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| CCairns |
Latest Additions to the Steam Shed (4th loco added)With well over 10 live steam locos, some for collection purposes only, plus currently spending more time in Aberdeen with no internet connection, I've decided to just add my working live steam locos to this posting.1st Addition Meet Ginny, a Samson Locomotives modified Mamod from 1988. 
This was a Buy It Now or Best Offer on ebay in January this year. I sent an e-mail to the seller asking some questions about the modifications, as they were not clear in his listing. Being satisfied with the response I made an Offer, and this was accepted. Never done this before, but the Offer that was declined was for the same amount that I offered? It is fitted with a replacement boiler (I assume silver soldered), which has a blanking plug, uprated safety valve & push to operate whistle fitted on the top (interestingly they had no washers fitted, so I've used Mamod rubber washers until I can get a supply of fibre washers). There is no sight glass window or tube, but the back plate is fitted with a clack valve. I thought this was connected to a tank at the rear of the cab, but it is just an Enots valve which has been surrounded by some body work. 
It has a ceramic gas burner with a small gas tank, an inline lubricator, pressure gauge, and a cab regulator. Probably 'O' ring pistons as well, and a much modified reverser valve up front. 
A lot of body work upgrades including stove pipe chimney, smoke box overlay and cylinder covers, hinged cab roof, and additional weights under side tanks, which make this one very heavy Mamod lookalike. It also has proper steel loco wheels, although not obvious from my quick photos. 
It also has sprung centre buffers, so I'll need to make a converter wagon from a Mamod flat bed wagon, with Mamod coupling on one end, and centre coupling on the other. I've run it a few times, but it seems to need quite a bit of regulator to get it started, and there is not much more movement required before it achieves derailing speeds. By setting the front reverser valve to half open it is a bit better under control. When time permits I will dismantle the regulator housing to clear up any blockage, change seals, etc. to hopefully improve this regulator control. |
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| alan2525 |
That's a very tidy looking loco. I like this one a lot! The manifold for the pressure gauge is very neat too - where does the other pipe go on the right? | ||||||
| CCairns |
It uses a modified Mamod type steam chest nut (under the very large dome), so that is the feed from the steam chest. |
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| CCairns |
2nd Addition
I won this incomplete SL1K, plus a buffer less (otherwise mint & unused) open wagon, on ebay also in January this year (making up for lost time after my 4 week S.E. Asia railway tour). 
It was fitted with 45mm wheels, and the cylinders were spaced out with a lot of Mamod gaskets. 
I originally got it as a source of spares for my other locos, but after receiving some more spares I decided to make it a complete SL1K. This required fitting 32mm wheels, cutting the Mamod gaskets down to size, a steam chest nut with rubber washer, 'O' ring & washer plus spring to fit on top of steam pipe, new buffers for rear drag beam, new set of coupling rings, a cab back & handrails. As I had no spare whistle it was fitted with a water top-up valve. Initially running in was conducted using some old solid fuel, and then after adjusting the slot on the rear drag beam, I used a meths burner. Running was very sluggish and erratic, but this lead to my discovery of the poorly manufactured reverser/regulator valve ( http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/about11167.html ). Following a request for a loco from a young Forum member, it was offered for sale. However that sale fell through due to various circumstances including 'as mine would probably sit on a shelf gathering dust '. Interestingly that member would now seem to be getting an RS1 railway set instead. It was then offered to a 2nd young Forum member who had expressed an interest in it, and who wished it regauged to 45mm, and the safety valve removed to keep the cost down. It was duly packed up, and after checking the postage rate at my local Post Office, a PM was sent with the total cost. I last heard from this member 21 days ago promising a PayPal payment, but that has not appeared so this deal has also fallen through. Oh to be so immature again! With the current financial crisis, this only means that it will go up in cost! So this loco sits boxed up awaiting its fate. I got some buffers for the open wagon from Dream Steam, and this will join my fleet of open wagons to which I'm adding coal loads from AnDel Models. |
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| made-in-england |
Thanks for that little dig | ||||||
| Titan |
Do I take it that this is still for sale? I am keeping an eye out for a project loco... | ||||||
| pauly |
I to am interested especially since you mentioned it was set to 45mm gauge 
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| CCairns |
I was very specific about not naming names in my posting above, as I do not like 'stabbing' people in the back.
