Garden Railway Forum

Any good, any views on them, any tweaks or upgrades recommended, how to get the best out of them?

Also - show us your Berties in any and all forms.

All Roundhouse basic locomotives are wonderful in everyway.
If you really want to upgrade them, water top up MAYBE?
Honestly, they do not need to be upgraded at all. They're perfect as is!

Bl**dy good! To be honest, it runs sweeter and easier than my Roundhouse Classic Stanley, and if the gas and regulator are set right it will easily do 45 mins running if not more, compared to the 25-30 I get from the classic loco. I added a pressure gauge which mean I can get going a bit quicker, saves waiting for the safety valve to lift, but apart from that I added a few cosmetic additions such as brass chimney cap, brass dome, cylinder covers, etc to make him a little more attractive.

Would thoroughly recommend all round, and from a dealers point of view, the best selling Roundhouse loco in the range!

Hope that helps!

Mine (as you saw on Tuesday) runs very well. I added a pair of Roundhouse sand boxes on the front of the saddle tank, a tool box and jack on the rront running plates and a lubricator on the side of the smokebox. With lining out, name and number plates she looks well!

JMORG:122409 wrote:All Roundhouse basic locomotives are wonderful in everyway.
If you really want to upgrade them, water top up MAYBE?
Honestly, they do not need to be upgraded at all. They're perfect as is!

Thanks for that -- Duly noted. I do know they run very well - having seen them in action at Llechfan and Butterley last autumn.

Dannypenguin:122413 wrote:Bl**dy good! To be honest, it runs sweeter and easier than my Roundhouse Classic Stanley, and if the gas and regulator are set right it will easily do 45 mins running if not more, compared to the 25-30 I get from the classic loco. I added a pressure gauge which mean I can get going a bit quicker, saves waiting for the safety valve to lift, but apart from that I added a few cosmetic additions such as brass chimney cap, brass dome, cylinder covers, etc to make him a little more attractive.

Would thoroughly recommend all round, and from a dealers point of view, the best selling Roundhouse loco in the range!

Hope that helps!

I've heard that they run slightly better before, elsewhere but wasn't sure to be fair. Now, 45mins run would be excellent compared to the [former] competition of maybe 20-25mins at a push

I'd probably add the pressure gauge, water glass and water topup if possible for peace of mind.

In terms of aesthetics, I think the painted dome, matching painted wheels and cylinder covers are a must.

MDLR:122415 wrote:Mine (as you saw on Tuesday) runs very well. I added a pair of Roundhouse sand boxes on the front of the saddle tank, a tool box and jack on the rront running plates and a lubricator on the side of the smokebox. With lining out, name and number plates she looks well!

I did see Tuesday Brian - I was impressed with the fact it was 16yrs old and still running very well - I recall one oscillator's upgrade wheel bearings wore out after only four and a half years!

The Berties seem to suggest 'blank canvas' - easy to modify, line and personalise ending that no two are the same - something else that attracted me to them and put them in the running for my new small loco.

You've seen photos of mine... all that got was water top up, Pressure gauge and cylinder covers. Brilliant engines and I'd have another in a heartbeat if the wallet allowed. It's now a Llechfan engine and has been seen out quite regular judging from photographs.

My Bertie has just celebrated its 10th birthday back in December, doesn't seem like that long ago I was at Doncaster collecting it. As with nearly all Roundhouse locos it ran perfectly out the box, easily controllable and powerful. The first alterations were the brass cap and dome shortly followed by the water gauge and top up. I quickly found that any scale collected in the sight glass connection below the boiler and caused false readings. The other issue I discovered its that it did (and still does) very occasionally run dry with no explanation, never heard of another Bertie doing so.

Other than that the first 18 months were nothing but smooth running and flawless reliability, run times were around 45 mins on warm days with a few wagons.

That was of course until the day it wouldn't go. Steam was raised as usual but could barely move, wobbling from side to side. Went back to the factory to see if they had any ideas. On giving the loco to Roger he had a quick wiggle before looking up and saying "that didn't take you long!". I'd worn it out A quick calculation revealed that by this point Bertie had run a little over 200 real miles. A week and a little doggy bag of "left overs" later, Bertie was back to normal.

