canadian meccanotes 200009 - cmamas.ca · 2 canadian meccanotes september 2000...

CanadianMeccaNotes--- Issue #19 ---

Sept. 2000

2 Canadian MeccaNotes September 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© Copyright 2000C.M.A.M.A.S. and/or Indi-

vidual Contributors.Meccano and Erector are registered tradenames and are used throughout Canadian

MeccaNotes by kind permission ofMeccano S.A.., Meccano Inc. and Irwin

Toy Ltd. of Toronto.

North American subscribers to CanadianMeccaNotes are automatically members of

the Canadian Modeling Association forMeccano and Allied Systems (CMAMAS).

Canadian MeccaNotesThe �Canadian MeccaNotes� (ISSN 1207-2249) newsletter is published 4 times peryear (March, June, September and De-cember) by the Canadian Modeling Asso-ciation for Meccano & Allied Systems(CMAMAS).

�Written and produced by Meccano en-thusiasts for Meccano enthusiasts.�

Canadian Modeling Association forMeccano & Allied Systems (CMAMAS)130 Neptune Drive, Suite 1109Toronto, OntarioCANADA M6A 1X5

http://www.edmc.net/cmamas/

[email protected]

CMAMAS ExecutivePresident ... Colin Hoare, 18 Tweedle St.,Glen Williams, Ontario, Canada L7G 3S5,[email protected], (905)873-8261

Vice President ... Attila Szakonyi, 78 GihonSpring Drive, Rexdale, Ontario, CanadaM9V 4X9, [email protected], (416)741-1652

Treasurer ... Marsha Brandston, 130 Nep-tune Drive, Suite 1109, Toronto, Ontario,Canada M6A 1X5,[email protected]

Secretary ... Colin Hinz, 148 Howland Ave.,Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5R 3B5,[email protected], (416)516-8686

Editor/Webmaster ... David Williams, 3017- 111A Street, Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaT6J 3Y5, [email protected],(780)438-1197

Subscriptions(4 Issues Per Calendar Year)

o within North America: Canada - $30;U.S.A. - US$28 Make cheque or moneyorder payable to CMAMAS, mail to Trea-surer, address above.

o elsewhere: rates upon inquiry, availablefrom MW Models, address on page 27.

Editor�s NotesMany thanks to Don Redmond,Robert Platford, Jerry Dubois,Greg Rahn, Gordon Frank, IvorSetten, Attila Szakonyi, ColinHoare and others for supplyingarticles for this issue.

I have some material for the nextissue but I�ll be needing more.Anyone have good Christmasmodels? I�m keeping some gemsfrom Scott Pitts, Michael Stephens and others inreserve for future issues.

This will not be a good year for Meccano inCanada. We received our annual Sears catalogand Meccano isn�t even mentioned, presumeabydue to the turmoil at Meccano France and IrwinToys.

As always, the newletter is only as good as thecontributors. Your articles, photos, model plans,short news items, want, sales and swap ads arewanted. Items in machine readable form (e-mail,diskette) are prefered but everything is accept-able, including good old HB. If desired, yourmaterial can also be posted on our website. It�sa great idea to document photos on the backusing post-it notes. If you�d like any part of yoursubmissions returned, please say so; otherwiseI will keep everything.

Please note that I plan to publish the December2000 issue around December 1, 2000 so the finaldeadline is November 25, 2000.

David Williams

September 2000 Canadian MeccaNotes 3

CMAMAS MeccanoFrance Parts Sale

Irwin Toys is getting out of the Meccano partsbusiness. A new company, based in Texas, willsoon take over the official North American mar-ket.

The CMAMAS executive has purchased, at ahefty discount, most of the �good stuff� fromIrwin Toys remaining stock and will be resellingit to members.

If you�re interested in new Meccano France partsthen please either see the CMAMAS websitehttp://www.edmc.net/cmamas/ or contactMarsha Brandston, 130 Neptune Drive, Suite1109, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6A 1X5,[email protected] for a copy of the in-ventory/price list.

Unsold items will be available at the TorontoHobby Show.

Mutilator�s Corner:H-Gate-Plate

A minor detail in a splendid model of an AECMatador timber tractor by Bill Charleson, in theMarch 2000 Meccano Newsmag, caught myeye. It was an elegant solution to a problem I hadseveral years ago in a model fire engine: apositive-position gate for a gearshift lever. TheAEC model has a 6-forward 2-reverse transmis-sion � obtained from a 3-ratio transmission anda high-low-range selector. The main gear levertherefore can operate in a standard H-gate for-mation, R-1-2-3 and neutral. Bill obtained posi-tive positioning from a neat gate formed fromtwo p/n 55a 2in. slotted strips. Each strip has arod-size slot cut in one side, made with a hack-saw (Fig. 1 below), and the two strips are side-by-side. They are held on a bracket atop thegearbox.

When I attempted a transmission, I could notfind apositive-l o c kg a t e ,and hadto settlefor a p/n2 4 aw h e e ld i s c ,loose onthe shiftlever, tocover upthe resulting gap in the cab floor.

Another way of producing an H-gate is shown inFig.2. A short Flat Girder has two transverseslots made by joining a round hole and its slottedmate. These two adjacent slots are then joinedby a transverse slot at a point halfway from endto end of the parallel slots. This slotting can bedone with a 5/32in. (4mm) chainsaw file (whichis a cylindrical, not tapered, fine file), and fin-ished with a fine flat file with safe edges (i.e. theedges do not cut). The slots in the Flat Girder areseveral millimeters longer than the slots in the p/n 55a slotted strips. This can be an advantage inallowing additional slide of the transmissionshafts. Depending on where the gate is to beused, a particular length of Flat Girder, or anothersmall Meccano plate, could be used as a gateplate.

Don Redmond

Table of Contents

Editor�s Notes 2CMAMAS Meccano France Parts Sale 3Mutilator�s Corner:

H-Gate-Plate 3Presidential Perusings 4The Hobby Show 4Gold Dust 5A Nickel Rocket Mark 2 6The Norwegian Polar Airship �Norge� 14Parts From John Overeem 16Ottawa Show, March 2000 17A Giant Ferris Wheel called �Merry� 191928-1930 Special Inventor�s Set 24Going Beyond The Range: Addendum 26The Peddler 27JD9200 Front Wheel Drive Farm Tractor 28


Presidential PerusingsHere in Southern Ontario, the 2000 summer willgo down in history as one of the wettest onrecord. Now, however, with the fall approach-ing, we can think about Meccano once again.

On the business side of things,Nikko, the new owners ofMeccano, have made their firstmoves to take control of theNorth American market. IrwinToys have been informed thattheir services would no longerbe required, and the entireNorth American market would,in future, be serviced from theU. S. headquarters of Nikko,located in Plano, Texas. Forthose of you whose Texas ge-ography is a bit shaky, Plano is located 20 milesnorth of downtown Dallas and is the largest cityin Collin County with a January 1, 2000 esti-mated population of 231,650.

Personally, I view the change with mixed feel-ings. In many ways, I am not sorry to see IrwinToys lose the franchise, because they neverreally marketed the product with any intensity.Furthermore, they spurned nearly all the over-tures that we made to work with them. On theplus side, the Company was at least located inCanada. For those of you who read RollandJaggard�s writings in the �Spanner� columnswill know that the Nikko staff in the UnitedKingdom do not seem too interested in workingwith the Meccano enthusiasts over there.

On the personal side, I will be off to Britain for atwo-week trip in October. As always, I will makeevery effort to include a Meccanoshow in my trip - this time it willbe the Midlands Meccano GroupMeeting in Stoneleigh. I also hopeto see Robin Johnson, the Editorof �Constructor Quarterly,� andMike Cotterill, who organisesSkegEx, as well as Geoff Wrightat M W Models.

