Taper-Loc for wheels

[Gary Lambert]

Greetings all. My name is Gary (from South Africa)and my interest is railways in general but keen interest in live steam and the smaller gauges, Particularly the unusual. I was surfing the net and somewhere found a picture of a Lister powered 7.25" gauge loco built by Engineers emporium in the UK. I fell in love with its quaint charm and decided I had to have one. I have limited funding but have two lister model D motors. Buying a kit or even the Eaton transmission is out of reach, so will have to use second hand hydraulic motor and pump.

Now to my question to those more knowledgeable in these matters.I have enough space between the frames to cater for 12" to 7.25" gauge. The loco will be used mostly on 7.25" but might very possibly be used in the future on 9.5" and 12".If I decide to sell at a later date it is suitable for a lot of railways not just 7.25". I have seen in the gauge 0 and gauge 1 locos that they sometimes have wheels that can be regauged very quickly and easily. Can this principle be applied to 7.25" gauge using Taper-Loc bushings and weld on hubs or the wheel is thick enough(25mm) to be able to machine the taper and lock with a bush. The axle size is 40mm. Has anyone ever tried this????

Regards
Gary

[Bill Shields]

Gary:

Hello 'down there'.

Enjoyed your local hospitality last year as RSME - Woodside, so let's see if I can return the favor.

Taper locks can be used, but I would recommend also putting a key in there to ensure they don't work loose.

It isn't the way things are normally done on locomotives, because of the cost of the taper adapters and the need to accurately machine the wheels to fit the taper - but it can be done.

Honestly, if it isn't a steamer, I would think it just be easier to simply make extra axle sets and swap them out as needed.

[Gary Lambert]

Thanks for the input Bill. I do agree that this is not the way things are usually done. I will use keys as you suggest.