3" Burrell Traction Engine build.

  Welland Steam Show                 2026 Report..... Welland Steam Show (Upton-upon-Severn July 24th - 26th  2026). Ross-0n-Wye Steam Engine Society Big 60th Annual Rally. Hotel : Star Inn - Where we stay since my wife doesn't camp any more :-(   [Me and my wife Nina top right]. https://youtu.be/qlsP2J_4wjY   << Link to the Dyno run with a Clayton & Shuttleworth Engine. https://youtu.be/miA-3nEdqPo    << Link to the full days filming report. The show as usual was very well attended. I'm happy to report the numbers looked fantastic and the weather was fantastic. Maybe we have inspired the next generation of Model Engineers. It certainly looked like there was no shortage of money changing hands for tools.  The show boasted 40 miniatures and 137+ full size engines, along with a huge number of commercials, cars, bikes, tanks and military vehicles and displays. This time again, like las...

Draw Bar / Cable drum guide  Recent progress has been slow and again the weather has been mostly responsible. The unprecedented hot weather has made it very difficult to spend any meaningful time in the workshop.   Below some simple bolt pins were made and welded, and thanks to my son the fabricated draw bar was formed in a press. Some additional parts for the angle drum winch guide have been started together with the roller's made from silver steel. Hopefully next month some better progress can be reported. Feel free to leave a comment !!      stephen.meredith1@gmail.com If you have any questions while reading these blog updates—I'm always happy to reply. Until Next month, stay safe, make swarf and be the best you can be.         

 Where Are We Now? We are now seven years into this build. Over that time, many parts have been started — including some of the larger components — and if you’ve been following this blog, you’ll already know it’s been a slow process. Recently the weather has also not helped being so hot in the workshop!! Looking ahead, the task can feel daunting. Even imagining the engine finished, there are still countless hours of workshop time needed to complete it. It’s easy to admit that the engine may never actually be finished, but for me that has never really been the point. The interest has always been the same: Use my father’s machines. Make use of as much of the mild steel lying around the work shop as possible. Learn new skills - such as welding, and screw-cutting, and improve machining standard. Involve my son, who incidentally is a fabricator/welder. Keep busy every Monday night, trying to make the next part. And these, more than anything, is what keeps the project mo...

  Cutting The Square Brake Rod Nut   (Final Part, Honest!).  Right, this really is the last post on this part! It’s been a long and slightly risky job, but I’m genuinely pleased with how it’s turned out. Learned a lot along the way—especially with screw cutting and case hardening mild steel—and it’s another part ticked off for the engine. Photos show the plug tap I made (top left) , the nut in progress (top right), and then the nut fitted on the brake shaft. Happy to say it all works spot on. The square thread runs really smoothly, with no slack or backlash at all, and very little friction. With the amount of thread engagement, it should be more than strong enough in use. Feel free to leave a comment !!      stephen.meredith1@gmail.com If you have any questions while reading these blog updates—I'm always happy to reply. Until Next month, stay safe, make swarf and be the best you can be.

   Cutting The Modified Square Thread-Brake (Part 4).  Me aged: 53 Software Engineer Machinist, with zero tolerance to mistakes.. Simple Idea: Making a Tap from a Threaded Rod Hello everyone—just sharing a simple idea I’ve been trying. Instead of scrapping a brake rod, I decided to practice screw cutting and then use the best threaded piece to make a tap. The goal is to create a matching internal thread for a nut. The brake rod has been completed (As above) but this has taken a few practice goes before committing to this. The results of which I am very pleased with and the square threads look the part as compared to just cutting a metric thread of say 8mm.  What I did Cut an external thread on the rod Used a 4 mm ball-end cutter to make three flutes Offset the cutter slightly to give a bit of rake Cleaned up the edges with a file Case hardened the tool The idea behind it If the external thread is correct, turning it into a tap should produce a matching internal threa...

