Aderyn Steam Motor.

[Tony Bird]

Hi,
This isn't a recently finished project the prototype was finished about four years ago. I mostly play with narrow gauge steam locomotives running on '0' gauge track in the garden. This I have done for the last twenty years having previously made steam locomotives in larger gauges.
I like doing R+D and thought about making a steam motor which would work rather like an electric motor fitted in the smaller narrow gauge prototypes that had inside frame and cylinders. This meant that it would have to be small, self starting and be capable of going forward and backwards. So this double acting twin cylinder oscillating steam engine was designed and built, first as a prototype to see if it was feasible and four others that were fitted with driving gears to check if they were powerful enough to move a locomotive and a reasonable number of rolling stock. The following four photographs show one of the geared engines as yet not fitted to a chassis. The engine has a bore of 1/4" and a stroke of 12mm (it would have had a 6mm bore but I had 1/4" '0' rings in stock). To fit between the frames the width had to be less than 24mm it is in fact 23mm over the cylinders. It will drive a 20mm axle mounted gear (4:1) with axle spacings of just less than 60mm the height of the port block including the reverse valve is 30mm.

Video of prototype working under pressure and Vacuum.



So far the only model that has been powered with this engine is an 'Idris'. This locomotive designed by Dave Watkins had direct drive cylinders to its leading axle. At the time I was building some of these locomotives and decided to use one as a test bed for a modified engine (the reversing valve had to be moved). It was only intended as a temporary arrangement as can be seen by the poor pipe work and extra hole in the reversing lever for the original engine. As can also be seen from the state it is in, it has had a lot of running and has yet to be converted back. It has no better performance than the original design but will go slower around tight curves (vertical boiler locomotives generally have long wheel bases for their size due to their boiler being between their axles).

The following two photographs show how the motor fits into the type of locomotives it was designed for.

From top

And bottom.

Hope this is found to be interesting.

Regards Tony.

 

[lazylathe]

Hi Tony,

That looks very cool!
Love the thought you put into this and how the concept turned out!
Can't wait to see the finished product!

By the way, i could not get the video to work.
It kept saying the page was not found.

Andrew

 

[Maryak]

Tony,

That's very NEAT :bow: :bow:

Best Regards
Bob

 

[Tony Bird]

Hi,
Tried the video again.



Which now seems to work.

Regards Tony.

 

[Gedeon Spilett]

Hi,
So smart! How to make new models with a simple oscillating engine, please go further with your lesson.
Zephyrin

 

[Tony Bird]

Hi Gedeon,
There real isn't any continuation. I built the engines and then went to work on small boilers this is when Ernrst Glaser's Cracker came in, the Crackers boiler would power the ASM in fact the models I wanted to build would have had larger boilers. So I now had a practical engine, a boiler and burner then a problem the locomotives I wanted to build were nowhere near large enough to fit an adequate size gas tank, so the project stalled. The ASM would easily power larger models but you might as well make a larger steam motor as the ASM is pretty close to a practical limit of a model steam engine doing a useful job. There is one model that I had forgotten mention, the chassis that was made to test the traction of the ASM.

It always attracts comments when ever it is displayed some of which are printable. It was created from bits in my R+D box which some people call a 'junk box' which seems rather a mundane title for products that have often taken hours to make before going pear shaped. Anyway I dusted it off and connected it to an air supply. After a couple of old steam oil droplets had been displaced off it went.

Regards Tony.

 

[SignalFailure]

Nice one Tony... and thanks for the 'R&D box' label...I've always thought those poor almost-right parts deserve a better home ;D

 

[Maryak]

Tony,

Would it be possible to put your gas tank in a tender and use a flexible connection between it and the engine. ???

Best Regards
Bob

 

[bearcar1]

I was thinking the same thing Bob. Man would that open up a whole new series. I'd love to see a set of even crudely done drawing for this little gem. Now let me go see what I have hiding in my junk drawer uh, I mean "R&D cache" :big:

BC1
Jim

 

[Gedeon Spilett]

Hi Tony

“There real isn't any continuation.”

Anyway, I find this ASM a clever solution and
I will most likely try an ASM-like someday, although I am currently engaged in another project, I built last year three "cracker-like" Gauge 0 locos and 2 "Dickins" that work very well (not yet painted), I'd be happy to try another type of engine more complex from a mechanical point of view.
R & D box, I like that
I will look with more consideration my box of discarted motor parts!
Zephyrin

 

[Tony Bird]

Hi,
Good work on the locomotives Gedeon. Are there plans available for the 2-2-0 or is it 1-1-0?
My Cackershay has a gas tank mounted in its tender connected to the burner with a silicon tube. I don't like the arrangement so never run it in public, my public liability insurance wouldn't like it either. If I made the model again I would alter the basic Cracker chassis to hold a tank perhaps behind the front buffer beam which would also give a longer boiler which wouldn't be a bad thing.

However I do use a test wagon which carries the gas for testing locomotives being built. The following photograph shows my prototype vertical boiler locomotive which has a double acting single oscillating cylinder geared to its front axle. There are now six of them being built by the members of my local model club's garden railway group. You will be impressed by my 1000+ foot test track the third rail seems a bit of a waste though.

This model has an interesting boiler and burner. The boiler is to one of the late Colin Binnie designs which produces a lot of heat. Photograph shows the flue and burner being check to see if the flame can be lit from the top of the chimney.

This photogaph shows the heat exchanger and ceramic burner.

The burner might be my own design at least I haven't seen a similar one. The idea is that a vertical boiler doesn't need the burner to be directly under the flue and it also allows water and oil
that falls from the exhaust not to hit the ceramic part of the burner. It just gets vaporised.

The last photograph shows the burner turned down to its lowest setting.

Regards Tony

 

[Gedeon Spilett]

Hi Tony,
Yes, the Dickins loco is a nice design isn't it, and very fun to make and even more to drive, as being absolutely uncontrolable. Dickins was designed for 32mm track by Dr. J. R. Senft, and serialized in Live Steam Magazine in February-March-April 1976. A redrawn plan and a kit are also available from LittleMachineShop of mini-lathe and mini-mill fame. I faithfully followed the plan, (to my surprise) except obviously for the metric materials available here.
Both work beautifully, with 10ml of ethanol and 25ml of water for about 15 min.
However, they are disappointing on tracks, not being geared, they like to run very fast, much too fast for my track, and going off the rails at the first curve a little bit too tight whatever the number of coaches behind; spreading burning alcohol all around.
Up to now, as for the cracker locos, I did not dare to make a demonstration for my grandsons, owing to the danger of these “toy”, it’s a pity because it was the aim of this project! Just another conversation piece to put near the others.
Zephyrin