Suggestions for a reputable coal fired locomotive builder
- Thread starter ChessieRR
- Start date
I understand your difficulty ? and of course one of my concerns is that this debacle will certainly affect the other suppliers of this sort of model.ChessieRR said:
The current suppliers in the UK are all good. I may refer you to my Shawe Steam Services 'Fowler' in another thread on the coal-firing sub group. DJB Engineering is another firm that I do business with and my second example of their range is due in September. Both these firms produce excellent products that work well, are professionally finished and are supplied with good logistical backup. ELR is a newer range of Roundhouse based locomotives and, while I do not have one myself, I have seen them run and have received good reports of their engineering quality and probity. One positive report certainly from a competitor! I would have no qualms at all about ordering from these suppliers. The locomotives will be well-engineered, well-finished, will work well and (as I have found with the two I have at the moment) will be all the coal-fired romantic in us would expect.
There are differences of course. DJB is currently supplying Accucraft based models. I have a coal-fired Edrig from this source and it has become my most used locomotive ? I have been very pleased with this model and have therefore on order a coal-fired Ragleth with resonator whistle and working automatic draincocks (as I have fitted to my Edrig). These Accucraft locos are very easy to keep clean because there is nothing to rust ? and regular and proper cleaning of these little beasts is VERY important for longevity. Another perk of these models is that they are significantly cheaper than the Roundhouse based locos with no cutting of corners or loss of quality.
The John Shawe locos are also excellent ? but a bit dearer
My Fowler tender loco (with resonator whistle) was around 3,500 ? but I am very happy with what was received. There is currently over 2 years waiting list for these however.If wished I can supply a review of the DJB Ragleth, recently published in GardenRail. There will shortly be an article covering the Fowler as well.
Don't let this debacle put you off ? and for others ? do what has just been done here ? ask on this forum ? there are several experienced coal-firers here and we will be happy to answer your questions ? specific or general. Ask lots before you buy.
Bestest
Tag
Hello Adam!
I own an Accucraft Edrig that I converted to coal firing using a kit from DJB Engineering which you may have seen on the main Live Steam thread under "Coal Fired Edrig". Chris Bird took some video of it last December.
Before I converted my Edrig I wondered why Tag got so excited about his, but now I own one all is clear. It really is a lovely loco, well balanced (a key thing with coal fired locos) and great fun to operate.
As Tag says, DJB is building ready-to-run Ragleths at the moment, but there are other options so it may be worth getting in touch with them to find out what's on offer.
"Dr J" of this forum asked about ELR Engineering last month http://www.gscalecentral.net/m14744... he's placed an order. Best wishes, Steve
I own an Accucraft Edrig that I converted to coal firing using a kit from DJB Engineering which you may have seen on the main Live Steam thread under "Coal Fired Edrig". Chris Bird took some video of it last December.
Before I converted my Edrig I wondered why Tag got so excited about his, but now I own one all is clear. It really is a lovely loco, well balanced (a key thing with coal fired locos) and great fun to operate.
As Tag says, DJB is building ready-to-run Ragleths at the moment, but there are other options so it may be worth getting in touch with them to find out what's on offer.
"Dr J" of this forum asked about ELR Engineering last month http://www.gscalecentral.net/m14744... he's placed an order. Best wishes, Steve
tagorton said:
Feel free to copy it here Tag.
I would reiterate what Tag said about the problems at Sabre. Do not get put off if coal firing is the route you wish to explore - suppliers do come and go and the better ones survive.
E
Elmtree Line
Guest
Thanks for the reassurence Tag, I have a few years to decide what to do as yet, but my thoughts are with those who have already placed orders & must be worried sick.
Accucraft will be selling a K-28 not the K-27. From what we are hearing don't expect to see this before next year at the earliest. They have a lot of things in the pipeline right now.
Charles M
Charles M
Keep an eye on what is going on in the coal-fired world is the best advice. There will be (hopefully) regular comment on this new sub forum and certainly I am looking to see more articles in the press. All the current suppliers provide a good professionally made product. I did forget to mention Riverdale from Holland. This machine is significantly different to the others in that it has no onboard water. It is however, very well built and seems to do just what it says on the tin. It may be that I am a bit old-fashioned in these matters but my own preference is for onboard water tanks via side tank or tender. This however is no reflection of the product.garrymartin said:
We di forget to mention TME. Unfortunately I cannot afford one of these ? but this Countess is a superb piece of kit and, given a lottery win, I would definitely have one. A friend of mine has one on order and I am looking forward to giving it a good going over.
