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[gowest1707822480]

96RAF

That would be fine with me I was wondering what is the safest way to get the part to him thank Rob

[gowest1707822480]

The picture here shows the main 4 oiling points in the yellow circles the red squares I’ll explain which is the front and rear axles are exposed if you look inside the chassis from the top 

in the picture a small blob of oil is just sitting on the middle of the axle any more oil 

entering the centre oiling point stands a good chance of dripping past the axle as the engine will be upside down this excess oil stands a chance of getting onto other parts of the engine which might cause a problem and will not reach the bearings in any good quantity.

Rather than use the oiling points indicated by the red squares it’s a matter of choice but one I am making you aware of because of this I tend to oil the 4 bearings directly just a gentle squeeze of the sides of the pen and a controlled amount of oil can be applied here to the front and back axle bearings and you can see the oil and how much is being applied.

[gowest1707822480]

Page 3

Moving to the outside motion of the engine This Walschaerts valve gear and its different parts I have listed here which you might be interested in.

This system was slow to be accepted by many steam loco builders due to its many parts and was slow to gain popularity as the Stephenson link valve gear was the more commonly used valve gear in the 19th-century and was fitted to most locomotives. 

Walschaerts valve gear can be mounted on the outside of the engine with easy access for service and adjustment and in the case of the LNER A3 and A4 and many other engines left mores space for a middle cylinder between the frames.

The Great Western even with 2 inside cylinders still built engines with Stephenson link system which gave there engines a cleaner line with less moving parts on show but more involved when it came to servicing.

Before we start the oiling of these small parts which is quite straight forward its best to check out the different links and rods just to make sure every thing is in good order and in a serviceable state.

The eccentric rod in this picture is a bit bent this happens if the engine has been picked up many times and fingers have gripped it here a bit on the heavy side but easy to all you need to do is to run a small watch makers screw driver under the rod and moving it from left to right the length of the rod and adding a small amount of upwards pressure at the same time will leave it nice and straight again. 

Then check the rod on the other side of the engine.

Another part to look at is the gap under this valve rod and the hex nut on the end of the crank pin of the middle driving wheels this gap can get closed up and lead to the motion 

jamming up at some point in a run.

You can reset the angle and gap of this component by holding the pined joint area of the end of the rod with a pair of pliers and gently lift it away from the wheel there by increasing the gap between the hex nut and the rod.

Look closely at the gap and turn the wheels to see that both parts are clear of each other and again check the other side of the engine making sure the 2 parts pass each other with out fouling.

[Bulver]

Good evening,

thanks, Ken, for kind offer, which I would be grateful to accept. I will contact Rob with relevant email address etc.

Thanks once again

Rod

Mod note - contact details passed from Rod to Ken.

[Bulver]

Thanks for info on oiler, Ken. Looks very similar to the Gaugemaster item, which I have just received. I haven't unpacked it from blister pack, so hope the needle is a similar small bore to that you are showing.

Hopefully, spare room will be cleared in a couple of weeks and I can really get to grips with this. All you postings are so valuable as advice for a newbie to the steamer world!

Cheers

Rod

[96RAF]

As an airframe fitter I appreciate the skill involved in rigging the motion gear and setting valve timing to get everything within specified limits and working nicely. Similar to setting up flight controls and engine throttle systems. Do you know Ken if they used rigging pins to hold certain links in a set datum position so that other adjustable parts could be set correctly, etc. It would be interesting to read the associated manuals.

[gowest1707822480]

Rob

is it true after working on an aircraft the first thing a pilot did when in the air was flip a plane upside down to see nuts screws and tools fall into the canopy?

[96RAF]

Seeing as you have asked Ken

Since shadow board tool control and monitored issue of C stores (consumables) was introduced this because less of a problem, but I have launched an air test on a small aircraft with the specific task of trying to find a loose article in the cockpit that could not be found by exhaustive dismantling and inspection. Very rare though and a last resort.

You would be surprised at the things I have found in aircraft. A 12” steel rule inside a Canberra bomb door, with a ident number on it from the factory (likely a workman’s clock number). Also a 3’ jack handle in the wing of another Canberra. This was painted red whereas ours were bright metal. We all used them as an unofficial tool to drift out the main undercarriage leg pivot pintle bolt, so likely it had been in there since the last leg change. Small tools and pens/pencils found aplenty. In all cases it is finders keepers, although the official line would be to find and hang the monkey for losing it unless they had first reported it.

i could relate such tales all day long as I was witness to many over the years.

[gowest1707822480]

rob

I bet you could write a book on your experience I to could tell a story or two like the time we were working on a 404 hight finder on nights the building over the road from us was a 5 floor office block all glass and at night was patrolled by a night watchman an elderly man

when he was on his patrol you could see him going up the stairs we would point the aerial at the floor he was approaching and switch on the transmitter this made all the strip lights in that office light up as he went over to the light switches we would turn off the power and the lights would go out then as he made his way to the door we would switch on the transmitter and on the light would go we could do this on any floor and had the poor chap up and down the stairs in and out of different offices

[gowest1707822480]

Now moving onto the main connecting rods the picture shows a rather bent rod and considering its construction a lot of force must have come to bare on it this mostly happens when the engine has been out of use for some time and steam oil has collected in the front end of the cylinder and as the wheels have been turned I must say with some force the connecting rod has bent a little. 

