Garden Railway Forum

Managed to get myself a nearly new RC Ragleth yesterday from Anything Narrow Gauge at Peterborough. Spent an afternoon in the sun today running it around the garden  :D

Got a few questions as a bit of a newbie.
1) After running it, should I drain the boiler of water? I left the blow down drain open as it cooled down but should anything else be done?

2) Is there any way to refill easily when running, maybe a replacement cap that you can attach a water bottle too? At the moment I'm releasing steam from the blow down and then opening the water cap in the cab.

3) Final one. The wire in the picture below, any idea what its for? It seems like it should connect to something (its got a PC like connector) or is it just the aerial for thru RC or something?

Looks like it may go to a battery in the side tank. Used to recharge the receiver and servo batteries.

Congratulations on your new loco.

1) I always drain any remaining water. I'm not sure whether it matters, I'm sure someone else will tell you.

2) you mean one of these
http://www.track-shack.com/acatalog/Goo ... 21766.html
Trouble is you've got no way of knowing how much water is in the boiler or how much to pump in. With the Ragleth without a water level gauge I should just run it till the gas runs out, then refill with oil, gas and water and start again.

3) Agree it's a charging cable for your batteries to connect to the charger

One other thing I do is leave the filler plug slightly loose when I've finished running otherwise the rubber O ring tends to get stuck and it's difficult to shift if it hasn't been used for a while.

Snailrail:117334 wrote:One other thing I do is leave the filler plug slightly loose when I've finished running otherwise the rubber O ring tends to get stuck and it's difficult to shift if it hasn't been used for a while.

There's another solution to that problem - steam it more often!

The charge socket looks like a Futaba connection.

Bit poor the dealer did not go through the loco with you.

Agreed, it is a Futaba charger socket. Remember to make sure that the switch on the loco is 'off' when you plug the charger in or it won't charge. The switch has the battery +ve connected to its common (centre) terminal with the Rx connected to one outer terminal and the charger +ve to the other; the charger is connected to the battery when the switch is 'off'. If you get a charger with LED indicators they will tell you if the charger is doing anything. (This arrangement is pretty much universal so you are probably already aware of it; but teaching female grandparents to suck 'cackleberries' is a specialty of mine!)
I fitted a fill valve to my Ragleth, and a 'Billy'(Wife's loco) but we only use them very occasionally.
I only drain the boilers at the end of the season when the loco's get a pre-winterisation inspection and service. (I use filtered rain water so chemical build up is not an issue).
Silicon grease on the 'O'-rings help to preserve them and stop them from sticking.

tom_tom_go:117356 wrote:The charge socket looks like a Futaba connection.

Bit poor the dealer did not go through the loco with you.

To be fair to them it was at Peterborough at the 16mm show where I bought it, very difficult to give 1-2-1 run through when as busy as it was. They answered most questions I had. Might email them about the charger though as nothing came in the box so no idea of voltage or anything that I should use.

Though presume something like this would work?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00JI2Q ... ref=plSrch

MDLR:117341 wrote:

Snailrail:117334 wrote:One other thing I do is leave the filler plug slightly loose when I've finished running otherwise the rubber O ring tends to get stuck and it's difficult to shift if it hasn't been used for a while.

There's another solution to that problem - steam it more often!

You soon learn to do both these after scolding your thumb as you get used to running the engine!

Check if it is cells in the loco are actually rechargeable. Some people just use regular AA cells.

Yep, check they are rechargeable first!

Can recommend the shop and this charger they sell:

http://www.componentshop.co.uk/intellig ... packs.html

Congratulations on your new loco.

I have a Ragleth and have run it often over the last last year. While you do hear of the odd "problem" loco, they seem to be very robust.

I agree with all the advice that has already been given... I am trying to build up the courage to take out the boiler and silver solder a new bush in the base of the boiler to fit a sight glass. If this works out, I'll let you know!

The other thing of note is that Locoworks sell some lovely enhancements for the Ragleth and DJB engineering can supply a whistle..or even convert it to coal firing.

I really hope you enjoy your new loco as much as I have enjoyed mine.

Jim

I use the charger recommended by TOM_TOM_GO above works well.