Garden Railway Forum

As I said in another thread I was looking at a secondhand Lady Anne, decided not to in the end. However today another couple of secondhand loco's had turned up in my local shop & one I just loved the look of. So I gave the credit card a little bit of a battering....

I wanted an 0-6-0, this is an 0-4-0.
I was going for an Accucraft Lawley....This is not one but I will get one sometime.

It's a secondhand roundhouse but not that old (the design is very old but this loco is only a few years old as far as I can tell.)

Apolagies for the photo quality as I seem to have lost my camera & the first ones were taken in the car park at work as I went to the shop first. Couldnt wait to get back & try it out. Just done 3 tanks of gas in low light & darkness & am quite pleased. I have a feeling this loco has never actually been run in? It just seems to "stick" everynow & then. Maybe it just hasnt been run for a while I don't know, previous owner has stuck lots of bits & bobs to it though so it could of been a mantlepiece queen..

Anyway it's a Roundhouse Carrie......







The last pic I just included as apart from steam loco stuff behind I think it looks quite realistic....

Any video to follow when I get around to doing it.

Also I've got the Carrie back to back with my Edrig & they do go well together as are almost the same size. Length over buffer beam is about 8mm more on the Edrig. Top of cab at highest point is about 2mm more on Edrig. Tanks are exactly the same height as is the cab back plate .

Very nice! I do like Carrie, a much nicer looking loco than a (standard) Lawley in my opinion.

Beautiful!

Wish I had a local model shop like that one! (but then again, perhaps it's best that I don't................................)

Looks like a smashing loco, Carrie was the most recent incarnation of the Pooter which was a similar loco but externally meths fired and with a few detail differences. It will have been run at somepoint in its life as Roundhouse test all locos.

Phuar! Got yourself a real beauty there! Much nicer (in my opinion) than Lady Anne!

WOW, what a nice loco! I've always loved the Carries, nice shape to them. And Hackworth valve gear, not the usual boring old Walchaerts.

Very nice, better than the lady ann ,

Good choice if you ask me.

Right choice in my opinion!

She's running ok now, had a loose crank on the valve gear. I've attempted to get that back as it should be but I reckon the timing is out a little. Also narrowed the back to back a little on the flanges as I think she was binding on my peco setrack curves.

Anyway here's her first video...

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Pendo Pilot wrote:She's running ok now, had a loose crank on the valve gear. I've attempted to get that back as it should be but I reckon the timing is out a little

A phone call to Roundhouse (or a visit on your Free Pass) will soon sort that out!

MDLR wrote:

Pendo Pilot wrote:She's running ok now, had a loose crank on the valve gear. I've attempted to get that back as it should be but I reckon the timing is out a little

A phone call to Roundhouse (or a visit on your Free Pass) will soon sort that out!

May well do that, however sometimes I find travelling by train on my days off is just too much after all week on.....trains!

Been tinkering around with her a little bit more, playing around with gas settings, thorough oiling of the hackworth gear as I still find it wierd oiling that end as much. She's been doing great all weekend (I had the weekend off). Still sticking sometimes but mostly going round & round on the test track for a good time. Done about 11 tankfulls of gas & she seems to have settled in a bit more. Found a good regulator setting for the up & down of the test track. She goes better with half a boiler of water than full or 3/4. She blows off with any amount of water though. But has a wierd habit of storming off (sometimes wheels spinning) as the safety valve lets off?

It's all good fun though.

Pendo Pilot wrote:But has a wierd habit of storming off (sometimes wheels spinning) as the safety valve lets off?

Probably because the safety valve is lower than the turret to which the regulator is connecred. I'm not an expert on Carries so I'm not sure what lies under that safety valve bonnet, but Pooters (on which Carrie was based) have the safety valve mounted on their own turret, lifting them about 3/4 inch above the boiler barrel.


The storming off is caused by a temporary and sudden reduction in pressure when the safety valve lifts. This allows the water to lift and be sucked in to the regulator turret. If the regulator is open the water then passes in to the superheater where it instantly turns to steam, causing a massive steam rush to the cylinders.

So thats what the 'turret' is for, I always wondered.
Lovely looking loco by the way , I'd like a Carrie or Pooter one day

TonyW wrote:Probably because the safety valve is lower than the turret to which the regulator is connecred.....

Thanks for the info there Tony, makes sense now. It's not really an issue as it does not always do it. I think the up & down style of the test track doesn't help as it's always struggling or running away on at least on bit of the line. Does like to blow off, go faster then as it stops blowing off seems to almost stall just intime for an uphill gradient.

Fired her this morning, just fettling with the gas setting. Did a good medium setting initially to get the water hot (stone cold water) & then when pressure was up reduced the gas setting really low. Got 25minutes actual running time out of her & she was still blowing off after a while. Wasn't the warmest of mornings either so I'm well pleased. I reckon I could get the gas down even more & may get longer running.

SLRmidge wrote:
Lovely looking loco by the way , I'd like a Carrie or Pooter one day

I must admit I had never seen one until I saw this one in the shop. I went in for the Lady Anne but once I saw the Carrie I was sold on it. Cost me a fair bit more than I was going to spend but I love it.
It's got that kind of brutal narrow gauge workhorse look about her plus elements in my eyes of VOR loco's. (Think it's the way the tanks dwarf the boiler). Shame Roundhouse stopped making them (again). I thik it would look nice as an 0-4-2 or even an 0-6-0 but I won't be hacking mine up to do that..

By the way is there anyway of finding out when your roundhouse loco was built? Maybe call/email roundhouse with teh boiler/frame number?

Doesn't matter but would just like to know, plus then I could add it to the numberplate that I will get done.

boootiful loco!

Pendo Pilot wrote:
By the way is there anyway of finding out when your roundhouse loco was built? Maybe call/email roundhouse with teh boiler/frame number?

Doesn't matter but would just like to know, plus then I could add it to the numberplate that I will get done.

I purchased a second hand VoR at stoneleigh a few weeks back, a quick call to Roundhouse on the monday morning with the serial No and not only could they tell me it was a September 04 build but also who had made it. As you say age doesnt matter, with Roundhouse spares being so easily available nothing is unreplaceable. As for the blowing off are you using butane or butane/propane mix? Or possibly just the gas valve is open a little to much? It takes a hell of a long time to get used to the correct setting.

DVT Dweller wrote:.....

Cheers for the info there, will give them a call & find out. Think I have seen the seriel number somewhere on the loco.

Update for 4/6/10.
Just gave Roundhouse a ring, very friendly people. My Carrie was completed on the 20th January 2006. Ironically it was actually built by the guy who answered the phone.

DVT Dweller wrote:As for the blowing off are you using butane or butane/propane mix? Or possibly just the gas valve is open a little too much? It takes a hell of a long time to get used to the correct setting.

When we have New Members' Days, the one thing we have to keep on saying is: "Turn the gas down!" It's quite remarkable how much longer a loco will run when it's JUST making enough steam to do the job you've asked it for. You should always aim NOT to blow off steam when running, but when you come to a halt the loco should blow off. It's VERY difficult to achieve in practice but the sense of satisfaction when you do do it is immense.

If you have meths-fired locos - forget ALL the foregoing and just keep in topping up your meths tank!