T
DJB Coal-fired Ragleth ? A GardenRail Review
One of the things that I find disconcerting about the coal firing of small steam locomotives is the fact that many regard it as one of the dark arts, indulged in only by model engineers with a terrifying range of hard won skills, who are prepared to poke and fiddle with their temperamental steed for the whole of an hour?s running session. Often, while running, people will say to me that, wonderful as it is, they could never undertake coal-fired running because it is far too complicated. My answer to this is, ?Well ? you drove here didn?t you?? And certainly driving a small-scale steam locomotive is nowhere near as complicated as driving a car. Just like a car, there is a learning curve and then, as experience grows, many of your actions will be automatic.
The second, and rather more pertinent point is ? cost! Certainly, and up until comparatively recently, this was a very valid argument. A ready-to-run coal-fired steam locomotive would be at least two and a half thousand sovs and one would have to be prepared for a waiting time measured in years. What you would get for your time and money would be a very attractive and reliable model, but many people certainly, have been put off by both cost and wait factors.
DJB Engineering has, in recent years, put a toe in the water regarding provision of kits for the conversion of either Roundhouse or Accucraft based locomotives and in this way they have made available a cheaper ?way in? for the prospective coal-firing tyro ? but then not everyone has either the available free time or indeed the inclination to undertake this work.
Well Tried Technology
Anyway, DJB now supply a coal-fired Accucraft ?Ragleth? for just £1650.00 (or £1150.00 if the customer supplies his own Ragleth) and this really is a very good price indeed for a fully featured coal-fired steamer read-to-run. Additionally the partnership of four-coupled Accucraft chassis and DJB coal-fired boiler is not an untried combination. The editorial coal-fired ?Edrig? now has a great many hours of running under its belt and is very much a favourite locomotive ? and not just because it runs very well indeed, but because it is ergonomically very suitable for twelve inches to the foot fingers. The review Ragleth, currently sat on the editorial desk, looks to have several changes to the cab layout on Edrig, no doubt based on experience with the earlier locomotive conversion. I should further add that if you have the available time and a modicum of skill, then the coal-fired kit for fitting to your own Ragleth is £850.00 ? plus extra for whistle kit and draincocks if required.
I will not here attempt a review of the basic Ragleth as supplied by Accucraft. Suffice to say that it is an attractive four-coupled side tank locomotive, utilising the well-tried technology of all the Accucraft generic locomotives. Ideal engines for cosmetic improvement by the owner, there are many add-on parts available that are also highly suitable for the coal-fired version, ranging from the spectacle plate glazing and half inch pressure gauge from Acme Engineering to the resonator whistle kit supplied by DJB themselves, the latter (along with their working automatic draincocks) being available as an option on the coal-fired version. At this point it is worth noting that, even with the whistle and draincock options (and the firing kit if you don?t already have one), the all in price is still around eighteen hundred sovs. This is still several hundred pounds cheaper than other coal-fired models that will not include whistle or draincocks?
There are one or two changes to the basic Ragleth outline. For a start we need a hole in the back screen so we can get our shovel to the firebox and this is cleverly disguised as sliding doors, which one would need anyway if the loco were the real thing so, if anything, this is a cosmetic improvement as well. The smokebox door will open in the usual way, once the smokebox door handles (or dart) have been removed, and inside the cosmetic door is a ?plug? that is pulled out with a supplied tool to gain access to the working smokebox for cleaning.
The cab is fairly full ? with firebox and all the various controls and, while I have found room for a driver, this is something of a challenge. Now, ideally it would be good to have a nice clear cab, but a balance has to be struck between ergonomics and cosmetic appearance in that we have a real coal-fired steam locomotive to drive and I am not personally built to 16mm scale dimensions (stop sniggering at the back). On balance it is better to have everything to hand and it is surprising just how one can make the cab look an attractive place by painting the controls prototypical colours, hanging a tea can from the regulator shaft, changing the pressure gauge for a half inch jobby, painting the inside of the cab cream and, of course, adding a driver?
One I Made Earlier
In the cab there is our ?quick fill? boiler top up system, a blower for when the locomotive is at a stand, water gauge, bypass valve, pressure gauge, regulator and reversing quadrant. If fitted, there would also be a whistle valve. The firebox door can be easily accessed via the hole in the backscreen ? and one can lift off the roof to one side if required whilst servicing.
