Warren Mumpower said:
Terry, I think you should post it here. And in my opinion, if the detractors don't like it they can just stuff it where the sun doesn't shine...:/ I'm tired of trolls trying to control content.
OK - here it ib - LONG
Twenty-five years late……An owner’s report on the Aster Br01.
Introduction and background – the original.
The coming together of the eight state railways of Germany in 1924 did more than unite them into a common carrier – the Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft [DRG] – it opened up the entire extensive network of the railways, joining up cities that had been separated by the inconvenient and often frequent need to change trains from one company to another to reach the final destination.
From the railway stock point of view, however, it combined the skills and knowledge of many great locomotive engineers – men with vision and the urge to develop new, common classes of locomotives to run the long distances without stopping for more than coal and water. The heyday of rail transportation, the days immediately preceding the outbreak of WW2, saw the arrival on the rails of one of the most iconic of all the standardised locomotives, the Baureihe [Class] 01 Pacific. Running through a series of the inevitable rebuilds, redesigns and improvements of this dominant class of locomotives would take the interested reader on a history of the DRG, from their inception in the mid-1920’s, to their final days in the late 1970’s on the post-war Deutsche Bundesbahn of the then Western German Federal Republic. Not until over ten years later came their final hoorah on the Deutsche Reichsbahn of the German Democratic Republic – known to the rest of the world as the DDR. A total of 321 of the Br01 series were constructed between 1924 and 1938, and a number have thankfully survived into preservation, and even fewer of them are actually fired up to run on special rail-fanning trains.
The Aster Br01 model
To say that the Br01 was popular does not do the class justice – more models of this locomotive have been sold by the numerous and well-known German makers than any other – in scales from Z up to G3. It is hardly surprising then, that in 1980 the company of Aster of Yokohama, world–renowned builders of scale live steam locomotives, mainly in 1/32nd scale to run on 45mm gauge track, should finally turn their attention to this iconic locomotive [see Figure X]. Aster has chosen as its prototype an example of the most popular version of this locomotive, 001 173-4 (formerly 01 173) as fitted with Witte-type smoke deflectors, and running as she would have been seen around the middle-1950’s.
IMAGE of original locomotive and Aster model
Using the technology of the day, in the form of a large Smithies-type boiler, with a capacity of 350cc, it was obvious from the start that this was going to be a prodigious and impressive steamer, as those fortunate enough to have owned one for these last many years can readily testify. The boiler is heated with a four-wick alcohol burner, fed from the tender-mounted fuel tank and connected by a large diameter see-through chicken feed tube. The overall level of detail is not up to what most would expect today – as a look at an H0 model by Fleischmann or ROCO would readily attest - but bearing in mind the need to actually handle this large model, it is more than acceptable, with a mass of highly-detailed lost-wax castings replicating the many boiler fittings, sprung and correct flat/domed asymmetric buffers, scale three-link couplings, well-detailed brakes and rodding and, something that cannot be seen, but is noteworthy nonetheless, full and working leaf springing on all six drivers [see Figure X]. In fact, I feel that although the more recent German prototype models from Aster, such as the Br03 and Br62, are liberally bedecked with fine detail, the comparative simplicity of the early models, like the BrR01, has real appeal.
IMAGE
The cab is tightly-packed with controls, and, with fingers like young wienies, is nigh-on impossible for me to access with the close-fitting roof section in place [see Figure X] – the ‘hump-backed’ tender with its tall-sided coal bunker configuration does not help here. There is no fall-plate, but making one should pose no hardship to anybody with a modicum of metal-working skills. However, due to the near-scale close-coupling of loco and tender, fitting a fall-plate would preclude it running on all but the most generous curves – maybe 6 – 8m or so instead of the recommended 3m. As it turned out, even this figure was widely optimistic, and 4m curves should be considered to be the minimum.
The tender interior contains the 170cc methylated spirit fuel tank at the front, with its chicken-feed pipe leading down and under the cab to the four-wick burner. The remainder of the volume of the tender is taken up by a generous 500cc of water, pumped into the boiler by means of the usual highly-efficient Aster hand-pump positioned at the rear. The well-detailed tender trucks are fully sprung by an ingenious and rather sneaky system of internal springs that remains hidden but proves nevertheless very effective, remembering that loading up the tanks with fuel and water substantially increases the weight of this rather short wheelbase mode [see Figure X]. The visible springs are well-detailed and totally convincing dummies.
