ragleth, millie or bertie

[bessytractor]

I have a Millie and an Edrig. I'd say they are about level pegged to be honest, I prefer the Millie for some reason.

[Whosk]

My first and only live steamer has been a Ragleth, it has been fun to own and haven't regretted the purchase for a minute, although, as it is my only one I have nothing to compare it too! I bought mine as a naked Ragleth, ie, it was just the basic engine unit with no cab or tanks etc, I was on a limited budget and this was what I could afford at the time (I would have liked a Roundhouse Fowler). My plan was to build up a cab for it, I thought I wanted the quarry engine look so I knocked up cab mock up in the video but have decided to go with a colonial look inspired by the Fowler so I have yet to start on the new cab, tanks and canopy. It has been huge fun having this engine, it's not just the running but the fiddling I enjoy, I have fitted the DJB blowdown valve which is much nicer to operate, changed the lubricator drain to a globe valve, fitted the radio control and most recently fitted a Regner whistle. As said, the next task is to build the new cab arrangement and I might even play with whistle designs to get a deeper? note rather than the shrill peep I have now.

Wayne

PS. And a Summerlands Chuffer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi2W85HkSv8

[bloo]

Hello,

This is my first post !
I would like to buy a new live steam loco and I was considering the Ragleth. But as far as I know it is manufactured in China and I'm a bit reluctant to buy things that can be manufactured in Europe. Now I also think about a Roundhouse Billy or Lady Anne... My concern is about how smooth my locomotive will run. From the videos I watched from the web, it seems that a Ragleth could be a bit smoother than a Roundhouse. Am I wrong ? Also, between a Billy and a Lady Anne, which one would run smoother/better ?

Thanks for your advices !

[funandtrains]

There is no real running difference between the Roundhouse Lady Anne and Billy as they have very similar boiler and chassis. Roun dhouse locos are very smooth to run normally and are factory test run so always work well straight out of the box.
Accucraft Ragleths run well once run in but can be a little less controllable if you have manual control.

[bloo]

Thanks steve ! My concern is about smoothness while stoping or starting the locomotive and slow speed. Furthermore it will be RC. From what I saw on the videos it's harder to get slow speed with a Roudhouse than with a Ragleth. But again, maybe I'm totally wrong !! Also I know that I can fit a SLOMO on a Roundhouse. Maybe my last choice but twice the price of a Ragleth...

[funandtrains]

Thanks steve ! My concern is about smoothness while stoping or starting the locomotive and slow speed. Furthermore it will be RC. From what I saw on the videos it's harder to get slow speed with a Roudhouse than with a Ragleth. But again, maybe I'm totally wrong !! Also I know that I can fit a SLOMO on a Roundhouse. Maybe my last choice but twice the price of a Ragleth...

It is more to do with how the radio control is set up and the condition of the loco. If you have seperate servos on regulator as well as reverser you should be able to run both smoothly at slow speeds, if they are run in and having timing set right.

If you want to run very slowly best to get a Billy and get a Slowmo fitted.

[laurence703]

You do not need to have a slowmo to get slow speeds...
All it takes is practice, patience and time to learn how your loco will run. I can get my Leek and Manifold which is essentially a bigger lady anne with bigger wheels to do a nice scale speed on RC and all I'm doing is adjusting the regulator on the handset ever so slightly and it makes all the difference.

There is nothing wrong with Accucraft locos. I have a Caradoc as mentioned before on this thread and it is just as good in terms of running as my other locos and that now has RC on Regulator, Reverser and Whistle.

[artfull dodger]

Another good way to learn how to run slowly with a stock steamer is to watch some of the "from the footplate" videos and pay close attention to how the driver operates the throttle lever when starting the train. Its not just yank it out and go like a diesel. A steam engine would just spin its drive wheels. Its more like pull/push it out/in a bit, then shut off the steam, then repeat that operation constantly till the train gets into motion. Its definatly an art form and different from engine to engine. Each engine has its own quirks and style needed to get the best performance from. This is why in the past, drivers would be assigned to each engine(atleast here in the states), thus the engine and crew would be at thier best on every run as the crew knew the individual needs of that locomotive. Mike

[dougrail]

The only thing with Accucraft locos is the gas system. Jets seem more prone to blocking and the older 'toastrack' burners are noisy and somewhat inefficient. If you're willing to sort these issues, then an Accy is well worth it. My Caradoc once I had the gas system replaced after nearly five years in my ownership, has transformed itself into a loco capable of taking 8 heavy bogie coaches.

[artfull dodger]

Flushing the gas tank seems to help if done prior to even trying to light the burner the first time. Requires wasting some gas, but saves plugging up the jet. I have one Accucraft and my friend has 3 from that brand. All have been good engines once run in, they are much like a basic series RH as in they need run in to get full performance. The brand also seems to need more tinkering than others to deal with minor issues. With the RH brand, even the basic series, you get excellent performance straight out of the box and with long term parts/service support that I do not think any brand can match. Look how many years the Lady Anne and Millie among others have been in the line up. Yet Accucraft's popular Edrig is no more. Edrig should have been kept in the line up for years. But as such is Asian production, make a run or two then move on. Both are good brands, don't get me wrong, but for my money, RH gets the nod. Mike

[James from Devon]

I think you have had some great advice here. My personal experience echos most of the other posts. I started off couple of years back with a simple circuit of track and a manual Ragleth which proved a great loco and great fun / learning. The gas burner and valve were a bit of an issue but replacements / modifications are available and are easy to fit which has really improved my loco. I then bought a Regner Konrad which has been a brilliant machine which i have modified quite a bit. I have had the Ragleth converted to RC lately as I now have a more complex track which isn't suited to manual control. The latest loco is a kit built RH Katie which is by far the smoothest, most powerful and most used loco.

There is a great range out there, the nice thing is, if looked after, the locos don't loose much value, if you start with a Ragleth, it can be sold later to part fund a RH loco etc.

Hope you enjoy your loco when you get one.

There are also some really great people on this forum who helped me with advice (and still do) - their experience is priceless at times.

[MDLR]

One thing you should bear in mind is that the Roundhose Basic locos (Millie and Bertie) get "tested to make sure they run" whereas the more expensive locos get more running in on the bench, with the result that they WILL run superbly straight out of the box.

A Bertie or Millie will require a measure of running in to get to the same level of control and performance, but they will get there after a few hour's running.