ragleth opinions

Roberts wood light railwa · Post by **Roberts wood light railwa** » Wed Sep 09, 2015 8:11 pm

I've asked about janets in the mamod section and now for the ragleth questions.

i'm very tempted to get a "big" loco when funds allow (afte rwedding and christmas)

would a ragleth be a good big loco to get?

i love the look of them and i have both 32 and 45 lines that are available for me to run on so fits in with it being adjustable.

i dont mind running manual but would possibly have r/c fitted in the future.

so my questions are;

good points and bad points?

what are they like to run in manual?

any other info on them would be happily recieved

cheers james

Joe · Post by **Joe** » Wed Sep 09, 2015 10:12 pm

Hi, its worth pointing out i do not own a ragleth however (as said in a different thread) my mate does and despite him having problems with it it seems a very nice loco.

heres what i think are the good and bad points from looking at his and other ragleths:

Good:
Reversing valve gear
easy to fit RC
Good at slow running
Big Cab
Nice extra details like coal load etc
improving customer service
good value for money
You can fit a top up valve as the loco isnt filled by safety valve
Can change the gauge

Bad:
Made on a production line in china
company and service still isnt quite as good as roundhouse
very heavy loco for moving and pulling "dead"
to large a loco to suit most narrow gauge lines however does suit W and L or bowwater type lines etc
Seems a bit underpowered for its size but saying that can pull a decent train
cant really fit a water gauge
does seem to be a bit more problems that occur with them compared to other similarly priced locos

in my view though if your after a starter loco thats not of the mamod variety a ragleth offers good value for money and is certainly a big bulky loco. I personally chose a roundhouse Bertie because of there better proportioned size and ease of running however there wasnt much in it, one thing i would say though is that it seems a bit tedious changing the reverser all the time if the ragleth is in manual i find it much easier to just push my bertie and off she goes however I can easily see the advantage of having RC on the reverser (something a Bertie cannot have)
At the end of the day the choice is yours a ragleth is a very good loco but so are berties and millies

Boustrophedon · Post by **Boustrophedon** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 6:42 am

They can be difficult to light.

There is very little on them, if anything, that can rust, being made of copper, brass, and stainless steel. So a Ragleth should last.

tom_tom_go · Post by **tom_tom_go** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:37 pm

If you are looking for a big 0-4-0 loco then you will be pleased with the Ragleth's sizing compared to a RH offering.

I ran mine manual a few times before going about fitting R/C and was pleased with it's ability to run slowly when the regulator is set right although the line you run the loco on (particularly the radius on curves) and the amount of weight it is pulling will also have an impact.

R/C is easy to fit and plenty of places to locate all the required bits. I have even managed to get the battery, regulator servo, on/off switch and receiver in the battery compartment.

Other things I like about the Ragleth is there is a large choice of modifications available from suppliers both mechanically and cosmetically, it create lot's of smoke as it loves oil and you can pull it apart without getting paranoid about breaking anything or messing about with the timing.

Although the RH faithful might persuade you to buy something else you cannot argue that you get a lot of loco for your money.

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 9:21 pm

I had a requirement for a dual gauge locomotive which could be easily Radio Controlled and ended up buying a 2013 Ragleth (the current 2014 style Ragleth has larger side tanks, and the gas tank is now in the cab with a horizontal gas valve) - http://gardenrails.myfreeforum.org/about8744.html

The only gripe I have about Accucraft locomotives is the poor design of the gas tank leading to liquid gas problems on initial light up, but I'm now use to having to relight the burner during some light ups (one of our 16mm Group members regularly has a large poker flame coming out of his Edrig's smokebox door, but he has not managed to find the right length The Train Department replacement gas valve yet).

My Ragleth is my most used locomotive for visiting other Garden Railways & running at exhibitions, and I usually run it with either a rake of Accucraft W & L and L & B wagons or a rake of IP Eng Freelance Goods wagons. It is fitted with The Train Department replacement regulator valve which offers better control, and I find I can get enough control over the gas burner with the vertical post mounted gas valve fitted to my 2013 version. I have a cab mounted gas tank in my Caradoc and I find the gas valve on that is a lot looser and more difficult to finely control.

Chris Cairns

mikewakefielduk@btinterne · Post by **mikewakefielduk@btinterne** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 7:39 am

cant really fit a water gauge

I can't fit a water gauge to either my Roundhouse Billy or Lady Ann, presumably because they're an oldish design. You can fit one (£45) to my Bertie but I haven't. On the whole, I don't find water gauges particularly reliable except for vertical boiler locos.

There's a review of the Ragleth here: http://www.accucraft.uk.com/content/upl ... review.pdf although it is a few years old.

SapperAnt · Post by **SapperAnt** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 5:37 pm

I love mine to bits

Reliable, good runner, powerful. A bit large but who's counting the rivets?

dougrail · Post by **dougrail** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 5:49 pm

Just as an addon; I love my Caradoc.

