Perhaps not 1:8 for me, tho, Pete, how about 1:3…?
Jerry
Hi All
This thread has got a little off topic but Ill post the Q&D solution to my LJ derailing at the turnout here anyway.
For the prototype I used a length of copper sheet about 8-10mm wide and 80mm long. I soldered a couple of 50mm wire posts onto this and then mounted it just before the plastic wheel guide on the turnout. As seen in the photo.The posts push into the soil under the track and hold it in place. On the first test it worked well and kept the inside leading wheel on the track.
As you can see I notched it and bent up the small pieces between the cuts. This was to lower it down onto the sleepers so it would be flush with the railhead and to provide some bracing against the sleeper. This mod was actually a mistake as the wheel didnt “grab” the guide and off went the LJ. I found that the guide had to be slightly proud of the rail head by about 1-2mm to catch the small diameter LJ wheel.
Help fitting the LJ RC box bracket.
Hi collective brains trust.
My servos finally arrived and I started to fit them last weekend. Trouble is, like a few other things with the LJ kit, the instructions and pictures don’t always match up with parts supplied. I also had to use Google to convert the RC kit instructions into English and the conversion wasn’t perfect. So a bit of guess work is required. - (Links to the German to English instructions. Page 1, Page 2 for anyone who wants them.
Q. Can someone tell me how they mounted the metal bracket for the wooden box onto the side of the LJ. The two holes in the metal bracket dont align with the bolts at the front of the side frame. So I have a couple of options. 1. drill holes into the side frame and use the two black self tapping screws supplied to attach the bracket. 2. drill two holes in the metal bracket to match the bolt holes on the side frame and use the existing bolts (if they are long enough)
Page 1 of the instructions has a photo with the metal bracket butting up against the wooden bumper which leads me to believe option 2 is what I should do, but why supply two black self tapping screws? None of the photos I have found on the Net show this area in detail.
Also the LJ RC kit now has brass actuating rod, with a brass ball and plastic socket arm, (the entire thing looks too short and differs to that in the photos).
Q. Has anyone had the plastic ball socket melt with the heat off the boiler? Just wondering.
Wish I could help with the RC kit. I have not used one yet. I would go with option 1 since you know that will work unless you know for sure the bolts are long enough for option 2. The plastics made today can withstand heat, look at the Aristo live steam. The shell is all plastic. I doubt the plastic ball will melt.
Well I found the best solution to mounting the wooden box metal bracket to be option 2, drilling two holes in the mounting bracket and using the bolts at the front of the side frame. They were long enough. Here is a vid of the bench test last night. The wooden box moves around a little so I tightened it up later. The two small M1 4x4 bolts attaching the wooden box to the mounting bracket will need to be replaced with something more substantial as I expect they or the thin wood will fail eventually.
Looks good. That will make a big difference in controlling it on grades.
Update
I finally got tired of excessive servo jitter with the old 27MHz RC system re-purposed from an antique Tamiya Falcon I built in the 80’s. A few weeks ago I purchased a setup from RCS here in Oz. www.rcs-rc.com and it works a treat! Im very impressed by the easy to use hand piece and the fine speed control I have of the loco. I did swap over the servos from what Tony Walsham suggests in the instructions, but thats a specific feature of the LJ I think. The Johnson Bar of the LJ controlling both speed and direction.
Regarding the transmitter…A bonus is that the unit Tony suggested for me also controls battery powered locos.
Its funny though… ever since I got into this Live Steam thing the electric locos have gathered dust. I think I enjoy burning my fingers and smelling like steam oil.
Now I have the LJ sorted Ill get around converting my geared locos to battery and giving them some time on the track.
Below is a vid of the RCS installation if you are interested.
Also other vids on my channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCScEYA3VwhDFFWJPYCJPT-g
Includes a Brisbane hail storm a few weeks back.
Cheers Rob
Great Rob!
