Garden Railway Forum

Hi, You may have seen my other post about my new MSS side tank loco being very stiff/stuck and unable to move. I think I have now resolved this initial issue by moving the parts a lot but I still can't get it going at all. Since owning this engine I've not even managed one push of a piston!

So in addition to it being very stiff and clunky, I'm not convinced it's actually getting up to pressure. I've not once seen anything escape around the safety valve for example. I'm using Wilesco steam tablets but I noticed that the front one is often extinguished by water coming from somewhere. I should also add that I'm starting with boiling water out the kettle and still seemingly not reaching pressure. I can see it boiling inside through the min-max level but it doesn't seem to build pressure at all. If I release the whistle it's a weak puff at best. Any ideas? I did all the washing the boiler out before use part. Cheers!

If you are getting nothing at the whistle (and do check that the whistle isn't clogged to be certain) it does sound like you aren't getting and pressure up. If you can see the water bubbling there should be enough heat to raise steam even if there isn't enough to run the loco. The fact you have water coming from somewhere suggests a leak. If you are able to bodge together a length of rubber tube or similar onto one of the boiler fittings somehow then submerge the loco in clean water and blow down the tube and look for bubbles...good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions. That's a good idea for checking for checking for leaks. I will try that later. Following a separate suggestion from Dream steam I have just disconnected both cylinders from the wheels and the wheels do move freely without either attached. One of the two cylinders is a bit stiff at the end of its cycle (most extended), so that it sort of gets stuck fully extended. They are suggesting that a malfunctioning cylinder could be causing all the issues, including causing the apparent leaks. Does that sound possible?