A standard three-quarter view of the locomotive shows us that it looks ? well, like a standard Ragleth! What gives it away on the port side of the locomotive is the crosshead pump. I have one of these on Edrig and the straight pull makes for a very efficient way of getting water from the sidetanks to the boiler. Given that, in terms of appearance, it is very much a standard Ragleth, then the coal version lends itself equally well to cosmetic improvement. Unfortunately this is not a case of, ?Here is one I made earlier,? but I do include a photograph of the DJB Edrig, which will give some idea of what may be achieved with comparatively little expense and a bit of imagination.
Let?s have a look at how Ragleth performs.
We will assume for the purposes of this review, that the locomotive is clean, that the running gear is oiled and the lubricator charged. The locomotive boiler is initially filled by means of a water bottle and the ?Quick Fill? connector in the cab. Unlike the ?Goodall? Schrader type valve, often used to top up the boiler on gas-fired locomotives, the ?Quick Fill? type connects with a satisfying click and does not need to be held in place, so filling is a one-handed job. Top up to about three-quarters of the gauge glass, then fill the side tanks with water. The later job is best done with a large syringe with a bit of plastic tube on the end and the tanks may be accessed at the front of the cab on either side. You don?t have to fill both side tanks because there is a balance pipe between them.
Building a fire is something that tends to frighten people ? it need not. One cannot start off with coal, not even on the full-size, and on our little engines we use paraffin soaked charcoal to start the fire. Perhaps you have wondered about the gurt great electric pump on the chimney? After all Flying Scotsman does not have one of these to get the fire going! Well this comes down to the fact that we cannot scale nature ? and there is just not enough height to provide natural draft. This lump stuck on the chimney is usually referred to as a ?blower? ? although some people think it should be called a ?sucker.? In fact it is called the former because it acts in place of the steam blower until the locomotive can provide its own draught.
Glow in the Ashpan
Drop the firebox door and start to fill the large firebox with your soaked charcoal. I always put in a coupla shovels full of coal as well as I build up the charcoal to sill level. The DJB shovel is a severely practical thing ? as ugly as a robber?s dog, but it does hold a lot of coal. The drop down firebox door is also very accessible and so it is not a ?fiddly? job to service the fire. Plonk your blower on the chimney; then having ensured that there is plenty of ?oomph? left in the batteries and that the fan is actually working, we can fire our locomotive.
Set fire to a few lumps of paraffin soaked charcoal, chuck it in the firebox as you start the blower then slam the door! No need to fuss about and keep opening the door, just leave it until you see the pressure rising on the gauge. As the needle approaches 20psi I bung a couple of shovelfuls of coal on, and as the pressure rises one opens the steam blower, not forgetting to remove the fan from the chimney top. Pressure will rise quite quickly from this point and one can turn down the blower slightly so that we do not waste water through the safety valve. Worth looking at water gauge about now to check that it has not dropped too much. I leave my bottle connected whilst steaming up and keep pumping in a few more squirts. Trick is not to pump in a huge amount at once. Build your fire with more and more coal and, once there is a nice steady glow in the ashpan, one can top the firebox right up with coal and consider collecting one?s train. Don?t worry if the fire is black on top ? just note the glow in the ashpan.
Put the locomotive in forward gear and check that the bypass valve is open to allow the pump to prime when the locomotive moves. Once water is seen pumping back into the tanks we can close it again until required. If you have draincocks fitted they will work automatically ? if not, one might need to do a quick bit of forward/reverse to remove condensate from the cylinders. Once ready to go we can open the regulator and (after a blip on the whistle if you opt for one) turn down the blower a bit, before ambling off to pick up our train. Once the train is hooked on, then the blower can be closed and the regulator opened. You will hear the chuff of the blastpipe as Ragleth picks up its heavy train ? no ?chuff pipe? required here ? this is the real thing!
One does not have to fuss over much as the locomotive settles to the collar. There is no need to keep opening the firebox door. One does, however, need to keep an eye on water and pressure gauge. If the water gets too high in the gauge this can affect behaviour and we may wish to open the bypass valve to lower the water level in the boiler. Equally, if the locomotive is blowing off continuously we must do something about that because it is wasteful of both fuel and water. There is on the firebox door, a couple of secondary openings in a circular plate and this may be infinitely adjusted to allow extra air to blacken the top of the fire. As one gets used to this then the locomotive may be run with minimum waste of water and consequently fuel. Given that a gas-fired locomotive will run for between twenty and twenty-five minutes then, once the fire has settled, the 15/20min between service-stops on our coal-fired version looks quite impressive ? more of a pitstop really. Whilst the train is standing at the station (and we have not forgotten to open the blower to provide draught while the locomotive is at a stand) we can add coal to the fire and water to the tanks. A blow of the whistle and we are away again.
