Jenny Lind

[Jon Nazareth]

I'm going to have a go at building a model based on the Jenny Lind.  My capabilities won't run to a true representation of the original and therefore it wan't have a Jenny Lind nameplate.  I haven't thought of another name, as yet but, I'm sure one will come to mind. 
One thing that I find curious is fixing a 6' driving wheel on such a small diameter, 5/32" axle.  I know that this the standard size for wagon wheels etc but it does seem a little odd.  Has anyone increased the size of hole in the gearbox to allow a larger that 1/4" diameter axle to be fitted?
There are a couple of pictures here showing the prototype and the machined wheels.

Jon

[John Candy]

Jon,
I have two locos fitted with Slaters gearboxes which have been opened up to take 8mm axles.
Using adjustable reamers (rather than attempting to drill) will retain concentricity, but will need to be done in stages, using progressively larger reamers, if the enlargement is substantial.

Here is a reasonably-priced set

https://www.rdgtools.co.uk/acatalog/SMALL-ADJUSTABLE-REAMER-SET---RANGE-1-4--15-32--468963.html#SID=463

Regards,
John.

[Jon Nazareth]

John
Thank you for the tip.  I suppose you had to then fit bigger bearings to take the 8mm axles.

Jon

[John Candy]

I suppose you had to then fit bigger bearings to take the 8mm axles.

The original Slaters product does not have bearing inserts but they can be easily turned from from 1/2 inch hard brass or bronze rod,  if felt necessary.
On a lightweight loco, like Jenny Lind, I wouldn't bother.
Regards,
John.

[Jon Nazareth]

John
I can understand that the 5/32" size would be strong enough but, I was thinking from an aesthetic point of view.  The 5/32" axle passes through a 7/8" wheels boss which, to me, would look a little odd.  I was trying to think of a way of increasing/beefing up the 5/32" axle size so that it didn't look so nellie.  Maybe a cap of some description over the end would work.  I'll have to give it some more thought.

Jon

[Jon Nazareth]

My thoughts have turned back to this loco.
The original centre axle was fitted to a separate frame bolted to the smokebox at one end and to spacers set off the frame at the front.  I am trying not to use this system.  My idea is to have a solid centre axle i.e., with no up or down movement, (not completely sure how I'm going to fit it as yet) with coil springs which will allow some movement on the leading and trailing axles.  My question is, will this idea work or will the loco try to behave like a see-saw once on the move?

Jon

[Nick]

Hi Jon,

I replied to your question about springing on the messaging service before coming here to read these posts. Concerning the wheels and axle - is the problem fundamentally not with the size of the axle but with the size of the hub in Slaters' wheels? From the photo it does look very large.

Nick

[Jon Nazareth]

Hello Nick

From looking at the wheels, I'm almost certain, but not quite, that these wheels came from Mark Wood.  Yes, the centre hub is large hence my thoughts of using a larger diameter axle to help fill up some of the space.

Jon

[Nick]

Hi Jon,

I'm going to tread carefully here because I don't want to be critical of another's project (except in a positive way). Those wheels definitely aren't the same as the photo on Mark Wood's web site. To my eye the hub centres look much too large. Mark's wheel castings look much closer to the Jenny Lind illustration that you have included above.

I've built several locos of that era myself and I'm very aware of the problems of getting hold of good information, but I don't recall seeing a prototype for a centre as large as that.

Nick

[Jon Nazareth]

Hello Nick

I've checked my emails etc and you are quite right.  The wheels that I have aren't by Mark.  I did buy a pair of Jenny Lind drivers from Mark but, I don't know where they are at the moment.  I'll have to have a thorough search to find out where I've put them.

Jon

[Jon Nazareth]

Found them!

Jon