Enjoying driving my steam loco round my garden. Then putting it away and cleaning the ashes. This is a loco I built based on the Simplex design by Martin Evans and described in the pages of Model Engineer.
When I was quite young, there was a gentleman in my neighborhood who had a similar track and train! I'd entirely forgotten about it until I stumbled across your videos, of which I have just binged! How brilliuantly well made, wonderful filmography and explanations of everything you're doing. Brought me right back to my childhood, I eagerly await more!
Jonathon.Great videos all of them. Had a look at the work you have done and it is an amazing variety of film work. Its a pitty no one has Welsh anthracite and dry steam coal. I import it to Australia and New Zealand for miniatures from the UK. Considering you are much closer to the UK I would have though it should be possible to gat a tonne or two. Boston is about as close to the UKas anywherein the USA. Thanks for sharing your fine work. Hayden
Great stuff Jonathon but you for got the most important thing of all .You need a white enamel mug with a blue rim and a brew up of Yorkshire tea. Forget a fry up on the shovel cause that aint happening lol
Nice work Jonathan - its been a while since I've steamed a 5" loco, so these are all familiar processes. I suspect Welsh coal is expensive as it has to be imported and is not widely used in the States?
Nice video and good explanations. Do you not do hot blow downs with steam still on the gauge and a full water glass? We commonly do this after the fire has been dropped and we have about 85-90 lbs on the needle. This helps blow out scale and help wash the boiler between washings along with LSB water treatment of course. Never really seen a "cold" blow down before very often. Great videos mate I enjoy them and thanks for sharing. Beautiful railway & back garden as well. Cheers!
I don't think you have to do it that often especially if you use filtered rain water. I steamed in London, when I first built the loco, with tap water for a year before de-scaling the boiler. It was quite scaly but it all came out. After you're descaled the boiler it will prime for a while on the first steaming.
Hi Matt, all the bearing surfaces that move especially the slide bar and the big and little ends. On a slide valve engine the pressure on the valve gear to work the valve is enormous. Use the heavy gear box oil mixed with reap seed oil that I recommend in several videos. Don'r forget cylinder oil in the lubricator.
Thanks for that. Will try that. May need some diagrams or more info on the wash out as don't want to get it wrong. So just use normal water and do that once a year the washout? Do I use a warming fire for the washout ?
People say how could the Japanese not see the fork and keep the chopsticks, I say, how could Europe see the Janney coupler and go, we don't want automatic couplers.
Don't sweat it Matt, if you only steam occasionally de-scale once a year. I would use kettle de-scaler in the proportions suggested on the can. Careful not to get it on the paint work. With the safely valve off, so no pressure builds, heat the mixture up in the boiler but don't let it boil. Leave it to cool and work it's magic for an hour then drain. There maybe some loose scale in the boiler after this, depending on the water and the hours it's steamed, poke around with the blow-downs off to get it out. Thoroughly rinse the inside of the boiler afterward to get rid of the chemicals. It will still prime a little on the first steaming. Don't be tempted to add anything to the water on a normal steaming day it will prime like crazy if you do.
@@mattseymour8637 Hi Matt, long time since I heard from you. I'll answer all your questions at once. Rinse the boiler out several times by filling it up with cold water. Don't add anything to it. I seem to remember you live in the UK like I do now and the best coal to get here, better than the stuff I used in the US, is a hard coal used for gravity feed domestic coal boilers. Its clean makes little smoke and ash but hot enough to steam for hours with any load and without trouble. It comes in small granular sizes to fit into a small steamer without need to break it up.. It has different names depending the the coal supplier. Where abouts do you live?
@@jonathanguilbert8658 thanks for the comment. Sorry for all the questions. Yes live in the UK in Lincolnshire. Is that coal the standard anthracite? I do use the Welsh steam coal in the grain form. Is this good too?
@@mattseymour8637 Welsh Steam coal is very good and should serve you well. The coal I mentioned is a kind of anthracite but not the hard anthracite I used in the states this is much better. I had to experiment with different coals to find what works. Pity you live a long way from me I would have invited you and loco to my clubs' track for a steam up.
How much does one of these locos weigh? Do they have lead in them? I don't see a brass/copper/steel contraption of this size gaining enough stiction to haul 2-3 adults.
Hi, I don't have lead in it and it weighs emply about 110 lbs. You can see a video of my little engine pulling quite a load up the steep gradients: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1b4-GVpG_2c.html
@@GandyDancerProductions I understand GE & EMD pour concrete into a steel pan in the frames of the modern locos to gain weight. As I contemplate the dimensions of your -toys- _thermodynamic traction models,_ they don't seem to add up. 110# empty seems appropriate-for a "back of the candy wrapper" estimate of their drawbar load. The loco's just don't look like they'd weigh more than 50#. Thanks & best wishes from the Vicarious Gallery.
Hi Matt, first hydro test your boiler to twice working pressure. Make sure it's serviceable and not dangerous. Oil round well and redo every mile or so of running. Take your time when starting the fire and changing over to coal. It takes a while for the fire to get hot. Use the best coal you can get, not household coal if you can find some other. Clean your boiler tubes, ash pan and smoke box before starting. Have fun, it take a while to get thing right but that's the challenge of coal and steam. Good luck.
Thanks have tried that and works well. Haven't pressure tested but steam tested and blows off when should and no leaks so all good but don't use it in public and only at home. So is safe enough for me. I use the Welsh steam coal and just anthracite sometimes. Do you like the Welsh coal ?
Hi Matt, I'm not using smokeless coal. It's quite smokey at times particularly when I'm firing but it clears quickly. Also being warm weather you don't see the steam.