Performance is difficult to quantify in comparison with a standard Ragleth because you see a coal-fired locomotive reacts in a different way to gas-fired models. For instance when hitting a gradient whilst pulling a heavy train, the coal-fired loco (in common with its gas-fired sister) will slow down and the exhaust will sharpen. Difference is that while the gas loco may stop for a blow up, the exhaust on the DJB version works as Stephenson intended and increases the heat output of the fire ? so it just keeps going in a way I find most gratifying. Increasing skills will mean that you will learn not to waste water and you will find that while coal is more involving, it becomes very relaxing to run. I ran my coal-fired Edrig for several hours at the Exeter Garden Railway Show.
Little Fiery Dragons
Now it is perfectly possible to keep this up all day ? bearing in mind that the oiler will need charging every three-quarters of an hour or so, but this is easily done whilst on one of our station stops (as they refer to calling at a station nowadays). As the late Peter Jones was fond of saying, this is the real thing ? in small handwriting, and coal firing certainly adds an extra dimension to our hobby. Just like the prototype, one can hear the blower hissing and smell the locomotive fire whilst alongside the platform?
One thing particularly important with these little fiery dragons is proper cleaning. The tubes should be brushed after every running session ? and I do mine while the loco is still warm ? a two minute job. Later I hoover out the smokebox, also making sure that I have removed any residue from the chimney because this can build up if left.
Coal dust, ash and oil make a very effective grinding paste and I degrease my coal-fired engines below the footplate and re-oil after every single running session. This is very easily done on Ragleth, because I use spray water-soluble degreaser and an old paintbrush, then after twenty minutes soak, a high-pressure garden spray washes it all away. Now there is nothing to rust on a Ragleth, so all that is required now is to let it drip-dry at ambient indoor temperature till morning, then turn the locomotive over and oil every moving part. Charge the lubricator, polish the locomotive as required and you are ready for your next running session.
I have, of necessity, left out so much; for instance adding a bit of 12in/ft loco coal (mine is from the coal pile at Buckfastleigh station) provides for a lovely and evocative smell. Anyway, the rest of the delights you will have to find out for yourself.
Pros
Always a very individual choice, but this is well proven conversion of a standard locomotive and runs very well indeed. It is very easy for 12in/ft fingers to get at all the controls and is also comfortable to fire. The non-ferrous construction of the Accucraft locomotives means that the locomotive is particularly easy to clean below the footplate (see above) ? something often skimped because it can be difficult to do thoroughly on many engines. I am also rather fond of the Accucraft ?generic? range in general, largely because they are so easy to cosmetically improve. Last but not least this coal-converted locomotive is excellent value for money without cutting corners.
Cons
Those of a purely engineering bent will laugh at this one, but it will be difficult to find a space for a driver. I have had a look and have sorted a way to do it (as I did for the Edrig), but it is something that model engineers rarely consider ? and I think they should! The little circular draught window on the firebox door I found fiddly to use. On Edrig I removed the brass window and drilled a 1.5mm hole in the plate, into which I inserted the clean end of a piece of handrail brass wire, secured with dab of silver solder, then cut it off to about 1/8in length to make a simple handle. This allows one to turn the window with the shovel as required. Stop Press ? this is now being done on all new models.
Coal-fired Ragleth locomotive £1650.00 Ready to run, or £1150.00 if customer supplies the Ragleth.
Extras include resonator whistle and automatic draincocks ? ask if required. Firing kit comprising water bottle with fittings, shovel, pricker, tube brush and blower unit and is £75.00
GardenRail Resource
DJB Engineering. 17 Meadow Way, BRACKNELL Berks RG42 1UE. Tel: 01344 423256 Email: david.bailey@ntlworld.com Web: http://www.djbengineering.co.uk < Link To www.djbengineering.co.uk also at Eleanor House, Sibthorpe Hill, Tuxford, Nr Newark, Notts NG22 0PJ Tel: 01777 871047?E-mail: mailto:pbailey262@btinternet.com < Link To pbailey262@btinternet.com
Acme Engineering. 1 The Coppice, BEARDWOOD, Blackburn Lancs BB2 7BQ Tel:01254 664433
Web: http://www.acmesteam.co.uk < Link To www.acmesteam.co.uk. Email sales@acmesteam.co.uk
Photos by staff
-01 ? A standard Accucraft ?Ragleth? ? or is it?
