A Garden Railway Pipedream: the odyssey continues
Jon Nazareth
Western Thunderer
Richard
I am in awe over this 'pipe dream'.
Jon
I am in awe over this 'pipe dream'.
Jon
isambardme
Western Thunderer
Yes, a revealing shot of this Aster owner and his loco...I had hoped to test run Winston Churchill on my rolling road earlier in the week but there was not time.(Son's birthday, trip out etc.) So the plan was to take the Aster along to test Richard's pointwork. Earlier in the day I ran my r/c battery powered Spoerer Black Five around the incomplete track with some extra wagons & brake van from Allan to make up a goods train.
We have a habit of sitting around Richard's table commenting on any new loco placed there for inspection (O Gauge or Gauge One). So it was that after some of my wife Kathy's loco cake had been consumed, Richard invited me to reveal my Aster purchase. I guess it didn't take much for Richard to persuade me to take the Aster for a test run later that afternoon. The loco had run well at the seller's house (it had belonged to a now deceased G1mra member.) The loco started to move with the chimney fan, but did not maintain speed without the fan being replaced. It later ran better when the rain started...
Anyway, I have downloaded Dave Stick's Aster trouble shooting guide & have replaced the old, stiff wicks with a new set. The blower nozzle has been gently checked & cleaned, etc.
I hope to test run her on the rolling road later today.
Steve
We have a habit of sitting around Richard's table commenting on any new loco placed there for inspection (O Gauge or Gauge One). So it was that after some of my wife Kathy's loco cake had been consumed, Richard invited me to reveal my Aster purchase. I guess it didn't take much for Richard to persuade me to take the Aster for a test run later that afternoon. The loco had run well at the seller's house (it had belonged to a now deceased G1mra member.) The loco started to move with the chimney fan, but did not maintain speed without the fan being replaced. It later ran better when the rain started...
Anyway, I have downloaded Dave Stick's Aster trouble shooting guide & have replaced the old, stiff wicks with a new set. The blower nozzle has been gently checked & cleaned, etc.
I hope to test run her on the rolling road later today.
Steve
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isambardme
Western Thunderer
Well, the Aster performed better on the rolling road. A pretty long run was achieved this time, without the fan. I am now feeling more at home & familiar with the controls. However I do feel that a 3 cylinder loco should demonstrate a bit more power, although this is of course difficult to assess on a rolling road. Hmm...
Steve
Steve
isambardme
Western Thunderer
I have carefully read tuning tips by Andrew Pullen of Aster on the Battle of Britain loco. I carried out modifications accordingly ( meths pipe extension, wick trimming, adjustment etc). The loco was run again on my rolling road. My viewing mirror revealed a healthy flame from all the wicks , more steam was produced this time & the loco ran faster. There is certainly a level of proficiency needed when running meths fired locos that can only come with plenty of practice. The plan is to run the loco on Richard's track this afternoon, hopefully with coaches, so we will see.
Later...
Well, the Aster did not run as well as hoped, although it has potential once properly managed/sorted. Richard's 80000 tank, my Black Five & my gas powered Accucraft Prairie performed really well pulling Richard's impressive rake of coaches.
Steve
Later...
Well, the Aster did not run as well as hoped, although it has potential once properly managed/sorted. Richard's 80000 tank, my Black Five & my gas powered Accucraft Prairie performed really well pulling Richard's impressive rake of coaches.
Steve
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Dikitriki
Flying Squad
Hi,
We had a proper play with the railway this afternoon for the first time. We ran a Black 5 and an 80000, both R/C, a Spam Can - still unsuccessful at raising enough steam and an Accucraft Prairie. It was a fantastic moment to see proper trains running round....and round....and round. I've discovered that the coaches are massive when being worked on on the table inside, and small when in the garden
I have some pics and some video - the pics have been processed.
Richard
We had a proper play with the railway this afternoon for the first time. We ran a Black 5 and an 80000, both R/C, a Spam Can - still unsuccessful at raising enough steam and an Accucraft Prairie. It was a fantastic moment to see proper trains running round....and round....and round. I've discovered that the coaches are massive when being worked on on the table inside, and small when in the garden
I have some pics and some video - the pics have been processed.
