Go_West

Still trying to log in and input thing like a picture so just testing if this has worked you should be looking at a picture of a steam engine having just watched The great steam adventure on channel 5 makes you want to get steam up yourself

Hope live steam lovers are still running there engines and like me getting much pleasure from them im still building new engines with a GWR freight engine in the work shop and progressing slowly just thought I’d look on here to see what’s going on? Not a lot

Well it looks like things might improve next year so hopefully lost picture pages and forum content might come back for all those that lost there contribution so over Christmas I will continue on my latest engine pictured below but was watching the Polar Express last night and thought that might be the next but like continental engines look messy with bits of outside pipe work and boxes of service equipment not like the British engines have a great Christmas keep safe

Lord Nelson 38837 views New radio controlReplies16 Views5287 Building a B12/S69Replies393 Views74023 Build your own Radio Control SystemReplies34 Views16025 Building My Own Live Steam KingReplies89 Views29923 I went back over the last 10 or more years and copied just a few postings of new engines that i have built and other projects i was surprised to see just how many views some had like the S69 engine 74023 sad to say no pictures, to loose one or 2 pictures is a problem but to loose all the pictures on the above engine builds some 50 pictures is an achivement

Hi Rob you asked about posting pictures of an engine or two but before this I would like to add to the first posting here Richard Hallam is the man that has given me and many the joy of miniature proper live steam engines and his name will always be linked with the steam system he invented and developed and thanks to the live steam club for keeping the system alive and supporting many owners with help But one name is missing from the list of people involved with live steam and that is my good friend Mr J Humphries we spoke many times about live steam and it was he that long before the LS club that kept these little marvels running for us a friendly man that did more than his best to help the ones in trouble for back then there was no one else to sort out problems someone once said if you cut him in half he had Hornby written right through him. A great friend and sadly missed so if I had an award he would be one person that should be given an award for services rendered yes I have built a few engines now all based on the Hornby basic chassis with little or no mods in some cases some like the West Country engines just like the real thing with loads of wheel slip on pulling away! hopefully here is one of the smallest engines a real compact job of a GWR Rail bus my thought were always what would be a good engine to build and be a real challenge This was watchmaking stuff but the results were amazing with small wheels it never ran off the track like the larger tyres and was real fun to drive. The next engine is an engine that my grandfather would have help to construct and the build was posted here a few years back might still be there less the pictures my grandfather worked for the GER at Stratford works and I thought it fitting an engine of about 1910 would be a good idea. This would be cutting new ground as this was an inside cylinder engine and need some new ideas but the end results were good as videos on YouTube showed. There are so many different types of engine by all the different companies but which to make a live steam one of? The next here is a GWR tank one of my favourite engine an unsung work horse that gave great service on freight and passenger trains this again was like getting things into a very small space and turned out great.

hi i have my own opinion as to why the pictures have gone? and for any one that missed the posting on building new live steam engines this is but one page that you would have seen of a SR Schools engine i think some found it interesting and followed the construction even offering ideas

It’s great to see so much interest in the system that hornby made such a good job of marketing even if the video was a mixture of steam and electric Mallards for the tv adds lm on my 26 th live steam engine which shows what might have been ???

Hi rob love that traffic system did he build it from scratch? Got me thinking

Just to add has the fact that Hornby have just made an LMS turbine model in 00 gauge which looks great made you think of a live steam model?

Rob just seen the video of the turbine engine I don’t check out the forum much these days but hearing the turbine in the video it is turning very fast and is why he is making reference to the bearings not lasting long but a car turbo have plain bearings but have a good oil flow to keep them cool and well oiled he could add ball type bearings and add a casing to the turbine The pressure is 50 psi and the gearing must be high as the speed reflects the difference between turbine sound and the speed traveled, could a feed pump or injector be added to keep up the water level in the boiler I have a 7.25in engine that with steam pressure down to 35 psi the injectors still work and gas might be cleaner and be a more reliable fuel. I wonder what might be if the turbine drove a dynamo a speed controller then a dc motor? Still all very interesting and I think from the way the guy speak it’s a test bed and he will be making changes to his design to make it even better great to see what others have achieved well done to him.