  Screw Cutting The Square Thread-Brake rod (Part 3). Hello again. (To put a face to the Blog)   The brake rod threading is still very much in the practice stage—we’re now on part 3. Screw cutting is proving to be a real skill to master, especially when it comes to achieving the correct thread form and overall appearance. The latest attempt (shown above) still isn’t quite right, but it will be used as the basis for making a tap. The plan is to produce a clean, symmetrical thread, then mill flutes into it and case harden it. This tap will then be used to cut the bronze nut so it matches the thread that will be machined onto the brake shaft. The current issue is with the pitch-to-width ratio. I used a 1.5 mm cutter for this test, but in hindsight it really needs to be closer to 1.25 mm to achieve a proper 50/50 tooth-to-gap ratio, which I wasn’t able to get here. The drawing specifies 10 TPI (2.5 mm pitch), and while I’m close at 2.55 mm, the groove width of 1.6 mm is too larg...

Screw Cutting The Square Thread-Brake rod (Part 2). Hello again, this time I intend tackling the screw cutting problem, head on. Previously I eluded to the thought of cutting an acme thread but through some useful feedback, I've learnt that a square thread is, as the name suggests (square) and not acme form. The 2nd thing I have found out is my previous thinking of a pitch 0.108" is also incorrect. 1. Why the first lathe change gear setup didn’t work I selected from the longitudinal feed section of the chart instead of the threading (metric pitch) section. These feed settings are designed for fine carriage movement per spindle revolution , not for synchronizing the carriage with the spindle to cut a thread. So the gear train I spent hours installing: 24T stud 72–18T compound 80T 60T screw was creating a very small feed ratio , which explains why: ten turns of the chuck certainly wasn’t giving 1" of carriage movement That’s expected — feed rates are ...

  Screw cutting Acme Thread - Brake rod (Part 1). Welcome to this month’s traction engine build update. With the weather not helping motivation, I decided to tackle some straightforward lathe work — the brake rod. The drawing specifies a 3/8" × 10 TPI left-hand square thread. While anticlockwise operation to apply the brake would justify a left-hand thread (as seen on some full-size engines such as those by Aveling & Porter and Burrell ), cutting an internal LH square thread at this size would be challenging. A right-hand thread will be perfectly adequate for the model. My plan is to screw cut a trial thread in silver steel, mill flutes to create a tap, harden it, and use it to thread the bronze nut. I’ll then cut the matching screw so both parts mesh correctly. Since the nut is bronze, machining should be manageable. Although the Boxford metric lathe is the easiest machine to set up for screw cutting, producing true 10 TPI would require imperial conversion gearing. Instea...

  3" Burrell Reversing / Brake Lever (Year 7)! First of all — happy 53rd birthday! 🎉 That’s a proper milestone. You could go out and buy a finished engine for 7K. But that wouldn’t be your engine. It wouldn’t carry the hours in the workshop, the problem-solving, the remakes, or the “that went well to plan” moments. The value isn’t just in the finished article — it’s in the Model Engineering. Having completed a 1" Minnie to steam up when you want that instant satisfaction is actually a perfect balance. It keeps the joy alive while the bigger build continues at its own pace. Planning shows is a smart move too. Events like: The Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition Welland Steam Show. They do  — spark conversations, ideas, photos, and that little internal nudge that says “Right… back in the workshop.” Long projects aren’t about speed. They’re about momentum. And momentum doesn’t mean dramatic progress — it means not letting it quietly fade away. The engine will b...

 Happy New year 2026 !! (Year 7) Build Log – Reversing Lever General Update Happy New Year. It’s been a while since the last update, and now the festivities are out of the way it’s time to report on what’s been happening in the workshop. Time in the Shed I wouldn’t say machining stopped altogether. Odd bits were done here and there just to keep things ticking over, but between getting older and the fairly grim weather we’ve had, standing in a cold shed for hours isn’t always that appealing. More than once the pub won that particular argument. Most of the recent effort has been on the reversing lever, which turned out to be more awkward than expected. I first tried working straight from the drawing and made a paper mock-up to check the folded shape. That quickly showed the angles were nowhere near right once folded up. Revised Drawing As a result, I went back and produced a proper drawing with all dimensions added, along with a flat pattern that should be useful for anyone el...

