Had to burn the butane in the tank before shipping next week. Had a nice day for a run today… [url=lsc.cvsry.com/ShaySteam1-1024.JPG]
(http://lsc.cvsry.com/ShaySteam1-640.JPG)
[/url][color=blue]FF: Click to Enlarge - IE: Right Click Photo and select Open Link in New Window to Enlarge[/color] [url=lsc.cvsry.com/ShaySteam2-1024.JPG]
(http://lsc.cvsry.com/ShaySteam2-640.JPG)
[/url][color=blue]FF: Click to Enlarge - IE: Right Click Photo and select Open Link in New Window to Enlarge[/color] 
Looking good, Jon. I was out testing my loco and track. Nice weather.
I got a phone call from Cliff at Accucraft last night. My shay went directly to Dave Hottman. He’s completed his magic and is shipping it back today. Dave said, through Cliff, that they all sound a bit like a sewing machine, but that knock/wobble wasn’t right. He got that taken care of.
Knowing Dave’s reputation, I’ll probably get back one of the best running shays on the planet
Dang, that should be sweet! I hope you’re bringing it to the Invasion!
Not what you want to see on the UPS Tracking screen…
SECAUCUS,
NJ, US 04/03/2008 4:00 P.M. TRAIN DERAILMENT
DECATUR,
IL, US 04/01/2008 9:27 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
Despite the train wreck, the package arrived this afternoon. Can’t wait to get it unpacked and fired 
I really would love one of those little Shays!
Glad you got it back, in spite of a the derailment!
Kudos to Acc…so you bought it from Royce?
cale
Actually, I got it from Mrs. Claus last Christmas. SHE bought it from Royce.
Got it unpacked and the trucks back on last night. Noticed that the first time I installed the trucks I must have cross threaded the stud. Managed to get it to thread straight this time without re-taping the hole. Also discovered that one of the new Bachmann drop couplers can be modified to mount under the link & pin fixture and lines up very close with my new Bachmann cars.
Steam-Up scheduled for after work today. If all goes well with the test run I’ll reinstall the R/C.
Today I had a chance to steam the Shay after work. It ran like a clock pulling my 3 new Bachmann 1:20 cars + an old Bachmann caboose up my curving 4% +. Even though it slowed to a crawl on the worst of the grade, it smoothly kept working and picked up speed on the grade beyond the curve. It ran great for well over 20 minutes traversing the layout several times. For most of the run the workings were dead quiet except for the exhaust. I began to hear a slight click as I brought it inside just before the end of the run. By then the steam oil was nearly exhausted and water was running low.
For this test run I’m back to manual control. Now that it has passed the test I’ll put the R/C back in. I’m hoping for a break in the predicted crappy weekend weather so I can give it another test run under R/C.
Kudos and a huge Thank You to Dave Hottmann and Cliff at Accucraft for a job well done. Thanks also to Royce Brademan for making the initial contact with Cliff on my behalf after consulting with me and watching the videos posted in this thread. These guys don’t hang out here from what I know. They are still struggling with all the stuff over on the soap. Perhaps someday they’ll join us.
Jon
Great to hear you’ve got it running the way you like. Look forward to seeing it.
I know it’s late in the game, and I’m not a live steamer… but on any shay you do know the bit about making sure the universals are properly phased, right? Cuts down on the vibration and noise a lot…
Matthew (OV)
Hi Matt -
I read that over on the Soap. I’m not sure exactly what it means, but I’d think that the square drive on the universal shaft kind of makes it impossible to get them aligned wrong. Perhaps they mean that the front and rear truck universals are set up correctly in relation to each other? I don’t know why that would make any difference. Feel free to enlighten me
Jon Radder said:
Hi Matt -I read that over on the Soap. I’m not sure exactly what it means, but I’d think that the square drive on the universal shaft kind of makes it impossible to get them aligned wrong. Perhaps they mean that the front and rear truck universals are set up correctly in relation to each other? I don’t know why that would make any difference. Feel free to enlighten me
I have both Accucraft Shays and have never suffered from the ‘clicking’ mentioned in these posts, but then I don’t have R1 curves to run them on either. I think you’ll find that front-wheel drive cars ALSO click on full lock when they are starting to show signs of wear, and that, IMO, running a complex little loco like this with such pernickety and vulnerable drives may not be the best idea anyone has ever come up with - I certainly never would do so.
In the interests of science I set both mine ‘out of phase’ yesterday evening and ran them - both remained totally silent in the joint department, but then I’m running on 12 foot radius tracks.
I tried the same experiment with something slightly less expensive than my $3000 Accucraft Shay - two Meccano universal joints - and sure enough, they clicked when trying to transmit drive at almost right-angles - it’s simply a matter of trying to transmit torque at sharp angles via a flexible coupling.
The answer is - don’t.
tac the Griper
Thanks Terry, Now I understand. I’m surprised that this is not mentioned in the assembly instructions for the Shay. I’ll check and correct this if it is a problem. BTW - I’m not running any R1 curves. I’m 5Ft Radius at minimum with most significantly wider. No problems with close coupled body mount couplings on any of the curves where the Shay runs. As far as the original problems go, Dave Hottmann did identify and repair a problem in the front cylinder. He took it apart, machined some parts then re-assembled and tuned the engine. Dave told me to expect it to sound somewhat like a sewing machine when running at faster speeds, however when I got it back the engine and drive line was dead quiet except for the exhaust. This photo illustrates pretty well the joint alignment you are speaking of…
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bc/SonoraUJoints.jpg/800px-SonoraUJoints.jpg)
Jon Radder said:
This photo illustrates pretty well the joint alignment you are speaking of…(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bc/SonoraUJoints.jpg/800px-SonoraUJoints.jpg)
Thassit. The annulus is there simply to protect the joint. Looks like a Shay on the Cass/Mower? tac the Griper www.ovgrs.org
Terry A de C Foley said:
Looks like a Shay on the Cass/Mower? tac the Griper www.ovgrs.org
Dunno fershur. I borrowed the photo from Wikipedia. The caption is “Sonora’s universal joints” - The article sez the Sonora (Ex Westside Lumber #7) operates at the Roaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad in California.
