Recycled Detritus - Cosmetic parts, Testing and Running
by Dave Watkins
The buffer couplings are also recycled. They were once fitted to a Mamod conversion. With couplings in place I could try hauling trains. Haulage power was clearly limited by wheel slip so I added extra adhesive weight. Some electric cable recovered from the house during rewiring had a lead sheath. Hammered flat and cut to size this makes great ballast weights. Do take the usual precautions when handling lead and wash before eating and drinking.
A search round the in the darker corners of the work-shed revealed some stout tinplate sheet that had once been the floor of a budgerigar cage. After scraping off several layers of paint I discovered the surface underneath to be quite sound. Tinplate takes soft solder readily and is a surprisingly easy material to work with for body-work. Use a decent sized soldering iron (say 75 Watts) and a good commercial flux (Laco or Baker’s Fluid). You do not even have to scrape off all the old paint when joining pieces of tinplate cut from old cans. The paint will melt with the heat from the iron. With a bit of persuasion from the iron the solder will flow neatly into joints.
The body has lots of holes to let cooling air in and hot air out. Fine wire mesh covers the dummy radiator grille. A raised cover plate on top of the bonnet immediately above the engine allows hot air to escape. The front plate of the cab is also left open to encourage air flow through the bonnet. To finish off the bonnet two louvered doors are hung each side. The louvres are real to let more air flow round the engine.
I aimed for a chunky retro look with the design. I like it but you must judge for yourself. Edward Hodson sent me some photos of diesels used on Australian sugar cane plantations. These are more powerful modern engines that would make excellent scale models with plenty or room for a mechanism similar to “Detritus”.
Ford turn out some of their cars in a pleasing maroon called Burgundy. This looks a very suitable subdued colour for a diesel. With a coat of paint from aerosol cans I could at last get down to some serious running. My euphoria did not last long. I mentioned earlier that glo fuel is corrosive. I found out the hard way that the oil left behind in the exhaust makes a good paint stripper. I had to strip and repaint the body shell but this time gave it a coat of “hot fuel proofer” bought at a local model shop. This really does help to protect the paint underneath.
There was quite a lot of oil finding its way out of the exhaust and dropping back down all over the body-work. A twenty minute run was enough to leave the loco looking quite a mess. The silencer has now been modified to stop excessive oil being carried through. A mesh filter traps some of the oil on its way through the silencer and a drain tube pointing down between the frames deposits most of the oil between the rails.
By this stage it was quite apparent that the engine needed a major overhaul since there was far too much noise and vibration. The parts for overhauling the engine can be obtained fairly readily from shops that specialise in model cars. The engine now has a new connecting rod, main bearing, one way bearing and gaskets. “Detritus” is now much quieter and smoother. Whilst I had the engine stripped down I bought a new cord starter to avoid lugging the electric drill out in the garden. I had to modify the body and extend the frames to fit round the starter. Once again life is never straightforward.
A live diesel certainly provokes plenty of comment. Some comments are even favourable. Despite all the hassle this has certainly been a fun project. Do you too harbour secret desires to try internal combustion? It does work. Do give it a try and let me know how you get on.
Copyright Dave Watkins 1996.
If you want to contact me about leisure activities Send e-mail to: dave.watkins@blueyonder.co.uk
