The sad look of disappointment !

[David Powell]

Perhaps you may have gathered from my other postings that I am a determined character. Long, hard and occasionally painfully embarassing experience has taught me that model steamers can indeed be fickle devices. I see many modellers who turn up at a show, or track site, with fabulous looking models, but who totally fail to get a run of any sort. They spend their time trying to remedy a fault which they thought they fixed at home, BUT DIDNT STEAM UP TO TRY OUT THE REPAIR.I certainly do not want to drive for an hour or more , sometimes on the busiest highway in North America ( 401 Across Toronto 14 lanes most places more in others) only to have a disappointment. Pretty well the last thing I do before loading the models up to go to any event is to steam up whatever I am taking, on a bench in the garden, and see if everything is allright, preferably I do this a couple of days before the event so I have lots of time for a rethink, modification and retest. Obviously this is possible only if the models live at home, if they stay on site then other routines must prevail. I have had unseen faults jump up and bite me, but no recent failures that I had any inkling about. What do others do? How do you look at how important is it that you have a successful run? Are you able to keep your commitments( Eg I WILL pull the children on Saturday) or do you have to say" Sorry its still not running right, we will try again next week" Heres hoping to provoke some thought and action. David Powell.

[Fred_V]

i agree. do your work at home and enjoy the weekend run. i've run my Chloe for 17 years and only once did it let me down at the track. a steam supply line in the smokebox let go and i couldn't repair it at the track.

[110HLW]

I have nowhere to test my engines other than a club track, but a bad day at the track is far better than a good day at work

Corey

[cbrew]

im with Corey here, not everyone is able to fire up at home. I know i wasn't before i bought my own house.
if someone wants to bring out there project and needs help addressing issues, im all for helping, that's what we do.
the first year i was chasing bugs with running gear on my American, it would run great on air. but as soon as i would fire it up, it would not run well if not at all on steam, after screwing with the timing, i finely found the issue, it was the bronze castings for the valve gear bell cranks, the bronze was soft and it didn't take long for the holes of the pins to oval out to the point the arm barely moved under the load of the d valves
the older ones helped me when i was struggling, so i am always happy to pay it forward.
This is how we grow the hobby.. am i wrong?

[David Powell]

Over a long lifetime with lots of personal adventures I have lived in quite a few places. By being careful with lighting up, burning only charcoal and not smoky coal, only using a minimum of accelerant, sometimes alcohol( Gas line or methylated spirits) to avoid any smoke, I have been able to steam up in places you wouldnt expect without causing offence or problems. Over here a summer time pastime for many is barbequing and lots of folks have outdoor cook ups, especially on the weekend.( Often on apartment balconies) I can get a steamer in full steam with less smoke and smell than most of them make. In Britain I had a friend with a 3" scale traction engine, while he could easily steam up and play at home we found a stretch of abandoned road about 5 miles from home and we used to load all the gear in his station wagon and go and play there. If you have the ability to transport your model to a track surely you could use a friends garden or shop for a steam up? Obviously my comments apply mainly to smaller models. Regards David Powell.

[tsph6500]

As I am yet to be old enough or wealthy enough to retire, raising two children while active in our hobby and still to this day a freelancer, I often have absolutely no time to prepare before a run or out-of-town meet. It's all an extremely last-minute flurry of tossing engines, tools and camping gear in a vehicle at midnight or the crack of dawn.

This is the scenario that is taking place as I write this… I'm trying to write some stories for publication and arrange the logistics for travelling to Bonneville to cover Speed Week. Tonight I have to attend the weekly cruise night that I somehow became organizer of and I need to get 3 locos ready to go to my own club's meet this Thursday… that I am also the organizer of. We have the best visitors of any meet anywhere and the first two arrived Monday morning… for a meet that is officially this Friday through Monday.

It's been this way for 20 years and I don't see it changing soon.

Fixing and fettling on the steaming bay in the company of the world's brightest live steam minds is a delightful part of the game. That's when we socialize and the jokes run fast & furious. I no longer deal with the public and our meets are for live steamers & guests only so we feel no pressure to perform and I believe that is what our hobby should be, as it was intended by our founders.

See you at the track!

[Fred_V]

im with Corey here, not everyone is able to fire up at home. I know i wasn't before i bought my own house.
if someone wants to bring out there project and needs help addressing issues, im all for helping, that's what we do.
the first year i was chasing bugs with running gear on my American, it would run great on air. but as soon as i would fire it up, it would not run well if not at all on steam, after screwing with the timing, i finely found the issue, it was the bronze castings for the valve gear bell cranks, the bronze was soft and it didn't take long for the holes of the pins to oval out to the point the arm barely moved under the load of the d valves
the older ones helped me when i was struggling, so i am always happy to pay it forward.
This is how we grow the hobby.. am i wrong?

that bell crank has been a constant source of trouble for me on the Chloe for 16 years. i reamed it out for a taper pin but it still ovals out. i threaded the small end and put on a nut so i could tighten it up. that helped but i have to tighten it regularly. when i do an overhaul i'll make a new arm in steel. that will fix it permanently.

[ccvstmr]

Dave,

I am perhaps more frustrated when something goes awry while at my home track than visiting other tracks. Mostly because parts, tools or other are nearby, but not worth the back and forth trip (until the next weekend).