However I've got limited internet access at present (only when I'm in Glasgow), and I'm still waiting for BT to sort out a phone number on an active line in Aberdeen that they have started charging me for already! Thus my time is precious at present. Just PM'd the 2nd buyer to confirm that they are no longer proceeding with the sale. Then in the order of the times at which postings & PMs occurred, we have the following list of potential buyers: - 1st Titan 4:49pm 2nd MTA 5:42pm 3rd pauly 8:03pm The above photos are a bit out of date (it is currently boxed up for posting). The loco has the 45mm wheels fitted, and the standard safety valve was removed, with a water top up valve added instead (sorry no uprated safety valve available), so one insert open on the boiler (no standard whistle available, and I assume it was to be fitted with an uprated safety valve). It has had the original Mamod washers replaced by the MSS ones sold by Dream Steam, but would need 2 more of these if running is required under 45mm. The paintwork is generally in good condition, with some bubbling of the combustion chamber, and paint loss on the chimney (see 2nd photo above). It has a solid fuel burner tray (no meths or gas burners for sale). In this condition it was for sale at £70, plus £5.20 for Standard Parcels rate including £100 compensation, and includes a CD of all the Mamod loco files I've downloaded. It can be provided with some used 32mm wheels (requiring both sets will increase the cost), and a standard safety valve as well (at extra cost). It is likely that I'll need to go back to Aberdeen tomorrow to continue my new job's ongoing training from Wednesday, so there may be a delay in advising everyone of the current situation. I'm missing 'Warship' so will be back online after then! |
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| CCairns |
OK, the SL1K is finally going to a new home.
But do not worry as I still have 2 more Mamod locos to feature in this posting soon, plus a very special steam railcar at some point. |
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| pauly |
who bought it the guy who you were having trouble with or a new buyer 
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| Titan |
Me! 
I have got some very interesting plans for it, although in the short term it may get run as is until I get a couple of other projects out of the way! |
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| Les |
Congratulations.
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| CCairns |
3rd Addition
I was looking for some spares for my Troublesome SL1K ( http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/about10935.html ), plus some spares for my IP Jane/PPS Janet rebuild (aka the IPS Janet, yet to feature fully on this Forum). So when this incomplete SL3 was listed on ebay I was interested. 
It was badly listed with only 1 photo, so I asked the seller some searching questions. These were answered satisfactorily, but also included further photos in the listing, which only helped push up the final winning bid - mine! 
It had the safety valve replaced by an alloy screw & rubber washer, no wheels or coupling rods, no chassis spacer, no rear drag beam, buffer plate & buffers, and no cab back. There was also something funny about the back bottom of the boiler (this turned out to be another alloy screw which was poorly fitted). 
As others have posted that they have had Mamod loco boilers with holes in the bottom, I can only assume that these were crudely fitted drain screws before the readily available syringes & silicone tubing came on the market. I managed to solder a brass screw into this hole, and it is the black meths residue blob just behind the meths burner chassis spacer above. I used the chassis frames with the riveted cylinders to fault find my Troublesome SL1K. That lead to the discovery of the poorly manufactured reverser valves - http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/about11167.html So part of the reverser on this SL3 was used to service the SL1K (2nd Addition above), and this SL3 is currently fitted with a Dream Steam replacement which is due for fitting to the IPS Janet, once I've repaired the faulty ones. So I decided to make this loco a runner again. The steam pipe had been poorly soldered onto the top of the boiler tube, so this was unsoldered and a washer, 'O' ring & spring fitted Mamod style. A replacement safety valve was fitted, and initial steaming with a meths burner proved that my brass screw was steam tight, but the whistle had an annoying leak. This was held in place with those soft metal washers, and unlike those on the stationary & other mobile Mamod engines, are a real pain to remove as you have limited throw due to the operating lever being stuck in the slot on the cab front. I finally got it removed but the boiler insert was leaking. Initially I tried using a solder tip on my butane soldering iron, placing it into the insert, but this did not get hot enough to melt enough solder. So after filling the boiler with water, and lots of wet towels around the insert to save the paintwork, I had to use the flame on this soldering iron. Unfortunately I only got half of the insert soldered up, before the cab front paintwork started to suffer. So it will need to be de-riveted for a full repair. This loco also helped answer a question I had for some time. At a previous Merstham show I picked up part of an SL3 balloon chimney, but how was this fitted? The following photos show this clearly. Take a normal chimney, surround it with the brass balloon insert, and put it into a smoke box. 
