OcCre BR 18 Bavarian Dream

[Quintillius]

Last January I've completed the model ship Le Glorieux of Heller.

In June I made the Napoleonic cannon of Mantua. It's now finished and on display.

 

 

Now I'm gonna start building BR 18 Bavarian Dream of the Spanish model manufacturer OcCre. Besides sail ships, I've always liked steam locomotives very much too.

Lovely machines! The BR 18 was a Bavarian locomotive, built during the 1908 - 1931 time period. It was not only the biggest machine ever made for its German manufacturer,

but it is also being considered as the most beautiful German locomotive.

 

Some of them are still driving! Check out this loc from 1918. 

 

Scale 1:32 / G-45

Height: 153 mm

Width: 100 mm

Length: 720 mm

Wood / metal

 

With a length of 720 mm it's a very big model! Usually this scale is used in the garden where some hobbyists have laid rails.

I'll make a wooden stand covered with small stones and a rail track. The locomotive's wheels will not touch the rails as I'll motorize the wheels. 

 

Besides building the model, I'll also extensively make use of Arduino. This is a name for various cheap electronic boards. A computer board can be programmed by connecting it with a usb cable to the pc.

A motor shield can be attached and programmed to make wheels rotate for example.

 

I'm gonna implement the JGY-370 DC 12 V motor, a Massoth 8310101 smoke unit 5 V, LED lights and sound.

This guy from Italy has done it before. So he's my inspiration. With Arduino I've already had succes with driving a robot car with a smartphone app and getting some sound from a speaker.

It will be tricky to hide the electronics somewhere in the locomotive. For the 12 V motor I'll need a lead battery in the tender. The guy from Italy built in a smoke unit. But to get access to the boiler he had to cut it open...

I want to prevent these things. Just smoke won't work for me. I want pulsed smoke like a real locomotive and synchronise it with sound and motors. Therefore I need to do something with a valve and servo motor.

 

Used paint will be acryl, wood glue from Mantua, super glue from Bison. I'll get primer cheap from a local store. I don't have an airbrush unfortunately so I'll use brushes. Hopefully it won't become a mess.

 

This is my setup at the moment:

 

 

 

Enough to do! I'll keep you informed.

 

[johnlambert]

This looks interesting, I can't wait to see what you do.  It sounds like you need something similar to the old Triang Syncro-smoke unit.

[Quintillius]

Update

 

Time for the first update! I've built the frame of the tender to check if electronics will fit. 
A hole is drilled to fit a speaker. This will be put between the wheels, so enough room for sound to travel through.

 

 

And a pic with speaker and Arduino nano microcontroller. It fits:

 

 

The DC motor is rated for 12 V, so I have a battery holder for 8 AA batteries. These will be rechargeable so 8 x 1.2 V = 9.6 V. Motor will run slower, but fast enough for me. I had to saw the wood to fit the battery holder. I'll glue coal on this wooden plank. The coal are small stones which will be painted black. The plank is loose and can be removed to access the electronics inside the tender.

 

 

 

Testing sound. Works fine. Arduino Nano + DFplayer mini mp3 and a 3W 4 ohm speaker. The DFplayer has a micro SD card for storing .mp3 files. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R79ciWcAKK8

 

I have also started constructing the frame of the boiler. It's very long as you can see:

 

 

 

The wooden frame will hold metal sheets. The sheets have to be curved. I had to be creative to find something with the correct diameter:

 

 

Past few days I had been testing the smoke unit. I had big plans involving tubes and a valve to control the 'puff, puff' sound. However as you can see in below footage the warm 'smoke' will condense quickly on the inside of the tubes. This isn't gonna work. I did some tests with various fans, but these don't get me authentic steam locomotive puffs. I found that the smoke unit itself is puffing already and it looks really good. So no need for extra things. I'll keep it as it is.   

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW8gar-mRpI

Smoke starts doing its job at 0:27.

 

[Quintillius]

Update

 

I've started mounting the brass sheets to the wooden frame of the boiler. The boiler has to be huge so more water could be turned into steam.

This means more power and for longer time.

 

So many rivets in the form of nails with rounded heads!

 

 

Now sanded and with additions, named in succession:

- Chimney

- Steam dome (where steam is collected before being directed to the cylinders)

- Sand dome (sand is used for the wheels to get traction on the rails; iron wheels on iron rails don't go well sometimes)

- Safety valves to let steam out of the boiler, otherwise high pressure would cause explosion.

 

 

With primer:

 

 

Satin dark green paint is from OcCre. I don't have an airbrush so all is painted with a brush, thinned and 4 layers:

 

 

The next step is to finish the boiler and to begin construction of the chassis. I'll build in a dc motor so let's hope everything will fit.

 

Edited August 2, 2021 by Quintillius

[dnl42]

This looks great!

 

I must say, with my steam jones, I was very tempted by those OcCre locos.

 

BTW, I love your Faraday's law light, I have one of those too. 