Talking of Geoff, my personalthanks to every MeccaNotes sub-scriber who sent Geoff a birthdaycard. Geoff was apparently inun-dated with cards from around theworld. In my view, it was a recog-nition that he fully deserved.

Colin Hoare

The Hobby ShowOur Annual �gathering� at the Hobby Show will,as always, take place over the first weekend inNovember. The actual dates are November 3rd,4th and 5th, and, as always, the Show will beheld at the International Centre on Airport Road.

We have al-ready beenadvised thatwe will be al-located ex-actly thesame space as we had last year, which meansthat we will have plenty of room for models.Hopefully, we will have as strong a turnout as inprevious years, with several of our U. S. sub-scribers joining us.

At the time of writing, we hope that we will haveplenty of sets available for purchase by ourmembers, as we are trying to acquire most of theremaining stock that is to be had in the Torontoarea. We have also been able to acquire somespare parts, but at this point, final negotiationshave not been completed.

As always, it would be appreciated if you wouldlet me know, as early as possible, if you plan toattend. I would also like to know how manypasses you require, so that I can inform theHobby Show organisers in good time of the totalnumber required.

The Annual General Meeting of the CanadianModeling Association for Meccano & AlliedSystems will be held at this Show. The twoofficers who must stand for re-election are theSecretary, Colin Hinz, and the Vice-President,Attila Szakonyi. Both have indicated that they

are willing to runagain, but ourSociety is ademocracy, ando t h e rnominations arealways welcome.

Colin Hoare


Gold DustThere are so many different ways to enjoy thehobby of Meccano. There are, of course, thebuilders; some only build from instructions whileothers prefer to design their own models. Com-puter assisted drawings are fast becoming popu-lar and some enthusiasts love to spend hour�s ata computer screen cutting and pasting to piecetogether a model. There are historians who havevast amounts of information and ran relate frommemory the exact day a part was introduced andwhat Frank Hornby had for breakfast on thatmemorable day. Collectors - now there is a veryfine line between collecting and simply hoardingand I�m not sure where the division is but I�mequally sure I�ve overstepped it; but that�s an-other story altogether.

Some builders tend to look with bewildermentand sympathy on the collector who never makesa model, in fact the poor fellow who arrives at ashow with sets still sealed in their original brownpaper wrapping just they left the factory is liablefor some heavy ribbing. This is actually the reallysmart collector for the key words here are �stillsealed in their original brown paper wrappingjust they left the factory�. For many years thiscollector has quietly been amassing (read, hoard-ing) sets and yellow boxes of parts in just thiscondition and one day, maybe soon, he will beready for action for these sets contain the mostvaluable of all Meccano collectibles.

The scenario is thus. First of all he loads his entirecollection of sealed boxes into his car and drivesto Scotland Yard where the forensic experts goto work. Under tight military security they deter-mine that the paper wrapping sealing the boxesis intact, has never been broken or unglued andthat the paper and glue is indeed of the typemanufactured during the specific time period(for instance during the red/green period around1954 or 1955). Verification of the age, unbrokenseals and the fact that the entire collection hasnever been out of the sight of an armed GhurkhaRegiment since it arrived at the forensic centre issworn before a QC, a letter of verification issigned by the Q.C. and independently notarized.The collection is sealed in a bonded containerand shipped under armed guard to The CentreFor Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia.

At Atlanta the container seal is broken under thewitness of a Supreme Court Judge, who willremain with the collection at all times until theoperation is Completed. The collection is movedto the sterilization room where all traces of dirt,

dust and bacteria are removed from the outersurfaces of the boxes. Once sanitized the deli-cate part begins. In the clean room the boxes areopened and very carefully the parts are brushedand any dust is gingerly transferred to an equallysterile specimen jar. The yellow card holding theparts is lifted out and more of the precious dustis transferred to the jar. You see this is the realtreasure - GENUINE BINNS ROAD FACTORYDUST. You just can�t get it any more, the factoryis long gone and I understand that a shoppingmall occupies the site. The only place to findgenuine Binns Road dust is in the still sealedboxes. French dust just isn�t the same some-how.

The jar containing the precious dust, and withthe judge�s signature clearly visible inside issealed thus avoiding any modem contamina-tion. A letter of verification is also signed by thejudge so that anyone wishing to verify the au-thenticity of the dust has only to compare thesignatures. Our collector now has his rarity -even rarer than moon dust which NASA officialscarefully preserved from the Apollo astronaut�sclothing.

Other collectors will slobber with envy over thejar. Jim Gamble will be plagued with enquiriesregarding bits of dust found in old sets; �can youtell me if it is some real Binns Road dust?� PoorDon Redmond will be almost driven to distrac-tion trying to mutilate common household dustinto a more useful version of the real stuff.

Oh! well so much for that, but there really is astory here. If you do have any old empty boxes orwrapping paper don�t simply chuck them in thegarbage and cause more build-up in land fillsites. Package them up and send them to one ofthese collectors as they get great enjoyment inclassifying the different types of box, print stylesand colours. It will be like Christmas to them, youwill have cleaned up your work bench and theenvironment is saved. And when you receive acall thanking you for your consideration andasking if you happen to need a spare GRB inreturn you�ll feel pretty good too.

Ivor Setten


A Nickel Rocket Mark 2by Don Redmond

George Stephenson�s 1829 Rocket has been apopular model ever since the beginning ofMeccano. Morris�s Meccanoman�s Guide listsfifteen models up to 1964, in sizes from minia-tures with 1 1/2-inch driving wheels, to thoseusing six-inch pulleys or Hub Discs as drivers.Among the latter are four in particular: in MeccanoMagazine for May 1929 and February 1931,models in nickel parts using Hub Discs backedwith 6in. Circular Plates; in July 1937, also usingH u bD i s c sand Cir-c u l a rPlates,b u tw i t hC y l i n -ders forthe fun-nel and6 i n c hCircularP la tesalso fort h eends ofthe wa-t e rt a n k ;and inJ u l y1963, amode lin blue/gold parts with 6in. pulleys and a shorter funnelmade of cylinders.

The remarkable thing about these models is thedifference among them in detail and propor-tions. The 1929 model uses 3in. pulleys fortrailing wheels, and has a firebox with slopingrear face 4in. high, and an angle-girder frame,with some kind of steam dome near the rear ofthe boiler. The 1931 and 1937 models useFaceplates and Wheel Flanges for trailing andtender wheels, while the firebox is 4-1/2 incheshigh, 2-1/2 inches front-to-rear, with asemicylindrical or arched top (and no firedoor in1931!). The 1931 tender tank uses Ball BearingDiscs #168a for a cylindrical tank. In 1937 thetank appears to be made of Flexible Plates, as isthe high base of a motorized model. The 1963

model has a barrel-shaped water tank scantilyclad in Flat Girders, with 4in. Circular Plates forends. Its firebox is large and arched; the bottomend of the funnel is not well represented; cross-heads and connecting rods are awkward. Trail-ing and tender wheels are 3in. pulleys.

The obvious retort is that Meccano parts avail-able to different modellers may differ greatly.True, but another and surprising reason is seenwhen illustrations of the original Rocket arecompared. Rocket is still in the Science Museumin London, but only its bare boiler, chassis and

w h e e l s ,relics oflong life. Atleast onep h o t o -graph ofthe originalcan befound, la-belled �be-fore it wasrebuilt�, (1)but thephoto isfuzzy andthe pipingon the en-gine is lessthan clear.Most im-p o r t a n t ,the fireboxshown hasa slopingrear; andlarge loops

of piping rise from the rear of the cylinders andseem to go downward past the front of thefirebox.

Sharp engravings of Rocket can be found inKirkman�s Science of Railways (2) and in HamiltonEllis� Lore of the Train (3), but these drawings jarsharply with each other and with the photo-graph. The piping, the tender, the trailing wheels,and the firebox differ. In particular, the valve gearand piping are difficult to follow partly becauseonly one side elevation is seen.

