Getting my Mamod/Meccano MEC1 running

This is an engine that I bought last year, which came with problems (see here). Basically the boiler was scrap, and the options were to scratchbuild a new one or sourcing a secondhand job. I did get as far as buying the material for a new boiler, but I haven't had the enthusiasm to do the work. So when I found a used boiler on eBay I put in a bid. I won, and the boiler promptly arrived. All I needed to fit it was to solder the steam pipe to the cylinder backplate, a 5 minute job. Then I could test it, first with air and then properly with steam;

As all was well I riveted the top cowl back in place (once I'd found it, it had gone missing);

And of course I steamed it again.

At some stage I'll get some Meccano and see what I can do with this rather nice little engine. I quite fancy turning it into a locomotive.

Paul.

Mamod/Meccano MEC1

This engine was a collaboration between the two companies, and it made perfect sense. A Mamod engine designed to work with the Meccano system, the best of both worlds I'd say.

Mine came from eBay, sold 'for restoration/parts'. I like these engines and I wanted a project so I put in a low bid, and won;

It was missing a safety valve (I have a spare), water level plug (ordered from eBay) and a burner (the one from my SE2a fits). Overall it looked pretty good;

But the steam pipe had come adrift from the cylinder back plate;

And the steam dome was bent over to one side;

The steam pipe was an easy fix, soft solder and a small jewellers/cooks blowtorch sorted that one out;

I removed the cylinder and blanked off the steam pipe with a piece of scrap aluminium then did a hydraulic test;

Which failed. There was water leaking from somewhere on the top of the boiler around the dome area. So, I drilled out the rivets that attached the chrome cowl to the firebox and had a closer look, fitting a new fibre washer to the dome. A second hydraulic test showed up the problem, the boiler was cracked around the dome where it had been dropped in the past. The cracks (there are two) can just be seen below;

This means that the boiler is, as far as I'm concerned, scrap. So, I removed the end plate (there's only one, the rest of the boiler is made in one piece) and steam pipe to see what's what;

So, I now need a plan. I have a few ideas running around my head, which I'll share when the time is right. If nothing else I can break the engine for parts and get my money back, and more.

I took a risk buying this, and I like a project, so I'm not too disappointed.

Paul.

Mamod TWK1 whistle repair

The whistle on my TWK1 leaked steam, badly. On stripping it down I noticed that the spring sitting up on the crimped end of the inner shaft, extending the spring and therefore losing some of its compression and weakening the seal. The solution was to fit a 1.5mm C clip on the shaft, helping to compress the spring and making sure that it sat properly on the shaft;

I also fitted a new O ring to the whistle, 2mm i/d x 1.5mm cross section.

Now the whistle no longer leaks and the engine steams quite happily.

I've also fitted a new aftermarket scuttle;

Job done. Now I can think about paint.

Paul.

Mamod SE2a whistle repair

The whistle on my SE2a was passing steam. I originally tried to fix this with a small O ring, but today I decided to have another look. This is an early version of the lever type whistle, using a taper on the bottom of the inner shaft to make the seal rather than the O ring found on later whistles;

I stripped it down by holding the upper section of the body in a vice, mine has soft jaws, and turning the lower part with a spanner on the hex. This was after a 48 hour soaking in Plus Gas. Both body parts are held together with a light interference fit.

This is the lower tapered section, which makes the seal;

I put a few drops of Brasso on the taper and turned the inner shaft inside the lower body a few times until there was a witness mark all the way around the shaft;

Re-assembly is just a matter of pressing the two parts together, not forgetting the separate plunger which acts on the top of the inner shaft (I did!).

Of course I had to test the whistle by steaming the engine, and there is an improvement although there is still a slight leak. But I can live with that.

Here it is driving a Wilesco piller drill;

A nice simple job for a tired Friday afternoon.

Paul.

Leaky Mamod cylinder

The cylinder assembly of my TWK1 leaked steam. I knew about the problem before I bought the engine as it was mentioned in the eBay description. 

The first job was to remove the cylinder from the engine and take a good look at the mating surfaces. Here's the back of the cylinder;

I then 'blue'd' the mating surfaces with a marker pen, re-fitted the cylinder and then gave the flywheel a few turns before removing the cylinder. Looking at where the pen marks had been rubbed away gave me an idea of how well the cylinder and bracket mated together;

Note how the pen marks revealed where the steam was escaping, they should be completely rubbed away around the steam holes. I took the problem to a Mamod Facebook group (Facebook has its uses!) and I was advised that the bracket might be bent. So, armed with a pair of pliers, I gently bent the bracket, a bit at a time, until the wear marks looked like this;

I then removed the bracket from the engine, made easy by the fact that this is a kit built example so the bracket is screwed rather than riveted in place and the steam pipe isn't soldered to the boiler but is held in by a screw fitting and seal;

Note the threaded inserts in the firebox top. I've also given the pipework a wee polish.

I then lapped the two mating surfaces following the method detailed here, although I used 600 grit wet & dry rather than 400 as I didn't have any;

Success! The engine now runs without any leaks between the two faces, although there is some leakage from the cylinder bore itself. I may yet try turning up a new piston.

Here's a close up of the boiler pipework; 

The union where the steam pipe joins the boiler relies on a seal, I've used a 3mm i/d x 1.5mm cross section O ring.