[Quintillius]

Thank you for the nice comments! These and the project keep me motivated.

 

Update
I've have been working on the lamps this week and I want to share a few photos with you.

The boiler is fully painted now and it has the front end attached.

 

 

A lamp is fitted with a LED light.

 

 

I had to drill a hole in the aluminium to get the electric wires through.

 

 

All lamps are painted now. I'm sure you like them!

 

 

Testing... and there is light! Maybe I'll slightly color the LED yellow/orange to give a more warm light.

 

 

Next thing is to build the chassis and to mount it to the boiler.

 

See you next time!

 

[Quintillius]

Update

Hi folks! New images for today. Got some footages as well to keep you excited!

To clarify what I am working on, here's the piece marked:

 

 

Starting with a wooden frame, mounting some brass sheets.

 

 

I had to add some wooden beams and file them to reinforce the structures and to get some hold for the nails.

 

 

The frame has a net glued on it, diagonally to depict a diamond plated walkway. 

 

 

 

 

Painted now:

 

 

 

The next few images are depicting this part:

 

afbeeldngen

 

 

To incorporate the 12 V DC motor in the chassis, I had to cut open the hard metal frame. I don't really have metalworking tools so it took a few hours to saw and file it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The DC motor with the wheels attached:

 

 

 

A small footage showing that the wheels are turning:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0EIU_H_NQU

 

 

What you see is the middle part of the chassis:

 

 

I'll leave the best photos for final post. Here's the result of the front chassis with small metal parts attached:

 

 

 

 

See you next time! 

 

Edited August 24, 2021 by Quintillius

[dnl42]

That's looking fabulous! 

[Quintillius]

Thnx mate!

[Quintillius]

Update
The chassis is nearing its completion. These bogies with wheels will hold the chassis:

 

 

 

Locomotive brakes:

 

 

This frame will hold the running gear of the locomotive:

 

 

This gear is also known as Walschaerts valve gear. When steam is sent to the cylinders it will push the piston and transmit reciprocating power to the wheels.
Here's a .gif showing how it works:

 

 

The idea sounds simple and that .gif too complex huh? Let's bring it into practice and start connecting rods.

 

 

 

 

Oops! That's didn't quite work. What we're missing here is that steam locomotive drivers are quartered. The crank pins are set 90 degrees apart.
This means that the crank pins on the left side of the locomotive are turning upwards and on the right side of the locomotive offset by 90°(a quarter).

 

 

This works for real locomotives as well. Let's bring it into practice:

 

 

That's better 👌

 

When the piston rod is moved it will exhaust the steam to the chimney. When this happens you'll see and hear a puf. 
Because of the quartering you'll hear 4 puffs per wheel rotation.

And what if you want to set the locomotive into reverse position? There's a certain handle called the reverser that's connected to the valve mechanism:

 

 

Isn't that ingenious?

 

Here's the full running gear:

 

 

 

Also working on the cabin:

 

 

 

 

OcCre does a good job keeping all parts neatly stored:

 

 

That's all for now. I'll show you a footage of how it is running next time:

 

See you next time!

 

[dnl42]

Superb! 

 

I wish you hadn't posted those videos...weakens my resolve to strictly enjoy this model vicariously...

[Quintillius]

Oh sorry, I will post pictures for now.

 

Using steam power and making those loc beauties is really an extraordinary milestone in history.

 

Update
More work on the cabin. The interior is painted white.
I didn't buy white acrylic paint as I have white enamel from a previous project.
White paint + enamel is really slow though... 

 

Cabin's roofing:

 

 

Wooden base + metal sheets as usual:

 

 

 

Priming + wooden floor:

 

 

 

 

Varnished:

 

 

Now working on the boiler's back end where the stoker is doing it. The cabin of a real BR 18 looks like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Result so far:

 

 

It's not the final result so I'll leave you in suspense for now! 

 

Any Train Simulator fans here? They have a BR 18 dlc where you can drive the actual locomotive!

 

More to come next time.

 

[Quintillius]

Update

 

Work on the cabin is completed now:

 

 

Installed cabin light:

 

I've filled the gap between beams and roofing at this point:

 

Time to combine all parts (boiler, chassis and cabin) now!
 

[Quintillius]

Update

I have a few days off so I can continue working on the loc. I've finally assembled all parts of the locomotive:

 

 

Cabin... look at those ladders! There are also some doors which I'll put into place later.

 

 

 

Small parts to be attached to the loc. It's still bare now.

 

Yay! It's gonna look like a real loc:

 

I've soldered an electric plug which will be connected with the tender later. All electrics and batteries are in the tender. 

 

Took me some time to solder all electronics. But the result is statisfying. The loc has lights now:

 

Drilled some holes for pipes to be attached:

 

 

Painted and glued into place:

 

There're alot of pipes to be attached so that's what I am working on now.

 

Till next time!

 

 

 

[dnl42]

I love your build! This is really feeding my steam jones. 

