Garden Railway Forum

Do we have any forum members that live in the EU? Looking for someone to assist me in buying a Riverdale coal fired boiler kit next year. They will only sell to the EU, so I need someone I trust to play middle man so to speak. Feel free to PM me to keep it off the main forum. Huge thanks in advance. Mike.

You'll be lucky to get one. Joep told me in October "Because of retirement I produce limited numbers for the EU only (mainly Germany and the Netherlands).".

Other suppliers of coal-fired boilers are available.

Most are much more expensive and lack the simple design of Joep's Riverdale boilers. I have no desire to deal with axle pumps, working side tanks ect. Hopefully a second hand engine or unused boiler will turn up next year. Be nice if someone produced more coal boilers to his basic design for the RH Billy and Lady Anne. If someone does, its unknown to me.

The Elstow engineering design looks similar and no resin you couldn’t leave out the axle pump and fit a water top up valve instead?

Mike, here is what I would like to do. I'd like to order a Riverdale boiler and post it to my family in England. If he's refusing to sell them in England now too I also have friends in Switzerland. Anyway, once the boiler arrives at my family's house, I could take very precise measurements of it, and then send it back with a request for a refund, citing some bollocks reason like allergy to coal or something. Then, when I get back to Canada, I'll just make a couple of my own. Like you said, it's a simple design.

If this seems harsh to you, reflect that:

1) the Chinese do this all the time
2) It serves him right.

I am in the process of buying a second hand partially built Elke from Simon at ANG. So problem soon to be solved. I am supprised the Chinese have not copied the design as its so simple and could open up coal firing to the masses if Bowande or Accucraft offered that option on factory built models. By not having axle pump, water tanks and just a goodall valve for water top up, the design is kept simple by coal fired engine standards. And the damper design is unique and is what makes the engine a "one and done" or can be kept in steam for as long as one likes. Now to decide what flavor my Elke will be, Bush engine with big Darj spot lights front and on the back of the tender, or more Austrian with red frames, black boiler with shiny brass dome and boiler bands to pull my LGB beer cars.