QL Driver

On the subject of brake gear - don't underestimate how hard you can lean on the brake when you need to! We have the now rather bent original brake pedal from the Garrett hanging on the wall of the garage, which got that way after coming across some surprise stationary traffic!

I posted this elsewhere but thought it might be relevant here. This is the only picture I've ever seen that shows the patent plate: It can be seen peeking out from behind the main steam pipe/regulator box. I also have the works drawing, but that's just basically the text and overall size. I drew it up digitally (using "Inkscape"). I then printed it using a laser printer in reverse on the "Press-n-Peel" paper. Here's what it looked like once ironed onto the brass sheet (I think I maybe had the iron a touch too hot, hence the less than perfect reproduction). The back of the sheet was covered with parcel tape to prevent it etching. This was then placed in Ferric Chloride (again, sold for making PCB's). Here's the result when it came out after about 45 minutes: After trimming down and (admittedly badly!) painting it, this was the result: I'm pretty pleased, overall. I can probably do better, and might have a second go at it, but given its inconspicuous location, I'm quite pleased overall!

Funnily enough I ordered some Press-n-Peel about an hour before I saw this thread, for making some patent plates. A search of Ebay UK for "press-n-peel" (http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=press-n-peel&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=2&_trksid=p2045573.m1684) suggests you can buy a single sheet for about £5 from the UK, or get 5 sheets for under £10 shipped from Canada.

Those wheels look very much like the ones on our Manchester Truck (built by Crossley, using Willys-Overland components imported from the USA). On the Manchester, they are definitely steel.

US Signal Corps. Heavy Aviation Truck. Model S Manufactured by Kelly. Truck Number K101754. Motor number 3002. Max Speed 12mph. at Comstock Nv. 23 09 2014 (2) by geronithebus1, on Flickr

They are definitely not Garrett. I've reviewed my library, and I can't see a steam wagon that has wheels resembling those. I wonder if it's off some kind of American truck?

Looks great, Steve! Just need to tumble it about a bit so it gets that "lived in" look...

Wouldn't the back of hardboard give the right kind of texture?

Mine too. While the Garrett is marked with 12mph, later wagons were marked at 20mph.

Thanks gentlemen! I think we're tending towards thinking it is worth a try. Steve - you're absolutely on the mark with the weights. The worry we have is that we also go somewhat faster than many of the other users of these tyres (mid twenties is comfortable, which if I have calculated correctly, would be 4 revolutions per second), and can do about 30-40 miles without stops, other than for traffic and there is a historic concern about heat build up in the core of the tyre due to hysteresis. Having seen the results of a solid rubber tyre exploding (as has happened on the front of several steam wagons), it's a concern about any tyre in this service.

The tyres look really good! We're considering the same path for our Garrett steam wagon - a little worried about the higher loads and speeds though!

A new member here from Southeastern Pennsylvania in the US. I'm originally from the UK, and grew up going to the HCVS Brighton Run every May. My background in historic vehicles is primarily steam wagons - my family owns a 1926 Garrett undertype wagon that we restored from a chassis. I was looking for ideas as to how to replace the solid tyres and came across the Gosling family's epic restoration threads on their Dennis and Thornycroft wagons, so thought I'd join! Ed