Hi Andrew

Whereabouts are you,as it seems you wish to run the loco, the ideal would be to find either a local club or experienced loco runner to guide you through the process of recomissioning the engine and safely steaming it.

Not an overly complex process but it does require some care and awareness of the basic needs as regards boiler safety. I know some clubs do run driver training programmes which would seem ideal. There are some fairly good instructions on driving in LBSC's book on Tich, and I think Martin Evans Rob Roy book. But really no substitute for an experienced helper to guide you, things seem to happen very quickly with little steam engines.

Worth a call for help on these pages, there are some very helpful people here. I'm right on the Kent coast near Folkestone and would be happy to help if you are fairly close.

good luck

Dave

I haven't mentioned boiler certification and testing , if the engine does not have a certificate this is another thing a club can help with.

Edited By Dave Wootton on 06/06/2022 07:09:12

Not my thing, so apologies for the mistakes in advance! I suggest:

The flat key ringed in grey is the main steam on/off valve,

The two valves ringed in Blue disconnect the boiler from the glass water level in the event the tube breaks.

The red handle ringed in green is the regulator, akin to the accelerator on a car except see below!

The notched handle ringed in Yellow switches between forward and reverse by altering the valve events. It also has the effect of a gearbox and I believe the engine is controlled with it more than the regulator. Hope an engine driver will confirm and explain how the two are used together!

Wild guess, the lever ringed in purple either drops sand on the rails or adjusts how much heat the fire is producing by controlling air flowing through the grate.

Of A and B, I guess one of them, probably B, works the Injector. Injectors pump water from the tender into the boiler with a steam jet. It's important to keep the water level within limits. Or A is the injector, and B is the whistle, or possibly a brake – I'm out of my depth!

The dial is a pressure gauge. The red dot probably indicates normal working pressure. Too low, and the engine won't go, Too high and steam will be wasted by being blown off by the safety valve. Or, if the safety valve is gummed up, the boiler will burst!

Dave

just to add using dave's colour code. for me it looks like the following

grey: Whistle

blue: top wheel injector steam feed, bottom to clear water gauge, the similar hand wheel on the opposite side of the whistle is probably the blower

green: regulator

yellow: reverser

purple: is either the damper lever or dropped grate lever, most likely the later

The handle near the reverser could be the water valve, if so this would be used in unison with the injector steam valve. water on first and then steam until the injector picks up and pumps water into the boiler.

Of course, people plumb things in different ways but this seems most logical.

Pete

Edited By Peter Seymour-Howell on 06/06/2022 14:07:18

A fine find!

I concur entirely with all the advice above but will answer your question directly, as far as I can from just that photo:

Some landmarks first –

The black-painted panel: the Backhead, the outer back-plate of the boiler, with the Fire-hole and its door. The door is normally be kept closed except when actually adding coal.

The bronze object across the top of the backhead is the Turret or Manifold, supplying steam to various fittings via the valves on it.

Touring the cab clockwise:

1) Lower left corner, possibly a valve (hand-wheel missing?), to control the boiler feed from an axle-driven pump.

2) Lwr L, on backhead: Clack or Check valve, 1-way, passing feed-water to the boiler.

2) Glass tube – the Gauge-glass shows the water level in the boiler. That level must never be allowed to drop below the visible bottom of glass when the locomotive is in steam. If the water drops too low it risks drying the top of the firebox, which can rapidly ruin the boiler and possibly risk it bursting. Most model locomotives have a means to drop the fire quickly if necessary.

Nor above the glass: a bit less serious but risks "priming", throwing water into the cylinders where it can cause damage by hydraulically locking the pistons in place. (And gives you and passengers a hot, oily, sooty shower.)

The little valve on the gauge-glass is for ensuring the gauge works, and for flushing it with a quick burst of steam.

3) Red handle in the middle: the Regulator. One of the main driving-controls, analogous to a car's accelerator but closes completely. Steam engines don't have "idling" settings.

NB: do not try to operate the regulator dry, as that can score its valve faces, especially if there is any scale on it.

4) On the manifold left to right: probably the Blower Valve, certainly the Whistle Valve (central) and probably Injector Steam Valve. I say probably because not knowing the specific engine, I am using other clues.

