ragleth, millie or bertie

severnvalley2857 · Post by **severnvalley2857** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 7:45 pm

Hi,
i am new to 16mm and i would like to get my first steam loco. i have a limited budget so i am considering an accucraft ragleth or a roundhouse bertie or possibly a millie. does anyone have any experience with these locos?

funandtrains · Post by **funandtrains** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:13 pm

They are all good locos, the Accucraft 0-4-0s are larger and have proper revsing valve gear via a lever or R/C, they are also dual gauge, the two Roudhouse locos are smaller more or quarry type size and have slip eccentric valve gear where you have to push the loco in the direction of travel to change direction and are fixed gauge. You might be better off in looking for a good used Lady Anne or Billy.

severnvalley2857 · Post by **severnvalley2857** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:21 pm

ok i will have a look around thanks for the advice

Joe · Post by **Joe** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:46 pm

i just like trains and steam

severnvalley2857 · Post by **severnvalley2857** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 9:00 pm

i think im gonna get a ragleth as it can be converted to coal firing

Gremlin · Post by **Gremlin** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 9:08 pm

I've got/had all three, Millie has moved on. Nothing wrong with it and will run for 50 mins easily. Bertie is a fun little engine but slip eccentric, the Ragleth based chassis locos I have run very well. These are manual but easy to fit radio for full control which does have its benefits. I think you'd be very happy with a Ragleth as a first engine.

severnvalley2857 · Post by **severnvalley2857** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 9:18 pm

thanks

it looks like a great loco i think i might get the power unit and add a swift 16 owain body kit to it

steamie1 · Post by **steamie1** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:12 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq1jT7-az1c

Ragleth is strong and a great first loco. Get it from a good well known.

Big Jim · Post by **Big Jim** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:41 pm

Ragleth would be my choice.

dougrail · Post by **dougrail** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 11:07 pm

The Accucraft [Caradoc] was my first choice. I chose this over a Bertie as I preferred the better-proportioned looks. Furthermore, with a large boiler and a proper reversing gear, plus the ability to 'upgrade' via coal-firing and/or RC makes it a loco with quite some possibilities.

I was inches away from acquiring a Bertie. However I'm absolutly happy with my final choice. A Ragleth is possibly the best call of these three.

ace · Post by **ace** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 7:37 am

I would suggest that it depends what you want out of the loco. The roundhouse Millie and Bertie are manual as standard but can be easily be converted to R/C. As previously mentioned the accucraft engines are also the same. The Accucraft engine in my opinion is too large and bulky whereas the Millie and Bertie are, for me, well proportioned for 16mm. I have a Millie and a Mortimer (same 0-4-0 platform as Ragleth) and my Millie is fantastic for a constant run of up to nearly and hour. The Millie has a near silent burner whereas the Accucraft howls as it goes along. I don't miss having non R\C reversing on the Millie as I run her at shows, club layouts as I seldom need to change direction. If you're doing a lot of backwards and forwards (eg shunting), then maybe the Ragleth would be best.

Personally I'd look to either build a Billy kit, so parts can be bought when budget allows (you will end up with a fantastic machine!) and if you feel able to, or keep an eye for a second hand one. Anything Narrow Gauge is a good source of good quality second hand engines, Simon is a helpful man too.

Although the Accucraft engines are well priced, I don't like how often they change their range about, not so much with Ragleth, but with everything else. I know with Roundhouse, my 19 year old Billy, I can (and have!) still get parts for easily, plus you have the added bonus of dealing with a British born and bread company. I also prefer the quality of a roundhouse engine too.

If you do end up going with a second hand Ragleth or similar Accucraft engine, make sure you see it running before buying.

If you do eng up going the Billy route it can be turned into a brilliant coal fired engine at a later date. Have a look at the Elke here:

http://www.riverdale-loco.com/

I have a friend who is very experienced in coal firing and he reaches for his Elke/Billy conversion over his edrig conversion any day.

steamie1 · Post by **steamie1** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 10:07 am

Well said Ace. If you have more money the Roundhouse range starts to beckon. It's lovely to have the muse of which loco to buy. If your buying Accucraft and Roundhouse new either is going to make you smile. It has been known for an Accucraft not to work but the dealers are good in swopping it out. Roundhouse have a fractionally better long term care system but are often more expensive. I like them both but for different reasons. As above.

Enjoy this first purchase experience. Try to stretch to a new one if you can for a first loco.

pandsrowe · Post by **pandsrowe** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 10:39 am

I bought a manual Ragleth as my first loco when I first started out and have only one regret that I didn't get a R/C version. However a couple of years on and with a bit of confidence and experience I converted it to radio, a fairly easy process as the loco is designed to accommodate this if required.
Roundhouse locos are perhaps more to scale and slightly better engineered but one will have to pay more for that.
A small point, Accucraft locos are a doddle to regauge as they have dimples on the axles to locate the wheel grub screws, for some reason Roundhouse locos do not. You have to set the gauge with a supplied setting gauge, so if buying second hand make sure you get one with your purchase.

