Hello from Indy

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Weber
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Hello from Indy

Post by Weber » Sun Nov 01, 2015 2:53 pm

New to this forum

Have been interested in designing and building all kinds of steam-powered models for many years. Always wanted to do a small steam launch -- something in between an Elliot Bay and a large model that two persons could comfortably manage. Last May, I started a project to build a 13.5-foot fiberglass/mahogany launch powered by a home-brewed 2-cylinder, double acting 2" x 1.75" vertical engine. Boiler is coal-fired, 22" x 8" dia. with 45 3/8" (.5" o.d.) fire tubes. Just finished the engine and boiler and ran the first test (shown in attached photo). Other than a couple minor plumbing leaks, everything performed nicely. Although I designed the boiler just barely big enough to continuously run the engine flat out (to keep the weight at a minimum), it made steam to spare fueled with good old Welsh steam coal. This winter, I'll be gutting a fiberglass sailboat hull (Flying Junior International) and redoing the interior and decking in mahogany and teak. The boat has a nice wide beam and plenty of room for the engine, boiler, and auxiliary gear and a crew of two adults.

Hope I've figured out how to post photos here

Image
Last edited by Weber on Fri Nov 06, 2015 9:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Weber
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Re: Hello from Indy

Post by Weber » Sun Nov 01, 2015 3:12 pm

Closer look from side:

Image
Weber
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Re: Hello from Indy

Post by Weber » Sun Nov 01, 2015 4:53 pm

My lift table legs were uneven, causing a bit of a wobble. But, for the first test run, I was pleased nothing serious popped up.

Last edited by Weber on Fri Nov 06, 2015 8:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Akitene
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Re: Hello from Indy

Post by Akitene » Sun Nov 01, 2015 5:41 pm

Good evening Weber,

Nice lagging on the boiler and very neat engine, it runs smoothly. What are the cascading gears intended for? Some kind of reversing gear?
Weber
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Re: Hello from Indy

Post by Weber » Sun Nov 01, 2015 8:25 pm

The gears are for forward and reverse. Used this arrangement once on a Tom Thumb locomotive and it worked well there. So, used it for this engine rather than a typical Stephenson system. Hoped to end up with a simpler design, but in hind sight, I should have gone for the Stephenson. I also started out building a inflow design, then chickened out half way through and went to a conventional piston valve arrangement.
Last edited by Weber on Mon Nov 02, 2015 12:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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DetroiTug
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Re: Hello from Indy

Post by DetroiTug » Sun Nov 01, 2015 11:57 pm

Nice looking engine and boiler. Welcome to the forum.

To get these YouTube vids to display, have to remove the "s" from https.



-Ron
Weber
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Re: Hello from Indy

Post by Weber » Mon Nov 02, 2015 12:26 am

Thanks for the advice, Ron.
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