The Railway in the Valley of the Mill

[philipy]

Words fail me Trevor. That is beyond amazing and says huge volumes about the quality of your tracklaying to get all that lot down safely. Well done indeed.

[Trevor Thompson]

Words fail me Trevor. That is beyond amazing and says huge volumes about the quality of your tracklaying to get all that lot down safely. Well done indeed.

There were a few issues which I edited out! The train started off with the powered wagon in the middle. It runs more reliably with it at the front. You can spot where it got moved!

However lets not nit pick - it really was pleasing to see it go most of the way without a hiccup. The one I didn't video was even better of course.

Trevor

[Trevor Thompson]

Another video from the weekend. This time showing Phil's Welshpool and Llanfair train.

Link to the video: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0ctekkij ... j2i92&dl=0

And finally a test run for my recently built Bowsided coaches:

IMG_5172.jpeg (2.81 MiB) Viewed 199 times

IMG_5173.jpeg (3.02 MiB) Viewed 199 times

They also ran the full length of the track faultlessly - but the loco did suffer from wheelspin starting that train from the stations. They will form two sets when I have built a second brakevan. Coaches 15, 16 and some 4 wheelers in one set, and 17, 18 and more 4 wheelers in the other set.

Trevor

[ge_rik]

A really good run which showcases your line beautifully.

Just out of curiosity. The loco has a quite distinctive chuff. Slightly uneven over the four beats. Is that typical of 16mm live steam locos? I'm showing my ignorance here. I don't have a great deal of experience or knowledge of live steam, but this is the first time I've noticed it.

Rik

[Trevor Thompson]

A really good run which showcases your line beautifully.

Just out of curiosity. The loco has a quite distinctive chuff. Slightly uneven over the four beats. Is that typical of 16mm live steam locos? I'm showing my ignorance here. I don't have a great deal of experience or knowledge of live steam, but this is the first time I've noticed it.

Rik

No I don't think that is normal, it has to be to do with the valve timing on this particular model. It is an Acucraft Earl. I don't really have much experience of commercial live steam locomotives as all mine are hand built. Phil has a number of other locos - so he might be able to actually answer your question.

Trevor

[gilfachphil]

A really good run which showcases your line beautifully.

Just out of curiosity. The loco has a quite distinctive chuff. Slightly uneven over the four beats. Is that typical of 16mm live steam locos? I'm showing my ignorance here. I don't have a great deal of experience or knowledge of live steam, but this is the first time I've noticed it.

Rik

Sorry Rik,

I’m unable to answer your question about the unevenness of the chuff. I can tell you that the locomotive has a Summerlands Chuffer fitted.

Speed of travel was a bit erratic. It was the first time I had driven the engine with a load on Trevor’s line and to improve I need to get more practice in order to learn the variations of the gradients and curves. My own railway is level throughout and in my layout thread there are videos of the various live steam engines I have at work which may allow some comparison of chuffs,

Phil

[ge_rik]

Thanks Phil
As I said, I don't really know a lot about live steam. I found the chuff on this loco quite distinctive and appealing. Just wondered if it was a feature of this type of loco.

I'm experimenting with soundcards for my battery steam outline locos at the moment and was wondering about trying to replicate this sort of chuff. Conventional cards default to regular four beat chuffs.

Rik

[gilfachphil]

Rik,

I know very little about live steam and did not intend to become an owner of any such locomotives!

I blame Trevor for getting me moving along that path. He was with me when I bought the beautiful Pickering coaches at the national show two years ago and said that I would need an Earl or Countess to pull them. The Earl is my fourth purchase since then and I find driving any of the four very satisfying, even just going round and round my garden loop. There is something much more involving with this type of locomotive than anything driven by an electric motor.

Huge thanks to Trevor for giving me the impetus to start the journey,

Phil
PS the electronic whistle, which when I told members present at the last group meeting about raised sneers, when heard in action seems to receive a much more favourable response

[tommygander1941]

Thanks Phil
As I said, I don't really know a lot about live steam. I found the chuff on this loco quite distinctive and appealing. Just wondered if it was a feature of this type of loco.

I'm experimenting with soundcards for my battery steam outline locos at the moment and was wondering about trying to replicate this sort of chuff. Conventional cards default to regular four beat chuffs.

Rik

It does sound slightly out of time, which I'm sure could be possible on sound cards but then again I'm not entirely sure. One thing I need to get better with for my own locos is making sure the diesels don't get quieter after a while, as generally at shows they don't sound as loud.