2 years later it happened again after some considerable running, all trouble free. This time I had an evil plan In January Andy bell had posted a short video of his Bertie with newly fitted Hackworth valve gear. Knowing it was possible to fit it using the original cylinders the loco was stripped down to its frames and the alterations made. One change which no one ever sees is full width axle bearings, these fill the gap between the frame completely and stop any dirt getting in the bearing. The new valve gear was all built by hand and the dimensions mostly guessed, amazingly it worked first time. Two days after the first test it was out at Butterly where it was caught on Brian's camera and caused quite a stir.

Since then other locos have arrived and Bertie has been run a little less than previously though still giving near perfect service. The new valve gear is doing its job very well for an educated guess. The next overhaul will be some what more in depth but since it works so well, that won't be for a while.

In short go get one, you won't regret it.

laurence703:122426 wrote:You've seen photos of mine... all that got was water top up, Pressure gauge and cylinder covers. Brilliant engines and I'd have another in a heartbeat if the wallet allowed. It's now a Llechfan engine and has been seen out quite regular judging from photographs.

Yes, your red loco It was one of two I got to steam with last autumn and needless to say it ran very well with my GWR coaches and just in general, so very well. I have my ideas foir modifications and for RH to do some special order if they will [I know they'll prepaint the wheels and cylinder covers to match loco...]

Kes likes it very much too. C:

DLRdan:122428 wrote: My Bertie has just celebrated its 10th birthday back in December, doesn't seem like that long ago I was at Doncaster collecting it. As with nearly all Roundhouse locos it ran perfectly out the box, easily controllable and powerful. The first alterations were the brass cap and dome shortly followed by the water gauge and top up. I quickly found that any scale collected in the sight glass connection below the boiler and caused false readings. The other issue I discovered its that it did (and still does) very occasionally run dry with no explanation, never heard of another Bertie doing so.

Other than that the first 18 months were nothing but smooth running and flawless reliability, run times were around 45 mins on warm days with a few wagons.

That was of course until the day it wouldn't go. Steam was raised as usual but could barely move, wobbling from side to side. Went back to the factory to see if they had any ideas. On giving the loco to Roger he had a quick wiggle before looking up and saying "that didn't take you long!". I'd worn it out A quick calculation revealed that by this point Bertie had run a little over 200 real miles. A week and a little doggy bag of "left overs" later, Bertie was back to normal.

2 years later it happened again after some considerable running, all trouble free. This time I had an evil plan  In January Andy bell had posted a short video of his Bertie with newly fitted Hackworth valve gear. Knowing it was possible to fit it using the original cylinders the loco was stripped down to its frames and the alterations made. One change which no one ever sees is full width axle bearings, these fill the gap between the frame completely and stop any dirt getting in the bearing. The new valve gear was all built by hand and the dimensions mostly guessed, amazingly it worked first time. Two days after the first test it was out at Butterly where it was caught on Brian's camera and caused quite a stir.

Since then other locos have arrived and Bertie has been run a little less than previously though still giving near perfect service. The new valve gear is doing its job very well for an educated guess. The next overhaul will be some what more in depth but since it works so well, that won't be for a while.

In short go get one, you won't regret it.

Cheers Dan -- it sounds like that they can wear too [quickly?] but that RH are willing to provide tech support asap especially for something like this - a week's turnabout sounds great. It was a tossup between a Janet-build ossy and a Bertie but I have firmly made up my mind and am as I type, raising funds via the closure/clearance sales.

All loco wear Doug and when they are out every other day it doesn't take long !

They do yes, mine last because they only get steamed once a week maybe Fair play to RH for the tech support though. I'm about 2/3rds the way to raising the costs for a Bertie - the last mamod sold and the junkyard clearance in full swing is helping.

Turner valve gear would also be a quick and easy addition/conversion. Actually given the simplicity of Turner valve gear, I am surprised Roundhouse don't offer it.