I'm quite pleased with this job, and it will be good practice for when I re-assemble by Mamod loco. The next job will be to sort out the leaking whistle and then strip the engine down for a repaint.

Paul.

Mamod TWK1

I fancied a traction engine to go with the roller, but I also wanted a project. The version I chose was a TWK1 (Tractor & Wagon Kit 1), which came in kit form with a log trailer. I've only bought the engine, assembled, from eBay. This is how it arrived;

Luckily(!) I had it delivered to a pick up point at a local shop, otherwise I'm sure it would have been worse. I took photos before opening just in case I had to contact the seller, however the engine itself hasn't suffered any damage;

This version differs from most other Mamod traction engines because it has a solid flywheel (from the steam lorry) and uses the wheels from the steam car at the front. It also features a rather austere finish, the boiler and firebox being plain black and the cowling over the firebox is painted rather than plated or polished. It's a look that I rather like, it's still a Mamod but a little different.

The scuttle and burner are both missing, but for now it can share them with the roller.

It's also had a bad paintjob, with the wheels having been repainted (wheels and flywheel were yellow as supplied) and blobs of yellow paint on the steam pipes.

There is a plan to restore the engine* and fix a couple of faults. Before I strip it down completely I want to get it running sweetly, at the moment there are issues with both the whistle and cylinder bracket, which I will cover in due course.

*I'm torn between stripping it down for a complete repaint (brown boiler and wheels) and just painting the wheels but leaving the rest alone as I quite like the patina.

Anyone bored with Mamods yet?

Paul.

Mamod sight glass repair

As I've mentioned before my SR1A had a leaky sight glass in the boiler. Repair kits are readily available from several sources, and usually comprise of a pair of self sealing copper rivets, a couple of screws (for those engines where the sight glass is screwed in place), a new perspex glass and a rubber seal.

This is the old glass, note how cloudy it is;

I drilled out the old rivets to release the brass surround;

Then I refitted the surround with the new glass and seal in place. This was a bit tricky as I had to hold all the parts in place whilst riveting the surround (using a nifty new Sealey pop rivet gun), I ended up with the engine being held between my legs whilst sat in a chair. I also gave the surround a quick polish;

I've also bought a new aftermarket meths burner;

So of course I had to fire it up;

It runs quite well, although I did need to fit a new O ring on the safety valve top. The meths burner doesn't fit in place as well as the old solid fuel job, possibly because it's thinner, which is a bit of a shame as it can move around more. I'll try driving it along the ground next.

Paul.

Mamod SR1A

Now that I've been bitten by the rather weird live steam bug, albeit in a rather modest way, it was inevitable that I'd buy one of Mamods road vehicles, in this case a roller;

As can be seen it still has it's original box, steering rod and funnel.

This is a SR (Steam Roller) 1A, the A denoting that it has reverse. Earlier rollers only drove forwards. Scale is about 1:20 apparently.

The burner tray is for solid fuel, now banned in the UK so a replacement meths burner will be fitted. 

Note how dirty the sight glass is, I've flushed the boiler several times as it was full of crud.

The cylinder bracket was slightly bent at the flywheel end, which I have gently straightened.

It came with several leaflets in the box;

Before I fire it I need to replace the sight glass, not only is it dirty but it also leaks.

I'm finding that steaming up an engine is a nice way to relax after work, I don't need to take as much care over an engine that I do with my 006 stock (although care is still taken) so it's ideal for when I'm tired but I still have the desire to mess with models.

Paul.

Mamod MM1 burner repair

The meths burner on my Mamod MM1 had a leak, on the tube between the reservoir and the wick tube. This joining tube had a split along its top, allowing meths to leak out and burn, messing up the paint on the baseplate.

The first step was to clean up the tube, and stuff the reservoir and wick tube with wet toilet tissue to act as a heatsink;

Then, using a small chef's/jewellery size blowtorch, Powerflow flux and soft solder I repaired the seam; 

It took me a few attempts to get the solder to flow as I wanted it to, and the result isn't at all pretty, but the job is done. To test for leaks I filled it with meths and left it on some kitchen roll, the paper stayed dry showing that the repair is good. So, I filled the boiler and tested it out properly;

Note the blowtorch in the background.

Here it is again with my little S.E.L. saw;

And with some Wilesco lineshafting;

And finally, driving a rather neat and fun Wilesco power hacksaw;

This type of repair work is new to me, I've never used soft solder before or soldered with a blowtorch. The burner now needs a fresh coat of paint, and I'll repaint the firebox and baseplate as well, but not until the weather warms up again.

Paul.

Mamod SE2a, and a power hammer

A fairly recent purchase is this Mamod SE2a stationary engine;

It came with a power hammer;

To fill the boiler you need to remove the (short) safety valve and the end plug. Then the boiler can be filled with hot water (I just use tap water as ours is soft) until it dribbles out of the end plug hole.

This is the burner, to be filled with meths;

We have fire!

The engine is reversable, by means of the lever above the cylinder. Here it is driving the hammer;

By putting a twist in the belt I can run the engine in the opposite direction and still hammer away;

It all works rather well, with a drop of sewing machine oil on the axles and steam oil on the cylinder. I've fitted new seals to the whistle and safety valve (which had had its seals replaced by a couple of aluminium washers!). Having the hammer adds another dimension, giving the engine purpose.

This cost me just over £63, for both the engine and the hammer, a bargain price for the engine on its own let alone with the hammer included. 

Paul.