Just started watching some of these tonite as well as other places(Bitter something?)/It's very easy to overlook the time and energy spent on building engines/cars,when you look at the layouts/tracks on these places.The manpower/hours involved just to have a place to run these is simply phenominal!!!! I SO wish I lived near there!!
I had a back yard 400’ LGB track set up in old west theme running the bumblebee and matching cars complete set . Mountains and track Went under a waterfall precipice , trestles around the veggie garden , bridge over the pond , 3 towns with a coaling area . Parked them in the shed . With 3 sidings inside , Open a sliding up door and let it out to another siding parallel to the main line which was an L shaped loop on the remote control . Was in a club here on Long Island . Other members had some beautiful layouts also . Mine made the clubs first video . 22 tons of rock and block . Yours looks outstanding ! Another club the Long Island steamers had a nice outdoor layout with a couple miles of track to ride on . I’m drooling looking at your video !
I love this engine! I'm actually designing my own version of it, off of the movie Denver And Rio Grande. But I have a question: do you need/have to sand the flues on live steam locomotives?
This looks like fun and games and I am sure it is. But this steam engine ( as small as it is) can be deadly. I would imagine these guys have some kind of engineering background.
How often does coal need adding? It looks like it is particularly difficult on this one to add with the tender connected and even more so from the operator's high position.
When I ran the engines I would put coal in a couple of times each circuit, two scoops each time. If you put a big load in you could go all the way around (the railroad is not that big) but then the fire is more un-even - full of cold coal to start then a big roaring fire at the end when you don't need it. With those engines it is pretty hard to scoop coal because they are built so prototypically with a narrow coal chute for a full sized person and no room between the cab and tender - you have to scoop backwards, bring the scoop up, turn it around 180 degrees, then back down into the firebox. It's sort of like what Jim Henson says about puppetry - if you're comfortable you're doing it wrong! :D Ron's engine (#278) has since been converted to propane and is much easier to run. It also has a throttle extension so you can run it through the roof instead of the window. Makes a huge different in comfort, no more bending over for anything. The engine in this video can also be switched to propane and back, so that it can run freely at Train Mountain (they have coal restrictions due to fire danger.)
CaptainHarlock999 Thanks for mentioning that bit about the coal restrictions at Train Mountain. I've been thinking about getting into this hobby lately since its quite interesting. I've heard it said propane is much easier to use in a live steamer but there really is no substitute for a coal-fired live steam engine. How does one go about getting coal for engines like this though? that would seem like the most troublesome part of owning a live steamer like this. In terms of cost, how much would this type of engine take to build?
HighlandWinterWolf Coal can still be had in small quantities (50lb bags) from specialty suppliers. It's easier to get on the East coast but there are a few suppliers out here in California, places that sell blacksmith coal and specialty fuels for cooking. There is a gentleman that has a large supply of australian char up at train mountain that I have been buying from. that is what the locomotive in this video is running. Burns clean with no clinkers and little ash. There are also a few local cement plants willing to part with their stash. They burn so much in comparison to how much I take that it just doesn't matter. I think the local plant burns about 5 tons per hour. That would be more than a lifetime supply. To be sure it will become harder and harder to get and one day not at all, and the cost is always going up. Several friends have bought lifetime supplies of their favorite fuel so they don't have to worry about it. there are also a lot of oil burning locomotives, which in live steam means diesel #2. Like propane, get it from any gas station. propane is easy and if you do it right will generate a lot of heat. It makes clean up and start up a breeze. I do like that sweet coal smell though...
CaptainHarlock999 Thanks for the info. I'm out in the midwest, a bit north of Denver. The other question i had was where to find the plans for this type of engine. I've been told that the Allen Models engines are good starter kits, but I'm thinking I'd buy one already running, although this would be quite the interesting engine to build.
HighlandWinterWolf The C-16s were put together from a variety of sources, Conway castings were used for the cylinders and I don't think they are available now. These engines were largely scratch built not following a particular set of drawings because there isn't a complete set of drawings available. They were largely made by measuring the real thing and then back dating them using photos. I would not reccomend the C16 as a first project due to the lack of a comprehensive set of plans and castings. If you have some machining experience, Allen Models of Michigan is a good way to go. If you want to learn how to machine and want step by step instructions, I suggest getting Kozo Hiraoka's book "Building the Pennsylvania Switcher" as it will teach you everything you need to know, along with getting someone local to add nuance to it. (there are some things that can be done a lot faster using "modern" innovations like collets and quick change tool posts, and a digital readout). The A3 switcher is a 3.5" gauge engine but it can be scaled up to 7.5" gauge and there is a chapter for that.
You can't just buy them, he made these locomotives completely from scratch. And no, you don't need a license. These engines are based off of real locomotives but are scaled down to this.
Cheating starting the fire as you did.Start small fire and add fuel which it ignites. Grow it. Your compressor was wasting fuel. Nice sound under load. Needs heavier train. Wonderful place.
explain how this was cheating, this is the way they start these types of steam engines, so why is this cheating? how is this cheating? there is no competition here
Coal has a high ignition temperature, the kerosene helps it get started. Once it is lit the old coal will readily ignite the new coal put in. Until then it needs an ignition source to get going.
Typically with a coal fire, you need to start the boiler with a wood fire first once you get a decent bed of coals you start slowly, adding coal to the firebox
