“Formidable” climbing the 1 in 50 bank over Stone Pile Bridge on the South Efford Railway. The rear brake van has just emerged from Woodshed Tunnel in the background. The powerful model is based on the Yatton kit, but driven by body mounted motors driving a central gearbox, from which power is transmitted to the sprung bogies via cardan shafts as on the full size Funkey loco. Photo: Richard Purser.
Photo of the Week No. 621
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The loco is most impressive – I would never have guessed it was made from wood! Are the motors supplied as well as the wheels and couplings?
I would really appreciate your comments on this loco ..the build/paints etc. I think I would R/C it. Have you?
I would appreciate a pm.
Many thanks Richard,
Richard (!)
I’ve just seen your kind comment about the model engine FORMIDABLE. A bit of a hybrid. The Yatton kit comes with motors in the bogies that drive via worm drives. Difficult to adjust, and lot’s of friction. The kit was a family present arranged by my brother, who ordered it without motors. Peter Lane at Yatton suggested (tongue in cheek?) that we fit the motor in the bonnet and drive the bogies via cardan shafts like the real thing. and my brother and I foolishly rose to the challenge!
Months of CAD drawings flowed to and fro during lockdown, till we felt we had a workable arrangement that wouldn’t spoil the lovely kit. My brother had just bought a milling machine so a good excuse to try it. He did all the real work, making all the gearboxes, twin MFA 385 motors driving the central gear box running in an oil bath, home made cardan shafts, and drip feed lubrication to everything in the bogies, with all shafts running in ball races. Gears are steel with brass bevels to a final drive via delrin chains. Sprockets and wheels are pinned through the 1/8″ axles! Electrics and R/C came from Fosworks to control motors, engine sound, horn, lights. They were very helpful with advice and checking my circuit drawings, as I’m a novice at R/C.
It’s very controllable at creep speed for shunting, and pulls well, though I don’t have enough rolling stock to really test it. We’ve only been able to hang a 98 axle train on the back so far, and even loading the leading wagons with an extra 10 kg of lead seemed to have no effect; the machine could easily start all that from a standstill on a 1:50 bank. It’s been good fun, and a steep learning curve as it’s only the second loco kit I’ve ever attempted, but my brother must take the credit. Still a few details parts to fit.