-02 ? Ragleth and her test train awaiting trials on the Longlands & Western Railway. Other running was undertaken elsewhere under cover.
-03 ? OK ? where is the driver going? I have found the spot, but the pressure gauge will be moved to the back of the spectacle plate ? and on my own version it will be a half-inch gauge. As per Edrig, the driver will be designed to fit over the lubricator. Note that from a driving point of view all controls are to hand.
-04 ? Preparing to fire with paraffin soaked charcoal. Note the large shovel and that access to the firebox door is very easy.
-05 ? There are a couple of things going on here. The garden railfairer?s boiler top-up bottle utilises the ?Quick Fill? connection on the port side of the cab and I leave this in situ whilst raising steam. The electric blower is in action on the chimney top and as pressure is raised I am filling the sidetanks with distilled water.
-06 ? With your keen eyesight I just know that you will have spotted around 55psi on the gauge. Another shovel full of coal and this locomotive will work its train over LWR metals.
-07 ? Note the circular draught window on the firebox door. This is infinitely adjustable and used to control airflow over the top of fire. Careful use will conserve both water and coal, making this locomotive relaxing to run. You can see the steam blower handwheel top left of the cab.
-08 ? Always nice to come home to a real coal fire?
-09 ? Sometimes it can be difficult for us punters to see what can be done with a locomotive with a little bit of money and a lot of imagination. This is a coal-fired Edrig from the same stable, some three years old and with many hours running under its belt. Note the various cosmetic and working improvements on a locomotive that really is something of a ?plain Jane? as purchased.
One of the things that I find disconcerting about the coal firing of small steam locomotives is the fact that many regard it as one of the dark arts, indulged in only by model engineers with a terrifying range of hard won skills, who are prepared to poke and fiddle with their temperamental steed for the whole of an hour?s running session. Often, while running, people will say to me that, wonderful as it is, they could never undertake coal-fired running because it is far too complicated. My answer to this is, ?Well ? you drove here didn?t you?? And certainly driving a small-scale steam locomotive is nowhere near as complicated as driving a car. Just like a car, there is a learning curve and then, as experience grows, many of your actions will be automatic.
The second, and rather more pertinent point is ? cost! Certainly, and up until comparatively recently, this was a very valid argument. A ready-to-run coal-fired steam locomotive would be at least two and a half thousand sovs and one would have to be prepared for a waiting time measured in years. What you would get for your time and money would be a very attractive and reliable model, but many people certainly, have been put off by both cost and wait factors.
DJB Engineering has, in recent years, put a toe in the water regarding provision of kits for the conversion of either Roundhouse or Accucraft based locomotives and in this way they have made available a cheaper ?way in? for the prospective coal-firing tyro ? but then not everyone has either the available free time or indeed the inclination to undertake this work.
Well Tried Technology
Anyway, DJB now supply a coal-fired Accucraft ?Ragleth? for just £1650.00 (or £1150.00 if the customer supplies his own Ragleth) and this really is a very good price indeed for a fully featured coal-fired steamer read-to-run. Additionally the partnership of four-coupled Accucraft chassis and DJB coal-fired boiler is not an untried combination. The editorial coal-fired ?Edrig? now has a great many hours of running under its belt and is very much a favourite locomotive ? and not just because it runs very well indeed, but because it is ergonomically very suitable for twelve inches to the foot fingers. The review Ragleth, currently sat on the editorial desk, looks to have several changes to the cab layout on Edrig, no doubt based on experience with the earlier locomotive conversion. I should further add that if you have the available time and a modicum of skill, then the coal-fired kit for fitting to your own Ragleth is £850.00 ? plus extra for whistle kit and draincocks if required.
I will not here attempt a review of the basic Ragleth as supplied by Accucraft. Suffice to say that it is an attractive four-coupled side tank locomotive, utilising the well-tried technology of all the Accucraft generic locomotives. Ideal engines for cosmetic improvement by the owner, there are many add-on parts available that are also highly suitable for the coal-fired version, ranging from the spectacle plate glazing and half inch pressure gauge from Acme Engineering to the resonator whistle kit supplied by DJB themselves, the latter (along with their working automatic draincocks) being available as an option on the coal-fired version. At this point it is worth noting that, even with the whistle and draincock options (and the firing kit if you don?t already have one), the all in price is still around eighteen hundred sovs. This is still several hundred pounds cheaper than other coal-fired models that will not include whistle or draincocks?