Hi Rob looked at the video hard to believe just plain metal discs could be spun up to such high speeds in 00 gauge I can’t see it working as the surface area would be too small and would lead to lack of contact resulting in poor or no power the more airfoil section blades that as you know are in aircraft jet engines could be a better bet or like in a car turbo very simple still turning at high speed with a reduction gear box like you I had the chance to see the engine room on a type 42 frigate with its Concord engine sitting in what I can only describe as a small shed but when full power was applied the ship could reach something like 45 knots Back to your ideas another problem would be to generate enough steam pressure as 30 psi is the highest with out boiler certification and volume might be a problem how much water can be carried and how long would it run the turbine run for? having a 3D printer parts could be produced for a test model but will shelve this one for now and continue with a steam version of the GWR 2-8-0 but who knows?

Hi Rob I’m still here not dead yet and trust you are well such a shame when old railway model railway enthusiasts depart us like my dear friend J H who got me on live steam and was always interested in my latest project but back to your question hasn’t this been done with full size steam locomotives? I think I have seen something about turbines gas and steam? But not sure I want to go down that road as for me a steam engine is a steam engine with pistons and steam being applied to both sides of a piston. I think it would depend on how many blades what diameter and what steam boiler pressure is needed and what gear box may be a simple type like on an out board motor or many drive a generator and use an electric motor for the final drive I have a build just started of a GWR 2800 2-8-0 which would make a great model in live steam and once again a challenge so quite busy still.

Hi he was always great when leaving comments on projects that I had built and that meant a lot to me as his experience in model railways was one that will not be easily replaced a sad loss to us all Ken

Yes I have 2 rolling roads one works ok the other smoked from the start so mods soon put that right and I keep the beefed up one just for the LS as it tends to get very oily which has rotted out the rubber feet I also fitted extra rollers as I has some 2-8-2 engines

The problem with rolling road is it is under rated for live steam as the engines require 6 amp to operate properly it is possible to improve the design by changing the connectors and beef up the wiring and connections I did do some work on making the rolling road a better system for running live steam this involved a totally new idea which after building and testing was much better for live steam engines The rolling road is not the best unit to test live steam as it stands and can cause more damage to the engines system this I have pointed out before here years back.

Hi Hurley there are many things that will cause this problem starting with the wiring from the controller to the track make sure you are using heavy wires a bit like speaker cables. Make sure that these wires are soldered to the track rails also add link wires on cross overs and points plus links at different point around the track as the fish plates will not conduct the level of power needed to run these engines properly especially if the connection get strained. Planes is a little wrong in that how the servo motor works and this is important I will explain. The controller works on 2 voltages the main supply is around 15 volts the other voltage is around 9 volts it is important to remember this When you move the regulator to the left say the out put drops from 15 volts to 9 volts inside the engine is a small printed board and on this board is a relay this relay reacts the the track volts when the volts are high the relay pulls up the contacts on this relay are wired so that when pull up the contacts are open. When the volts drop the relay drops out and the contacts close and when closed turn on the electric servo motor operating the steam valve and whistle this being the case you can see that any change in the rail voltage will effect the servo motor plus any bad connection in the tender wheels pickups and wiring will also affect the servo motor so make sure you have the very best track wiring and clean track and tender wheels. Avoid letting the motor run uncontrollable as they tend to scream when on the wrong voltage and will damage the motor beyond repair I do not like rolling roads as they can cause more problems as the tender wheels do not get to revolve which improve contact with the rails and the pickups Check the above and come back Ken

