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Any tips for a newbie live steamer


mjb1961

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Hi ,I purchased yesterday the r1041 mallard live steam ,second hand,I don't intend to run as such but I do want to make  sure it works ,I shall test it on my rolling road ,I understand that only distilled water is to be used ,it hasn't got to be hornbys distilled water has it ?,also I understand that the chimney comes off so you can put some oil in ,is it just a drop of oil ? ,,any advice or tips would be great ,thankyou in advance ,,,,,mjb

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Hello mjb.

Firstly - please don't use this wonderful model as an ornament.. get it running around some track, and I'm sure that once you have seen it in action, you will be more than impressed.

If you go to the live steam section, there's pictures of my LS Flying Scotsman in action recently on my layout.

These models can be slightly challenging to control - however to overcome that I definitely recommend that you join the OO Live Steam Club, and purchase one of their 'Live-Drive' controller add-ons. This additional control feature has raised my confidence to where I will now bring a Live Steam train into a terminus station and be able to stop within an inch of the buffers...

I'm sure all of the instructions - if not with the model? - will be available on this Hornby Website, and if not I will gladly send you a scanned copy of my booklet.

Definitely use it and enjoy it - these truly are fantastic models and betwen this web forum and the LSC, you will be able to get all of the help you need to get your Mallard running perfectly...

I'm anticipating that the Loco came with the proper and specific Live Steam Control boxes (two of them) - correct? - as these are essential!!

Let me know how you get on. I will be glad to help further if you need it.

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And remember while it appears to operate on a kind of dcc it is neither compatable with dcc nor dc circuits, so no mixing or matching systems.

 

The live steam forum has several very knowledgable guys on there who can help much more than me as I am just an interested but total amateur in live steam.

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If you'd care to have a look in the live steam section. You'd see my thread about a live steam dvd, on operating the live steamers complete with a web address. Don't worry it's been produced by fellow modellers and with Hornby's blessings. The address/contact being @OOLiveSteam.com

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hi ,,,,well today I gave my live steam mallard a try ,wasn't very successful to be honest ,I took my time setting it up following the instructions ,got it to heat the water ,red led on ,managed to get a bit of a wheel turn but not that much ,after that it wouldn't do anymore and then it seemed to have run out of water ,left it to cool down ,refilled etc fired it back up ,steam was coming from under the cab floor  water was dripping from underneath the front driving wheels ,I thought at that time I'd burst something ,again turned it off ,left it to cool ,this time removed the body so I could see if there was anything loose etc ,checked everything was tight ,that was ok ,wiped off a load of oil from the pistons rods,gave it a push forward and a pull backwards to make sure all valve gear and wheels and cogs were all running freely ,that was ok so refilled again ,switched on and let it heat up ,couldn't get a red light ,at one point green light was on and wouldn't go off ,flicked the speed regulater a few times then had no lights at all but it seemed to be heating up still ,then it started moving of in forward as well ,it wouldn't go forward in first try just reverse,anyway let it plod along ,running quite nice and smooth ,by this time I had the green light on and all seemed right ,tried to slow it down ,didn't seem to respond at first but then heard I think ,a noticeable click ,and then it slowed down and came to a halt ,red light on as expected ,I think by then it had runn out of steam because it wouldn't move when trying to get a green light ,anyway called it a day and put it all away ,I know it runs and it is probably my inexperience / understanding that is the problem so I shall get it out again at some point and give it another go ,,,,,,thankyou all for advice etc ,I have looked on OOlive steam.co.uk and will be joining the group very soon and maybe learn to understand properly how to operate her ,,,,,thankyou ,,mjb

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