After another day at school it was time to go along to my 5" gauge concern at Ryton. Tonight was a special "Track Night" in which locomotives would be brought along in the evening light (6:30pm start) to have a run on the railway. On arrival I was informed that 0-6-0 Side Tank "Achilles" (which I have a large amount of involvement with now & again) & her owner were on site. (This determined my whereabouts for some of the evening). I headed to the carriage shed's where I found the substantially sized 0-6-0 waiting for me. Her owner asked me to steam her up so I did so, using the usual mixture of parrafin wood & coal. After around 15 minutes the 0-6-0 was in steam and ready to move BUT the main reason for her steaming was, afterall, to test the repairs the her seemingly ever-failing mechanical water pump. Therefore, after some pumping of water using the hand pump, we made our way off shed for the solitary lap that we managed. With 90psi on the clock steam wasn't a problem, but with no evidence of the working axle pump I, with regret, failed the locomotive again. 
Therefore, at Ryton Station (3/4 of a lap around) I opened the blow down tap after raking the fire. The engine then released all of her steam and of course her water, from the boiler at least. She was then pushed empty & cold on the final 1/4 of a lap back to the steaming bays. The 0-6-0 was then cleaned and checked over again with no evidence of any leaks or faults being noted. After an "autotopsy" by a few other members the end result was that there may be a burst or shattered pipe inside the engine. Therefore, her owner, Ken, agreed to have a check once he'd got the engine back home again and, more importantly, completely cold! The engine soon left the site but I was told by her owner that she may be ready for the Steam Up on July 4th if the problem is found & repaired on time...Fingers Crossed! 
Away from "Achilles", the idea of the "Track Night" was to allow members to drive different locomotive's which, on normal days, they wouldn't normally drive! The other steamer I got to drive was the lovely 57XX Pannier Tank (Pansy Class) No5717 "Victoria". Wearing GWR Green livery and pure-white scale headlamps, this locomotive is one of my favourites! She, as always, was very responsive, free-steaming & 'happy' to work. I drove her on two very enjoyable laps of the track before unfortunately losing the fire as I forgot that her blower wasn't working! Yes I know..."call yourself a passed driver?!"..."have you driven one of these before?!"...I got all the comments! The engine later came off the track and was cleaned down before heading home. Thanks for a lovely drive "Victoria"... 
Now, I know I'm a committed steam fan but when asked by her proud owner if I would like to drive the above loco ("Benella"), I jumped at the chance! She is a Compass House-produced 0-4-0 Battery electric locomotive carrying, I believe(!), 2 batteries. A substantially powerful and very smooth running machine, she is very enjoyable to drive. The controls (including horns etc) are all smartly located in the handheld controller which is connected to the locomotive via a short, flexible wire. This allows very comfortable driving without the need for slouching as is a necessity with other engines of this gauge. I must say, though I love steam, battery electric's do have their rightful place on any miniature railway. Rather than worry about the water or the pressure gauges, as you do with a steamer, you can simply sit back and enjoy the view...lovely! I don't think I'm a "convert" but its certainly very nice to drive one now and again! Thanks driver for the lovely drive on your loco...Thanks for reading this post folks & my next turn at the RPMR is this coming Sunday (June 28th) and I will be part of the passenger hauling crew. Trains will run from 1pm-4pm weather-permitting and rides are £1 per person per ride. If you would like more information then please visit http://www.coventrymes.co.uk/
No comments:
Post a Comment