Richard
Dan Randall
Western Thunderer
Congratulations Richard - I expect Fred Phipps' will soon be trampled beneath the stampede of people wanting diesel hydraulics and rakes of BR wagons in 1/32 scale! 
Regards
Dan
Regards
Dan
Dikitriki
Flying Squad
Thank you Dan. I have a FP D800 to build, and I'd rather like a D600 too.
I've processed the video I took. It shows the cant we are introducing to good effect, but also how much more work is needed in packing to get very smooth running.
It would appear from Lady Dikitriki's exultant 'Yes!' in the last clip that she has bought into the garden railway as much as the rest of the gang have.
Were we having fun....you bet
Richard
I've processed the video I took. It shows the cant we are introducing to good effect, but also how much more work is needed in packing to get very smooth running.
It would appear from Lady Dikitriki's exultant 'Yes!' in the last clip that she has bought into the garden railway as much as the rest of the gang have.
Were we having fun....you bet
Richard
oldravendale
Western Thunderer
Wonderful when a plan comes together.......
isambardme
Western Thunderer
I took the Aster 'Battle of Britain' along to Mike Darby of 'Chuffed to Bits' today. He is a live steam loco service agent, he fixed the loco - the blower was unblocked & new longer wicks were fitted . Mike's own pure meths was used too. The loco then ran beautifully & smoothly with lots of power. Result! I very much look forward to running the loco at Richard's in future. (I do of course risk becoming a pure meths addict! )
I later phoned Andrew Pullen of Aster Hobbies UK who sent a replacement O ring for the B of B regulator rod on Mike's suggestion. It has now arrived. Great that original spares are still available from Aster.
Steve
I later phoned Andrew Pullen of Aster Hobbies UK who sent a replacement O ring for the B of B regulator rod on Mike's suggestion. It has now arrived. Great that original spares are still available from Aster.
Steve
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isambardme
Western Thunderer
Our Saturday get together today resulted in Roger completing electrical bonding so every rail in our two circuits is now linked to it's next door neighbour using separate wire soldered joints (each wire approx 4 inches long). Tim has been busy installing DCC cabling with weatherproof joining/access boxes spaced every 4 or 5 baseboards apart around & underneath the baseboards. Richard has been busy building the new loco steaming up area points in the warmth of the house. Allan & I have been adjusting the track support & cant in a tricky area of baseboard near the large tree which has produced uneven running in the past. We ran the r/c Black 5 with two coaches back & forth repeatedly to test the new adjustments. The final result was judged by all concerned to be much improved.
I went round clearing the usual leaves & bird droppings from the track - a stick, a brush & fingers work wonders, but I wonder why no one wanted to shake my hand after!
Later, in the fading afternoon light the Aster Battle of Britain loco ran really well with 4 BR mk 1 coaches, showing plenty of power reserves for pulling longer trains in future. I am now considering fitting r/c to the regulator to make the most of the loco's improved performance & save me rushing rather quickly across the garden to close the regulator setting a little when the loco began to exceed the expected speed limit ! Allan later timed the train at a regular 1 minute 5 seconds to complete a circuit, which shows the size of this impressive garden railway.
We all had a great time.
Steve
I went round clearing the usual leaves & bird droppings from the track - a stick, a brush & fingers work wonders, but I wonder why no one wanted to shake my hand after!
Later, in the fading afternoon light the Aster Battle of Britain loco ran really well with 4 BR mk 1 coaches, showing plenty of power reserves for pulling longer trains in future. I am now considering fitting r/c to the regulator to make the most of the loco's improved performance & save me rushing rather quickly across the garden to close the regulator setting a little when the loco began to exceed the expected speed limit ! Allan later timed the train at a regular 1 minute 5 seconds to complete a circuit, which shows the size of this impressive garden railway.
We all had a great time.
Steve
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