Rocket was rebuilt, perhaps more than once, asis clear from the relic of the original in the ScienceMuseum in London. The cylinders have beenmoved from a 40 degree angle to near horizontal,like those in Stephenson�s later Northumbrian(4). The inclined cylinders on Rocket resemble


those on Stephenson�s earlier (1829) LancashireWitch, with four coupled driving wheels.

(1) Early British Steam (s.l.: Chevprime Ltd.,1989) p.22

(2) M. M. Kirkman, The Science of Railways I.Railway Equipment (N.Y.: 1901) p.29

(3) C. Hamilton Ellis, The Lore of the Train (N.Y.:Gallery, 1990) p.40

(4) Ellis, ibid.

The Science Museum Library has kindly pro-vided a number of photocopies of photographsof details of the original Rocket, and a photocopyof the detailed article describing the 1929 replicaof Rocket commissioned by Henry Ford, fromThe Engi-neer. Thatarticle in-cludes de-tailed el-e v a t i o ndrawingsand a pho-t o g r a p h ,while theS c i e n c eM u s e u mLibrary alsos u p p l i e dtwo otherp h o t o -graphs ofthe 1929replica. TheLibrary hasalso re-ported thatr e s e a r c hinto theo r i g i n a lform of the Stephenson locomotive is still ongo-ing, and because of unrecorded �rebuilds� someaspects of the original engine are still specula-tive.

The following Meccano model has been basedon the detailed drawings from The Engineer, andthe Science Museum photographs. It has beenconstructed in nickel parts wherever possible,with more recent Meccano parts where neces-sary. Some plain steel (paint-stripped) and blackparts have blended well with the nickel. (And seefootnote below.) Note that a strip bender isessential!

BoilerBend four 25-hole strips to circles 3-1/2in. (90mm)diameter, with the ends overlapping three holes.Three of these circles are formers on which acylinder is made of 22 11-hole strips. The fourthcircle is attached to one end by fishplates inside;this becomes the rear end, and makes the boilersix inches (12 holes) long. Inside the front end,bolt angle brackets entirely around the bent stripto form a neat edge, except at the extreme topand bottom points. At these two points attachThreaded Couplings by the threaded ends; thesewill be attachment points for the boiler front andthe funnel. A #63 Coupling is attached inside thebottom strip so that a free threaded hole lies over

the thirdhole-fromthe front;this is alsofor attach-ing the fun-nel.

At thefourth holefrom thefront of thetop strip, along bolt( o rth readedrod) carriesthree 1in.p u l l e y sw i t h o u tb o s s ,topped by a# 4 8 7Rocket Mo-tor Capp a i n t e dgrey or

nickel. At the second hole from the rear of the topstrip, two Chimney Adaptors one on top of theother, open ends up, are held on a long bolt, andtwo holes farther forward, a #166 End Bearing towhich a Long Threaded Pin is bolted, projectinginto the side hole of the top Chimney Adaptor.This is the safety valve.

Note that the boiler front, a 3in. Sprocket, is notattached until all fittings, including the firebox,cylinder mounts, and backhead have been fixed.

FireboxFix three Threaded Bosses #64 by their length-wise (end) tapped bores inside the top rear hole


and the fourth holes on each side of the rearboiler strip. Fix a 7-hole strip vertically down-ward from the top Threaded Boss. Fill all theholes of two #90a Curved Strips with bolts andwashers, overlap them one hole and attach themto the Threaded Bosses. (These strips may be leftuntil firebox and backhead are installed.)

(5)�The Rocket� The Engineer (London) 31 May1929 p.592-595.

Note: The Rocketmodel proved too bigand awkward for easytransport. The basewas reduced in bothlength and width, andthe funnel make de-mountable. The upperand lower sections of11-hole strips wereseparated, to be heldtogether by a bolt intoa tapped bore of a Cou-pling mounted insidethe top of the fixedbottom half. The steampressure gauge rodwas made of twoshorter rods, and thediagonal stays pulledout of the connectors.

The regulator (throttle)is a Coupling whichstands vertically witha dummy operating lever in its top cross tappedbore. This lever is a Threaded Pin, a 1213 RodConnector, a small washer, and a long Allen-head bolt; a fragment of r suitable tubing may beslipped over the bolt to improve the look of thehandle. The Coupling is held on a long bolt,spaced from the backhead by an obsolete early-style 1/2in. pulley (or washers). The bolt alsocarries a Semicircular Plate which fills the spacebelow the Curved Strips.

FireboxThe curved top of the firebox is made of four 11-hole strips. The curve has a large radius over thefive middle holes, and a smaller radius over thenext two holes on each side. Each end hole thenbecomes vertical. The large radius is approxi-mately that of #90 large-radius Curved Strips;the end holes should be one inch (two holes)below the curved peak. The four curved stripsare joined at the centre holes and end holes by 4-hole strips. The front and back heads of the

firebox are #53 Flanged Plates, flanges towardthe sides; the bottom ends are also joined by 4-hole strips.

The firedoor is built up of two (black) #24 WheelDiscs, under which are trapped an angle bracket(as handle), a hinge, and across the bottom two(black) fishplates to approximate the semicircu-lar shape of the original firedoor. The door isbolted to the Flanged Plate so its top is one hole

above the edge of the plate,and is backed by a 7-holestrip. Above this the fireboxarch is filled with two #90Curved Strips. The firebox isbolted to the rear of the boilerusing angle brackets, so itstop leaves three holes of theboiler backhead free.

There is insufficient space onthe front (driving) axle for theeccentrics and reversing gearof the original Rocket, so thereversing pedal on thefootplate is a dummy, a 3/8in.motor pulley (such as GilbertMeccano or Erector) on a 1-1/2in. rod, kept up by a com-pression spring. At the bot-tom of this rod a Rod-and-Strip Connector carries a longrod; at the front end of thisrod another Rod-and-StripConnector is pivoted to one ofthe supporting Double Angle

Strips. When the pedal is pressed movement ofthe rod is visible.

FrameThe bar frame is made of doubled strips, ratherthan the angle girders used on some models.The main members are doubled 15-hole stripslengthened two holes by other strips, and end-ing at the front of the firebox with #124 1in.Reversed Angle Brackets. Diagonal braces ofdoubled 7-hole strips go forward from the bot-tom of the Reversed Angle Brackets, each endbeing held with obtuse angle brackets openednearly flat, or bent fishplates. From the ReversedAngle Brackets the frame extends rearward withdoubled strips for eight holes (4in.). Across frontand rear of the frame are doubled 7-hole strips.The rear footplate is a #72 5x5-hole flat platebolted to the rear cross-member; note that thisflat plate projects under the firebox for one hole.

The firebox nestles down onto the lower frame at


the rear, and is held by angle brackets. The frontthree holes of the boiler sit on saddles made ofpaired horizontal 3-hole strips, topped by obtuseangle brackets, and bracketed to the frame. Eachboiler saddle is extended downward seven holesby trebled strips, ending with 1x2-hole anglebrackets. These supports hold the driving wheelsoff the rails to allow them to turn. Under the rearfootplate two 2x5x2-hole Double Angle Strips#45 support the rear end. These D.A.S. will haveto be shimmed up by washers to allow the rearwheels to turn freely.

