Garden Railway Forum

Back in 2014, Accucraft announced they were building a 28T Class B Shay and I put my name down for one with Michael at Argyle Loco Works later that year. It took until late 2015 before the Australian shipment finally arrived and I took delivery of mine in August 2015.

This photo is the loco straight out of the box, sitting in spring sunshine, ready for bench testing and running in. The plan was to then modify it to look more like an Australian shay, for work on the Mt. Delusion Timber Co. timber tram. This is the side usually seen in shay photos, as it shows the engine and drive line and looks more 'interesting'.

The second photo, is the other more rarely photographed side when it comes to shays.

That was when it turned into an 18 month saga........

The initial test running was disappointing, as it couldn't maintain boiler pressure when running and was binding at low speed. Around this time, the weather started heating up and I packed it away while the workshop was too hot to work in. Months later when the weather had cooled off, I did some more testing, with little more success. I then spoke to Argyle about it and delivered it to Gordon Watson, who does their repairs and warranty work, to see if the running could be improved.

Gordon modified the burner to improve steaming and worked on the drive line to free it up, including replacing a slightly bent drive shaft in one bogie. We tested it on Gordon's track and it now ran smoothly, but still struggled a bit to maintain steam pressure. It came back home again and I just left it in the box, while I concentrated on another loco project for the rest of the year.

This photo shows the burner after modification by Gordon. As designed the area with the holes was blank and only the short slotted area was doing anything useful. Gordon drilled the holes to extend the heating area and fitted some mesh under the slots to even out the flame. This also noticeably quietened the burner down.

We've had a long hot summer, so I didn't get back into the workshop to look at the shay until early March, but in the interim had given it a lot of thought. It was unpacked again and some additional work done on the burner/boiler. As built, the opening in the bottom of the smokebox was small and this was opened up to about twice the original area. Burner combustion seemed to be improved, so a larger jet was also fitted to the burner. This improved the steaming further and the boiler could now maintain a higher boiler pressure when running. Running performance on the bench was now adequate, although not startling, and much improved over what it had been out of the box.

At this point I made a spark arrestor and fitted it, then removed some parts not appropriate for Aust. timber tram service, before taking it around to Grant's for a track test to check the modifications. This pic. shows the loco ready for the track run. Spot the changes.

The test run was on a stinking hot day, but being a geared loco, it didn't need to be chased around the garden, so heat stroke was averted. The first run was light engine and the second run was with a light load. These went well enough to encourage me to finish off the cosmetic changes and strip it down for painting. This pic. shows the workbench with a shay jigsaw laid out in the process of being painted.

The model is a nightmare to dismantle, even for minor repairs, being held together with a large number of M1.6 hex head screws, some of which are almost inaccessible. I had to make up some special drivers for those. If you don't get the disassembly/assembly sequence right, you have to backtrack and start again.

The final pics. show both sides of the loco with all the modifications completed and after leaving the paint shop.

I eventually got there, with help from Gordon Watson, but the burner and smokebox work should not have been necessary. This one isn't an isolated case either, as I noted another one running at last years GSSU that was struggling to maintain boiler pressure.

Would I buy another Accucraft loco? Not without first seeing an example running.

Regards,
Graeme

Mmmm... looks gorgeous!

Looks stunning after the changes and painting! And yes, that amount of tuning should not have been necessary! This isnt Accucraft's first run of the 3 cylinder shay. Just shows that despite run after run, they still struggle with quality control issues. This is one reason, I have shied away from the brand other then the one engine that was a Christmas gift from my wife. Thankfully it runs well right out of the box. Hopefully once you put some hours of use on it, the drive line and cylinders will bed in more and she will run even better. My friends first run 3 cylinder shay took quite awhile to smooth out and run at "tick over" speed. If your line is ground level, make sure to fully flush the crankshaft rod and eccentric bushings after every run! Very high wear items and quick to wear out if not kept flushed of dirt and grit that it will pickup if running on ground level lines. Improper upkeep of the motion is the main cause of issues I am told. Cheers Mike

Interesting saga of a superb build, even though it shouldn't be required on a brand new and, no doubt, expensive piece of kit!
The loco is magnificent enough but the workshop could double for an operating theatre..... I have never seen such a spotlessly clean work area.

Peter Butler wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2017 8:02 pmThe loco is magnificent enough but the workshop could double for an operating theatre..... I have never seen such a spotlessly clean work area.

Makes my workshop look like a hovel!

The loco looks brilliant, great transformation.

Peter Butler wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2017 8:02 pm I have never seen such a spotlessly clean work area.

If I don't keep the bench organized and put tools away after use, I'll never find anything when I need it.

I also have a cleanup after each project is finished, to make enough space to build the next one.....

Graeme