There are one or two changes to the basic Ragleth outline. For a start we need a hole in the back screen so we can get our shovel to the firebox and this is cleverly disguised as sliding doors, which one would need anyway if the loco were the real thing so, if anything, this is a cosmetic improvement as well. The smokebox door will open in the usual way, once the smokebox door handles (or dart) have been removed, and inside the cosmetic door is a ?plug? that is pulled out with a supplied tool to gain access to the working smokebox for cleaning.
The cab is fairly full ? with firebox and all the various controls and, while I have found room for a driver, this is something of a challenge. Now, ideally it would be good to have a nice clear cab, but a balance has to be struck between ergonomics and cosmetic appearance in that we have a real coal-fired steam locomotive to drive and I am not personally built to 16mm scale dimensions (stop sniggering at the back). On balance it is better to have everything to hand and it is surprising just how one can make the cab look an attractive place by painting the controls prototypical colours, hanging a tea can from the regulator shaft, changing the pressure gauge for a half inch jobby, painting the inside of the cab cream and, of course, adding a driver?
One I Made Earlier
In the cab there is our ?quick fill? boiler top up system, a blower for when the locomotive is at a stand, water gauge, bypass valve, pressure gauge, regulator and reversing quadrant. If fitted, there would also be a whistle valve. The firebox door can be easily accessed via the hole in the backscreen ? and one can lift off the roof to one side if required whilst servicing.
A standard three-quarter view of the locomotive shows us that it looks ? well, like a standard Ragleth! What gives it away on the port side of the locomotive is the crosshead pump. I have one of these on Edrig and the straight pull makes for a very efficient way of getting water from the sidetanks to the boiler. Given that, in terms of appearance, it is very much a standard Ragleth, then the coal version lends itself equally well to cosmetic improvement. Unfortunately this is not a case of, ?Here is one I made earlier,? but I do include a photograph of the DJB Edrig, which will give some idea of what may be achieved with comparatively little expense and a bit of imagination.
Let?s have a look at how Ragleth performs.
We will assume for the purposes of this review, that the locomotive is clean, that the running gear is oiled and the lubricator charged. The locomotive boiler is initially filled by means of a water bottle and the ?Quick Fill? connector in the cab. Unlike the ?Goodall? Schrader type valve, often used to top up the boiler on gas-fired locomotives, the ?Quick Fill? type connects with a satisfying click and does not need to be held in place, so filling is a one-handed job. Top up to about three-quarters of the gauge glass, then fill the side tanks with water. The later job is best done with a large syringe with a bit of plastic tube on the end and the tanks may be accessed at the front of the cab on either side. You don?t have to fill both side tanks because there is a balance pipe between them.
Building a fire is something that tends to frighten people ? it need not. One cannot start off with coal, not even on the full-size, and on our little engines we use paraffin soaked charcoal to start the fire. Perhaps you have wondered about the gurt great electric pump on the chimney? After all Flying Scotsman does not have one of these to get the fire going! Well this comes down to the fact that we cannot scale nature ? and there is just not enough height to provide natural draft. This lump stuck on the chimney is usually referred to as a ?blower? ? although some people think it should be called a ?sucker.? In fact it is called the former because it acts in place of the steam blower until the locomotive can provide its own draught.
Glow in the Ashpan
Drop the firebox door and start to fill the large firebox with your soaked charcoal. I always put in a coupla shovels full of coal as well as I build up the charcoal to sill level. The DJB shovel is a severely practical thing ? as ugly as a robber?s dog, but it does hold a lot of coal. The drop down firebox door is also very accessible and so it is not a ?fiddly? job to service the fire. Plonk your blower on the chimney; then having ensured that there is plenty of ?oomph? left in the batteries and that the fan is actually working, we can fire our locomotive.
Set fire to a few lumps of paraffin soaked charcoal, chuck it in the firebox as you start the blower then slam the door! No need to fuss about and keep opening the door, just leave it until you see the pressure rising on the gauge. As the needle approaches 20psi I bung a couple of shovelfuls of coal on, and as the pressure rises one opens the steam blower, not forgetting to remove the fan from the chimney top. Pressure will rise quite quickly from this point and one can turn down the blower slightly so that we do not waste water through the safety valve. Worth looking at water gauge about now to check that it has not dropped too much. I leave my bottle connected whilst steaming up and keep pumping in a few more squirts. Trick is not to pump in a huge amount at once. Build your fire with more and more coal and, once there is a nice steady glow in the ashpan, one can top the firebox right up with coal and consider collecting one?s train. Don?t worry if the fire is black on top ? just note the glow in the ashpan.