Driving WheelsThese are Hub Discs, flangesfacing inward. The hub is aBush Wheel, boss pushed intothe Hub Disc from the out-side. Over the Bush Wheel a#133a 1in. Corner Bracketcarries a Pivot Bolt in its �cor-ner� hole for the crankpin.The Corner Bracket is spacedaway from the Bush Wheelby washers to allow clear-ance for the nut on the PivotBolt. On the flange side of theHub Disc, another Bush Wheelhub inward carries eight 5-hole strips. Around the pe-riphery eight #90 large-radiusCurved Strips, and the tips ofthe 5-hole strips, are held tothe outermost holes of theHub Disc by 3/4in. NC #4-40round-head machine screws and nuts. Thesesmall bolts allow the Curved Strips to be shiftedas far as possible away from the centre, so theyoverhang the Hub Disc as the flange on thedriving wheel. Care must be taken that the #4-40bolts do not project beyond their nuts; also, thatMeccano setscrews (with small heads) may beneeded at certain points on the boiler. Clearancebehind the driving wheels is very small.

The driving axle is held in #11 Double Brackets,which are surrounded by #45 Double Bent Stripsbolted under the frame. The Double Brackets arenot bolted to the frames, but carry 3/4in. boltswhich project up through the frames and arebolted to the centre of the dummy springs. Thesprings are doubled 5-hole strips curved, con-cave side up, and supported above the frames by3/4in. bolts at each end. The rear springs aresimilar curved doubled 5-hole strips, concaveside down, supported under the rear frames by

1-1/8in. bolts. The trailing axle is carried indouble brackets mounted on top of the rearsprings.

Trailing and tender wheels used on this modelwere modified 3in. pulleys manufactured intoflanged wheels by Bernard Champoux ofMontreal. Lacking these, nickel 3in. pulleys canbe used. Spoked wheels #19a could be used, butadding flanges (a circle of curved strips) is diffi-cult and spoils the delicate appearance of thespoked wheels. If nickel Circular Girders are

available, a better reproduc-tion of the original drivingwheels can be made using 5-hole strips set in on edge asspokes.

Cylinders and Con-necting RodsThe cylinder and slidebar struc-ture is built up on doubled 11-hole strips joined by 3-holestrips at one end and one holein from the other end. The cyl-inder is a Sleeve Piece mountedon two #45 Double Bent Strips,which in turn are mounted onstacks of 13 fishplates, at the(upper) end of the 11-holestrips (where the cross strip isone hole inward from the ends).Care should be taken that thebolts do not project beyondthe mounting nuts.

The slidebars are mounted between two 5-holeCouplings (#63G MW), which in turn are mountedon pillars each of a Threaded Boss and a Collar,one bolt going in from the Coupling and one outfrom the mounting strips. NOTE: Because thebores of couplings are not always precise, lee-way can be allowed by using 3in. Gilbert Erectorrods as slidebars; these are slightly thinner thanMeccano rods. On the slidebars, a #63 Couplingcarries an Allen-head #147G 23mm Pivot Bolt.On this are mounted a #116a Small Fork Pieceand a #136a Handrail Coupling. 1 3/4in. (black)washer and a spacing washer. The HandrailCoupling carries a 2in. rod which slides in thesmall flanged wheel forming the lower end of thecylinder. The Small Fork Piece carries a 3-1/2in.rod forming the connecting rod, which has an-other Small Fork Piece mounted on the driving-wheel crankpin. A Collar fills the space in thatFork Piece.


This assembly is mounted on a 3-1/2in. #48bDouble Angle Strip crossing beneath the boiler,at the bottom corner, and a slightly bent fish-plate at the corner above holds it to the side of theboiler. At the uppermost corner an angle bracketand a #12b 2x1-hole angle bracket attach theassembly to the rear of the boiler, two holes fromthe top centre. A 3-hole strip projects from thelower corner of the assembly, and slightly down-ward, to carry the valve gear.

N.B. Early Sleeve Pieces are slightly shorter thanlater ones and have fewer holes, giving a neaterappearance to the cylinders. Black 3/4in. flangedwheels of 1951 also add to the effect.

Valve GearOn the driving axle two Triple Eccentrics aremounted by their 1/2in-throw bosses, alongwith a 28-tooth Sprocket. The eccentric arms areextended by 7-hole strips, which are pivoted tothe arms of Exacto Short Cranks (or Double ArmCranks). Thesecranks aremounted on ac o n c e n t r i cshaft. The shaftis made of apiece of brass(or preferablysteel) 5/32in.o.d. tubingabout 3in. long,and a piece of1/8in. (approxi-mately) steelwire 3-1/2in.long or more.This concentricshaft isjournalled in aCollar or ShortC o u p l i n g ,mounted underthe left side ofthe frame, threeholes forwardof the firebox, and in a Trunion mounted on themidline of the underside of the boiler. (N.B.: Theholes in the frame may not be directly in line withthe holes in the boiler. If so, the bottom midlinestrip of the boiler must be made using a slottedstrip which will allow lengthwise adjustment toline up the bearings.)

The crank mounted on the outer tubing must becarefully tightened to avoid crushing the tubingonto the inner rod. The right-hand eccentric

drives the inner rod, the left-hand eccentric theouter tubing. On the left side of the engine,cranks on each shaft are made of two Collarsjoined by a long grubscrew. The inner crank(nearest the frame) is carefully tightened ontothe outer tubing. The outer crank is tightenedonto the inner rod. Each crank carries a Rod-and-Strip Connector #212 on the lower end of a 5in.rod forming a valve pushrod.

Across the two 3in. strips, mentioned above, a7in. rod carries the valve mechanism. From rightside of the engine to the left the rod carries: aCollar bearing a #251 Pallet Pin (or plain ThreadedPin #115); a stop collar; 3-hole strip; stop collar;and to the left side, a Short Crank carrying a Rod-and-Strip Connector with a 3/4in. rod, and a 5/16in. bolt carrying a Collar loose on its tip; the left3-hole strip; a stop collar; the left valve actuatordescribed below; and another stop collar.

The inner crank pushrod actuates the right cylin-der. The outerp u s h r o dmoves the leftcylinder valvevia the follow-ing mecha-nism. A ShortCrank, bosstoward theleft, carries aRod-and-StripC o n n e c t o rwith a 3/4in.rod. On theboss of thisShort Crank isa Short SocketC o u p l i n g(#171a MW;or a �sleeve� oftubing 3/4in.long, 3/8in.i.d., drilled 5/16in. apart),which alsocarries a Short

Coupling bearing a Plain Threaded Pin. Whenthe outer pushrod moves, this assembly rotatesfreely on the long rod.

Each valve chest is a #48e 1in. Double AngleStrip bolted under the Sleeve Piece. Note that ifthe Sleeve Piece is bolted to the Double BentStrips through two holes, the underside of theSleeve Piece has only one hole for attaching thevalve chest. Inside the D.A.S. a Threaded Cou-


pling is held by a bolt at the lower (forward) end,along with a #11a 2x1x2-hole Double Bracket. A1-1/2in. rod carries two Collars, one either side ofthe Pallet Pin or Threaded Pin, and slides in theThreaded Coupling when pushed by the Pin.(Note that some Threaded Couplings do nothave a free bore for at least 3/4in.!) All thismechanism must be tested for absolutely freeoperation and lubrication.

The driving wheels and eccentrics should bearranged so the crank and eccentric for the rightdriver are 90 degrees ahead of the left, in �for-ward� gear.

Funnel(Smokestack)After all attachmentsto the boiler have beenmade, the boiler front,a 3in. Sprocket, canbe attached to the twoCouplings already in-side the boiler front.The funnel can thenbe attached.

Three rings havingeight holes, about 1-1/4in. diameter, areneeded. (BernardChampoux has manu-factured seamless 8-hole rings.) To bendrings of this small size,aluminium or thinbrass strips are betterthan steel. The funnelis made of two sets ofeight 11-hole strips,overlapped one hole,with rings inside the top, middle and bottom.The top is crowned with obtuse angle brackets.At the bottom, an 11-hole strip is curved to a 90degree bend. The projecting horizontal end willbe attached to the bottom of the boiler. A 7-holestrip is curved to the same diameter as thefunnel, and attached to the curved 11hole stripthree holes below its attachment to the funnel; itshould sit at 45 degrees upward. This near-circlecarries a curved 5-hole strip on each side of thecentre strip; a bent #90 5-hole large-radius CurvedStrip outside those (the end hole may have to bebent over); and finally a bent scrap 3-hole strip(preferably a scrap #90 Curved Strip) outsidethose. A small #77 Triangular Plate is slightlybent and its tip attached to the funnel, at what

has now become the side nearest the boiler. Tothis triangular plate bolt two curved fishplates.

