"Jack" in Garden Rail magazine

C

Chris Bird

Steam,gardening, photography
Hi folks
Brian Wilson, who is the author of Steam Trains in Your Garden, has written a series of articles on building the superb Hunslet "Jack" in 7/8ths scale. These started last month in Garden Rail magazine and there will be a range of parts to help builders from novice to expert.
I have put a couple of photos on and have created a section of my website for the project. I am not commercially involved (other than designing and supplying a Chuffer for it) but am building it and wanted all the info in one place.

If you are interested, you can find it here: www.summerlands-chuffer.co.uk and click on the link when you get there.

Cheers
Chris
 

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Carn't get link to work. :(
 
I think the letter U has been missed out of the summerlands bit.
 
Original link corrected.
 
Ah - thanks guys - typing was never my strong point :D

I have put a photo of some of the laser cut parts on there today.
Cheers
Chris
 
Chris ,

Well I took the big step and took a subscription to Garden Rail just for the articles to build " Jack ". ( I know there is lots of other great reading there too , but Jack is my focus for now. ) I was looking at the builders photo of Jack and though I might rebuild my Roundhouse Katie in the early model of Jack . The single sand box and the rear mounted steam dome seemed to be pretty close to what I already have available. I have wanted a Jack for years and this seems like the time to make a start.

Any thoughts on whether a Katie-Jack hybrid is do-able ? I like a challenge . ;)

Charles M :) :)
 
Charles M said:
Chris ,

Well I took the big step and took a subscription to Garden Rail just for the articles to build " Jack ". ( I know there is lots of other great reading there too , but Jack is my focus for now. ) I was looking at the builders photo of Jack and though I might rebuild my Roundhouse Katie in the early model of Jack . The single sand box and the rear mounted steam dome seemed to be pretty close to what I already have available. I have wanted a Jack for years and this seems like the time to make a start.

Any thoughts on whether a Katie-Jack hybrid is do-able ? I like a challenge . ;)

Charles M :) :)
Click to expand...

Oh dear - I have just seen this Charles as I have not been in here for quite a while (is it really that long?) - my apologies! The answer is that you can certainly strip down a Katie and build a Jack - but I am sure that you know that by now.

I am continuing to write up the build and am in evitably getting ahead of GR as the articles are dealing with scratch building the parts that are readily available. My write up - warts and all - is here:

https://sites.google.com/a/gardenrailwayclub.com/club/locos/brian-wilsons-7-8ths-jack-build

Cheers
Chris
 
Unless your dedicated to the build, 6 or more pages devoted to one loco build, in what is a very thin magazine, gets a bit annoying after a couple of months. Have to say, i voted with my wallet.
 
I suppose it isn't everybody's cup of tea but it is a very comprehensive thread. And a lot of work has gone (or is going) into it. I sometimes wish other aspects of railway modelling were as detailed. C'est la vie!
 
What is more annoying about it, is that it is a build-thread for Jack, but to the 'n'th degree!!
More suited to a model engineering mag. as most of the parts are available pre-made, and you do not need to make them yourself.
 
Must admit the GR article had me zoning out too, but that tends to happen with me the minute there is any mention off lathes; pillar drills; milling machines or similar. I own none of the above, can afford none of the above, and haven't used such tools since metal work classes at school, so probably would have no clue how to use them now.

I really do admire the folks that can do all this, but I think it is really model engineering as opposed to Garden Railway Modelling. However the magazine should and does cater for all tastes, and I fully understand that. I think on this occasion though, such a detailed build article spread across more than one edition was a bit overkill for what is essentially a general interest Garden Railway publication.
 
When Brian Wilson wrote this series of articles some time last year, it was aimed at those with model engineering skills - many of which I do not have. After much discussion, a number of things happened. Brian produced masters for a comprehensive range of castings, arranged for etches for the cab and laser cuts for the steel work and, most important, produced a ready made smokebox. This was originally 3D printed in steel but is now a casting.

I offered to host a dedicated section on my Summerlands Chuffer website (which tells you what is available and where) and also to build the loco in time with the articles - using basic skills (all I have) rather than model engineering. My slight difficulty is that there are three GR installments on the smokebox, door and chimney, whereas mine came all ready to fit! It therefore looks like I shall be getting ahead of the mag.

I am not commercially involved, other than supplying the Summerlands Chuffer to those builders who want one, but just love the loco and am having a lot of fun making it. The build blog is warts and all with lots of photos and the odd cock up...... ;-)
Cheers
Chris
 
Well Jack has finally made it on to the track and my "warts and all" account on the Garden Railway Club is up to 250 photos!

Here is a little video of his first running:


Cheers
Chris
 
Very nice - I like the slow running.
 
stockers said:
Very nice - I like the slow running.
Click to expand...
The link to Brian Wilsons Jack Build shows the fitting of a SloMo. I must get a couple for my Roundhouse Jack and Stanley. They ill be transformed by them.

Nice Scale 7/8ths. Very tempting, something about the Larger Scale that appeals. I get the same warm glow everytime I go to GRS and look at the Gauge 3. It was a near run thing for me to sell all my LGB and go Gauge 3 when I moved 3 Years ago. But I relented in the end.
JonD
 
dunnyrail said:
The link to Brian Wilsons Jack Build shows the fitting of a SloMo. I must get a couple for my Roundhouse Jack and Stanley. They ill be transformed by them.

Nice Scale 7/8ths. Very tempting, something about the Larger Scale that appeals. I get the same warm glow everytime I go to GRS and look at the Gauge 3. It was a near run thing for me to sell all my LGB and go Gauge 3 when I moved 3 Years ago. But I relented in the end.
JonD
Click to expand...

Jon - you will not regret fitting Slomos - I have fitted one to a friend's RH 16mm Jack and it did indeed transform it. I have not fitted one to a Stanly but I guess it is the standard 0-4-0 chassis. Regarding 7/8ths, it is nice to try as you just need the one loco and can scratch build some stock really cheaply. The wagons were well under a tenner each.
Cheers
Chris
 
Thanks Chris, how tricky was it getting the Slomo? Have worries about being charged a fortune to just get them into the Country. Yes the Jack Chassis is pretty much the Standard beast and has a Slomo listed. Though I will have to ask Terry about my Stanley Steam Tram, but it does look pretty much the same as my Jack.

Stop press have emailed Terry, decision made to try to get two. I would still be interested re Import Duties that your friend got hit with. But whatever, they will be worth the outlay I can see by the better running. May even be able to create a 2 Loco Live Steam Timetable with them on my Line.
JonD
 
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