Achilles Report No4: 'Poorly BUT Pulling' at GEC...
Hello everyone. Well, today was a weird one; until the story unfolded that is! Following my return from holiday yesterday, I was booked to take my 5" loco; "Achilles"; up to the GEC Railway at Binley today. The line was running its raised track for the public, as it was the first Saturday in the month. Due to members holidays, the line was suffering from a bit of a loco shortage so "Achilles" stood in for one of the regular loco's. The society's own 'Speedy' loco then appeared to provide a second steamer for the afternoon's running. Finally, a little electric loco was also pressed into service "just in case". "Achilles" was in steam by 2:15pm; 15 minutes early. However, we still took up our place on the track ready for service, as some early passengers were already on site. Below, the loco has left her bay, been turned on the turntable and reversed down to await clearance onto the track via handsignals; at this point all seemed well...
Once on the track, "Achilles" was steaming well but not pulling as well as she should. Water was also proving to be a bit of a problem. Therefore, I temporarily failed the engine and removed her from the 2-car set. The society electric then took over for a while. With the 0-6-0T on the bay, I checked her over. A crosshead pin was loose but that was about it, all seemed fine. So, having tightened the pin up, I made up the fire again before going back onto the track, trying 1 car instead of 2 (though "Achilles" is more than capable of 2). With one car, the loco performed better, giving many rides throughout the afternoon. Below, set of Grandparents No2 enjoy an enthusiastic jaunt around the 5" track...
With whistle blowing, "Achilles" roars through the station to commence the 2nd lap of the two provided for the 75p fare...
Later on, just before the running ended, "Achilles" front axle locked up. Upon inspection, the right-hand of the two water-pump eccentrics had moved 3/4 of an inch across the axle, locking the entire engine in the process. With the eccentric disconnected, the engine could move again though I could not of course sort out the problem with the loco in steam. So, with only 2 runs left to do, the electric took over again and "Achilles" was disposed of. Though I was a bit annoyed, no damage has been done. A nice little afternoon with plenty of tea provided once again. I will of course have to repair "Achilles" before her next outing but no problems are currently envisaged in that department. The loco is next planned to run at RPMR, on Sunday August 28th (for the public) and Wednesday August 31st (for a club evening steam-up). But, as always, we'll see what happens! Thanks everyone, have a good evening. Sam.
Hello everyone. Well, today was a weird one; until the story unfolded that is! Following my return from holiday yesterday, I was booked to take my 5" loco; "Achilles"; up to the GEC Railway at Binley today. The line was running its raised track for the public, as it was the first Saturday in the month. Due to members holidays, the line was suffering from a bit of a loco shortage so "Achilles" stood in for one of the regular loco's. The society's own 'Speedy' loco then appeared to provide a second steamer for the afternoon's running. Finally, a little electric loco was also pressed into service "just in case". "Achilles" was in steam by 2:15pm; 15 minutes early. However, we still took up our place on the track ready for service, as some early passengers were already on site. Below, the loco has left her bay, been turned on the turntable and reversed down to await clearance onto the track via handsignals; at this point all seemed well...
Once on the track, "Achilles" was steaming well but not pulling as well as she should. Water was also proving to be a bit of a problem. Therefore, I temporarily failed the engine and removed her from the 2-car set. The society electric then took over for a while. With the 0-6-0T on the bay, I checked her over. A crosshead pin was loose but that was about it, all seemed fine. So, having tightened the pin up, I made up the fire again before going back onto the track, trying 1 car instead of 2 (though "Achilles" is more than capable of 2). With one car, the loco performed better, giving many rides throughout the afternoon. Below, set of Grandparents No2 enjoy an enthusiastic jaunt around the 5" track...
With whistle blowing, "Achilles" roars through the station to commence the 2nd lap of the two provided for the 75p fare...
Later on, just before the running ended, "Achilles" front axle locked up. Upon inspection, the right-hand of the two water-pump eccentrics had moved 3/4 of an inch across the axle, locking the entire engine in the process. With the eccentric disconnected, the engine could move again though I could not of course sort out the problem with the loco in steam. So, with only 2 runs left to do, the electric took over again and "Achilles" was disposed of. Though I was a bit annoyed, no damage has been done. A nice little afternoon with plenty of tea provided once again. I will of course have to repair "Achilles" before her next outing but no problems are currently envisaged in that department. The loco is next planned to run at RPMR, on Sunday August 28th (for the public) and Wednesday August 31st (for a club evening steam-up). But, as always, we'll see what happens! Thanks everyone, have a good evening. Sam.
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