A friend has one of Tony’s hand pieces and likes it a lot. I’ve recently received a slo mo for my Darj B class and I’m thinking of using it for the RC after the re-build to an earlier version of the loco plus paint and lining.
My electric locos are dusty too,
Tom
In the spring you can just send your sparkies over here. Phil Thee, The P&CS custodian, can shine them up real nice, and then Smokey can take them for a romp on the railroad. You know, to get the jelled up grease and thickened oil all nice and flowing like it should.
Ha
I got my sparkies working David, sorry 
I dusted off my trusty Stainz MOW engine and hooked up the track cleaning caboose which cleaned all the oil and crud off the tracks. After a few repairs to turnouts and a few electrical continuity issues all is good in sparky land.
I cant thank you all enough for putting me onto the Regner LumberJack. It sure does handle grades well. One of my YouTube subscribers wanted me to make a vid of it running up the big hill with the RC. I was blown away when it hauled 3 Bachmann 20’ gondolas up a 11% grade!!! And that’s without any mods to the gearing.
OzzieBob Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCScEYA3VwhDFFWJPYCJPT-g
Cheers
Rob
Very impressive video Rob. I just installed RC in my lumberJack and it made all the difference. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Rob, That’s ok. I was just offering so that your sparkies don’t suffer too much neglect.
Hi Rob
I am late to your post and can see that you received some very good advice.
I too have some very steep gradients on my layout ‘The Beaver Creek Railroad’. The slopes were also due to my garden topography.
My gradients max at 1:10 or 10% which is pretty steep!
When running electric I use either multiheading or ‘secretly’ motorised freight cars to help with the effort needed to haul a good train up the slope (and also to hold it all back when going downhill
I always wanted live steam on the line and had a friend bring his Regner Lumberjack and also his Regner Konrad to test it out. The Konrad took it in its stride (it managed to pull a couple of small hopper bin cars up the hill) and did not run away greatly down the slope. The Lumberjack was pretty good too but it would speed up quite a bit on the down-slope (it has different gearing to the Konrad).
I decided to buy a geared loco and went for a used Acucraft 2 cylinder LS Shay which was next followed by a three cylinder one.
They are great, pull a decent length log train up the gradient and hold back the train when going downhill. The two cylinder does speed up a bit downhill with a train behind it but the three cylinder one just goes at the same speed up or down…a great beast!
The only problem is that the hill does cause the locos to consume a bit more water and gas as they dig to find the grunt.
If you have time you can see a video of the 2 cylinder shay in operation on the layout when I first got her (she does run a bit fast in one part of the video as I was getting used to setting her controls!) on the railroad’s facebook page… www.facebook.com/beavercreekrailroad
Hi Mike
I checked out your FB page. (Ive been toying with the idea of doing the same. Its easier than a website)
Fantastic layout well done!! Love the RoadKill Cafe and the coroners van LOL.
I had the same issue of the LJ running away on the down gradients too, hence the installation of the RC.
Cheers.
Nice…11.5% grade?
Thats why I put the graph at the end of the vid.
The slope is 1:8 (1m rise for 8m along) at its steepest point behind the Jade succulent (Portulacaria afra) to half way up the hill, then it levels out a bit before hitting the level at the top.
Hi Bob
A lovely line that you have there. I particularly like the wooden buildings and cribbing that you have dotted around, a nice backwoods feel to it.
The Lumberjack is working well conquering your incline.
I have just acquired a used Lumberjack and I will be RC-ing it to give it the control that it needs, especially for the downhill stretch.
Thanks Mike.
I have a vid on my YouTube channel where I have fitted an RCS-RC to the lumber jack. The RCS Rx is tiny and sits beside the boiler. The 3x AAA’s sit on the other side.
Have fun!
Rob MW said:
Thats why I put the graph at the end of the vid.
The slope is 1:8 (1m rise for 8m along) at its steepest point behind the Jade succulent (Portulacaria afra) to half way up the hill, then it levels out a bit before hitting the level at the top.
1 in 8, that’s a 12.5% grade. That’s brutal!