Hi Ulrich first the above posts are in the wrong place put it down to old person syndrome now your problem first the thermistor is not a thermistor but a thermostat it’s job is to keep an eye on the brass boiler temperature that is to say if the boiler runs out of water then over heating will Happen this can impact on the plastic body or burn the soldering this device will be normally CLOSED so you will get a short circuit reading across the 2 wires if the unit is over heated then an OPEN circuit reading this open circuit will disconnect the power to the engine and tender This open circuit has an effect on the control unit in as much as if the control unit does not see a draw of 6 amps on its output to the track then the controller will shut down and the buzzer will sound the parts you have checked out sound to be working correctly you will get what looks like a short circuit across the two wheels sets but might be you just reading the tender heater Check the wires from the tender to the engine they do break at the tender end so give them a good pull to make sure they are soundly connected. if you remove the engine body check the heater and the 2 heater wires to the printed board are soldered soundly also the little white plug is soundly soldered if you have removed the thermostat from the tender black plastic chassis you should on refitting the brass boiler add some white grease on the boiler and thermostat the controller will sound if switched ON and there is no engine on the track so in the same way if one of the heaters have stop working the same thing will happen as the controller will see a drop in the current to the track as each heater draws about 3 amps each. try all the above and see if this helps Ken

thanks for the info on the colours you 2 looks like I must make a note of them thanks again Ken

Hi thanks for the info on the colours you 2 looks like I must make a note of them thanks again Ken

Hi Rob space for the water tank will be tight but how about piling the coal up high and building the water tank under it also a more square section would help with a rounded top? I bought the kit on the internet and it hasn’t turned up yet but it will be interesting to see plus another inside cylinder job if it’s possible to build? question the engine is in 2 colours does the green have a name or year? what’s the name of the red brick colour of the frames? every thing needs some thought yet it might never happen

Hope the alarm problem was fixed how about a live steam one of this engine? What do you think

Yes RAF96 i think it used to be the case with some digital systems which you might have information on as the chap in that field that poor rail connections could corrupt data to the loco

Just had a thought if you have points these can cause a problem and it is recommended to add link or jumper wires soldered to the track as the fish plates can give a problem with the live steam drawing 6 amps if you also have a meter you could place it at different point around your track and check the voltage as the engine passes by.

Wi i think your problem might well be a voltage drop on the track if it happens in the same area you can also get this problem with dirty tender wheels and pick ups also check the 2 black wires from the tender to the engine and that the little white 2 pin plug and socket are in good order. if I think of anything else I will let you know but the brain cells are getting older all the time now along with the rest of me.

Hi Ulrich The unit under the boiler is an over temperature device to protect the engine and tender against running out of water and over heating the plastic bodies and other components. If the control unit sounds an alarm, it is not always a short circuit but may be an open circuit. If you have ever left the engine off the track and switched on the controller after about 5 seconds the alarm will sound. With the thermostat cold you must have continuity between the 2 wires leading out of the unit the contacts only open when it gets too hot. Do not just jump to the conclusion that you have a short. These thermostats are very reliable and one my collection of some 30 engines I have never had to replace one. A fault which can catch you out is the 2 black wires from the engine to the tender, these can break at the tender end and make the alarm sound. Try pulling them to make sure they are soundly connected. The control unit alarm is sensitive to current. The engine and tender takes 6 amps which is divided by the 2 heaters so the tender heater might take 3 amps and the engines super heater might also take 3 amps if one of thee heaters fails, then the control unit will give an alarm signal. One way to test which part might be faulty, the engine or the tender, is to switch on the power and see if the volt needle swings over or just past 15 volts. This might mean a faulty heater or Broken wire. If the needle struggles to climb to 9 volts then you have a short circuit. If you can see it’s the 15 volt end of the scale and the alarm sounds, power off and on till the alarm sounds again. Do this 10 times and at the same time put your hand on the brass tender carefully and see if it’s hot, then do the same to the engine putting your hand on the plastic body. If its cold then the fault will be between the tender and the engine. Hope this helps, come back if you still have a problem. You can now by spare parts from AC models as they now have all the Hornby parts. Ken