Topic: Edgar Westbury's 1831 Locomotive

[Gordon French]

I know that Stanley James of the GGLS built one.  I've seen it run several times.  He modified the starter arrangement an eleminated the cable pull start.  He used a 3/8 inch drill to start.  He eliminated the ignition and opted for glow plug which works well.  It did run hot a couple of times.  The transmission seemed to be either all "ON" or all "OFF" and it did a lot a wheel slipping when starting.  I know that Stan was on the whole, a little dissapointed with it.  His health and arthritus eventually put it on a shelf.

Gordon French, Roseburg, Oregon, USA

[avelingdx]

Hi:
I'm in the process of gathering information to build a version of Edgar Westbury's 1831 IC engined locomotive and was wondering if there were any builders out there who had completed the model.   In particular I'd like to know how the transmission designed by Leonard Mackey works if anyone has built one.   This is a positive, infinitely variable transmission which is much more complex than the original friction drive but is reputedly more reliable.   This design was refined by Roy Amsbury for use in his Hymec diesel locomotive model.

The friction drives are a nice idea, simple to construct but are: (a) not particularly reliable (b) definitely not prototypical.   I avoided using the friction drive transmission in an Aveling DX road roller I've just completed, instead copying the full size multi speed gearbox and twin clutch setup.
Regards,