Garden Railway Forum

I've been cooking up complicated ideas again...

I've just invested in a Summerlands Chuffer and I'm wondering if anyone else has conceived the idea of being able to remotely control the chuff level?

I've got a Slomo which has just arrived to fit to my Lady Anne which will be set up to be able to shunt. I can only really have an end to end railway along the fence the shunting concept is very much inspired by Steve Howard's exceptional Hambledon Valley.

My observation has been for some time that it would nice to simulate coasting with the throttle shut, ie a chuffer with FX open, then shut the FX chuffer as you open the throttle again for maximum bark.

Has any one experimented with altering their chuffer?

Feel free to tell my I'm crazy

I love the idea, but can't imagine a means of actuating the FX cap without it being visually obtrusive.

Hi Hugo

I have thought about this in the past. I don't think you could control the FX chuffer. There's no room in the chimney and any device connected to the FX would be very obtrusive and difficult to get the circular motion required.

However, the FX basically works by varying the size of hole in the top of the chuff pipe. I have thought that a small hole could be drilled into the top of the existing chuff pipe and then a wire inserted into the pipe via the flute that could be raised or lowered into the hole to block or unblock it. The wire could be activated via a tiny solenoid between the frames and controlled by channel 5 on the radio - the bind button.

I haven't tried doing this and don't know it it would work, but for the sake of a chuffer, you could experiment. If it doeasn't work, you could always refill the hole in the top of the chuffer with a blob of solder.

What do you think?

Rgds
Steve Howard

Hi Steve,

Similar thoughts had been going through my mind. I like the idea of the wire through the chuff flute. I was thinking about it running down the center of the exhaust and drilling a tiny hole between the two exhaust inlets on the roundhouse adapter.
Of course your idea would be more universal through the flute.

I'm thinking that 0.5mm piano wire would probably do the trick. Just need to find a way of turning a tiny cone... It will be interesting to see it the chuff can be varied using this technique.

Hugo

Thanks pretty much how I imagined it. I don't know if you need a cone, maybe just a flat disc that sits on top of the chuffer, I don't think the seal is particularly important. Just need to experiment with a spare chuffer I think. Siting the servo could be a bigger problem. The bottom of the smoke box is not a good environment, it gets very hot and covered in hot oil, water, steam etc. I was thinking the hole in the top of the chuffer either needed to be open or closed, rather than variable. Then you could use a simple solenoid that would be far less affected by the environment and use the bind button on the transmitter to operate it.

If you ran the wire in a tube you could site the solenoid/servo pretty much anywhere.

Or fit a bell-crank between the cylinders, and situate a servo further back, attached to a frame stretcher?

There are lots of wire-in-tube suppliers for use as a points control system. Ideally the operating wire needs connecting to the regulator servo/operatinmg arm. That way, the hole will close whilst accelerating making a loud chuff and then open when slowing down, reducingthe chuff.

I have seen wire in tube using steel wire and copper tube, although most use ptfe tube and I am not sure this will stand the heat, although you could find some small gauge copper tube to replace it. eg. https://anticsonline.uk/Category/MerControl_N1587

steveh99 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:17 am

I have seen wire in tube using steel wire and copper tube, although most use ptfe tube and I am not sure this will stand the heat,

Ptfe ought to be OK heatwise I'd have thought ( although it is nasty if it gets up to burning temps) but actually fixing it down could be a problem given how non-stick it is. Metal would be a better option IMO.

Hugo,
I have an Accucraft Earl fitted with R/C , Slomo and a Summerland Chuffer. Running on our club layout with a 10 car train at a realistic speed , I can shut the throttle and the train will drift to a halt . The Slomo unit will carry the whole train forward 20 to 30 feet as it coasts to a halt. The chuff gets softer with the throttle closed just as you would hear on a full-sized engine drifting to a halt. If I open the throttle back up before stopping , the bark of the exhaust is quite loud as the engine is loaded by the Slomo unit coming up to speed. When the engine and Slomo reach equilibrium again , that is the same speed and load conditions the sound is the same as normal running The effect is very noticeable. People who are viewing our layout think that this is an electronic effect till I explain the mechanics of what is happening.

Charles M