Large Scale Central

Accucraft 3-cylinder Shay - help needed

Problem Solving
#1

Mornin’, Gentlemen - tac here with somebody else’s problem.

It might easily be solved [but not by me]. The owner lives in PA, not far south of Harrisburg - here is his address - shawn.poling[at]ymail.com. If any of you easties live nearby I’d take is as a real favour if you could help him out.

He writes in Youtube as The 301trainman.

Basically, his problem is that his 3-c Shay runs out of steam after about 50 FEET. Pressure is till up there at around 25psi, but nothing happens. Last night I got him to disconnect the drive to each truck, and they both roll easily, but when he took the heads off the cylinders to check them it was still almost impossible to rotate the crankshaft, he says.

He seems to be doing everything else just fine, but he is an admitted noob, and is a’skeered of busting anything.

All the folks I’ve spoken to with 3-c Shays like mine seem to have little or no problems running - heck, you can even push mine along with a bit of down-pressure, and it gets moving with hardly anything on the clock at all. Most of my running seems to be done with around 30-35 psi hauling humungous trains of log cars.

Thanks, Guys, and more thanks for all the birthday wishes - I sure don’t feel like 36 today!

tac, ig & The Vibona Bridge Boys

#2

I’m not very close, and not a steam mekanik so I won’t waste his time with an email, but I wonder how old his engine is? Accucraft is very good at making things right. Especially since he is in the states, sending it to them might be an option.

I’m thinking he probably has a blocked steam line somewhere. Could be a bad (or dirty) Johnson bar valve, plugged line at the lubricator or perhaps a crimp somewhere. Even a throttle that had been over-tightened could mushroom the needle and cause issues. The fact that it does run a few feet kind of complicates things.

I’d disconnect the universals from the drive shaft at the engine then steam it up and see if it will free-run normally. Also, make sure that he is lubing the workings of the cylinders and not just the drive shaft.

#3
Jon Radder said:
I'm not very close, and not a steam mekanik so I won't waste his time with an email, but I wonder how old his engine is? Accucraft is very good at making things right. Especially since he is in the states, sending it to them might be an option.

I’m thinking he probably has a blocked steam line somewhere. Could be a bad (or dirty) Johnson bar valve, plugged line at the lubricator or perhaps a crimp somewhere. Even a throttle that had been over-tightened could mushroom the needle and cause issues. The fact that it does run a few feet kind of complicates things.

I’d disconnect the universals from the drive shaft at the engine then steam it up and see if it will free-run normally. Also, make sure that he is lubing the workings of the cylinders and not just the drive shaft.


Jon, thanks for the call - he has done most of these things, as I noted in my post, so I’m holding onto the thought that it’s maybe a crooked crankshaft that resists when the pressure is not enuff to rotate it. I recommended him to talk to the PLS up there, and I’m awaiting his callback about that. Whinemeal, I’ll send him YOUR list of likelihoods, and see if anything there fits the bill.

Thanks gain!

Best

tac, ig & The Agate Beach Boys

#4

Could be the shaft I suppose. Mine had a pretty bad “hitch in the giddiyup” when I first got it. I blamed it on my ramming the counterweights into an immovable trackside obstacle. Sent it to Cliff who forwarded it to Dave Hotman. They never said what they did but it ran much smoother on return. It still hesitates just a bit when running real slow - but that could just be because it’s a 3cyl not a 3.

#5

TAC:

I would strongly suggest that he first call Accucraft. I’m certain Cliff will be able to quickly diagnose the problem and suggest the best options for getting it running. That would be a better choice than taking it apart one item at a time with the attendant possibility of worsening the original problem or creating a new problem. Not to mention the frustration!!

Accucraft service is about the best in the LS hobby. Here is a link to the factory page with all the numbers, times, etc.:

Accucraft Customer Service Contacts

Happy (Well Supported) RRing,

Jerry

#6

The easiest way to find the problem is to run it on air with all the fluids drained. It sound like a piece of crude is in the throttle valve.

#7

Thanks guys, all done.

Be interesting to see what it was - my 3-c is ten years old and runs like a watch.

Best to all

tac, ig & The Crow Creek Extension Boys

#8

Hey Tac… it’s been nearly a month now… any news on this?