While visiting other clubs...it's a matter of "damage control". What can be done to rectify the situation when parts, tools or other are not readily available? It helps if there's a good hardware store nearby. But they most certainly won't have steam related parts.

During a recent trip to another railroad, I had the brakes go out on a car. So, I swapped trucks with another car. That led to another problem, coupler height compatibility (not all truck mfgr's have the same bolster height). This could be resolved with a trip to the hardware store to get some fender washers...and the meet went on. Such issues push out-of-box thinking. How do you get thru the event so you're back on the track and can operate as safe as possible? Put two heads together...you may come up with (4) possible solutions.

Sometimes your problems generate new friendships. It's a great way to meet other hobbyists as they inquire about your troubles (train). And as already noted, you're out of the office, away from home...and still having fun. Carl B.

[cbrew]

im with Corey here, not everyone is able to fire up at home. I know i wasn't before i bought my own house.
if someone wants to bring out there project and needs help addressing issues, im all for helping, that's what we do.
the first year i was chasing bugs with running gear on my American, it would run great on air. but as soon as i would fire it up, it would not run well if not at all on steam, after screwing with the timing, i finely found the issue, it was the bronze castings for the valve gear bell cranks, the bronze was soft and it didn't take long for the holes of the pins to oval out to the point the arm barely moved under the load of the d valves
the older ones helped me when i was struggling, so i am always happy to pay it forward.
This is how we grow the hobby.. am i wrong?

that bell crank has been a constant source of trouble for me on the Chloe for 16 years. i reamed it out for a taper pin but it still ovals out. i threaded the small end and put on a nut so i could tighten it up. that helped but i have to tighten it regularly. when i do an overhaul i'll make a new arm in steel. that will fix it permanently.

I ended up rough machining a set out of hot rolled steel back with i was have this issue, they are slit with a bolt clamping the rod and for extra, I drilled and installed a rod key, the problem is gone. there are not pretty but they function well. end of this year. the American will be completely pulled apart and over hauled.
everything above the frame will be moved over to the new ten wheel chassis as it will become the "full time" engine.
Im still thinking of rebuilding the American in to a small coal fired narrow gauge American because she is a large 1.5 engine. i had her sitting next to a LE pacific and there are not much difference in size.. its almost funny. Im sure it will make a beautiful little American with all the wood trimmings, etc. but im still on the fence. well enough about me. Happy steaming all. by noon tomorrow i should be unloaded at Train Mountain and preparing for my first run.

[cbrew]

Dave,

I am perhaps more frustrated when something goes awry while at my home track than visiting other tracks. Mostly because parts, tools or other are nearby, but not worth the back and forth trip (until the next weekend).

While visiting other clubs...it's a matter of "damage control". What can be done to rectify the situation when parts, tools or other are not readily available? It helps if there's a good hardware store nearby. But they most certainly won't have steam related parts.

During a recent trip to another railroad, I had the brakes go out on a car. So, I swapped trucks with another car. That led to another problem, coupler height compatibility (not all truck mfgr's have the same bolster height). This could be resolved with a trip to the hardware store to get some fender washers...and the meet went on. Such issues push out-of-box thinking. How do you get thru the event so you're back on the track and can operate as safe as possible? Put two heads together...you may come up with (4) possible solutions.

Sometimes your problems generate new friendships. It's a great way to meet other hobbyists as they inquire about your troubles (train). And as already noted, you're out of the office, away from home...and still having fun. Carl B.

I have learned from my issues at the track by learning to pack everything but the machine tools
right now. I have extra plumbing, screws, any type tools i can ever thing of needing.
but i know who machined my engine (me) and when i did it (as a green back) so i know my stuff is not top notch, not even close. but i do know she runs like a scolded ape and a blast to run. I run her hard, to the edge of ability (tractive effort and steaming cap)
I pull a train that many with larger engine don't. so her needs attn, and her will tell me if i miss a step during fire-up (where has the happened before)
anyways, I need to get back to work... oh this is going to be a LONG day knowing i could already to heading south

and yes i have made many friends helping and being helped at the track. its why i love this hobby..

[David Powell]

Just to give you an idea of what I do not want to have to do, but have done! Many years ago, at the Hobby Show in Toronto we had a length of portable track and one elderly propane fired engine pulling kids, On the second day the driver primed her and one built up crosshead disintegrated. I removed the propane burner from the steam roller, we borrowed a couple of firebricks from the pottery stall, bought some silver bearing soft solder and flux from another stall, soldered the bits together, put her together and were running again in an hour or so. Now that was an unexpected problem, though we knew the old engine was a bit of a rough one anyway. just thought you might like the story. David Powell.

[cbrew]

Just to give you an idea of what I do not want to have to do, but have done! Many years ago, at the Hobby Show in Toronto we had a length of portable track and one elderly propane fired engine pulling kids, On the second day the driver primed her and one built up crosshead disintegrated. I removed the propane burner from the steam roller, we borrowed a couple of firebricks from the pottery stall, bought some silver bearing soft solder and flux from another stall, soldered the bits together, put her together and were running again in an hour or so. Now that was an unexpected problem, though we knew the old engine was a bit of a rough one anyway. just thought you might like the story. David Powell.

yeah,,, never had a a failure that big before. but a great way to handle it