IMAGE
Hold yer horses……
But hold on, I hear you say, this is 2007! Why are you writing a review of a piece of history like this? This model has been and gone, never to reappear new, after a total of 500 were built in a period of time that has long passed us by.
Well, I have a good excuse, and reason enough, I assure you. You see, I have just bought one that is brand-new. Never run in steam. Not once. Not ever. Frozen in time in a dusty display case. Probably much-loved and appreciated, but only as a piece of complex metal sculpture. Then it was found by Andrew Pullen of Aster Hobbies [UK] LLP, the distributor for Aster products in the United Kingdom. He just happened to post the fact on the well-known international US-based model railway web-site, mylargescale.com, on which I am a first-class member, and, having secretly yearned after this loco from the first time I saw one in a model store in Berlin, way back in 1982, the deal was struck.
In much the same way as resurrecting an old car out of a museum, so it was necessary to do the same with the Br01, and this entailed the attention of Geoff Calver, a very experienced builder and checker of Aster models on behalf of Andrew Pullen. He finally pronounced it fit to run, we set a day to do it, and then we ran it.
This is the story of the loco and its first ever run.
The First Run
We arrived at Geoff’s country residence early on a Saturday afternoon, to be greeted by an offer, if we agreed, to steam the loco up on a nearby track belonging to the Reverend Malcolm Cherry, a famously imposing gentleman in the style of the British tradition of ecclesiastical railwaymen and modellers. Twenty minutes later we had been made very welcome, and given the freedom of the Reverend gentleman’s extensive track, and told to get on with it. After the usual oiling of all moving parts – and there are many points to pay attention to – the Roscoe steam oil lubricator was filled up. Then, after making sure that the fuel valve was closed, it was topped up to within a ¼†or so of the tank top, and suitable water filled up and pumped into the boiler to show a good level on the large and clear sight glass. It was time to fire up, using the ever-useful live-flame barbecue starter.
Nothing happened.
The wicks were as dry as King Tut, as we found out on removing the burner. Geoff removed the wicks – original asbestos items packed so tight they were nigh-on solid - removed a goodly percentage of each one [there are four in this burner] and started over again, after giving each one a good pre-soak in meths. This time, with the Aster fan in place on the stack, there was a satisfying degree of detectable heat coming out of it in very short notice. It took less than five minutes before the needle came off the pin and moved up to about 2bar, so the electric fan was removed and the locomotive’s own blower turned on for the first time, giving a gentle waft out of the stack. Testing the action of the twin safety valves at around 5bar was VERY satisfying, and then, winding the screw-type reverser into full-forward gear, closing the blower and opening the finely adjustable throttle, it was off, with a blast of emulsified oil jetting out of the stack. It took less than a couple of metres to clear, and with a determined wheeze, it settled down to a rather rapid circuit or two, Geoff frantically keeping pace as it picked up speed with a vengeance – eager to show its mettle after such a long quiescence.
Handing it over to me, a near-beginner in alcohol-fired steam except for my old Bing stationary engine, now long gone, was a sign of trust that I could not ignore, and I soon got the hang of balancing the use of the blower and the need to feed water into the large boiler – a knack that Geoff assured me would become smoother with practice. By then we had put a couple of heavy British-outline passenger coaches behind it, to give it something to work on, but I have to say that it treated this small load as if it was simply not there at all. The wheezing soon disappeared from the exhaust as the D-type slide-valves self-bedded in, and the beat itself soon settled down into a very satisfactory sound indeed. The first and inaugural run was completed in some 42 minutes, by which time the loco was performing as most Asters do – faultlessly and in great style – the combination of the flashing valve-gear and the by-now distinct four-beat chuff adding sight and sound to the general excitement of it all.
It was time to slow down and cool down, and leave the other visitors to enjoy THEIR time on the Reverend’s excellent track, so with great reluctance, I went through the shut-down procedure with Geoff, who showed me how to fill up the boiler using the vacuum of the condensing steam to suck water out of the tender tank, in preparation for the next run. All other spare fluids, fuel and water, were removed, the condensate syringed out of the lubricator, a general wipe-over with an oily rag [to get that lovely ‘used’ sheen, noted Geoff], and that was it. Until next time.
