts, it will be time to hit it with the silver solder and the MAPP gas. I use MAPP in preference to Propane because it is hotter and the burner flame is so much “cleaner” than with either Propane or Butane. I tend to use Silver-Flo55 rather than the more common Easi-Flo2, because for some reason -I seem to be able to get a far neater joint with it(?) There is no difference in price, the melting point is 630°C (roughly 10°C higher than Easi-Flo2), or the type of flux used.
The K&S order should come sometime towards the start of next week. Then it is down to precision sawing, filing and drilling. I have never assembled a US style bar frame chassis before -nor do I know anyone who has. However I do have a small but curious audience who are wondering how much over the comming week is going to be; planning, guesswork and of course -fluke!!!
regards
ralph
The pantograph fitted to the S motor is a pure home brew creation… The brass strips are actually stantions for model boats, (I found them in the Robbe catalogue). The ends are drilled out to 2.5mm from 1mm and then 3mm crimp connectors are soldered to the “plug end” of the stantion. The whole lot is then cobbled together with some M2.5 and M3 nuts and bolts.
A little dressing up and it will sit on the rear of the S motor…

regards
ralph
Well another productive Sunday Afternoon…
The shot below shows the partially silver soldered “horns” for the pantograph -the impromptue jig is actually one I use quote frequently for hold thin pieces into position(!)

The “forge” is actually a fire brick from a loco which I got for a donation at “Butterley”.
The next shot shows the collector plate now in position on top of the pantograph. The pantograph is held aloft by a spring rather than air pressure as in the original. The steel shaft slides up and down the brass bearing tube through the rear “nose” of the “S” motor.

The carbon greasers will be added when everything is ready to roll after some filing and suitable decoration!!!
One more to go.
regards
ralph
Well at this point in time I am looking at:
1 BOX of 1x12x64thous strip
1 BOX of ½x12x64thous strip
1 BOX of ¼x12x64thous strip
1 BOX of 3mm brass set screws
1 BOX of 3mm brass nuts
2 lengths of J&M silver flo24 silver solder 710C
2 lengths of J&M silver flo55 silver solder 610C
I suppose what I should explain how I intend to assemble this collection of designer offcuts. The main beams will be cut from the 1 inch wide strip and then the horn guides cut from the ½ inch strip. The beam is then placed in the jig and the guides then CA’ed to them. The other side is then assembled in the jig -but as a mirror image i.e. the horn guides are placed into the jig and the main beam glued on top of them.
This produces two pieces that are “true” to themselves
The two assemblies are them placed back into the jig and the 3mm locking holes drilled through both pieces. This again produces two “true” pieces. The brass setscrews and nuts are then inserted and tightened up. Next the I solder with the Silver Flo24 which has a higher melting point than the Silver Flo55. I solder the backs of the setscrews and then grind off the heads leaving a flush finish. The CA has burnt off during this so it is only the soldered nuts and screws that are holding everything together. Next I hit it with the Silver Flo55 which has a far lower melting point and thus the threads remain firmly seated in their holes. I will solder up the horn guides at the top and bottom and then flash the nuts with ordinary tin solder -they will not move after that!
The horn blocks will have to be assembled by sandwiching them out of ½ inch strip (two 1 inch long and one piece ½ inch long). The 4.5mm hole for the journal will be drilled through as will the 2.5mm holes for the grease box. Next, a thick black graphite pencil line is drawn around the holes in the horn blocks, this stops the solder from flowing into the drilled holes -and plugging them… The horn blocks are then CA’
There are three surviving S-motors.
NYC 100 - derelict in Albany, NY. technically owned by a historical society, but has been left to rot for 20 years…there has been much talk on the local railfan forums lately about getting the collection of that society away from them and into the hands of a museum or group that can actually care for them…hopefully it will happen soon…they also have the only surviving T3a motor. Old Maude quietly reached her 100th birthday four years ago.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u45/scottychaos/NYC-S-Motor.jpg
That number 100 was originally number 6000…and IS the actual, original “Old Maude” as discussed in the Old Maude link above…She is the first S-motor of 1904.
NYC 113 - preserved at St. Louis Tranportation Museum.
NYC 115 - preserved at Illinois Railway Museum.
http://gold.mylargescale.com/Scottychaos/NewYorkCentral/index.htm
Scot
Oh My LORD Scott!!!
That shot is so sad… I knew that “Old Maude” had survived -but I had assumed she had a place in some museum somewhere. If I had taken that shot I think I would have cried!!!
Could I please use this shot in my web page?
People ask me why I built the wierd and wonderful and to me this one shot explains it all -to show that they existed and what they looked like. I applaud the preservation of the DELTIC at Barrow Hill even though it will only run on one engine rather than the two that it was equipped with -the other is a perfect source of very rare spares…
It is very nice to know that it has survived -but also very terrible to see it in that state.
regards
ralph
Ralph,
thats not my photo…it was sent to me by the photographer to use on my “NY Alcos” webpage…let me dig through my email for the photographer’s name, and I should be able to put you in touch with him directly…
Scot
The carbon greasers have been added to the top and the electrically conductive epoxy is holding them well. The “drop test” shows that they can conduct 6 Amperes so the pair of them should have no problem feeding power to the motors. The greasers are simply 2 old blocks of graphite armature connectors that I grooved with a set of clay scrapers.

The next shot shows the underside of the cab roof where I have strted assembling the power control system. The relay on the left is the Fwd/Rev and the one on the right is the main power feed. Both of them are rated at 20 Amperes at 12Volts. The hardwiring from the coils connects to the slide switches on the roof. The main PCB will sit to the right of the relays. Holes will be bored through the roof to connect to the resistors on it. The roof electronics connect to the lower power supplies by male Lucar “spades”, this means that when the roof is taken off -there is no chance of a short from the power bus bars below.

