Garden Railway Forum

To be perfectly pedantic, Hunslet Engine Company works number 542 was built for Groby Granite Quarry in Leicestershire as 'Sextus' of 1896 and did not become Lady Madcap unit, around 1911.

Cheers,
Paul

Peter,
I happen to have a 45mm Roundhouse Argyll for sale in the states if you are interested. Backchannel me if interested.

Paul

I had a loco with a similar problem (Edrig), and it was too much air intake. It turned out that the burner was pulling air around the jet housing (very little, but enough to matter). A couple wraps of PTFE tape sealed the leak, and the burner has been much better since.

Very nice, Neil! I have a Cale in the colour you don't like, though I have been tempted to repaint it into green. I really would like to dispense with the vacuum gear, and that may be an excuse...

Peter, I'm stretching the historical clock at the moment, given that my Peveril is, like all the others, in Indian Red. However, as Peveril was one of the first locos to wear Indian Red (1947 repaint according to photographic evidence and records in Boyd), it is plausible that F6 and F19 MAY have be...

Peter,
F6 is currently in paint and F19 is in glue. F27 is still totally flat in the box.

Paul

Peter, I've found Rustoleum Painters' Touch Kona Brown to be a good colour. I'm using it on my DJB Engineering IMR small F coach kits to good effect. Its a dark brown with a distinctly plum cast to it. It is in the same vein as my old Bing LNWR coaches for shade, which I would guess is about right. ...

The top should screw right off. The dome (at least on the first batch) is made of 3 pieces, so make sure you are turning right above the cylindrical center section. The one piece of pipe that connects to the center section should be a snug press fit and come out with gentle persuasion.

I am not sure how many Old Colonials are out there. 'Slow John' is at least the second one to change hands in the states in the last few months. Interestingly enough, fellow steamers and I have been seeking an Old Colonial, namely 'Slow John' for some time for some historical reasons.

Charles, Its great to see 'Antonio Vivaldi' in steam. Vintage Roundhouse at its finest. I recently acquired a sister loco from the previous year's batch, also imported by Marc Horovitz for stock. Mine is 'Slow John', originally chocolate brown with straw lining. Upon arrival, it was a shade of green...

Peter,
You might be surprised. I once ordered a Billy kit from my dealer on Saturday, the order was received in Donny on Monday morning, and the kit was on his doorstep Wednesday at noon. He lives about an hour away, so I had to wait until Saturday to take delivery...

This list is an excellent resource for you. I would also direct you to the 7/8ths Lounge where the 22.5mm scale chaps hang out. In fact, one chap is building an Idris in 22.5mm scale.

http://www.7-8ths.info/index.php

Keith,
You mention the outside frames as a non-German trait. There were some German built locos with well tanks that also happened to be outside framed. They were not a majority by any standard but they did exist. See, there's a prototype for everything...

Paul

I acquired a Pearse Colorado last weekend at a regional steamup for $475 US. So far, that's my bargain of the year.

Is the jet holder sealed into the burner sleeve? A friend had an air leak between the jet holder and the outer burner sleeve in the cab and had a similar situation. A wrap of rolled PTFE between the jet housing and the burner housing cured the problem.

Here is my Billy. The boiler and chassis are totally stock (apart from a proper pop type safety valve), but the body is mostly scratchbuilt. A friend with a lathe extended a Billy dome for me and made up a sand box using the RH fittings. He also roughed out the cab, which I refined, added the back s...

I don't tend to spray cylinder heads if the loco is already assembled. Brushing a good enamel will work fine, but you may have to retouch occasionally depending on the obstacles your cylinders may encounter.

I am casting about for technique ideas to make a Hunslet or Manning Wardle style square saddle tank. My current idea involves building up a frame of sorts from brass strip and then soldering a thin brass skin over top. Has anyone else used a different technique? The tank does not need to hold water ...

Keith, Your garden is lovely, and the railway really works well in its place. It is definately a part of the garden and yet has a nice presence. Its a grand place to see larger 16mm models running free. The other railway is also a delight. I've seen some other photos on the 7/8" forum of the sa...

Greetings, I am contemplating building a Kerr, Stuart Thames class in 1:13.7 using Roundhouse Hackworth cylinders and valve gear. In order to get things scaled properly, I need to bring the cylinder centerline about 9mm closer to the axle. Will this present any particular challenges I should know ab...