It is here!

AzRob · It is here!

RRR (Red Rocks Railroad) had its second locomotive arrive today! Assembly has begun...details and pictures to follow...

johnreid

Aw come on, pictures of the kit please

Graham-Jilly

Waiting for the Pictures

Les

Still waiting for the pictures.

tmuir

AzRob

Ask and you shall receive!

I've got the frame assembled, wheels attached, connecting rods put on, cylinders and valve gear bolted on. I'm in the process of adjusting the reversing linkage. Others have complained that the kits have low quality control. So far things are coming together okay. The valves took a bit of doing and redoing to get to finally seat. Didn't force anything, just had to unscrew and rescrew in order to get all 8 screws to set and tighten down. The left hand conrod was having problems slipping all the way onto the piston rod, so I wiggled and slightly reamed out the inside of the pocket on the conrod. Not a perfect fit, but the dimple and screw helped tie things together, and it stays together and pushes/pulls the piston around.
More pictures after a little while, but none of the current status. Watch this space!

johnreid

I like how it is labeled, should be much easier iding parts.
Ant machining required? Or just hand tools?

AzRob

tmuir

I agree with John, I like the way it was packaged.
I've got an Edrig which is the next model up and I'm happy with it.
It's not as good as a Roundhouse loco but it is almost half the price of a Roundhouse basic loco.

johnreid

Was the Ruby discontinued?

tmuir

AzRob

Not as far as I know. They are still listed on the Accucraft website, and Accucraft just came out with a Ruby Porter, with lots more detail.

Ran into a snag today assembling with the piston and piston push-rod. I threaded the lock bolt on first, as instructed. It was a tight fit, and I didn't want to force it, so I backed it off, worked it on, backed it off, etc. (there was a lot of paint in the threads). Got it where the nut would spin up or down the threads freely. I thread the valve onto the end, and it is tough going, so I repeat the proceedure - back off, thread on, etc. I should've just waited until I got back to my dremel and wire-wheeled the paint off, but I was excited. Anyway, I get the valve on and insert it into the block. Then comes valve adjusting. You need to screw the valve in and out of the block to match a timing mark on the valve with the block face. Well, once inside the block, even though it was well oiled, it didn't want to screw or unscrew. Tried working it back and forth again, but no luck until BAM! The pushrod snapped, right at the valve.

So I'm going to try to extract the pushrod from the valve in hopes of saving the valve, but I'm going to need a new rod and clips at least, if not a new valve.

I didn't think I was applying too much force, and this is a situation I ran into many times with Black Cat during the tear-down/rebuild, so I know how to solve it. Very sad, but I should have just stepped back and waited until I could get to my dremel to get all the paint out of the threads.

AzRob

Just got an e-mail from Cliff at Accucraft - replacement parts are heading my way. Hopefully they'll be waiting for me when I get back from Vegas!

tmuir

Glad you got it quickly sorted.
Do you think you will have it finished to give us a video for the STWWW?

AzRob

Les

Are they sending the replacement parts free of charge??

14900

AzRob

Yes, they did. The parts arrived and were installed on Friday. Loco is basically complete, but I need to test and tune on air. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, but it should at least try to kick over some time this week.
Pictures to follow.

johnreid

CAnt wait, that is good Customer Service too. I bet shes a beauty.

GUTMACH

Any changes planned, or are you going to build it as is ?

Wayde

madeinenglang

looking good

AzRob

GUTMACH

How about 'Copperhead' ? That is the name of a 20" gauge 0-4-4t Porter locomotive on display in Clifton, Arizona.

'Copperhead' was one of nine 20" gauge Porters that serves the mining operations in the Morenci-Clifton area.

Wayde

johnreid

OR some variation of Ruby

AzRob

Mmm...Copperhead I like, but my Ruby won't be a replica of a prototype. I was thinking something like Moenave (in keeping with the TE's name). Plus it is a red-colored formation, keeping a semi-Ruby theme.

Unrelated to the name, I am having a hard time getting air into the system to do an air test-n-tune. I have a small electric car-tire pump, and a larger air compressor. I can't seem to figure a way to hook the car pump up to the boiler of the Ruby. I am slightly afraid of overpressuring the boiler if I use the larger compressor. I don't have a pressure regulator for either of these things. I guess if all else fails I can just pour in water and light a fire, but I'd like to know it'll run okay before I start burning my fingers. Suggestions?

johnreid

On Mamods one can open the steam dome and put an air hose on the steam line, is the Ruby like that?

AzRob

The OD of the filler opening is wider than the standard car-bike tire filling adapter. It also has very little of a lip, and I'm afraid of damaging the threads. I tried holding the hose over it, but no good. I am reluctant to try my larger compressor, as it might overwhelm my little boiler and I have no pressure regulator. The standard air hose quick disconnect might slip over the fill hole lip though.

Charles M

Try making a " cone " of rubber tubing to slip in the hole in the boiler. I have a Mimi and made an adapter out of a spare filler plug fitted with a small piece of tubing for an input. You really need to air tune the Ruby before you try to run it. It makes a great deal of difference in how they perform. I have mine adjusted to run on about 6 lbs of air pressure. After I adjusted mine, it will now self start by rocking the forward and reverse lever ( radio controlled ) . Without these adjustments, it always took a little push to get it moving the first time.

If you haven't seen this information about air tuning the Ruby, go to this website address.

http://www.santacruzlumberco.com/...ideAdmissionAndAirTuningARuby.pdf

I used this information from Dave Hottman on the "MyLargeScale " forum to tune mine. Works very well. Hope this helps.

Charles M

AzRob

Got a jury-rigged air connection hooked up but there was still lots of air loss between my hose and the boiler. I was able to get 20psi into the boiler, but not sustained, because the slightest twitch of my hand holding the hose on, the air all leaked out. The wheels would give me a quarter turn if everything was all in alignment, but I couldn't tune or even investigate anything due to the delicate arrangement.
So I decided to see if I could get steam to do something. Filled (probably overfilled) the boiler, filled the butane, and lit the fire to see what happens.
First thing I found out was that I had a butane leak in a line. Got that sorted. Got to boiling water. As soon as I had steam and water drops shooting out of the safety valve I pushed the Johnson Bar forward and cracked the throttle. Found another steam leak right at the throttle connection to the oiler. Tightened it down, and cut down the leak, but it ain't perfect. No movement on the wheels, so I rocked them back and forth, and that's when I notice water venting from the top of the right side valve and the joint between the valve and cylinder. I'm guessing that I didn't have enough oil on the gasket. Why the steam would be coming out of the screw hole on the top is kind of a mystery. I think I'll need to pull the cylinders, redo the gasket, and see if I can't maybe get that one screw to seal better. Mmm...more updates as they are warranted.