Steam loco repair - with cardboard

 

Sunday - The Merlin Mayflower would raise steam, but struggled to move. We trundled back and forth a bit, but there wasn't any power, and the loco ran out of puff pretty quickly. 

I noticed that the drain plug on the lubricator was spewing out a watery oil mix. It's always been a weepy loco, but now things were getting messy. I wondered if that was where all my pressure was going. 

Monday - Thinking that there bolt needed an O-ring on the back, I searched the local stores. Halfrods sold me something that was close, but nowhere near close enough in size. 

So, I make a hole in a bit of Daler board, put it over the bolt, and tightened it up. Things felt good, so it was back to the track for a test. 

Result - it worked!

No more goo dribbling out of the lubricator, although the card gradually soaked up oil and became discloured. The loco was back to its free-steaming best. After a few circuits, I had the regulator barely cracked open as any more and the thing would run like a rocket. 

So, the next job is to stock up on proper O-rings. Something else for the travelling toolbox.

Playing trains with Bole

 

It's always nice to recieve an invitation to play trains on someone elses garden railway, so when Steve from Bole Laser Craft asked me to join him and some freinds for a session on his line. I was promised cake too. 

As it happened, it worked out that I could visit Gauge 1 North, and then head over to Steves after lunch. So that was the plan. 

The line is long. And tall. 6ft from the lowest level to the loops at the top. You have to drive your loco, so manual control Willi was left in the back of the car, and I ran my Merlin Mayflower. 

Not the largest loco in the world, I managed 3 1/2 circuits before running out of gas. Not back going since there is quite a climb, and even with only six skips on the back, it had to work. 

Everyone else was running Darjeeling Himalayan Railway locos, which have slightly larger boiler capacities, but they were also hauling longer trains. 

The day was sunny for the most part, apart from a serious dose of rain towards the end of the afternoon. Steve had just fired up his Darjeeling 'C' Class, but was able to set the points so it circulated on the top circuit, largely visible from under the gazeebo we sheltered under. 

So, another good running visit, with freindly operating (there had to be, at one point three trains were chasing each other) and banter. Plus some very nice cake. A good afternoon!

Steaming

 

Meetings don't always need to take place in meeting rooms. Keen to pin down some news for Garden Rail, I headed a couple of miles away to a local garden railway steam-up, on a Thursday afternoon. In my defence, I'd pulled a muscle in my back and sitting at the computer wasn't comfortable. 

Anyway, there was plenty to see, such as an old friends' Talyllyn Railway train. Initially hauled by No.2, he then hooked up No.1, which suprisingly (to me) struggled a bit on the curves with the coaches. 

Alongside it is a Riverdale Locomotives "Irene" which is coal fired. It looked stunning and ran really well. Coal firing is very fashionable, and the model certainly had the right smell, an important part of the steam loco experience. Watching it trot around at a very sensible pace with it's train was cracking. Riverdale are a new name to me, so the trip was also useful for research.

I'd brought my Merlin Mayflower along. The line disapears behind some hedges at one point and I was nervous about letting the manually conttolled Peckett loose. The loco performed perfectly - but reminded me I really need to replace the buffer beams with something that doesn't involve LGB couplers, so I can haul a train. There's plenty of power on offer, and I want to give the model a workout. 

Also on show is this lovely Roundhouse Bulldog. I've not seen a painted and weathered example before as far as I know, and the model does look rather special with a less than toy-like paint job. 

Finally, a bit of fun with a battery-electric Trotters van. I don't know where the body came from, but I rather fancy doing a similar conversion myself!

Testing the Mayflower

First job: Clean the battery compartment terminals in the very 80s looking handset. Drop some new AA's into this and the holder under the loco. Swithc on, enjoy the lights coming on, and beeping noise. Waggle the sticks and be pleased all appears well. 

Off down to the garage for some gas and water. Then:

Phil is a very happy boy. The loco lights easily and steams well. Maybe the O-ring under the safety valve could do with replacement, and I'm not sure how much use the presure gauge is, but this is a very, very nice model. 

Speed control is good, it will run at a very modest pace, unlike many chuffers at shows as far as I can tell. Even on a short length of track, it's controlable. When warm, the burner can be turned to silent. 

Next, I need to find a track to run it on properly. Ideally a 45mm gauge one so I can put a train behind it using those LGB couplings. On this list are some replacement buffer beams with centre buffers, or even choppers. 

This loco is a keeper.

Merlin Mayflower

I'm not a steam man. I'm really not. Cheap battery electric propulsion suits me fine for the garden. I'm even looking at converting some of the track power locos to battery. 

So how come I own 4 1/2 steam locos?*

The latest addition to the fleet was spotted on the Anoraks Anonymous stand at Stafford. Sitting right at the back, on a shelf was a very attractive black steam loco. The price, £625, was just as nice to look at. I wasn't planning to drop a significant amount of cash at the event on anything, but I felt this was a bargain, I'm also nosey (I have the name), and so asked to take a look. 

Oily. That was my first impression. The whole model was greasy. There was a gentle chuff when I (easily) turned the wheels too, which is a good thing. There were some instructions that said it was a Merlin - and I wondered how much pain a relatively early steam model would be. Years of reading Throwback Modeller had made me wonder if a vintage loco would be interesting to own.

I handed the model back, cleaned my hands and went off to look at other things. But it stayed in my mind all day. 

Around 4pm, the stand was looking a bit emptier, but the loco was still there. I took another look. It was still nice. I took a deep breath and handed over my credit card. 

Fate smiled on me, and the box the loco and it's radio control unit were packed in, perfectly fitted my recently aquired, and free, Staffordshire Railway Building Society bag. Was this a sign? 

To be fair, I know the AA people a little and we agreed that I was probably the safest person to seel this to. If there was a problem, I wasn't likely to be on the 'phone shouting. I know enough people who can tinker and fix things, with a bit of luck.

Back home and I sent out a couple of e-mails, and Tag quickly responded that this was a Mayflower, a loco he felt was the best of the Merlin range. 

Google brough up a bit more information, including someone who had bought a second-hand example and had a bit of a nightmare dealing with niggling problems. Generally though, the limited feedback was good, although I had to hope my model had a copper boiler, not the brass of earlier examples. Since the paperwork suggests this loco dates from 1992 (30 years old!) I was hopeful. As it turned out, talking to Ian Pearse (who designed the model), all Mayflowers were fitted with copper, but some earlier Merlins had brass, and you need to be careful what you leave in there. 

So, I have a very nice loco. I paid a bargain price for it - suggestions are that I could nearly double my money just by selling. The bit question is, would it work? 

*The 1/2 being a part assembled Peckett being built in Garden Rail.