At last – some sunny warm weather! And after several weeks of wet weather with no track maintenance there was certainly a lot of line side gardening and track maintenance to do – about 3 wheelbarrow loads in fact!
During May I took a fancy to Regner’s new steam tram and bought a kit with the intention of running it on some of our Group’s 45mm lines. It went together fairly well and three steam-ups on blocks were done in the shed while the wet weather continued. The first identified that the Regner gas filler is useless. With a Ronson replacement installed, the second identified that the pre-build of the gas regulator had incorporated a scrappy bit of PTFE tape which subsequently blocked the jet. The third run was quite successful. So today it seemed a good chance to have a test run on the track, after re-gaugeing it. Steam was raised quickly and all was well for a couple of minutes – but then it ceased up solid and in the process put the gas flame out! Several further attempts had the same result. And so the engine was returned to the workshop, and the GVT Tank came out.
I’ve been doing some repair work on Sir Theodore – a new pressure gauge, replacing the rear cab spectacle plate that popped out unexpectantly a while back (and putting glazing in plus blacking out the large brass area inside), and trying out the original Accucraft regulator spindle to see if the performance might be better than the TTD one I’d fitted when I put R/C in it. All was well this time and the engine was given a mineral train to try out on the gradients. I think the response to the regulator change was better than previously so I’m hopeful this will be an overall improvement.
Mike Barton
Sorry not to see the Regner tram, but I’m familiar with the issues. First mod to my Konrad was to swap the useless gas valve after several attempts using that supplied my patience ran out. Blocked jet was common when new, and so much harder to light than the Roundhouse Millie. I’ve had a good many good runs with it since though (although now I’ve a blocked jet to clear again – 3rd time in a row!)
Really enjoyed seeing the GVT train though, absolutely superb photos.