Roberts wood light railwa · Post by **Roberts wood light railwa** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 8:52 pm

Thanks for the very positive replies guys. As soon as the wedding (8 weeks away) and Christmas are done I'll be saving for one.

After the great responses I've had from everyone I've spoken too about them it seems they're well worth the money.

Cheers again

Post by **-steves-** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 12:58 pm

I have a few Accucraft loco's and value for money they are pretty unbeatable IMHO. They run exceptionally well, easy to maintain, very easy to fit RC, I have done it to all of mine. They simply do not compare with a Mamod, simply a different league, as much as I love my little Mamod, its now more for display than running

Current Accucraft standings are below and I fitted RC to each of them.

Caradoc
Ragleth
Leader
Wrekin
Premier (A leader in disguise)

I would highly recommend any of them not only as a first loco, but also to anyone that has not tried one no matter how many they already have, don't knock it till you try it for yourself I say, not what your "mate" says.

P.S. I love roundhouse loco's too, but find the extra price tag difficult to justify, next loco is likely to be a Roundhouse Fowler, so I am not an "Accucraft fan boy", just someone who has to justify each spend

Boustrophedon · Post by **Boustrophedon** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 6:35 pm

On the gas control subject: The upgrade and much superior gas control valves, (TD75) from the train department do not fit the later type Ragleth with the filler in the cab.

I have not tried any of the others from the same source.

http://www.thetraindepartment.com/ttd-upgrade-valves/

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 8:10 pm

The problem comes from Accucraft using different length gas valves on their locos - see Page 2 here - http://gardenrails.myfreeforum.org/ftop ... asc-15.php

The Train Department did produce a modified length TD 75 gas valve to cater for both lengths, but I suspect the TD 75 gas valve you tried is one of the earlier shorter length ones (if it was from HGLW then these were sourced around Dec 2014 or earlier and similarly failed to shut off the gas on a late model Edrig).

Hopefully Jay can sort out his supply problems and get these replacement valves back in stock soon.

Chris Cairns

Boustrophedon · Post by **Boustrophedon** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 9:20 pm

Chris Cairns:113456 wrote:The problem comes from Accucraft using different length gas valves on their locos - see Page 2 here - http://gardenrails.myfreeforum.org/ftop ... asc-15.php

The Train Department did produce a modified length TD 75 gas valve to cater for both lengths, but I suspect the TD 75 gas valve you tried is one of the earlier shorter length ones (if it was from HGLW then these were sourced around Dec 2014 or earlier and similarly failed to shut off the gas on a late model Edrig).

Hopefully Jay can sort out his supply problems and get these replacement valves back in stock soon.

Chris Cairns

You are right. Anyway I got mine to work with a little machining. I took 2mm of the end of the thread on the outer part and narrowed the hex end by 1mm so it would screw in further. Works fine.

Boustrophedon · Post by **Boustrophedon** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 7:36 pm

Mind you it is still a dear to light. Bad enough to nearly make me want to sell it on.

mikewakefielduk@btinterne · Post by **mikewakefielduk@btinterne** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 7:40 pm

I used to find some of my locos hard to light until I invested in one of those gas lighters with a flexible neck. Just open the smokebox door, poke the lit lighter in an inch or two and crack open the loco's gas valve. Lights every time, unless there's a blocked jet which I haven't had since I took Chris' advice and used a roll of coffee filter paper behind the jet.

JMORG · Post by **JMORG** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 7:51 pm

We have a group member that owns a Cheddar Riesa (and has owned an Ivor, Hercules and Samson) and a few years back he got an Edrig. After all the problems I and another group member have had with the NGG16, he was shocked at how great the Edrig is. He's had no problems with it and he usually relies on it when he wants a relaxing run.
Another group member has owned an Edrig for years and has had no faults whatsoever with it.
The aftermarket kits for these engines are amazing! Look at the Owain by Swift Sixteen or the simply 7/8s baldrig bodies!

Keith S · Post by **Keith S** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 10:40 pm

I don't have one, but I really like the potential they have for cosmetic modification. There are all kinds of things you can do and they are pretty good-looking engines anyway. I wouldn't turn my nose up at one that's for sure.

MDLR · Post by **MDLR** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 2:18 pm

JMORG:116192 wrote:Another group member has owned an Edrig for years and has had no faults whatsoever with it.
The aftermarket kits for these engines are amazing! Look at the Owain by Swift Sixteen or the simply 7/8s Baldrig bodies!

Here's my Baldrig XT......

big-ted · Post by **big-ted** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 7:33 pm

MDLR:116199 wrote:
Here's my Baldrig XT......

Beautiful! More pics please!

The

MDLR · Post by **MDLR** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 8:12 pm

http://mdlr.co.uk/loco20.html

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