Put the locomotive in forward gear and check that the bypass valve is open to allow the pump to prime when the locomotive moves. Once water is seen pumping back into the tanks we can close it again until required. If you have draincocks fitted they will work automatically ? if not, one might need to do a quick bit of forward/reverse to remove condensate from the cylinders. Once ready to go we can open the regulator and (after a blip on the whistle if you opt for one) turn down the blower a bit, before ambling off to pick up our train. Once the train is hooked on, then the blower can be closed and the regulator opened. You will hear the chuff of the blastpipe as Ragleth picks up its heavy train ? no ?chuff pipe? required here ? this is the real thing!
One does not have to fuss over much as the locomotive settles to the collar. There is no need to keep opening the firebox door. One does, however, need to keep an eye on water and pressure gauge. If the water gets too high in the gauge this can affect behaviour and we may wish to open the bypass valve to lower the water level in the boiler. Equally, if the locomotive is blowing off continuously we must do something about that because it is wasteful of both fuel and water. There is on the firebox door, a couple of secondary openings in a circular plate and this may be infinitely adjusted to allow extra air to blacken the top of the fire. As one gets used to this then the locomotive may be run with minimum waste of water and consequently fuel. Given that a gas-fired locomotive will run for between twenty and twenty-five minutes then, once the fire has settled, the 15/20min between service-stops on our coal-fired version looks quite impressive ? more of a pitstop really. Whilst the train is standing at the station (and we have not forgotten to open the blower to provide draught while the locomotive is at a stand) we can add coal to the fire and water to the tanks. A blow of the whistle and we are away again.
Performance is difficult to quantify in comparison with a standard Ragleth because you see a coal-fired locomotive reacts in a different way to gas-fired models. For instance when hitting a gradient whilst pulling a heavy train, the coal-fired loco (in common with its gas-fired sister) will slow down and the exhaust will sharpen. Difference is that while the gas loco may stop for a blow up, the exhaust on the DJB version works as Stephenson intended and increases the heat output of the fire ? so it just keeps going in a way I find most gratifying. Increasing skills will mean that you will learn not to waste water and you will find that while coal is more involving, it becomes very relaxing to run. I ran my coal-fired Edrig for several hours at the Exeter Garden Railway Show.
Little Fiery Dragons
Now it is perfectly possible to keep this up all day ? bearing in mind that the oiler will need charging every three-quarters of an hour or so, but this is easily done whilst on one of our station stops (as they refer to calling at a station nowadays). As the late Peter Jones was fond of saying, this is the real thing ? in small handwriting, and coal firing certainly adds an extra dimension to our hobby. Just like the prototype, one can hear the blower hissing and smell the locomotive fire whilst alongside the platform?
One thing particularly important with these little fiery dragons is proper cleaning. The tubes should be brushed after every running session ? and I do mine while the loco is still warm ? a two minute job. Later I hoover out the smokebox, also making sure that I have removed any residue from the chimney because this can build up if left.
Coal dust, ash and oil make a very effective grinding paste and I degrease my coal-fired engines below the footplate and re-oil after every single running session. This is very easily done on Ragleth, because I use spray water-soluble degreaser and an old paintbrush, then after twenty minutes soak, a high-pressure garden spray washes it all away. Now there is nothing to rust on a Ragleth, so all that is required now is to let it drip-dry at ambient indoor temperature till morning, then turn the locomotive over and oil every moving part. Charge the lubricator, polish the locomotive as required and you are ready for your next running session.
I have, of necessity, left out so much; for instance adding a bit of 12in/ft loco coal (mine is from the coal pile at Buckfastleigh station) provides for a lovely and evocative smell. Anyway, the rest of the delights you will have to find out for yourself.
Pros
Always a very individual choice, but this is well proven conversion of a standard locomotive and runs very well indeed. It is very easy for 12in/ft fingers to get at all the controls and is also comfortable to fire. The non-ferrous construction of the Accucraft locomotives means that the locomotive is particularly easy to clean below the footplate (see above) ? something often skimped because it can be difficult to do thoroughly on many engines. I am also rather fond of the Accucraft ?generic? range in general, largely because they are so easy to cosmetically improve. Last but not least this coal-converted locomotive is excellent value for money without cutting corners.
