New Guy Introduction - Steam Newbie

[Chrisinroch]

Hello,

I'm getting drawn back into the hobby. I used to run two-loop LGB track powered garden setup in a cold climate of Minnesota, but we pulled it up when we moved. I'm familiar with a lot of the concepts of a garden railway ....BUT....the thing that's drawing me back is an interest in Butane Live Steam.

Outside of decades-ago steam engine as a kid, I have zero experience and we don't have a local steam group. I'm on a couple FB groups and I watch YouTube videos.

Any advice or links would be great. Any thoughts on various beginner locos (not kits)? I've tried using the SEARCH function to get advice on good beginner locos but maybe my phrase isn't well-chosen.

Anyhow... Thanks in advance.

[Keith S]

Welcome, new guy.

Your ideal beginner locomotive depends on what you like, in terms of your interest in modelling in addition to other things. You have a choice of many different kinds of locomotives.

Engines that are suitable for beginners all tend to have some things in common. For one thing, they usually have boilers that are designed to run out fuel before they run out of water. They don't typically feature a way to replenish fuel and water while the engine is running.

They usually have simplified valve-gear, which is easy to operate, has relatively few parts and doesn't require much adjustment.

Another thing you might think about is how you would like the engine to look.Do you like engines that look like ones that run on British narrow-gauge lines? Or ones that look like they were built in the U.S.A.? Or some other country? There are lots of engines to choose from.

I can give you an example of a popular entry-level locomotive: the Accucraft Ruby. This is just one example of an entry-level engine.

http://www.accucraft.com/modelc/AC77-010-C.htm

This engine isn't a scale model of any particular "real" engine. You get that a lot in the live-steam hobby: little engines that "look like" full-size ones without being actual scale models. In the case of the "Ruby" engines, they look very similar to the light industrial or general purpose locomotives made by Baldwin in the U.S.A. The engine is very simple, with a butane burner in a single-flue boiler, and fixed-eccentric valve gear, which means it is reversed by swapping the steam inlet and outlet in the cyliders via a valve. It's about as easy to operate as you can get. There is no pressure gauge, because the safety valve protects the boiler from over-pressure, otherwise it's not really important to know the boiler pressure. If it runs, you've got enough pressure. It has no water gauge glass because it's designed to run out of fuel before it runs out of water. Then you wait for it to cool off a bit, refill the water and butane, and set it off again. It doesn't have radio control, and it has a very basic (but pleasing) level of detail.

Little "freelance" engines like this are a lot of fun, and can be equipped with lots of extras. For instance, a company called "Ozark Miniatures" offers a kit to build a wooden cab for these engines. You can do research and collect detail parts to make your engine look more like its full-sized counterpart, and you can build or buy all kinds of rolling stock for it to pull. Kit-built rolling stock tends to look nicer than factory-made.

Of course this is just one example. I picked the "Ruby" because you're American, but that is just an assumption on my part. Maybe you like British trains, or European ones. There are engines that are mechanically identical to the "Ruby" that look like engines from these countries too.

There is so much available, it's hard to recommend any one thing until you tell us more about what you like! Depending on your budget, you don't even need to start with an ultra-simple beginner style locomotive. Any butane-fired steam engine is pretty easy to operate. They can come with an amazing range of extra features and parts and controls and enhancements, but the basics are the same. Make sure there's water in it, and follow some basic safety rules and you will be able figure it out.

If you tell us more about what kind of steam trains you like, or what you picture in your mind when you imagine yourself running a small steam train, we can steer you towards your ideal model.

[ge_rik]

Welcome to the forum, Chris.
I can't advise you on live steam, but there are plenty of steamy enthusiasts on the forum who'll give you good suggestions (as above)

Rik

[Chrisinroch]

Thanks!

My old layout was “a small village in the German foothills” so a lot of my rolling stock is German

This time, I plan on modeling a sleepy British branch line; those are the locos and the aesthetic I seem to be most attracted to.

I’ll probably convert one of my LGB locos to battery power for times when someone wants to see the train run immediately.
—-
Are used steam locos trustworthy/worth the savings? What due diligence should a person do?

What about pulling power and grades? I understand steam is more finicky, but do some models pull better?

- Chris

[Keith S]

1) A typical butane-fired live steam engine is so over-engineered, it's difficult to imagine one being so knackered it couldn't easily be put to rights. A very worn-out engine might typically need new piston rings, or have worn bushings that cause it to run better in one direction than another. But generally, I think second-hand or used engines are trustworthy, or at least safe.

2) conventional steam engines do not like grades. Just like full size trains, if you think about it. They operate most realistically on lines that are as flat as you can get them. The exception is the geared engine, in which the steam cylinders drive an intermediary shaft that in turn drives the main wheels via gears or chain. Very few "real" engines had gears, although there are some notable exceptions, especially in North American and Antipodean (NZ and Aust) logging railways . One of the charming things about British narrow-gauge trains is the surveying that went into plotting the flattest possible route for the railway. Whereas roads go over hill and dale, and standard-gauge lines blast their way right through the countryside via vast and expensive earthworks, narrow-guage lines wend their way around and across natural features to find the flattest path. This is what makes the British narrow-gauge garden railway unique, in my opinion.It's more "garden" than it is "railway".

Check out Accucraft "16mm scale" or 1:19 scale engines, or Roundhouse's basic series online for some good British models, if that's what you think you might like. Or check out Evan steam services, which carry Roy Wood's "Janet" locomotive which is the ultimate evolution of the old Mamod loco. Also check out Mamod themselves. They have some new locomotives that look pretty good.

I myself, when I decided I was interested in live steam garden trains, ordered a Roundhouse "classic series" kit and built it. That engine has provided me with years of pleasure and is barely run-in at this point. They are almost immortal.

[Old Man Aaron]

My Roundhouse Bundy Fowler was bought through Anything Narrow Gauge, they sell a wide variety of used live steamers. Andy (I think that was his name )tests and fettles every loco before sale.

I mention this because like you, I am not in the UK. The loco was very well packed and has been a real performer.