Fire Queen Engine scratch built in 5G

A short CAD animation comparison to the final model of the Fire Queen. This model was described in model engineer Model Engineering;230: from 4713. I have spent tens of thousands of hours designing and building everything from scaled, working live steam locomotives to the restoration of a number of interesting motorcycles, the oldest being a 1925 Royal Enfield. I have made hundreds of my own patterns, cast more components (in my backyard, using a home-made, waste oil furnace) than I can count and machined thousands of components from tiny steam fittings (that make a matchstick look like a piece of timber) to cast iron wheels that barely fit on my lathe. Nowadays, the knowledge required to build things is everywhere. The problem with this knowledge is that it is polluted with poor information and just plain nonsense. If knowledge is readily available and all that is needed is a good filter, what of the tools? Adendorff has been my tools partner for as long as I can remember. I can’t think of a time when I walked into one of their shops and asked for something they couldn’t help me with. My humble workshop looks like an Adendorff display room, and I have been lucky enough to use a wide range of their tools over the years. This includes the woodwork for patterns and the cabs of the loco’s, specialised boiler welding, machining and even pipe bending for handle bars and crash bars to name just a few. The tools I couldn’t find were made using the tools I had, essentially opening the doors to unlimited possibilities. The only limit to what can be made is your own imagination and perseverance. Hopefully some of the videos and write-ups will be inspiring, informative and most of all interesting… Check out their website at https://www.adendorff.co.za/ for their wide range of workshop offerings.