Can Ragleth save the day?

 

I really want to take two locos to the club steam day. The Peckett has a boiler certificate, and digging through a boxfile of correspondance (Including the hate mail I've recieved while editing mags. Yes really. It's pathetic.) I found another - for my Ragleth!

This loco has been sat in its wooden box since before the pandemic, so would it work? 

First, I checked the batteries. Unsuprisingly, they were dead, so for the moment I've replaced them with dry cells. I've not given up, just that charging, if it works, will take a while, and I'm impatient. 

While under there, the reciever is changed from a Planet to a RadioLink. Not essential, but I want to try the Planet in the steamboat. I think they are more reliable. There's also a long-term plan to put all the locos on Spectrum radios, but that requires me to find the receiver that came with SeaLion. 

Anyway, the good news is that all worked well, so it was outside to try some steam. 

Another result! I even gave it a little run up and down the garden railway. Not far, as the track needs ballasting and levelling, but enough to know it will move. And move fast, it could do with a bit of a load on the back...

Of course, getting the loco out again reminded me how much I like the proportions of this model. Perhaps more 7/8th than 16mm, it's a lovely chunky little machine, thay deserves a lot more attention and love. 

Update: Here's a handy hint. 

If you take the blowdown valve out while checking the loco over, don't leave it on the garden table, or when you get to the railway, your loco will be incontinent, and there will be no steaming, but plenty of embarasment.