The curved 11-hole strip ran then be slid underthe boiler and attached by bolts upward into theThreaded Coupling and the further Couplingalready inside the boiler.

Stays made of 4-1/2in. rods hold the funnel,using #212 rod-and-strip connectors (preferablyblack or nickel) at the seventh hole from the topof the funnel, and the extreme back end of theboiler. Two short stays of 3-1/2in. rods are heldin rod-and-strip connectors mounted on obtuseangle brackets at the front corners of the mainframe. The top ends of these rods are caught by

fishplates, curled overat one end and boltedat the fourth hole be-low the top of the boilerfront.

TenderThe pattern of the origi-nal wooden tenderbody varies in thedrawings. The patternof the model was partlyto suit nickel partsavailable. Each top sidegirder is a pair of 11-hole angle girders over-lapped five holes. Eachcorner is a 7-hole anglegirder, and the bottomedge of the rear is alsoa 7-hole angle girder.Five holes apart two 5-hole angle girders re-inforce each side. Eachside is filled on the in-ner face by two #53

7x5-hole flanged plates, joined by five 5-holestrips or a 5x5-hole flat plate. Strips are overlaidalong the frame girders above floor level (fiveholes from the top) and tripled strips at thebottom of the corner girders are the frameswhich carry the tender wheels. Three- or four-hole strips emphasize the framing, and FlatTrunions extend down to carry the axles. Out-side the Flat Trunions, fishplates (preferablyblack) are spaced out by #38A black plasticspacers to represent axlesboxes, the bolts beingplaced in the fishplate slots so the ends of theaxles are actually covered by the middle of thefishplates.


Steam Pressure GaugeA 14in. rod (or rods) attached to the funnel byRight-Angle Rod-and-Strip Connectors, and a7in. return rod, can be connected by a ShortCoupling at the bottom, and by short rods andcouplings to the boiler front.

Water Feed PumpAn assembly of brass parts on a 2in. rod repre-sents the boiler feed pump. These can include aShort Coupling, several Collars, a Rod Socket,and a Crank. A length of flexible plastic 4mm rodis curved to a U-bend of about1-1/2in. radius, which projectsto the rear and upward fromthe �pump� and then runsdownward and forward toconnect to the boiler behindthe right driving wheel. Thefeed pump is attached to theupper rear end of the righthandcylinder supports, by meansof a 1in. Corner Bracket boltedto the upper #45 Double BentStrip.

The floor consists of two 11x7-hole and one 11x5-hole flatplates. The rear is another11x5-hole flat plate or equiva-lent. Three (or four) 1x7x1-hole Double Angle Strips,packed up by Collars, hold thetender wheels above the rails.

Water TankBend a 25-hole strip to a 4in.(10cm) circle, overlapping onehole. Curve twenty-four 5-hole strips slightly,and bolt pairs by one end to the strip circle,curving inward. The free ends will overlap slightlyat the ends of the �barrel staves�. Bolt a ChimneyAdaptor to one point on the circle, which thenbecomes the top. Two 3in. nickel pulleys arefaced with 5-hole strips, the outer four on eachpulley ground or filed down to fit flush on theface of the pulley. Four Gilbert Erector part �I�21-hole strips (with holes at 1/4in. spacing) arebent to semicircles and overlapped to makecircles of just over 3in. (75mm) diameter. (N.B.There are thin Erector �I� strips, much easier tobend than earlier strips.) The second holes fromthe ends of the �barrel staves� are bolted to theseErector strips, taking advantage of the quarter-inch spacing; it will be found that about three outof four �barrel staves� line up with holes be-neath. The 3in. pulleys are pressed into the

barrel ends; the staves will spring into the pulleygrooves. Fix two 3-inch #89a Curved Stripsinside the tender, spaced in from the sides byCollars, as a cradle for the water tank. Bend two25-hole strips to U-shape, to fit over the barreljust at the outer lines of bolt heads, and fix thesestraps to the floor with angle brackets.

CouplingsThe front and rear couplings are #57 Hooks ofthe early large wire pattern. The front coupling isattached to the front frame member by two rings

of wire. The rear couplingis similar, but is attachedto the end of an 11-holestrip, bolted under themidline of the tender tothe bottom rear anglegirder, and also to acrosswide 11-hole stripheld on angle brackets.The mid line strip is ex-tended forward by an-other strip, bent down-ward in an obtuse Z-shape and ending onehole short of the tenderfront, where it is bracedby a 3-hole strip held onobtuse angle bracketsbelow the midline of thetender floor. The front ofthe strip under the ten-der, and the rear platformof the engine, each carrya #102 Single Bent Stripwhich face each other.These are joined by a

scrap 2-hole strip held on 1/2in. bolts in eachSingle Bent Strip. A fishplate is not used herebecause of the slack caused by its slot.

Exhaust Steam PipesExhaust steam is carried from the top of thecylinders to the tunnel by plastic tubing, paintedgrey or nickel and strung on a length of coathangeror other stiff wire. This goes through the funnelcrosswise at the third hole from the bottom ofthe straight portion, runs horizontally on eachside of the boiler, then curves upward and out-ward to what appears to be an exhaust mani-fold. This is a 1-1/2in. rod held in a #136 HandrailSupport gripped in the boss of the upper flangedwheel on each cylinder. The plastic tubing isslipped onto the inner end of the rod. AnotherHandrail Support on the outer end of the rodrepresents a blowdown cock of some kind.


Washers between the itemson this short rod can repre-sent pipe flanges. Drawingsof the valves and piping atthis end of the engine do notclearly show function or loca-tion of many of the pipes; noris the location or shape of thethrottle shown.

BaseSize of the base is determinedby the motor used and speedreduction needed. A heavydisplay model operating longhours needs adequate power.A large 120V motor 3-1/2inches in diameter was used,and a 3in. pulley in the firstbelt reduction, so the basewas the height of two over-lapped braced girders, and25 inches long by 9-1/2 incheswide. The rails are angle gird-ers with two layers of 25-holestrips inset for visual effect.The track gauge is 4-1/2inches. Angle girders 19 holeslong cross beneath the top ofthe base structure at pointswhere they carry the four sets of supports whichhold the wheels off the rails. As much of the topas possible is covered with double-braced gird-ers, to give a solid appearance to the base andhide the mechanism.

From the 1/2in. motor pulley the drive goes to a3in. pulley, followed by a drive from a 1/2in. toa 2in. pulley. From that point onward, pulleys inpairs of equal size (1in., 1/2in. and 1-1/2in.,depending on the clearances above the axles inthe model) all use heavy Meccano driving bands.Care must be taken that the driving bands aretight but not over-tight; otherwise the load onthe motor is excessive. The drive to the eccentricaxle is Sprocket Chain at 14:28 teeth, from theshaft carrying the 2in. pulley; i.e. the driving axleturns half as fast as the other wheels of themodel.

The base is edged around the bottom with anglegirders to give as much contact area as possiblewith the table. For decoration, a semicircle oftwelve 4in. Sector Plates, surrounded by curved25-hole strips held on angle brackets, is laid atthe front. The centre of this semicircle can befilled with a decoration of radial 11-hole strips.

Catches made of 5-hole stripshook it to the base. Anothersemicircle of Sector Plates isextended by two extra platesat each end, one of each pairreversed to they form �straight�extensions, as a vertical back-ing. This is supported by anglegirders at the back of the base.

