Curious what Jay tempted you with? I am fighting with ongoing timing issues on the piston valves on the Merlin. Runs beautifully on the LH cylinder along(main rod disconnected on the RH side) Hook the RH side back up and it fights with the other side just enough to make the motion jerky, like there is a catch or bind, of which there is not. Setting the timing per instructions from Tag Gorton in the UK got it better than perviously, but its gonna take tinkering with the timing while in steam to get it smooth. Mike
Mike Toney said:
Curious what Jay tempted you with? I am fighting with ongoing timing issues on the piston valves on the Merlin. Runs beautifully on the LH cylinder along(main rod disconnected on the RH side) Hook the RH side back up and it fights with the other side just enough to make the motion jerky, like there is a catch or bind, of which there is not. Setting the timing per instructions from Tag Gorton in the UK got it better than perviously, but its gonna take tinkering with the timing while in steam to get it smooth. Mike
Check each of the linkage for loose or worn parts. How are the eccentrics? They could be worn out as well.
The running gear is quite tight. I do not think she was run much, but she slept for 25+ years without use according to the late owners son. I am going to be getting upgraded piston heads and valve chests with new piston valve bobbins. Not unheard of for a Merlin to have issues with this. The pistons are nothing more than PTFE cups on the end of the piston rod. The replacements will have a brass piston head with O rings. Its possible that the RH piston has blow by causing the jerky operation. Running on just the LH cylinder she is quite smooth. I will tinker with the timing more tomorrow. Mike
My choices have narrowed down to the Roundhouse Katie, Regner Lumber jack, Accucraft Forney, and Jay’s offer, and If I don’t act quick, I may be kicking myself in the butt, but I don’t want to make a choice that I’ll regret either. With the weather improving this weekend in Chicagoland, I took tomorrow afternoon off to go down to Reynaulds, to chat with him as to what’s available from Regner, inApril, also keeping in mind that on Jay’s site that the Katie may be available in March.
The last couple of days, I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube vids from Shawn, and summerlands, as well as others, looking for the good and bad points of the different engines, and upgrades that can be done to them.
I’d prefer an engine that can be RC controlled (throttle and forward/reverse), an engine that can run prototypically slow (seen some vids that the engines are running so fast, it’s a wonder they don’t fly off the track. Last thing I want to do is buy a $1300 engine to have it take a 2 foot drop off my layout onto concrete.)
I am waiting to see if the new Slomo for the Lady Anne will work on the Argyll engines. They do have the Slomo’s for the Katie available. That makes the engine very controlable at slow speeds with no train in tow and much easier to control in manual mode as well. Let me know what you think of Reyauld’s, never been there yet. Mike
Good choices. You wont be disappointed with the RH Katie. Curious as to what what Jay offered…
Like Shawn said, You cant go wrong with Katie. I have one on order from Jay. I do have a RH Billy with slomo. its a great runner and ran perfect right out of the box. You can see a video of Billy in the live steam forum page 4 under Lady Linda on my micro.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Mike, something to consider, especially with the simpler Accucraft locos that have forward/reverse operation via a simple steam manifold block, is to simply have ONE servo operating the Johnson bar.
Having gotten a good head of steam, and with the Johnson bar in mid position, open the throttle about a quarter, and gradually operate the Johnson bar servo. The constant head of steam is controlled by the ‘throttling’ in the steam manifold block, as is forward and reverse.
tac
OVGRS
Mike Toney said:
I am waiting to see if the new Slomo for the Lady Anne will work on the Argyll engines. They do have the Slomo’s for the Katie available. That makes the engine very controlable at slow speeds with no train in tow and much easier to control in manual mode as well. Mike
The Slo-mo device is a great idea, but not $400-worth of a great idea.
tac
OVGRS
tac Foley said:
Mike Toney said:
I am waiting to see if the new Slomo for the Lady Anne will work on the Argyll engines. They do have the Slomo’s for the Katie available. That makes the engine very controlable at slow speeds with no train in tow and much easier to control in manual mode as well. Mike
The Slo-mo device is a great idea, but not $400-worth of a great idea.
tac
OVGRS
I was thinking the same. I wanted to try one out until I saw the price lol.
The Slo-mo device is a great idea, but not $400-worth of a great idea.
Not only that but you have to remove the axle and its wheels to fit it, I think.
Indeed you do - no small PITB for those who are not used to dismantling their precious live-steam loco. Sure, you can arrange somebody else to do it, as indeed we can here in UK, but that isn’t cheap, factoring in the shipping costs…
I’ll just drive mine slower, I think.
tac, the tightwad
OVGRS
I installed one on my RH Billy, A piece of cake.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Ah, but Ron, you are rich, and I am poor. You have eight fingers, and I have eight thumbs.
I also have four live steamers of the kind that would ‘benefit’ from the installation of such a device, but élas, here in UK many of us have to eat now and again - or even buy a clothe…
tac
Ha, Rich im not, But I bought it awhile ago. And dont think I paid 300.00 or less.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif) I found the receipt. Nov-14 357.00. So it is a little pricey. Better off buying one and putting it into a trailing car.
Mike Toney said:
I am waiting to see if the new Slomo for the Lady Anne will work on the Argyll engines. They do have the Slomo’s for the Katie available. That makes the engine very controlable at slow speeds with no train in tow and much easier to control in manual mode as well. Let me know what you think of Reyauld’s, never been there yet. Mike
Went to Reynaulds today. If you’ve never been there, it’s north of the tracks, on the west side of the road, on Rt 47 (Main St), in a vacant Trust Co. building. The Vault is still in it, lots of $$ in that store as it is all Marklin, LGB, Piko, anything German made. Didn’t get the owners name, but he said he’s going to the Nuremberg Toy Fair at the beginning of February, and will purchase what he can of the Regners, and give me a call upon his return.
But in the meantime, I’m not about to pass up any good deals. I’m the sole breadwinner in my household, and it is necessary to stick to a budget.
Thankfully my wife and I both work, well she does full time and I hope to start a new assembly job in a week or so. Hopefully less burn out at this one and I can hang on to it for awhile. Just finished up doing some repair work on my Merlin, still need to R n R the cylinders to get smoother running, but atleast the steam leaks are cured. We are all waiting with baited breath to see what you end up getting for an engine. Mike
The excellent offer that Jay offered me just isn’t going to work out, partly because I made the mistake of telling my wife how much the engine cost, and she blew a gasket, and since I have to live with her, I don’t need the grief. So the budget stays below $1000.
I did ask Jay to keep me in mind if something comes up used.
Mike Toney said:
I am waiting to see if the new Slomo for the Lady Anne will work on the Argyll engines. They do have the Slomo’s for the Katie available. That makes the engine very controlable at slow speeds with no train in tow and much easier to control in manual mode as well. Let me know what you think of Reyauld’s, never been there yet. Mike
You are confusing me now… I thought that you had a Roundhouse ‘Argyll’, but now you are talking about ‘Argyll engines’.
Argyll Locomotive Works [Gordon Watson] is THE Accucraft [and others] dealer in Australia - do you mean HIS brand locos?
tac
OVGRS
Actually Argyle Loco (Sales) is now owned my by Michael Ragg. Michael carries a number of Live Steam brands including Aster, Accucraft & Roundhouse.
Gordon Watson retains Argyle Loco (Manufacturing). He looks after the technical side of product development and repairs. Gordon recently spent some weeks in China assisting Accucraft with locomotive design.