Only thing missing is the collar at the bottom of the chimney, but as MSS use this balloon chimney on one of their locos, I'm hoping that I can get a collar from them. Sadly I sold a spare SL3 cab back to Mamodevon when he was building up his impressive Mamod collection, so I will have to do with a bare metal cab back I got with some parts for the IPS Janet rebuild. Another Mamod, this time heavily modified with Mike Chaney upgrades, to follow shortly. Stay tuned! |
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| alan2525 |
Re: Latest Additions to the Steam Shed (3rd loco added)
Is that large block with the enots valve fitted just a chunk of brass to thread the valve into then? It looks rather bulky! I guess it does allow for a much larger filler tube and also keeps the filler cooler than it'd be if it was boiler mounted! It's good to see these modified mamods - gives me a few ideas for when it comes to making my own loco boiler! Also is there much of an advantage of using a mamod style steam dome rather than just going the IP Engineering route and having the regulator just coming off the top of the boiler? |
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| CCairns |
Actually I know nothing about this valve, and indeed requests for information about this loco on various Forums/Groups similarly failed.
It is actually a spring loaded valve fitted to a small tank (the black block below), and is similar but smaller to the ones that you would have in an air line for connecting tools using a compressed air system. So Enots Valve is probably the wrong description, as I cannot get the silicone tube from my water top up bottle to fit. I have to fill the boiler up manually using the blanking plug on top, and of course have no indication of boiler water level - not good! Here is a good diagram from Peter Longfils to show the steam path on the old style Mamods/MSSs. 
The weakness of this design is the solder fillet on the tube which goes up the middle of the boiler. Also if you are fitting a cab mounted lubricator, or a Mike Chaney style regulator, then the steam pipe needs to go back from the steam dome to the cab, and a 2nd pipe going forward to the reverser/regulator valve at the front. So if you are mounting a cab controlled regulator then the IP Eng/Dream Steam boiler offers a less complicated steam path. You need to remember that the Mamod boiler is soft soldered whereas the IP Eng/Dream Steam boiler is silver soldered, so cannot be compared like to like. Another thing will be what type of water level indicator to fit. The Mamod sight glass is more accurate, but is actually plastic & thus melts eventually. However the IP Eng/Dream Steam glass tube is too small in diameter, and suffers from air bubbles, unless a drain valve is fitted. |
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| alan2525 |
On my other loco project:
http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/about8742.html I'm still deciding on the best means of routing all the pipework. I bought a pressure gauge from maccmodels but as the boiler is so small mounting it will be a challenge! Also mounting the pressure gauge, safety valve, some kind of filler and maybe a whistle valve too...I was thinking of possibly using some sort of manifold on the backhead of the boiler with the regulator mounted centrally and the other ancilaries coming off each side - a bit like this: 
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| alan2525 |
It does look like the type used with compressed air, at work we have some that are a push fit for 4mm O/D PVC airline. Good idea though - I might use one.
I do like the simplicity of the IP Engineering reguilator design and it does make for a neat setup with the cab mounted lubricator too, much neater that the lubricator fixed on the side of the smokebox.
