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The Night Mail


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8 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Richard, I have a problem.

 

I realized tonight that my engine, while it does run, is chronically underpowered and short on steam. I mainly saw this after watching a video of a mogul of the same vintage as mine pulling tinplate BR mk1s at speed on an oval. Mine struggles to make one rotation with a single coach.
 

 

 

One trick I used when playing with Mamod jobbies many moons ago was to fill the boiler with boiling water from a kettle in order to give the poor little burner a head start...

 

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

PB and I are joint custodians of a  secret cake mountain hidden deep in the hills of.......................

 

The mountain is rapidly becoming a hill, sadly.  How so?  Well there is the very necessary sample testing at regular (very regular) intervals in order to confirm no degradation of stocks during storage.  It's a tough job but Bear feels committed to such tasks, despite the very real personal risks involved (have you seen HH on the rampage?)

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3 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

1.  Remove the safety valve and inspect it carefully, see if it is functioning properly and there is nothing that might be causing a leak, however slight, such as a damaged seal or perhaps some grit or scale that is trapped inside.

 

2.  Remove the burner form the locomotive and clean it.  Then test run the burner outside of the loco and make sure that once the burner is lit you have a blueish flame.  This indicates the meths/spirit is burning at it's optimum rate.

Thank you Richard,
 

The safety has had many an inspection, and is working very well. However, it rarely actually gets used because there almost never sufficient pressure in the boiler to enable it to blow off. (This is not because the SV is sticking.) There are also no leaks. When I do get the SV to blow off, (after sitting for 2.5 min) then engine sets off at a giddy rate and can do maybe 5-6 circles at a stretch, before running out of steam. 
 

The burner seems to burn very well at a glance, with all the jets burning blue 98% of the time. But, I make my own pilot wicks. These pilot wicks I make from wick material that by itself is to thin for the wick hole, so is twisted over itself. However there is often still a gap around it. Could this be the problem? I can also send you pictures of the entire operating manual for the engine, which has many interesting comments.

 

Douglas

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4 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

 Said wick should stick up 1/8 inch

My brother's wife used to be an eBay trader. One of her best sellers was wick for oil lamps. What was very surprising was that she sold a lot to the US.  

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5 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Which one?

 

If you mean the one in Turreff Avenue, Donnington, it closed years ago.

 

It was too upmarket for the donors that live in the area.  They already had Asda, Aldi and Co-op all with walking distance.

Was telf land like a certain village in southern West Yorks where the price of a wrap of heroin was a jar of shoplifted nescafe.

 

Jamie

Edited by jamie92208
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Douglas, The mogul uses a vapourizing burner.

 

So you have two wicks.  One external one for the pilot burner and a carrier wick that connects the meths tank and sump to the vapourizing tray.

 

Once the large internal wick has lifted the fuel into the vapourizing tray, the pilot burner warms this so that the meths vapourizes and then when the vapour escapes through the vents, the pilot burner's secondary role is to light the vapour.  Once it's alight, then the heat from the vapourizing tray is self perpetuating.

 

However, as Neil pointed out earlier wick packing is crucial to the success.

 

You should not double over any wick materiel as this will prevent the wick from operating properly. the wick should be packed tight enough so that there is no gap, but do not over pack as this will stop the wick from lifting sufficient fuel.

 

This is especially critical of the internal wick that provides the fuel from the  burner sump into the vapourizing tray.

 

If it is too loose or too tight the burner will light up blue, BUT will not be delivering enough fuel to keep the steam generation up.

 

Certainly what you are describing with the mogul would seem symptomatic of a fuel shortage.

 

You can get it up to pressure, but lose it once running is a classic case of consumption over generation, which is the opposite of what you want at the moment.

 

Try repacking both wicks so they are a firm fit into their respective wick holders and try again.  Have about 1/8" of the pilot wick protruding with a skinhead cut, that is cropped, with no whispy straggly bits.

 

Edited by Happy Hippo
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13 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Wick repacked, now not doubled over. I shall now commence a test steaming. Many thanks to Richard.

 

Douglas

 

 

Good luck or bon chance as my neighbours would say.

 

Jamie

Edited by jamie92208
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This not insignificant leak from the lubricator plugs might have something to do with everything. The fiber washers have rotted away, so some silicone O rings need procuring. 
 

I had been wondering what the small plume of steam coming out the chimney when stationary was.
 

Douglas

 

22AB1171-D663-49E4-A5A1-135BA50E425A.jpeg

Edited by Florence Locomotive Works
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10 hours ago, rockershovel said:

That’s a fascinating video. What radius are those live streamers running on? 

 

Also, what’s the occasion? 

I haven’t a clue about the radius, the occasion seems to be some sort of German vintage toy train get together around Dresden, or at least that’s were the channel is based.

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2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

One trick I used when playing with Mamod jobbies many moons ago was to fill the boiler with boiling water from a kettle in order to give the poor little burner a head start...