 End of year Roundup (6 year's In) Six Years in the Making: My End-of-Year Roundup Finally !!. As the year draws to a close and Christmas is around the corner, I’ve finally taken the time to gather everything I’ve made over the past six years. What started as a few small castings and bits has slowly grown into an engine spread across countless late nights, bursts of inspiration, and more than a few headaches. This week, I decided it was time to assemble all the bits and pieces together — to see how far things have come. There’s something incredibly satisfying about laying it all out and realising that each piece holds a challenge overcome, or a skill learned along the way. < Behind, my mother is watching on — as she’s done quietly and patiently for years. Much of this work has lived on her dining room table for at least the last four or five years, and I can’t thank her enough for her tolerance, encouragement, and gentle humour about the ever-present clutter of “creative prog...

 Penultimate Post this year. Reversing Lever                                                             Regulator Lever < Left reverser working progress hand modelled by me.  Not a huge amount to show for this month, but I did make a solid start on the reversing bracket and lever. I’ve had the metal for this part for well over 12 months, so it’s satisfying to finally see it taking shape. The plan is for it to eventually be mounted on the tender, but for now—once finished—it can sit on the shelf and look decorative. The regulator lever was part started but is now fully completed.  In my next post I’ll try to put together an end-of-year photo, Year-6 round-up: all the current progress assembled or balanced together for a group photo, similar to last year’s. It’s a useful reminder of how far things have come over the ...

 Bridgnorth Mini-Gala Featuring Steam Road Miniatures. (Pictures from Saturday 1/11/25)  Bridgnorth Mini Gala: End of Season Steam Inspiration Bridgnorth once again marked the close of the running season with its Miniature Steam Gala , a compact but characterful gathering of miniature road vehicles, steam lorries, and traction engines . The event has become a highlight for enthusiasts, and this year’s display was every bit as enjoyable as before. My attendance was unplanned — much like the previous year — but that seems to be part of the charm. What began as an impromptu visit quickly turned into another opportunity to watch a fine collection of engines in steam. The station car park was once again transformed into a working yard of miniature traction engines, all hissing, chuffing, and radiating warmth against the chill of early November. It’s a real credit to the owners and crews who take the trouble to bring their engines out at this time of year. Keeping steam up in unp...

Missed Model Engineers Show. Workshop Notes I was hoping to be writing a show report from last week’s Model Engineers Show, since we regularly attend and usually take the opportunity to acquire a few parts and tools for the coming winter’s work. However, I managed to double-book myself with a weekend away, so the advance tickets I’d bought went to a friend instead — not a complete loss, but still a lesson learned. Next year’s reminder to self: check the calendar before buying tickets! With no show to report on, and the usual post-show enthusiasm somewhat absent, progress in the workshop has been slow. A little simple machining of the oil connectors has been done, and a few bits re-machined to achieve a better fit — steady but unremarkable progress. Items id like to start on in the coming months. Water Pump Oil lines Regulator lever to complete. Feel free to leave a comment  If you have any questions while reading these blog updates—I'm always happy to reply. Whether you have a su...

 Manifold Casting... "This elaborate bracket started as scrap from work, reappropriated and welded into a 30-degree angle clamping jig." You can see from the side view I forgot to even clean the weld up with a brass brush. First pass with the cutter all looks good, this low setup allows me to drill and tap the holes for the fountain valves and drill the horizontal connecting channel. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions while reading these blog updates—I'm always happy to reply. Whether you have a suggestion for a future post, a question about something specific, or simply want to say you’ve found the blog interesting, your feedback is always welcome. It helps guide the direction of future content and is genuinely appreciated. Until next time, stay safe in the workshop, make plenty of swarf, and keep building! Stephen.