 

I'm glad it's not O scale (1/48 scale), as this would be near impossible to resist.

[Quintillius]

Thank you! Steam engines are really cool I know.

 

Update

The locomotive is done!! No parts anymore to assemble. Still needs a varnish coat though. Think I'll go for satin and brush gloss for some parts.
I've also redone the name plate parts using a proper dry brushing technique this time.

 

Right side:

 

 

Left side:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to use my smoke generating stuff:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

g

 

 

 

 

Live action:

 

 

 

 

Now it's time to build the tender and connect all electronics together. I've ordered rail tracks already so soon we'll see it moving!

 

Till next time! I'll keep updating this topic.

 

 

 

[dnl42]

 

Excellent fit and finish. 

 

One of the things I find most fascinating about locomotive, or any steam plant, is the ability to understand its operations by tracing all its systems. Those linkages are am engineer"s dream.

[Quintillius]

Update

So far I have been working on the tender. The tender not only contains coal to fuel the fire, but also water - a lot.
Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water. It is pumped into the boiler by steam pressure.

 

We start with wood again:

 

 

Attach brass sheets to it:

 

 

A toggle switch is incorporated in the design to turn on / off electronics (both wires should be black or red actually, small error):

 

 

 

I've cut some of the wood to make room for the batteries and electronic boards. I still need to access the inner room though, that's why I have removeable wooden boards.

 

 

 

 

 

Rail tracks are delivered:

 

 

I've tested the locomotive and it runs fine on straight pieces, but it doesn't make it through the curve. The three major big wheels are fixed and all inline. They don't pivot. So they get easily stuck at the curve. A little bit research on this topic reveals how ingenious the design of train wheels is. When looking at train wheels they look cylindrical at first glance. But in fact they are semi-conical. 

This is how it looks when trains take a curve:

 

 

 

So a minor setback so far. I think I'll make the curves myself using wood and continue experimenting. 
Any ideas are welcome.

See you next time!

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Quintillius

[Quintillius]

Update

So far I am continuing work on the tender. This is how it looks before applying primer:

 

 

 

 

Toggle switch:

 

 

 

Now I had to add the coal. This is represented as little stones which are glued into place with white carpenter's glue. Really funny job to do.

 

 

 

I still need access to the inner part to put all electronics in so the wooden board with stones are removeable. Its weight holds it into place.

 

 

The coal is less shiny in reality than shown on the photos:

 

 

 

Bogies for the tender:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had to be creative to get the steps perpendicular glued on the ladder:

 

 

But hey I'll keep the result of this for next time. 

Edited November 23, 2021 by Quintillius

[Quintillius]

Indeed! These heavy beasts are incredible sights.

 

Update

The tender is done now. Look at these lovely ladders! Gosh these rivets are so cool.

 

 

 

 

 

It's also time to put in the electronics and to program it. Here's the full circuit diagram. 
Basically there are batteries powering the motor with 9.6 V. The Arduino microcontroller and other devices run on 5 V though, that's where the buck converter comes in. 
The bluetooth receives a signal from the phone and sends it to the microcontroller. From there the internal code will turn the LEDs on for example.

 

 

Here's the spaghetti:

 

 

More spaghetti:

 

 

Spaghetti bolognese!

 

 

Next thing is to make a permanent stand and curved rail tracks from wood for temporary riding.

 

[Quintillius]

Update

I bought a beautiful oak panel. Really nice wood! Got some help with creating a decorative edge with a router.

 

 

Adding aquarium gravel to simulate rail ballast.

 

 

The result is a gorgeous locomotive model on a stand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The coolest part is yet to come. This is not a stationary model. Imagine the chuf chuf and smoke! But hey that's for later. Plus I need to solve some annoying problems regarding the running gear .

 

[Quintillius]

First of all: Happy New Year everyone!! 

 

Update
Got head-scratching problems making the locomotive actually run. My first thought was that it isn't properly quartered. As I have told before, locomotives need to be quartered in order to run. But the quartering looks fine to the eye. There was still a wheel which didn't do the job properly. If the quartering isn't the problem, maybe the connecting rod? 

I replaced it by a brass wire of the same length. When running the locomotive it became dent as you can see on the photo below. Then it was running fine. 
So I measured the straight-line length of the brass wire and filed the connecting rod to match it.

 

 

Now the locomotive runs fine! Problem solved.  :th: .

Here you can see it running on a static stand. Putting a block of wood under the locomotive removes contact with the track rails. 

 

 

 

Next project is finishing the wooden track circle. Running short on wood now tough.

 

 

 

 

Till next time! Almost finished.

 

Edited January 4, 2022 by Quintillius

[JeroenS]

This is absolutely brilliant stuff! I had completely missed this project of yours. What a beautiful machine and you're displaying some fine craftsmanship. Your brush painting is excellent and makes the whole thing look even more authentic. The fact that is has moving parts adds to the realism and it also has educational value 🙂