Cons
Those of a purely engineering bent will laugh at this one, but it will be difficult to find a space for a driver. I have had a look and have sorted a way to do it (as I did for the Edrig), but it is something that model engineers rarely consider ? and I think they should! The little circular draught window on the firebox door I found fiddly to use. On Edrig I removed the brass window and drilled a 1.5mm hole in the plate, into which I inserted the clean end of a piece of handrail brass wire, secured with dab of silver solder, then cut it off to about 1/8in length to make a simple handle. This allows one to turn the window with the shovel as required. Stop Press ? this is now being done on all new models.
Coal-fired Ragleth locomotive £1650.00 Ready to run, or £1150.00 if customer supplies the Ragleth.
Extras include resonator whistle and automatic draincocks ? ask if required. Firing kit comprising water bottle with fittings, shovel, pricker, tube brush and blower unit and is £75.00
GardenRail Resource
DJB Engineering. 17 Meadow Way, BRACKNELL Berks RG42 1UE. Tel: 01344 423256 Email: david.bailey@ntlworld.com Web: http://www.djbengineering.co.uk < Link To www.djbengineering.co.uk also at Eleanor House, Sibthorpe Hill, Tuxford, Nr Newark, Notts NG22 0PJ Tel: 01777 871047?E-mail: mailto:pbailey262@btinternet.com < Link To pbailey262@btinternet.com
Acme Engineering. 1 The Coppice, BEARDWOOD, Blackburn Lancs BB2 7BQ Tel:01254 664433
Web: http://www.acmesteam.co.uk < Link To www.acmesteam.co.uk. Email sales@acmesteam.co.uk
Photos by staff
-01 ? A standard Accucraft ?Ragleth? ? or is it?
-02 ? Ragleth and her test train awaiting trials on the Longlands & Western Railway. Other running was undertaken elsewhere under cover.
-03 ? OK ? where is the driver going? I have found the spot, but the pressure gauge will be moved to the back of the spectacle plate ? and on my own version it will be a half-inch gauge. As per Edrig, the driver will be designed to fit over the lubricator. Note that from a driving point of view all controls are to hand.
-04 ? Preparing to fire with paraffin soaked charcoal. Note the large shovel and that access to the firebox door is very easy.
-05 ? There are a couple of things going on here. The garden railfairer?s boiler top-up bottle utilises the ?Quick Fill? connection on the port side of the cab and I leave this in situ whilst raising steam. The electric blower is in action on the chimney top and as pressure is raised I am filling the sidetanks with distilled water.
-06 ? With your keen eyesight I just know that you will have spotted around 55psi on the gauge. Another shovel full of coal and this locomotive will work its train over LWR metals.
-07 ? Note the circular draught window on the firebox door. This is infinitely adjustable and used to control airflow over the top of fire. Careful use will conserve both water and coal, making this locomotive relaxing to run. You can see the steam blower handwheel top left of the cab.
-08 ? Always nice to come home to a real coal fire?
-09 ? Sometimes it can be difficult for us punters to see what can be done with a locomotive with a little bit of money and a lot of imagination. This is a coal-fired Edrig from the same stable, some three years old and with many hours running under its belt. Note the various cosmetic and working improvements on a locomotive that really is something of a ?plain Jane? as purchased.
Another thing I would add. Certainly if one is considering one of these little beasts ? then don't spoil the ship for a h'aporth of tar. Do get the auto draincocks and the resonator whistle. Properly tuned these whistles are excellent and, with the working draincocks, provide an extra dimension to one's running ? and of course the steam comes out of the right place ? the whistle itself on the spectacle plate. I should say that DJB also supply their whistles to ELR ? so if one would like a Lady Anne based loco ? then one can go to them and still have one's whistle!
Perhaps our moderator would kindly remove the duplicates??? Sorry for the fingerslip...Dannysfod said:
I am keen to have coal-firing articles ? and this would be a good idea. One could divide it into sections and have a mini series with lots of pics. So let me talk you back into it. A series of articles would go a significant way to defraying the cost of your coal-firing. Check out the submission notes on the GR website.
Very nice indeed Tag! Is that actually your engine?
If I was to go into coal firing (and doubtless I will, someday) this is the route I would take, especially having had the pleasure of seeing Tag's Edrig run- faultlessly- on several occasions.
If I was to go into coal firing (and doubtless I will, someday) this is the route I would take, especially having had the pleasure of seeing Tag's Edrig run- faultlessly- on several occasions.
Thought it didn't lookl ike a product of Gorton works. Hadn't noted the lack of whistle, that would have been a dead giveaway! Mind you, so is the oh- so shiney dome.
Looking forwards to seeing yours, suspect it will end up being a little special.
Looking forwards to seeing yours, suspect it will end up being a little special.