To straighten the rod try pressing down with a screw driver in the centre of the rod which should correct the problem but do not go too far as this will cause the rod to come into contact with the hex nut on the end of the crank pin on the first driver.

This would not be the case on a full size engine as in the picture here fitted to both the ends of the cylinder is a pressure release valve set to a pressure a little higher than the working steam pressure and should oil or water be present then as the liquid is compressed by the piston the valve will open and let the liquid escape. You can also stop this by opening the cylinder drain cocks before moving off.

Should you ever come across this and the wheels seem to be hard to turn never try turning them just steam up the engine for 10 minutes and see if it will run the heat and steam will loosen the old oil and it will clear up the chimney.

Another thing to look out for is the small end of the connecting rod and its fixing a nut and bolt in the cross head this does come loose some times and the cross head can jam a little in the side bars like the picture here, it should be 90 degrees to the piston rod not leaning backwards as here in this picture. 

First can I apologise as you see me here holding the hex head of the bolt with a pare of pliers I was told from my first days at work that you never never undo or tighten nuts and bolts with plies as it damages the hexagon and can fail to deliver the correct force to lock the item enough.

I should make or buy a small open ended spanner easy to do if you have an old watch makers screw driver with a large enough blade you can hand file the correct size in the end and being tool steel will be quite strong.

[gowest1707822480]

Happy that all the links and nuts and bolts are tight and the satisfied all is as it should be starting at the front LH side oil the pivots and valve rods then the connecting rod joints.

With the left hand side of the engine done repeat the same operation on the right hand side of the engine.

Any excess oil applied to a part should be mopped up using a kitchen towel as it may splash onto other areas of the engine that will make it look messy attract dust and fluff or end up on the rail head causing slipping.

[gowest1707822480]

The front bogie if it looks ok then a spot of oil each end of the axles is all that is needed but should you think it requires more attention then remove it from the engine and check the wheels and axles sometimes hair of other detritus can collect here and cause derailments or the wheels not turning but skid along the track.

Looking at this set you can see something red or other might not be a problem but this recess can hold all types of rubbish like the black blob of something and needs cleaning out.

I spoke about hair and things well I think I can see something like hair in-between the back of the wheel and the frame here by removing the wheels you can easily clean out this pocket and remove hair or bits of fluff from the axles.

Check out both sets of axles and clean with a brush and a suitable cleaner.

After many runs steam oil can build up in the spokes of the small wheels by holding the boggy over a small cup or spray can top you can wash this off with WD40 or IPA remember to ware some rubber gloves some of these cleaners especially IPA are bad for your skin and can cause many skin problems so be careful. 

Finnish off the cleaning with a small paint brush which will get between the spokes and remove any small bits of rubbish and oil leaving the spokes nice and clean.

Dry off with paper towel and a clean dry brush wiping the brush from time to time on a paper towel. I do not recommend blowing it dry with compressed air as this will make droplets in the air which you could breath in. 

If you have used WD40 to clean the boggy this should leave behind a thin oil film and no more needs to done but if you used IPA then the axles will need to be oiled once the unit is completely dry then it can be screwed back onto the engine chassis.

The rear pony truck does not need to be remove from the engine as in the picture here I have never had any problems with this part of the engine so it just needs a check over and a drop of oil each end of the axle and that will do but if it needs a clean like the front bogie then carry out the same procedure as for the front bogie.

[gowest1707822480]

Page 4

The Tender

We are coming to the end of this servicing summary for the Hornby live steam engine which I hope has helped others to keep there engines in tip top condition.

The tender needs a little bit more attention than just oiling to make sure its fit for the track.

What you must remember is that all the power to run the engine and raise steam from the electric heaters comes from the track and up through the 6 tender wheels and as we are talking 6 Amps the connections here need to be the very best we can get.

Lets start with the 2 power leads that take the power from the tender to the engine. In the picture here I have circled in red the main tender connections it is at this point that a break in the wires can occur under the heat shrink sleeve.

Just give them a little tug to make sure they are sound and mechanically well made.

Happy that all is well with the power leads to the engine we can now look at the pickup connections these are the 6 spring finger type connections that press against the centre wheel boss.

This is the pickup which has a string of 3 sprung loaded fingers there are 2 inside the tender held in place by 2 screws these screw thread into the brass frames of the tender to take the power onto the brass chassis rails

.You can see here one of the brass frames and the pickups in place each positioned in the square cut outs of the frames plus one set of wheels.

Looking on the inside of the frames you can see the axle box in position more clearly, there is a little movement up and down on the axle boxes in the frames 

The picture above shows the 2 finger like contacts in position running on the wheels centre boss. 