For convenience in handling, aremovable stiff wire hook ateach end will be found handy.

And Finally: Why Nickel? Thismodel was built chiefly in pre-1928 nickel parts because Iwanted to use the large collec-tion I have, and to show howeffective Meccano was even inits earliest period.

Don Redmond

Note: An Approximate PartsList is available on page 26.


The NorwegianPolar Airship

�Norge�The first attempt to fly over the NorthPole was the ill-fated SwedishSalomon Andree balloon flight, whichdisappeared in 1897, the remains ofwhich were not found for over 30years. There is some question as towhether Robert Peary walked to thePole in 1909, or whether RichardByrd and Floyd Bennett flew over it inMay, 1926 in the �Josephine Ford�.In any event, three days later, the�Norge�, commanded by RoaldAmundsen, and designed and pi-loted by the Italian Umberto Nobile,did fly from Spitzbergen over thePole and continued on to Teller,Alaska.

A historical aside is that Nobile flewa similar airship, the �Italia� to thePole in 1928, but crashed on thereturn trip. Nobile and most of hiscrew were eventually rescued, buttragically the great explorer Amundsen�sairplane was lost during the rescue effort,never to be found. The 1971 movie �TheRed Tent� was based on the episode.

The �Norge� was small as airships go, at348 feet long, and contained 550,000cubic feet of highly flammable hydrogen.(The United States had used the muchsafer helium as a lifting gas since 1923,but had the world�s only supply, and keptit for its own use). The airship was actu-ally semi-rigid with a fixed keel and rub-berized lifting bags. The ship was han-gared when inactive; I have found nopictures of a mooring mast, which wouldhave been usual for dirigible operations.

Essential parts are evident from the photo,with the following curved girders andstrips: 2 Nr: 167b 8 Nr: 89 8 Nr: 89a 8 Nr:89b

A similar model of the �Zeppelin� type ofairship appears in �Meccano Engineer�,March 1976.

Robert Platford, Campbellesville, Ontario


Parts From JohnOvereem

I have been working on a fairly large model forthe Nov/2000 Hobby Show and found myself inneed of �a lot� of plating parts. I contacted JohnOvereem at Mechantrix in Picture Butte, Alberta.He was very quickly able to produce for me asubstantial quantity of Flat Plates in non-stan-dard Meccano sizes of 12 1/2 x 3 1/2" and 7 1/2x 3 1/2".

These arrived very well made and well pack-aged. Mine came in the unpainted steel formand as everyone knows I would be repaintingthem.

A superfine steel wool cleaned up the surfacesnicely and a good washing in soap and water gotrid of any excess oil, dirt etc. One coat of whiteprimer followed by two coats of Sunshine Yellowspray paint and a final baking in my garage ovenproduced excellent parts for the model.

The steel used by John appears identical to theMeccano steel with the corners excellently fin-ished off. I would say the steel is not as �springy�as the original but for my purposes these partswere exactly what I needed. I would certainlyrecommend these parts and if possible takeadvantage of the free delivery on $100+ ordersand the fact there is no PST.

Regards, Allan H. Bedford, London, Ontario

Thesephotosshowthe

"Norge"airshipframe.


Ottawa Show, March2000

The most important show east of Toronto washeld on the 4th and 5th of March at the NepeanSportsplex in the Southwest area of greaterOttawa. The number of exhibitors as well as thequality and diversity of the models shown madethis one of the best Meccano events to be heldhere so far.

Many of the exhibitors outdid themselves withmodels complex in design and ambitious inscope. Here follows a short résumé of the good-ies presented.

Hubert Hogle offered two models, first his �Mo-bius Loop� with its motorised wagon whichmakes two turns on a continuous double verticalrail 85" high by 36" wide. The wagon is selfpropelled along the rail by eight 1" pulleys fittedwith neoprene tires. Each of the eight wheels isdriven by gears in a very compact mechanismwhere there is no space to spare.

His other model was his robot �Martha� entirelyof red Meccano parts on the outside and linkedby cable to a control panel capable of controllingno less than 15 movements: forward and back-ward walk, body rotation, five movements toeach of the arms and three motions of the head.

Hubert also had the good idea of setting up aquantity of spare parts on the end of a table sothat anyone visitingthe show could tryhis or her hand atbuilding some-thing. Those whomanaged to as-semble a modelcontaining a mini-mum of 30 partsproducing 5 move-ments won a smallMeccano kit, cour-tesy of the �Cana-d i a nMeccanomen�.

Although quitebusy with his sugarbush operations,Doug Armstrongdid take time toshow us three ma-jor models as wellas a bunch of

smaller contributions made up from recentMeccano sets. First was a model of a space basefrom Mission the Universe made of parts colouredblack, orange and white.

Next was a stationary steam engine which origi-nally belonged to the late Terry Stewart. Dougsuccessfully bid on this large model at the auc-tion of the Stewart collection held in Toronto lastautumn. Doug re-built the model replacing theoriginal 12 volt dc motor by a more powerful 110volt ac version. According to Don Redmond theprototype was used to convey mine wagonsfrom the mine towards a loading platform forships. The engine was installed on a nearby riseand operated via a very long traction cable. TerryStewart built the model from original instruc-tions from Brian Rowe, a very well known En-glish modeller.

Built in red and green with an overall size of 141/2" by 60" the model carried a 19 1/2" diameterflywheel and contained many Exacto parts nota-bly special size plates and sleeve pieces.

Last but not least Doug showed a tower crane74" high with a swinging jib/counterweight as-sembly 72" long operated by two wireless re-mote control units. The tower is made up ofmodules measuring 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" x 12 1/2" , thusthe tower can be made any height and theremote control units permit operation even if thecabin of the crane is out of reach.


Larry Yates was showing his Ferris wheel in redand green with its 16 wagons. The model re-quires large quantities of ordinary parts such as:

56 Girders 12 1/2"96 Double Angle Strips 2 1/2" x 1/2"68 Curved Strips 2 1/2" (#90a)160 Perforated Strips 2 1/2"130 Perforated Strips 5 1/2"64 Perforated Strips 1 1/2"

Normand St-Aubin showed us a very nice trac-tion engine. Louis Habets, a Montreal collectorbrought in a Meccano Aeroplane built from set#2, including the pilot which was always soldseparately. According to Mr. Habets, the #2 sethad the required parts for approximately 30different model aeroplanes.

Bernard Champoux also from Montreal came inwith a diesel locomotive �GP7� in yellow andzinc. This very realistic model owned by RobertFerlatte, a Montreal collector, was made to fit�standard gage� rails.

Jerry Dubois presented two major models, firstlyhis red and yellow carrousel 22" x 32" revolvingon a geared roller bearing. This is a rebuild of theSuper Model #8 Roundabout. Next to this modelJerry had a photocopy of page one of the 1928leaflet.

His other large model was an impressive station-ary engine 26" x 26" also in red and yellow withdouble flywheels and a large boiler topped witha chimney made up of black parts. Jerry includeda miniature worker of appropriate scale whichadded considerable realism to his steam engine.Once again the model was built from originalplans by Brian Rowe.

Jerry also had a small assembly called �TheThing�. Upon demonstration of the capabilitiesof �The Thing� it turned so fast that the drivingband broke and �The Thing� became a thing ofthe past. Sorry Jerry that�s what happens whenyou go for bust. Oh Yes! Before I forget, Jerryshowed us a very nice Exacto geared rollerbearing 7 1/2" diameter, the top plate toothed fora standard Meccano pinion and the bottom platetoothed for sprocket chain.

Lastly Jerry had a Super Model #13Meccanograph in nickel and zinc operated by acrank handle, a very amusing model for childrenyoung and old.