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 2:36 pm

As ace has said above it all depends what you want to get out of your locomotive.

I run on 32mm, and the 16mm NGM West of Scotland & East of Scotland Groups are exclusively 32mm. However we have an indoor 45mm layout at our full size Industrial Railway group.

So I had a requirement for a dual gauge locomotive but Roundhouse are at the 'luxury car' price range in the Garden Railway market (their basic series is fixed gauge only) and I was unable to secure a 2nd hand Roundhouse loco for a reasonable price.

I got very lucky on eBay and picked up a brand new Ragleth for a great price, and this loco has since run on that 45mm layout, run on a 32mm layout at the Llanfair show, and joined the EofS group on the end to end 32mm outdoor layout at SMET Methven, plus their modular end to end layout at the Dundee Model Railway show -http://gardenrails.myfreeforum.org/ftop ... 0-asc-.php

Unlike Roundhouse, Accucraft do not provide the necessary R/C fittings separately, but as you can see in my Ragleth topic it is easy to add single channel R/C to the reverser control.

Like you I have aspirations to end up with a coal fired locomotive at some point, and again was very lucky to obtain a partly built Roundhouse Billy kit for a great price recently. I like the simplicity of the Riverdale boilers with no requirement for onboard water tanks or axle driven pumps.

I agree with the view that if your budget allows buying new would be best, given the assurance of a warranty.

Chris Cairns

Joe · Post by **Joe** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 4:22 pm

hi all, i will take on this advice as well thanks

laurence703 · Post by **laurence703** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 4:25 pm

I have both Caradoc and Bertie (soon to be two!) and I can't fault either...

I can get an hour out of my Caradoc on one filling of gas and a few top ups of water, but mine is RC and has become a better engine for having the RC fitted... could never easily get to the reg on it cause its so wide... But a good powerful loco with tons of room to personalise.

Bertie is a good engine that will run easily out of the box and has bags of power for such a small engine. I can't fault the quality and all the nice added extras from Roundhouse. The slip eccentric can be seen to be a hassle but I find its nice to just be able to set it and leave it to potter about. It's my other half's engine so I don't get to play with it much but that will change after xmas as she's getting me one too! (best fiancee ever!)

All in all the Ragleth / Caradoc is a big engine that can have RC on both Regulator and Reverser making it fully controlable. Bertie can have RC but only on the Regulator but it is a nice small loco that makes a brilliant addition to anyone's fleet

At the end of it all... it is up to you!

laurence703 · Post by **laurence703** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 4:27 pm

Bertie

Caradoc

severnvalley2857 · Post by **severnvalley2857** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 5:14 pm

Thanks for the advice. I would like to have a second roundhouse loco but i don't think my budget can stretch that far at the moment. I may think about getting one in the future. I think at the moment im leaning towards a ragleth as it is easy to re gauge and gives the option of running on both 32 and 45mm gauge. thanks

IrishPeter · Post by **IrishPeter** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 3:31 am

My experience of Accucraft is confined to the basic US side of the range. Whilst they are OK, they do not appreciate being thrashed and have a fairly short run time - about 20 minutes. I find the fixed eccentric valve gear with a reversing cylinder a sod to keep set up, but the Ruby that hangs around on my line is a useful enough locomotive provided the train is light, and I keep an eye on the clock.

My solitary Roundhouse loco is a 'Millie' and is a good trundle-it-up-and-down-the-garden loco. Not much use for shunting being a slip eccentric loco, but for wandering the 2.45pm empties down the garden and round the continuous run and then coming home again, she is just the ticket as she has a run time of about 45 minutes.

UK Accucraft products are in a different league to the cheap US generic locos, and I would say it is a heck of a lot of loco for not all that much money. I was tempted to buy a Lawley for a long while, but that never quite came off. In terms reliability, etc., they now come a close second to Roundhouse whereas at one time Roundhouse was streets ahead.

I am still tempted to buy something built by Accucraft UK, but it will take a minor windfall at the moment for any new steamers to become a reality.

Peter in AZ

funandtrains · Post by **funandtrains** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 1:08 pm

Most of the UK Accucraft locos are evolved from Merlin practice improved by Pearse and work in a similar way. They are good if you like 2'6" to 3' gauge prototypes.
If you want long running and scale looking small 2' gauge locos I would say avoid 16mm scale / 32mm gauge and go for the Accucraft 7/8 scale on 45mm gauge. This scale seems to be really taking off with more available all the time, Accucraft have 3 UK locos and 2 US locos in this scale so far. These locos are also a much more practical size for coal firing should to enjoy a bad back and soot in your eye!

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