The system will be a hybrid with 12volt electronics and 6 volt motors, (both sets of motors will be coupled in series). As normal I will leave the front and rear windows unglazed -this provides a cooling draught of air as the loco moves!
regards
ralph
Well I initially imaged that there would be quite a lot of egg on my face -but the fact is tht this does seem to be comming together far easier than I thought possible. It is now nearly 10pm and this evening everything hs gone very well!!!
I started out with my collection of brass strips.

And after some sawing with my hacksaw I ended up with the main beam cut from 1 inch strip and the horn guides from ½ inch strip, all together in the jig.

Each of the horn guides was drilled with 3mm holes at 7mm and 18mm intervals

The completed drilled horn guides are then returned to the jig and the main beam bored from them.

The whole thing is assembled with 3mm nuts and bolts and it is now ready for soldering.

Note; brass nuts and bolts are used so that when the assembly is heated prior to silver soldering, the assembly expands and contracts at the same rate -this will reduce twisting and warping.
regards
ralph
Ralphy-poo,
You going to cut those bolts off, abit long? Or are they to be that long??
Toadie
William,
You seem to have got slightly confused due the zoom ratio and perspective of the shot. The whole assembly is only 24cm long and the sheet is 65 thous thick. They are 9mm setscrews, and there is about 3 nuts worth of thread projecting through the beam. But, at the end of the process I will trim the excess threads with a piecing saw.
This evening I am hoping to start work on the 4 end pieces -which is frankly just nasty…
regards
ralph
It is just after 7:30pm and the evening was a nasty as expected!!! Silver soldering is not hard, I would say actually it is very easy -even when compared to electrical soldering. The main problem is that everything operates at dull red heat…
Having sawn all the sections to size and tacked them together with CA I loaded them onto the “forge”.
I then opened all the doors and windows!!!
The safety sheet for MAPP (Metyl Acetyl Propadine) says that is is safe to use indoors -however the smell may be objectionable. The smell is not unlike sweaty socks and ripe drain…
Anyway with my green safety glasses and my red gloves I lit my bottle torch and began. I torched up all four of the end pieces and duly threw them into the bucket of water at the end of the process -this cracks off most of the flux and saves on cleaning time. The flux I use is one I learned with at school, equal parts Borax and Olive oil, sticky, smokey -but it cuts through any oxide layer!!!
I then torched the horn guides to the main beam, and dunked them.
The end pieces are joined by the one top joint, this makes handling them until the bottom bar is in place -slightly fraught!
At the end of 2 hours work I have transformed the beautiful brass in the pictures above into the blackened, sooty and flux stained assembly below:

regards
ralph
Ok -this is the end of my “free time” as I will be very busy for the forseeable future… The chassis rails have been soldered together and the assembly epoxied to the base of the ‘S’ motor. You can see the horn blocks in the horn guides.
It is likely to be another month or so before I can return to this -so this is the last shot!

regards
ralph
Well… After the week from Hell I did get some time on Saturday Afternoon to sit and semi relax!!!
The shot below shows the grease boxes (U shaped channels of Aluminium) have been bonded to the horn guides. They will be bolted with 2mm nuts and bolts to the hornguides hopefully by the end of this week. The bottom bar of the chassis frame has been fitted and it holds the horn guides against the pressure of the springs. These sit in a typical home made assembly of: 6mm washer, spring, 6mm washer, length of brass tube, 6mm washer. The central shaft is 4mm brass tube tapped to 2.5mm and the this is then bolted through the grease box. The shaft is “damped” by having the brass tube above (which it slides up and down in) packed with greased felt. The net result is not unlike an inverted “McPherson Strut”.

I had some fun and games with Hookes Law working out the suspension springs… The bogie has to have more pressure at the rear, the combined forces of the front bogie plus the external power axle must equal the force on the internal power axle!!! (There are times when I wish I was 15 again -I remember it as all being so easy)…
The two motors have been fitted to the cab these have been installed transversely and will drive the power axles via cogged belts after having been stepped down 8:1 with gearing. A version of the “Silent Block” soft start system to ease the strain on the take from the motor will also have to be fitted. But as I have done this before on my EF-1 it is not going to be that hard -except for the space limitations!!!
regards
ralph
Today is Friday the 13th… This simple fact explains why so much has gone wrong today!!! I blew up a motor -this has never happened before and these particular motors I am very well versed with. I also seem to have lost my temperature controlled soldering iron -not much you may think -but it is about 30cm square…
Anyway -back to the Build Log.

As I am now down to one motor I have had to re-jig the drive system. The motor drives a 15 tooth spur to a 60 tooth spur, on the same shaft is an 8 tooth sprocket. This then drives, via a ladder chain, a 16 tooth sprocket. The final drive to the wheels is taken from this shaft. The net reduction is 1:8 which is, I think, still a bit high and I am contemplating dropping it down to a ratio of 1:16 by interspacing a second 8 tooth sprocket on the output shaft and then taking this down to the drive axle system.
According to Henry Greenly a ratio of 1:6 is quite adequate for a 2 1/2 inch gauge loco, but I do rather like my locos to run slowly and smoothly… After having played around a bit with 16mm models I am actually quite amazed at how different the Gauge 3 models are. The scale is smaller but the gauge is larger. The sheer MASS of a Gauge 3 model is at least 10 times that of the typical 16mm model that I have built. Even without its SLA power bricks the model weighs in at 2Kg easily.
regards
ralph
Did it smoke and burst into flames?

-Brian