Don Redmond had a number of models as-sembled from outfits other than Meccano. Themore impressive ones where: A funicular railwayin nickel from a set by �American Model Builder�(1912-1921). This American firm was put out of

business by Frank Hornby who considered theproduct a direct copy of Meccano and thereforesued the offender. The funicular measured 13" x45" x 28" high and was operated via a crankhandle.

Don�s other models were a steam plant builtfrom �The Engineer�, a windmill in �Structomode�and his Toonerville Trolley in red and yellowMeccano.

Attila Szakonyi was present with his daughterErica. They had with them an illuminated whirli-gig, very captivating to watch in operation. Ericawas demonstrating a really smooth runningmeccanograph capable of producing very regu-lar curves with accurate spacing and Attila wasdemonstrating a wire twisting machine withyellow plastic gears.

Mike Shaw contributed a single model but whata model! It was an impressive �dive bomber �similar to one we had in the Belmont Amuse-ment Park in Montreal many years ago. Thedouble arm assembly carried two double cabinsback to back at the end of each arm and mea-sured 65� in height. The whole assembly wasmade to pivot in two planes.

A very complex central support was fitted withspring compensation. A model like this one reallystretches the limits of what can be done inMeccano. According to Mike, the fairground ridewas constructed from plans first published in1971.

Some members of the Montreal group came toOttawa just to see the gang, they were: NormandMorin, J. Maurice Deveault and Douglas Neil.

The Montreal group visited on Saturday only. Itwas a very pleasant reunion amongst friendsand always a pleasure to speak with the Ottawa,Kingston and Toronto people. See you all inautumn, 2000. The next time we will try to havephotographs.

This article first appeared in our Montreal basedpublication: �Meccano Québec�, produced byRobert Gibeault, which came out April 1st, 2000� no this is not an April fools joke.

Larry Yates, Montreal, Quebec


A Giant Ferris Wheelcalled �Merry�

This Ferris Wheel was called �Merry� for manyreasons. First, in the apt. there is a large windowgiving out to a short grass (snow) border, then tothe street. Since moving here a few years ago,I have been looking over various publications forsuitable show piece of a model that would fit.Also the Holidays were approaching and I didwant to frame the window with an action model,plus lights, if I could manage this.

I had long looked over the one in C.Q. No 30, �AVery Big Wheel� by Dave Taylor. I did not find itsuitable, for many reasons (i.e.) number of someparts required, as Flat and Angle Girders, thespecial gears, plus a few other odds and ends;besides having little building instructions andplans.

Also the No 10 Set Model Plan No 96, Big Wheelor Ferris Wheel by Tony Parmee, looked verygood, for size, display and parts required, plusgood descriptions and plans. The cable opera-tion did not strike my fancy. By now you havecome to the same conclusion as I did! Take yourpreference from both and combine. Having saidthat, here goes.

The frame was based on the No 10; 18½� X16½� X 2½�. The corners, on the short side, are3½� X 2½� flanged plates. The top, on the longsides, are covered by flat plates, suitably bracedunderneath to support the 2 A Frames, plus onone side the motor, the other the entrance.

The entrance was based on the No 10, but as thewheel turns on gears, the rotation of the turn-stiles are hand operated. The entrance stepswere built, but do not show, as they are on thereverse side plus were not fitted on account ofthe position of the Model.

The motor is a 0-24 VDC operated from a 0-24VDV variable transformer, but as I never usedany more than 10-12 volts at anytime, any 0-12VDC motor/transformer should do. This motor(Colman) was geared 60T-10T turning a 1½�pulley, you may notice two pulleys, but only one


was necessary. This turned via a rubber band,to a 1" pulley. This in turn operated a 1½�sprocket via chain drive to a 3½� sprocket.Then is connected to a 16C Large ToothedQuadrant Pinion turning the 4 part 167ALarge Toothed Quadrant bolted to a 167BFlanged Ring; to help clear the Wheel Framefor the 167C proper rotation. The 167B is heldin place by being bolted to the frame of thewheel, which also hold a large (6") plate to helpdivide and solidify the spokes. The spokes ofthe wheel are (recommended) overlapped onlyone hole at each joint. Extend each end of the9½� Perforated Strip by a 7½� Perforated Stripand a 12½� Perforated Strip. Use what youcan, as long as they are the right length. Alsobetween the Perforated Strips and the insideof the large Flanged Strip I inserted a couple ofcollars (or washers). P.S. I made use of largewashers to hold the Quadrants together.

The F.W. axle rod is 3/8" solid steel. It issupported and turns in two plastic blocksdrilled for it, also has two meccano bolt holesso it can be screwed (or bolted) on the top ofthe A Frames. Do not forget that the frameturns on the axle; and not the axle that turnsthe frame. Although I have noticed axle rodand frame turning at times together, so do notforget to oil all parts.


The A frame (2) is(24½� + 3½�) Long,made from AngleGirders, covered byvarious strip platesand flexible plates.These are crossedbraced by perforatedstrips. The variousaxles are supportedby Angle Girders(middle); Flat Gird-ers (Top) plus cranks.

The wheel is in twoparts, made up ofeight 12½� AngleGirders joined by FlatTrunnions. The longPerf. Strips extend byfour holes and areseparated and heldby 5½� X½� D.A.S.These are boltedabout halfway down

the Long Perforated Strips. The cross-bracing is done by various lengths of Perforated Strips. Therods are held by collars or spring clips.

The cars are bolted to a Bush Wheel joined by another Bush Wheel bolted to the 2½ X 1" D.A. Strip,joined by a short rod, holding a Contrate Wheel turning 19T pinion on the Rod. Two Bevel Gears canalso be used. The cars were copies of the C.A. model, better to fit inside the 5½� wide wheel.

Around the main axle, in the second hole of the 6" Circular Plate are bolted four more 5½� X½� D.A.S.surrounding theseare bolted 5½� X2½� flexible Plates,for bulk and appear-ance.

The wheel on the rodis held in placeloosely by two largercollars after adjust-ing for meshing withgear 167C (Pinion).The A frames areheld in place by fourcollars; two on eachside. These blocks,collars and rod canbe purchased fromvarious Meccanoparts dealers or vari-ous shops.


The lights are ordinary small Christmas treebulbs. I used two sets, both 35 lights, oneflashing, the other continuous. I installedthe flashing face in, the other facing out.They fit nicely around the front and back ofthe base, then around one leg of A framecrisscrossing the center as they are fitted.Angle Brackets are very useful to hold thewires to the models. I also used large brasswashers. The choice of lights etc. are yourown. I have grain of wheat lights but theeffort required and time factor precludedthis manner. Enjoy, and have a �Merry�Time.

Jerry DuBois, Vanier, Ontario

�Merry� in Colour on WebColour photos of �Merry� are availableon the CMAMAS website under �SpecialFeatures�.

http://www.edmc.net/cmamas/


1928-1930 SpecialInventor�s Set

The late 20�s wasa time of expan-sion of theMeccano systemthat was un-matched beforeand certainly after!A great many partswere added to therange. These in-cluded construc-tional parts, gearsand a number ofspecialty parts,that more than onepurpose for, couldrarely be found.The great majorityof these parts wereintroduced in 1927and 1928. A lot ofthese parts ap-peared too late tobe included in anyof the larger sets ofthe time. It is a pitythat some of the

parts were destined to beonly available as spare parts,never making it to a set. Thiscaused them to have littledemand and ultimatelyspelled their demise in thefuture.

(Typical advertising of thetime pictured below)

An attempt was made in1928 to showcase some ofthese more exotic parts. Thiswas a stop-gap measure tomake up for their missinginclusion in the regular rangeof sets. Some of these newparts did, however, make itinto the mainstream by 1929.The set designed as the ve-hicle for their introductionwas called the SpecialInventor�s Set.