– Blower. A steam-jet below the base of the chimney, to draw a draught through the fire to keep it alight. When the locomotive is running steadily the blower is usually closed, as the exhaust-steam blasts induce the draught.

– Whistle. Obvious enough! The valve is spring-loaded closed.

– Injector steam. What makes me think that, for this loco, is the:

Vertical valve, RH side of the footplate. This may feed water to an Injector below the footplate on that side of the loco. The Injector resembles a connection between three pipes and a fourth open to thin air; but is a box of clever Physics using a jet of steam to push water into the boiler.

What else?

5) Pressure-gauge: the red dot is probably the required mark at which the safety-valves lift to limit the boiler's Working Pressure to specification. Good technique keeps the pressure to a touch below that red mark, as much as possible.

6) Right-hand side floor, partially obscured, lever in a notched quadrant is the Reverser – setting the travelling direction. Its intermediate settings control the steam flow into the cylinders for more economical steaming once the locomotive is moving steadily.

The Reverser has a neutral, Mid-Gear. Always park the locomotive in mid-gear when in steam, so if the regulator leaks it won't move.

8). Usually hidden below the footplate, should be a Blow-down Valve for draining and flushing the boiler; typically operated by spanner, not handwheel.

Finally, 9) the cab itself:

The two blocks at the back, and the channel in the edge of the roof (mirrored opposite) hold the cab panels removed for driving access, fitted for static exhibition.

'

As the others say, your best bet is to join a model-engineering society. Give the loco a good cleaning and see if anything looks amiss by simple engineering principles – e.g. signs of missing screws or split-pins, oddly-loose components, heavy wear. I'd expect some wear on what appears to have been a much-used engine; but do seek advice.

I'd suggest when you find a club ask if someone can go through the boiler-testing process and the loco with you, so you know what to prepare the locomotive for. If you are new to live-steam the book will seem formidable and disheartening so don't try it alone: it's not an easy read even for the experienced, although the testing itself is quite straightforwards.

You might need supply an adaptor to connect the society's test-rig to your boiler. Unless the loco came with the boiler paperwork, you might be asked to present it with the cladding (lagging) off the boiler. It is best also to know the model's design, as a recognised, published one smooths certification.

The boiler examiner will expect all working order as far as possible, but the first test is a cold hydraulic one and it will proceed to test in steam only if it passes that. A sympathetic one of the species should tell you what if anything needs attention, and even offer advice.

Examine the boiler carefully for any identifying number, though if it was home-built it probably won't, as never required in the past.

Finally, don't reveal more, but what county are you in? That may elicit local help.

Edited By Nigel Graham 2 on 06/06/2022 16:05:14

Failed again Dave ! As you moved off you smashed the cylinder covers off having failed to open the cylinder drains ! Fire lit, as steam pressure gets to 30psi remove fan and open blower, continue to raise steam to working pressure. check water level, open drains, select forward gear, open regulator !

Purple = Cylinder drains. Noel

I'll throw my penny in again….the very first thing to do with an unknown steam locomotive is a hydraulic test at twice working pressure which I guess is 80psi so test at 160psi. If you have paperwork giving details of the original shell test and the boiler looks sound then some clubs may just test at 1 1/2 times working pressure.

In answer to Nigel, I'd just like to say that my loco has working sanders, both gravity and steam operated and they work perfectly. Granted this is very rare and on a much larger loco, you won't find such things on a loco like this.

Just my pennies worth…

Pete

Pete

Looks like a 5"g Tich. Best advice is to join a club (Lincoln?) and get someone experienced to help you. Otherwise it can be a frustrating process.

Noel,

Thank You for the plug for PSME!

Metheringham may a bit far to come, though.

But DEFINITELY find a Club and join. members will help with instruction, advice and help.

We have two boiler inspectors, and normally hold two boiler testing sessions each year..

Sadly, we no longer have a track.

This coming Saturday and Sunday, we have a static display at the Open Farm and Vintage Weekend, at Park Farm, Thorney, on the A47 just outside Peterborough.

Having an agricultural theme, our portable track won't be there, but we should have some Road Engines on display, in a unit at the side of the yard.. One built by one of our Stewards..

Howard

Edited By Howard Lewis on 07/06/2022 09:27:31