Go_West Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 Tried a few steam runs the other day very disappointed will need to look into a couple of problems 1 the new servo drive printed board works when it feels like it 2 no steam pressure might be a leak in the main boiler3 middle set of drivers hang lower than the other 2 sets engine rocks like a see saw4 safety valve fell apart so a problem or 4 which I have to be fixed and then try again but was it a great man that said "The person who never made a mistake never tried anything new" thought for the dayken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 Oh dear Ken. These things are sent to try us.Knock them on the head one by one in order of priority - safety valve first, then servo board.Could something be pressing the middle drivers out of alignment. I remember you said space was tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 Robwill do the list as you say the chassis has the positions for all drivers drilled in place on the chassis when the engines were first made the only thing I can think of is that as these are none hornby wheels that hornby must have made the centre drivers under size I can measure a set just to find out this engine keeps throwing up problems which slow up the job or might even terminate it for good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Your trainset Ken if you decide to make it a shed queen. Shame after all the work you put into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 As you say I have come a very long way with this engine so will make the changes above and see if we can get some steam up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Nothing from you for some time Ken. Are you OK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Bumping this.You OK Ken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Are you able to contact him Rob? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Are you able to contact him Rob? Yes. I will try email Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 AOK Brian.Ken may post later to confirm.Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Thanks Rob I was getting a bit concerned. Best place on the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 Hi Rob WTD and allRob informed me you were concerned and wondered where I wasyes not been on for a bit and thanks for your concerns health is a problem and as one gets older and maybe like others here up and down health wiseI had two good friends one younger than me die just before Christmas I did see him 3 weeks before he passed on and showed me his railway in a shed in his garden very good it was to. Christmas maybe a hard time for some of us with ones no longer with us.so here I are then I have been busy but not always on my model railway just a quick note on Christmas first one of my fur trees crashed across the main road to the village block the road so had to cut it into 3 and push off the road with my old 1959 Fordson tractor Most of the green stuff I moved to burn and cut all the branches into 10 inch bits these all disappeared before I could move them still got a large trunk to cut up might do that tomorrowthen had 6 electric coin counter to design and build for a local theme parkthen Christmas morning one of the wife's sheep dropped down dead so had to pick that up with the tractor and bring in the shed for collection after Christmas.an old mate of mine now long gone use to say death is natures way of telling you to slow down. So I did and drank and stuff with Christmas chear Now the engine that this Forum page should be about not the above.I was hoping that some good news might be posted here but as I will explain things are less than good On the GWR Tank enginei filled the water tank and place the engine on the track waiting for the safety valve to lift and nothing but a pool of water under the engine on checking this I could see a leak in the bottom of the tank so stripped the engine down and fixed it.once more more water and set it on the track my newly built supper heater then sprung a leak on the threaded section so trying other ways to seal this thought looking at the engine if I moved the servo unit back towards the main water tank the Hornby supper heater would fit along with the heater element and maybe this would be a better way to go as if at a later date it needs to be replaced a Hornby supper heater will fit straight in place. But more changes to the engine will have to be carried out like a longer valve shaft and a 3mm spacer fitted to the clutch section of the valve unit.so having now fitted this standard Hornby supper heater a steaming was once again tried but still no real luck looks like the timing will need checking and also the electronics are playing up so need to be looked at. Its almost like I'm starting from the beginning again but that's development work will not give up as I feel this will all work i hope?Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Best of luck with all of your ventures. You obviously have a lot going on to keep you busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Wow that's some Christmas. Good to have you back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted January 16, 2020 Author Share Posted January 16, 2020 /media/tinymce_upload/2e2fd9730fc5c1ba3476eb7ee86ee10d.jpgThis engine has been a real struggle to get to run on steam, connecting the engine valve assembly with an adaptor and rubber pipe it ran well on compressed air but when the engine was built up with its steam plant all went wrong a list of problems appeared starting with the safety valve sticking open and therefore loosing any pressure built up then the engine when it did move under steam was not free running but needed a continues push which I have had with other engines and by keep on pushing the engine round the track as in the picture here, You have to use a screw driver for this as every part of the engine is red hot./media/tinymce_upload/16ee8f700631fa6adb8eae5dc015aa06.jpgIt is then hoped that things like the rotating valve settling down and the right level of oil in the cylinders will make it easy for the pistons and crank rods to come into life, you can feel that she reaches a point of doing this that the steam power is slowly taking over and hopefully with one good push off she goes but in this case with this engine thing did not go that way in fact things got even worse./media/tinymce_upload/2f683511e673d7cbcf1d693366ea09af.jpgMy electronics packed up so I had no control and could not open or close the regulator to add to this I found a small steam leak and if that wasn’t enough there were shorts somewhere in the wheels and pick ups so this would cause interruptions in steam production and with little or no pressure being made so it was never going to run until this problem could be found and maybe like your own railway layout faults that come and go are the hardest to track down but I did manage to find it and it was in one of the rear drivers as in the picture here. These all metal wheels have given this fault before it’s a break down in the insulation between the tyre and the wheel and a small burning spot with a black carbon build up which will never go the Hornby all plastic centre wheels are the best but this kit came with the wheels so I used them the other problem I have had with these wheels is that the heat tends to expand one part more than the other and they fall apart.Having repaired the wheel I built up the engine once more for some more tests but like other engines with this type of wheel arrangement it was a bit tight on the curves in the track and so the middle drivers were removed and the flanges machined off/media/tinymce_upload/ca34d0d360666d0018819a19bb62f7e1.jpgThis gave a more free movement around the trackYou might also see in this picture that the regulator rod has been disconnected from its drive gear as the servo motor unit was still not working properly and work must be carried out on the electronics to improve there operation. Now the regulator had to be opened by hand./media/tinymce_upload/94d493bd873a672e87c05a0c8c1da13d.jpgHaving said all that I was determined to give the engine one more try so filled it with water and oil and placed it on the track to let it raise steam. After a few minutes had passed and the safety valve showed signs of lifting I started to push the engine around the track it seemed to want to go backwards rather than forwards and any direction would be great at this point and as said before with very small adjustments of the valve setting screw off the engine went a bit jerky but it was going under it own steam a few more tweaks of the screw and things were looking good.When you reach this point its best to just let it run and this will help run the engine in. In this picture it looks like the engine has just come out of the tunnel but in fact its going in.With things now going in the right direction I might need to look again at the lay out of the servo motor and its electronics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Don't give up Ken, you'll get there in the end, I'm sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Don't you just love it when the hardware plays silly beggars.You fix one thing and another falls apart.Just keep playing Whack-a-Mole Ken and one day you will have nailed them all and you will have a sweet engine I'm sure, with all the bugs ironed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Very colourful and descriptive language Rob. I just hope no one sends the Mixed Metaphor Police around to your house. You may end up sharing a cell in the slammer with DG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 Very colourful and descriptive language Rob. I just hope no one sends the Mixed Metaphor Police around to your house. You may end up sharing a cell in the slammer with DG. I’m confined to barracks anyhow until I get these layout boards done and the conservatory returned from a storage area back to the norm. The MMPs will find me in the garage sleeping under the bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Garage vagrancy to add to the list of charges then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 Hicarried out a few mods on the electronics and under took some steam tests today things went better than before after some timing resets the engine ran forwards and backwards at such speed it ran off on the bends so things are at long last going in the right direction so will take some video once happy with more testing.then the other wheels need adding and will fit some more pick ups on the trailing wheels set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzza Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Ken,good to hear that things are moving forward (and also in reverse). 😀Looking forward to the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Good news Ken.Plenty of steam then, but seemingly needing a tad more control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go_West Posted January 29, 2020 Author Share Posted January 29, 2020 Hi Rob control is to come as the driver I was just pleased to see it godad once told me of an engine driver years ago called mad Mc he would crack open the regulator when leaving a station and sit down and tell the fireman " this trains now in gods hands" leaving the fireman to look for signals and check the speed, he was well known for this not sure the pasangers would agree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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