It was advertised in the setmanuals of the time (above)


and in Meccano Magazine. The advertising 1stappeared in the 1929 Book of New Models.(above right)

The set contained the following parts and quan-tities/colors:

4 of 19b-3" pulley�dark red-double tapped4 of 142b-3" tyre-dunlop rubber1 of 138a-ship�s funnel-red&black c/w steampipe1 of 160-channel bearing-dark red4 of 20b-3/4" flanged wheel-brass

1 of 165-swivel bearing-Meccano marking onboss1 of 166-end bearing-Meccano marking onboss1 of 116a-small fork piece-Meccano markingon boss1 of 150-crane grab-black1 of 62b-double arm crank-dark green4 of 50a-slide piece c/w boss-brass1 of 157-fan-dark red1 set of 30a/c-bevel gears-brass-marked withmeccano1 of 168-ball thrust bearing-3 piecescomplete-medium green1 of 151-single sheave pulley block-green-notab (grey w/tab in 1929)1 of 152-double sheave pulley block-green-notab (grey w/tab in 1929)1 of 159-circular saw2 of 154a-corner angle bracket-right-nickel2 of 154b-corner angle bracket-left -nickel1 of 26a-19 tooth-1/2" x 1/2" pinion-markedwith meccano4 of 89a-3" stepped curved strip-dark green

A set came to this Author in the fall of 1999. Itwas part of a lot bought in Western Canada. Thelot contained a late 20�s #4 set, a 1929 dark redlong side plate 6volt motor and the SpecialInventor�s set pictured here.

The set was nearly complete. The pulley blockswere missing. The blocks were changed/im-proved in 1929 adding the tab and color chang-


ing to grey. It is not certain that these grey oneswere included in the set or not. It is likely theywere. The ones pictured here are the later greyones. The set is believed to be 1929 as the 154�sare of the hole/slot combo instead of the slot/slotcombo of the 1st released ones in 1927. Oneunusual feature of this particular set was the factan error part was included. Note the missinghole in the #30c large bevel gear! There are somepublished lists of the contents of the SpecialInventor�s Set but the author doubts it wascompiled with the aid of an actual genuine set.Errors in the contents list suggest a picture wasused. Mistakes in the list include the replace-ment of the 26a gear with a chimney adapter andthe number of #154�s and #89�s. (Reference:

Meccano, The First Century Book One, by JohnLavers, Datafiles 4.1 from MW Models - page 30)

The Special Inventor�s set only lasted 2 years. It�sdemise was announced in the May 1930Meccano Magazine. It failed to reach volumesales and didn�t warrant the expense of thespecial packaging. The set today is very rare andeven rarer to be still together after 70+ years! Theset pictured above is strung onto a repro string-ing card for display in the author�s collection. Anoriginal box is being sought but probably won�tbe found. A repo box may have to do!

The Author can be reached by Email:[email protected] or thru the editor.

Greg Rahn Cochrane, Alberta, Canada

A Nickel Rocket - ApproximateParts List

No. Qty. No. Qty. No. Qty. No. Qty.

1 20 15b 2 54 24* 115a 1lb 4 17 4 57d 2 116a 82 86 18a 2 59 38 126a 62a 4 19b 3 62 3 130 23 16 20a 1 62b 4** 133a 24 6 21 2 63 5 136 45 96 22 4 63c 4 136 46 4 22a 2 70 26a 18 23a 5 77 1 147b 28 12 24 4 89a 2 147g 28a 6 31 2 90 20 163 49 4 38a 2 95a 1 164 29b 3 38d 4 95b 1 166 19d 4 44 2 96a 1 186a 410 7 45 2 97 3 186c 411 4 46 2 98 1 186d 112 54 48 4 99 12 214 112c 24 48b 12 99a 212d 4 52a 2 100 514a 4 53 9 103a 115a 5 53a 1 114 224a 2 90a 2 179 163d 4 64 11 72 1212 12 212a 2

**or Exacto short*8-hole length, nickel

63g MW 4487 (cap) 1Gilbert Erector part “I” 4; “AS” 4Machine screws NC #4-40 and nuts 16Flanged 3in. wheels (Champoux) 6 (or part

19b)Rods 9-1/2in. x 2; 14in. x 1120V motor with 1/2in. pulleyRing strips, 8-hole (Champoux) 2; or #2a

Going Beyond TheRange: Addendum

This is an addendum to the article �A Survey ofReplica and Unusual Parts� in the September1999 Canadian MeccaNotes page 11.

David Doddrell�s address is 36 Lincoln Ave, GlenWaverly, Victoria 3150, AUSTRALIA. He pro-duces mostly good quality brassware both forMeccano (including gears and train buffers) andmodel trains. He also does hub discs and 6"pulleys (I haven�t actually seen any of these yet).

Jack Parsisson (7 Meerly Avenue, Frankston,Victoria 3199, AUSTRALIA, [email protected])was mentioned recently on Spanner. He produc-ers a large range of sheet metal parts to someextent taking over from Ken Gordon.


Model Plans and CanadianMeccaNotes Back Issues

Can be obtained from:

o within North America: Colin Hoare (addresson page 2), Money Order or Cheque.

o elsewhere: MW Models (adress below).

MW Models4 Greys Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxton,England RG9 1RY, phone: 0491 572436, FAX:0491 571175, [email protected]

http://henleyhighstreet.inetc.net/mwmodels/acatalog/

Credit cards are accepted!

The PeddlerWANTED: Looking for nickel Meccano parts,1909-1912 manual to make copies of missingpages, pre-1926 (nickel) manual for the sameprevious reason. Also, box for outfit �C�, blue-gold, reverse switch parts prewar 6V motor.Dany Friedman, 416-512-7488, Toronto.

FOR SALE: Meccano parts: yellow/blue, Red/green, gears, motors and windups, manuals andcomplete sets l973 vintage, sets 3 to 6. Send forprice lists or your wants. Earl Pitts, 26 DyerCourt, Cambridge, ON N3C 4B8. (519) 658-2086 or email [email protected]

Wanted: Erector 12 1/2 set box or set in goodshape - vital parts there or reasonable price.

Prefer 40�s or50�s box or anymostly com-plete set. MikeSchlumpberger,5125 AbbottAve. So., Min-neapolis, MN,USA 55410-2144.

Wanted: anyMeccano spare parts in their original packagingsuch as yellow boxes, brown paper wrapping,etc. Also need 1929/30 outfit 4-7 manual w/cover, 00-3 manual w/cover, 1965 mechanismsset, Oak 6 drawer dealer�s cabinet, advertisingliterature, 1960 outfit #9, #7-8 and #6 manuals.Contact Greg Rahn, 211 Riverview Green,Cochrane, AB T0L 0W4 or Email:[email protected]


JD9200FrontWheel

Drive FarmTractor

The main feature ofthis dark greenmodel is a planetarydrive similar to thatin Guy Kind�s Cater-pillar Loader model.

I used 2 1/2 x 1 1/2"gear ring with 4 1/2"pinions on each car-rier with Exacto 5/10axles, 2 1/2" Exactowheel flanges &threaded bosses tosupport the axles. The differential is the same asin Guy Kind�s model. The steering is controlledby a cord wrapped around the steering wheelshaft and extending out to both front wheels.Green Exacto flexible plates were used to give ita more authentic appearance.

3" repainted yellow pulleys, 2 per tire, were usedas hubs. Thin belting was added to the pulleygrooves to get a tight fit on the large Goodyear

ashtray tires.

There is a hinge system in the middle similar toModelPlan #117 with wheel flanges and andcollars used as bearings.

4 speed reverse transmission uses a 1 2/2" pullryand tire for clutch. The motor is from PrincessAutomotive (12 V).

Gordon Frank, St. Albert, Alberta

canadian meccanotes 200009 - cmamas.ca · 2 canadian meccanotes september 2000...

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