Well, if I had a hundred grand in leftover laundromat quarters …
It is an impressive model.
Ho lee…
WOW!
Bigger than that and privately owned…in an English country garden!
Wow, that locomotive in the video has some very serious steam leaks, would not get within a mile of that one. accident waiting to happen.
Al P.
Al Pomeroy said:
Wow, that locomotive in the video has some very serious steam leaks, would not get within a mile of that one. accident waiting to happen.
Al P.
Actually its maintained to UK Health and Safety standards and the owner used to be chairman of the Chiltern Railways system (part of Deutches Rail). It would not be allowed to carry passengers (infrequently & by invitation) otherwise. He only runs it every so often…(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
I guess a question might be, how much steam leakage is prototypical. Hmm, https://youtu.be/LyEJY_fBeTg
well, when I see steam leaks at the joint between the smoke box and the boiler I get concerned. the lower stuff is from the cylinder cocks. as a former steam mechanic, the best possible solution for extended life of any steam engine is to not have any steam leaks. the practice at the time I was actively doing this these leaks would be noted and acted upon during the monthly boiler wash. there will always be some steam leaks from certain places, notably cylinder cocks. when steam leaks at pressure it cuts steel like a knife thru butter, the longer you let it go the worse it is going to get, so from a maintenance standpoint, you should fix them as soon as possible.
AL P.
It appeared he had the cylinder cocks open all the time, is that usual? Also seemed to be steam coming from the valves on top, is there a similar type of “vent” there?
I agree about the steam between the smoke box and the boiler, but in the last shot, it stopped , maybe some other valve open? Is there a pop off valve around there?
Greg
That loco is a well known guest at other lines with fare paying passengers too, including the 22 mile long Welsh Highland Railway https://www.festipedia.org.uk/wiki/Sharp_Stewart_0-4-0ST_No_19
It’s not uncommon for various things like draincocks and blow down vents, etc’, to be left open to put on a bit of a show. Especially for photo charters. The Beeches Light Railway, was in the east of Oxfordshire, just a few miles from where I live. It is now no more as the owner, Adrian Shooter, is moving house right now. A new longer, than the former’s 800 yards, line is promised at his new home. I can assure you that that loco, actually repatriated from the US by Adrian, is probably one of the best maintained ex-Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 0-4-0’s around. Although a little unorthodox as it has a tender, which all the others of its type don’t.
Al Pomeroy said:
Wow, that locomotive in the video has some very serious steam leaks, would not get within a mile of that one. accident waiting to happen.
Al P.
There is nothing wrong with those engines…:). Welcome to the real world of steam.
Greg Elmassian said:
It appeared he had the cylinder cocks open all the time, is that usual? Also seemed to be steam coming from the valves on top, is there a similar type of “vent” there?
I agree about the steam between the smoke box and the boiler, but in the last shot, it stopped , maybe some other valve open? Is there a pop off valve around there?
Greg
Greg,
There is ALWAYS some leakage around the smokebox and boiler end sheet. There is no pressure involved (of any significance) in the smoke box. Theorically you could run that engine with the smokebox door ajar. The flues in the boiler are actually open to the smokebox at the front flue sheet and the flues at the rear of the boiler are open to the firebox. The main purpose of the smokebox is to form a “venturi” action similar to a carburetor, which occurs between the bottom of the stack at the petticoat and the top of the exhaust nozzle between the cylinder halves. This venturi action draws heat from the firebox and travels forward between and around the files in the boiler. This in turn heats the water surrounding the flues. Pretty simple process actually :).
What most model railroaders know about the electric “steam engines” they run, would fill volumes. Not meant to be anything derogatory…it’s just a fact. When model railroaders start to detail “steam engines”, they usually don’t have a clue to the items they are adding or why. I ran electric steam engines for years and never had a clue what all the little goodies were on those engines. Once I started build my first TRUE steam back in 1956 (a one inch scale 0-4-0 saddle tanker from Little Engines), I started to learn what these items and accessories were and why they were needed to operate a working steam engine. When I started my 1.5 inch scale Gene Allen ten-wheeler, that’s when I really needed to learn some things about building AND operating a real steam engine. The book I bought back in 1980 was The Locomotive Catechism (sp?) published in 1891 for new steam engineers. Beautiful book and great reading about maintaining a moderate sized steam engine of the day.
Ok I went back and looked at the video again. the steam around the smoke box front seams to be coming from the snifter valve on the engineers side, and some other type of device on the other LH side as facing. I could not pause the video in frame that wasn’t blurry I do not know these locomotives myself. but still it may be fun to show off steam from cylinder cocks , but it just adds up the maintance.
still pictures if you have them please.
Al P.
The King Richard loco is incredible. I’m especially impressed by the backhead detail, which all seems to be to scale yet is also functional. Most live steam models use oversized gauges, levers, etc.
Beeches photos https://www.branchline.uk/fixture-report.php?id=388
Plenty info/photos Google…under Beeches Light Railway…Many more under Himalayan Railways…Darjeeling
If only I had been born rich, instead of incredibly good looking.
Ross Mansell said:
Beeches photos https://www.branchline.uk/fixture-report.php?id=388
Plenty info/photos Google…under Beeches Light Railway…Many more under Himalayan Railways…Darjeeling
Thanks for posting. Very nice RR. ! (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif)