 

 

The mountain is rapidly becoming a hill, sadly.  How so?  Well there is the very necessary sample testing at regular (very regular) intervals in order to confirm no degradation of stocks during storage.  It's a tough job but Bear feels committed to such tasks, despite the very real personal risks involved (have you seen HH on the rampage?)

So there is the legendary strategic reserve hidden away after all. The reports of it being steam engines is just a cunning ruse a "steamscreen" to hide its true purpose

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26 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

This not insignificant leak from the lubricator plugs might have something to do with everything. The fiber washers have rotted away, so some silicone O rings need procuring. 
 

I had been wondering what the small plume of steam coming out the chimney when stationary was.
 

Douglas

 

22AB1171-D663-49E4-A5A1-135BA50E425A.jpeg

Let's put it another way:  steam will follow the easiest and quickest route out of the pressurised system.  It won't go through the cylinders unless you make it!:lol: 

 

Some ptfe tape will make a temporary seal.

Edited by Happy Hippo
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Having been somewhat criticized for my apparent slothfulness today, (I only stripped down and rebuilt my scroll saw, plus  cutting out hearts for some ornamental pegs and staining them red, but that seems to have been overlooked.) I have been busy making dumplings.  these will go into this evening's beef stew, which yesterday was a beef casserole.  The last few drops have already been put to one side in order to make a beef soup for lunch tomorrow.

 

My next task after the consumption of S&D will be to get the recycling out to the kerbside in advance of tomorrow morning's collection.

 

Age is definitely catching up on me as after I had finished working outside, my feet were cold.  not usually a problem when I'm moving around in either neoprene lined wellies  or a decent pair of boots, but standing around is a different matter.

 

I think I may have to research some lined boots................. Like the ones you get in old people's magazines for 50% off  so they are only £29.99 a pair:laugh_mini:.

 

 

 

 

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12 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Having been somewhat criticized for my apparent slothfulness today, (I only stripped down and rebuilt my scroll saw, plus  cutting out hearts for some ornamental pegs and staining them red, but that seems to have been overlooked.) I have been busy making dumplings.  these will go into this evening's beef stew, which yesterday was a beef casserole.  The last few drops have already been put to one side in order to make a beef soup for lunch tomorrow.

 

My next task after the consumption of S&D will be to get the recycling out to the kerbside in advance of tomorrow morning's collection.

 

Age is definitely catching up on me as after I had finished working outside, my feet were cold.  not usually a problem when I'm moving around in either neoprene lined wellies  or a decent pair of boots, but standing around is a different matter.

 

I think I may have to research some lined boots................. Like the ones you get in old people's magazines for 50% off  so they are only £29.99 a pair:laugh_mini:.

 

 

 

 

I’m surprised these boots aren’t advertised in the popular old person magazine, Railway Modeller!

Robert

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3 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

So there is the legendary strategic reserve hidden away after all. The reports of it being steam engines is just a cunning ruse a "steamscreen" to hide its true purpose

 

The steam loco reserve does indeed exist - that's how we manage to get the requisite amounts of cake into the mountain....

 

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Age is definitely catching up on me as after I had finished working outside, my feet were cold.  not usually a problem when I'm moving around in either neoprene lined wellies  or a decent pair of boots, but standing around is a different matter.

 

Standing on a concrete workshop floor doesn't help - some form of insulated mat may do wonders...

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10 minutes ago, polybear said:

Standing on a concrete workshop floor doesn't help - some form of insulated mat may do wonders...

The workshop is not too bad as it has an insulated floor under laminate sheet.

 

I will certainly be looking at some form of heavy duty plastic matting to lay where the work benches are in the garage.

 

I just need to finalize the bench locations and get them installed.

Edited by Happy Hippo
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Liberal amounts of Penderyn could also help warm the extremities but beware that too much can get you steaming - or is that the ultimate goal? (note to Douglas - not advised for fifteen year-olds, even those with recalcitrant Moguls). 

 

Tomorrow looks like being a reasonable day as Jill and my Dad are going to the nearby Dorothy Clive gardens and leaving me to my own devices. I'll be off to the workshop like a rat up a drainpipe as they leave the drive.

 

Dave

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Another run was just had, this time with ptfe etc on the plugs. It leaked, but slightly less, I’m not sure how a bad a leak the photos below shows. But it still had very little power, and towards the end of the run could only mange 1 circuit before running out of steam. 
 

But, as Yoda said, there is another [possible solution]. And that is priming. The engine primes absolutely everywhere. Could it be that I am overfilling the lubricator to the degree that most of the oil is primed out and there is no seal around the pistons? This doesn’t seem to add up to the lack of steam though.

 

Douglas

 

8DE8B5FB-8736-46C7-A60D-D13190C02289.jpeg

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32 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Tomorrow looks like being a reasonable day as Jill and my Dad are going to the nearby Dorothy Clive gardens and leaving me to my own devices. I'll be off to the workshop like a rat up a drainpipe as they leave the drive.

 

Dave

 

Mistake Number 3 - assuming Mrs. H won't be leaving you a jobs list....

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