Summary
It is easy to see why this locomotive was, and still is, even twenty-seven years later, one of Aster’s many success stories. I have only ever seen two for sale over the years – confirmation if it was ever needed that owners are very reluctant to part with one. It is not only an exceptionally handsome model of an impressive and long-lived prototype – as I noted earlier there are quite a few in preservation in its native Germany - but an elegant and free-runner of prodigious steam-generation capability. The needle on the pressure gauge hardly moved away from 4.5 – 5bar throughout the run, and had to be shut down – there was still plenty of steam to continue, had there been time. Not that it had what you might call a hard haul – the two little British-outline coaches represented less than a fifth of the load that is commonly seen behind such a powerful loco. In fact, I recall seeing one in Berlin with sixteen heavy German coaches behind it, going like a train. Of course, to that must be added the irrefutable fact that my loco is, to all intents and purposes, brand, spanking new in all respects. As such, as Geoff pointed out, it can only get better as it runs in, something that is up to me to accomplish in the fullness of time. There are a few little things to do, such as re-packing the valve glands with Teflon or PTFE tape to reduce a very slight tendency to blow-by – issue 212 of the G1MRA newsletter has an excellent article by Marcus Neeser on precisely that subject which should help out this neophyte. There are also a couple of non-essential bits missing, although I have to say that unless I pointed them out, most folks would never notice. The under-boiler whistle is remarkable only for its rather watery peep, producing a feeble sound reminiscent of a drowning bath ducky…Bob Weltyk over the Great Water, or even our own David Bailey here in UK, may be able to remedy that, depending on where I happen to be at the time.
It sits here now on the table in front of me as I write this review, the smooth and satiny sheen of the black superstructure, and the striking red running gear in contrast…waiting for the next run. All in all, it is a VERY impressive model, whether gracing a piece of display track in a room, or in its true element, out in the open air, hauling a long train of ‘Ozeanblaus’ on a bright sunny day, beating its great little heart out with that wonderful four-beat chuff. It substantially captures the very essence and feel of one of the most beloved and respected steam locomotives ever to turn wheels on a track.
As I said to Geoff, when I first cast my eyes on it, it really is a black beauty.
tac
Thanks to Andrew Pullen of Aster Hobbies [UK] LLP, Geoff Calver – builder and restorer, and over in far-off Tokyo - my good friend Zbigniew Struzik for all the good times, and the irreplaceable Tamada-san of Aster Hobbies, Inc.
SpecificationsScale/Gauge: 1/32, No. 1 (45 mm) gaugeNet Weight: 13.4 lbs/6.1 kg (Engine 4.5 kg + Tender 1.6 kg) Dimensions:Length: 30.55in/776 mm (Engine 503 mm + Tender 173 mm)Width: 4.1in/104 mmHeight: 5.63in/143 mm Wheel Arrangement: 4-6-2 PacificDrivers: 2.44in/62 mm diameter Pilot: 1.26in/32.2 mm diameterTrailing truck: 1.53in/39 mm diameter Cylinders: 2 cylinders (Bore 0.5in/13 mm x Stroke 0.78in/20 mm)Valve Gear: Walschaert with a screw reverser, slide valve Boiler Type: Smithie’s type with 2 water tubesBoiler Capacity: 350 cc of waterBoiler Fittings: 2 x Safety Valves, Regulator Valve, Blower Valve, Check Valve, Water Gauge, Pressure Gauge, and Whistle under the boiler barrel. Lubricator: Roscoe Displacement Type – between-the-frames. Tender Fuel Tank: Alcohol Capacity 170 ccTender Water Tank: Water Capacity 500 cc with an auxiliary pump (Pump cylinder bore 0.4in/10 mm x Ram Stroke 0.63in/16 mm)Burner: Alcohol - four wick tube burner
[Thanks to Aster hobbies [UK] LLP for permission to use the specification tables above.]
She’s as beautiful running as she is sitting. What a lucky find.
I’m tired of trolls trying to control content.