My mac gauge has the blow down valve on the bottom, it looks great but the whole assembly is rather large by Mamod standards. If it'll fit i'll use it, it also has a fitting for attaching a pipe on the drain, so a pipe can be fitted. |
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| CCairns |
4th Addition
I've always been impressed with the fine regulator on my IP Jane, which offers much better control than the standard Mamod regulator/reverser valve fitted to the old style Mamods & the current MSSs. However the only similar regulator available from PPS or Dream Steam (formerly IP Eng) requires you to cut out part of the cab front, and then ends up with the uprated safety valve somewhat high up on the T piece (the uprated safety valve on the IP Jane is shorter and more in keeping with the loco's looks). Instead I've been trying to get a Mike Chaney regulator, but the 2 I've seen on ebay in my infrequent visits went for far too much money. So when I saw this Mike Chaney modified SL1K, which had R/C fitted on the regulator as well, I set out to win it & I was successful. 
It has Mike's replacement boiler which I assume is silver soldered, fitted with a Goodall type water top up valve, uprated safety valve, and a water sight glass tube that actually works properly (unlike the IP Eng/Dream Steam/PPS ones with their air bubbles). 
It has a dead leg lubricator which is fitted with a drain screw (a feature brought back on the former IP Eng lubricator by Dream Steam), and 'O' ring pistons. 
A Merlin gas burner has been squeezed into the chassis, offset fitted due to the pipe work of the lubricator, and the chassis holes for providing air to the solid fuel burner tray blanked off. 
To accommodate fitting Radio Control on the regulator, it has had a large bunker fitted to the cab back, which is rather crudely supported by a 3rd axle. This has to be free to move in 2 axes, so the rear drag beam has been removed. 
It also has a chuff pipe or exhaust restrictor fitted, and is fitted with centre buffers. 
Unfortunately about the only part that was not upgraded was the wheel set, and all of these are loose on both axles. 
I did have a set of 32mm wheels spare, but when the sale of the 2nd Addition above became a 32mm sale (previously a 45mm sale), then I lost those spare wheels. 
So I've not had the opportunity to try steaming this loco until the wheels are sorted out (they control the cylinder timing after all). Originally I did not like the bunker set up with the 3rd axle, and was going to convert this into a tender loco with R/C, similar to the Forum's famous Titan loco. However during taking these photos I've had second thoughts, and will look into whether this bunker could be still used. The main problem I see is not having the rear drag beam supporting all the bodywork & chassis at the rear. I will need to fix the loose wheels first before a steam test, but I'm sure it deserves to be fitted with upgraded steel wheels at some point. I have one more very special addition to the steam shed, in fact it is actually too big for the shed. But you will just need to keep watching for updates to this posting, as it is well wrapped up in a box awaiting a proper garden railway for its 1st outing. I would need to clear up my studio before I could get it into the photo frame properly to do it justice. It is big but does run on 32mm track. Thanks for looking at this posting. |
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| pauly |
I cant wait
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| Titan |
That Mike Chaney boiler is a good one - thick silver soldered copper with a good gauge glass.
Sorry about the wheels! But rest assured they will be put to good use. I may be able to return the dragbox from the one you sent me if you like, as it is one of the parts I will not be using in my project, but you will have to wait until at least October I am afraid! |
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| CCairns |
1st Addition Video
As 'Ginny' was still sat on my table after its photo studio session above, I decided to take the regulator apart and give it a few runs. Sadly my camera batteries are almost dead, and I left the new ones in Aberdeen. So this video is rather short. 
And for those who prefer YouTube - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HnQqFUeiRlw As you can probably hear the stove pipe chimney does not produce any chuff, and in fact just creates a trail of condensate instead. I still have not worked out a system for filling this boiler with no sight glass. As it is the same size as a Mamod boiler, I guess I can measure how much I put into a Mamod boiler and use that figure (sadly most of my syringes have no markings left due to use). The good news is that the gas does run out before the water (unlike my gas tank in the IP Jane). Also learnt another valuable lesson. This loco has sprung centre buffers and I've only got 2 pieces of rolling stock with centre buffers fitted (I will be making a converter wagon out of a Mamod flatbed with centre buffer on one end & Mamod coupling on the other end). Using a 3 link chain seems to leave a large gap between the loco & wagon so I reduced that to using 2 links. This had the effect of pulling the wagon off the track when running at high speed and causing a derailment. Fortunately it does not derail the loco as it is so heavy. |