It is hard to see a problem here but try to check the contact is good up against the wheel boss by feeling the tension of the fingers in moving the wheels gently from side to side you should see them move with the wheel centre, any lack of spring to the fingers might cause a problem they do wear out and become very thin which also will affect there potential to deliver the power needed for the engines systems.

Heat can be generated at the axle box due to lack of conductivity of the finger pickups in this area.

[gowest1707822480]

On the early types of tender assembly there was a problem the first type of axles had a plastic insulator and heat generated at the axle melted these insulators causing the wheels to run badly or even come apart. 

This picture shows the early type of axle assembly and in both cases too much heat coming from the wheels and axle bearing has caused the plastic to melt and formed a shoulder in the plastic. 

One axle itself has come apart at this point 

This picture shows the new axle with the old axle the new axle has a ceramic insulator this will not fail with the heat that might come from the axles but I did let one set of wheels roll off the table onto the kitchen floor and the ceramic insulator snapped in half leaving me with a broken wheel set of wheels so take care if you ever remove the tender wheels to not let them roll any where.

The small axle boxes are made from Oilite which is a bronze tin alloy and has tiny pores which hold the oil this would make them poor as conductors and if tarnish builds up on the outside and inside of the bearing surfaces and the pickup to are failing then heat will be generated in this area and poor running might occur. 

I think these wheels sets work best when revolving I believe that the use of a rolling road is only good for short runs of about ten minutes longer can cause the connection from the track through the wheels and axle boxes to the tender frames to over heat. Always remember to clean the rails on your rolling road which do get over looked sometimes, they are nickel which is better than steel but a good contact is still needed and if not used for some time might still be tarnished a little.

 If you want to run the engine for a longer period of time why not make up a small jumper cable from the tender to the cab of the engine you can do this easy if get an extra white plug and socket then you can wire straight into the power from the controller and avoid any damage to the tender power connections.

Some wheels might show signs of tarnish or even burn spots on the tyres like in this picture 

They should look nice and clean brass looking like the lower wheel in the picture, this not so nice wheel can be corrected by cleaning the tyres so that no signs of discolouration are there to impair the contact with the rails and while on this subject you should check the rails them selves from time to time I use mentholated spirit on some kitchen towel you'll be surprised how black the towel becomes after just a few feet of track cleaning.

Back to the wheels the best way to clean the wheels is with a small strip of wet/dry 600 glued with double sided tape to a lolly stick as in the picture here.

By holding the wet/dry side of the lolly stick onto the tyre of the wheel and at the same time revolving the opposite wheel a few times the marks and tarnish will be removed and the wheels will look nice and bright brass.

I think you can see which wheel I have just cleaned it is shiny and bright and will make a good contact with the rail.

[96RAF]

Great info Ken.

I have found finger nail buffing strips as used by our good ladies are ideal for shining up wheels and nickel silver rail tops. They generally come in three grades - coarse, medium and fine, but in our world they are fine, very fine and smooth.

[gowest1707822480]

Hi Rob

like the nail buffer idea must check what the wife has in her box of bits it's others with ideas put here can help us all

[gowest1707822480]

Rob

just bought some on flebay will try them out

ken

[gowest1707822480]

Rob

just bought the wrong things 180 grit too rough the wife showed me what she uses it looks more finer for polishing right.

in the mean time let finish the basic oiling and cleaning parts job....................

The next part is the power pickups and axle boxes as explained we need to clean them in a way that will give a good contact and lubricate the axles failure to keep this part operating well can lead to the axles seizing up and the wheel ending up with a flat on it.

I use switch cleaner this comes in a spray can and it will clean grease, tarnish, oxidisation and other contamination from these parts it will also stop the arching between parts improve the current flow and the residual film resists drying and the attraction of dust it is also a lubricant and will oil all moving parts. It also works well with standard electric engine and DCC system locos.

Should you wish to dismantle the tender body remove the moveable tender wheels and the 5 screws marked with green circles and pull the body off of the chassis.

Stand the tender on some paper towel and using the switch cleaner pointing the delivery tube downwards give each axle and pickups a good blast washing out any rubbish and cleaning the complete area. 

Leave the tender on a new section of paper towel for 20 minutes or so to absorb any cleaner left on the wheels moving the tender back and forth to give all the wheel contact with the paper towel 

Then finally some cleaner on the cotton bud and just run round the wheels to clean off any switch cleaner. 

Well I think I’ve covered most of the important parts of the engine and tender and I have used this on my engines and it all works fine with no damage to the very fine parts so hope you find it helpful.

[CORKY.]

RMS Railway Model Store have a boxed live steam Mallard model train set for sale. unused still in box.....

[Fishmanoz]

Just got around to looking at this thread. As always, great detail from Ken.

A suggestion, at least until a sticky is made with all of the maintenance detail - add to the thread title “- Live Steam Loco Maintenance Manual”