Considering purchasing a live steam engine

[halfnut]

Just wondering what the pros and cons are for live steam. I have never seen a live steam model engine other than videos on the net, but this seems like something I could really enjoy.

Your thoughts please..............Thanks

Roger

[two tone]

Hi Rodger, I`m not a steam guy but visit people that love it, a couple of pointers for you steam track is better off the ground so thaat its easy to fire up and refill and dont forget your loco needs a cert if you take it to other peoples layout. You will also need insurance in case of accedents IE boiler blow or some one getting burnt with hot water.     Hope this helps

[TrainsRock]

I too, am considering purchasing a live steamer. Boiler explosions worry me though.

[halfnut]

These are all points I have not considered. How does one obtain certs for a live steamer? I assume this is to insure that the engine is safe to operate. Is that the case?

Roger

[two tone]

Hi Yes you need a boiler cert,  BUT remember it is like an M.O.T on a car it is only as good as it can be on the day of testing.        M.O.T is what cars in the UK have to have once a year     Hope this helps

[cabbage]

In the UK a boiler certificate lasts THREE YEARS. This involves having your boiler hydraulicly pumped to twice its working pressure and not leaking for the period of 15 minutes for a Gauges 0+1 and  for the period of 1 hour for Gauges 3 and above. Most Clubs and Associations have their own testing equipment and certifying agreements.

 

If you burn gas then your gas system has to certified too...

 regards

ralph
 

[two tone]

Hi Cabbage Thanks for the info i`m better informed after reading your post.    when i was employed saftey was one of the things i had to know about but i had no idea about boilers until i read your post.    Once again thanks

[kstrong]

In the US, small scale (O gauge, #1 gauge, etc--the stuff we run in the garden) do not need to be certified. The boilers on the commercially available steamers in our scale are almost universally tested to at least two or three times their operating boiler pressure (which is pretty much all a "certificate" says anyway). Some clubs will require certification to satisfy the requirements of their liability insurance, but for personal use on your own garden railroad, there is no such requirement, nor is there any special insurance required. Your homeowner's coverage is generally accepted to be adequate.

The risk of a boiler explosion in our scale is practically nil. Yes, boilers do occasionally (though still very, very rarely) fail. Typically this occurs at the seams, and the worst you get is a stream of hot water leaving the locomotive. You're not going to get the kinds of catastrophic boiler explosions that occurred on the prototype. The pressures aren't anywhere near as high, and the volume of steam isn't remotely close. The physics just aren't the same.

Now, back to the topic at hand...

If you're looking for a good, reliable live steamer, you're not going to beat anything from Roundhouse Engineering. They've been around for over 25 years, and everything they make is absolutely top drawer in terms of performance. Most everything uses the same (or similar) components, which are also available separately in case something does break (or, you have to replace them after 15 years of operation). Their "Millie" and "Sammie" are both very basic locos to get you going. The biggest drawback of the Roundhouse line is that they're almost entirely British (or British colonial) in form. If you want something American-looking, you'll have to sharpen your modeling skills. This isn't difficult, though, and you'll have an absolutely great running loco as a result.

Accucraft's "Ruby" series is another inexpensive way to get started. Again, this is a very basic locomotive, with a decent reputation. It's a bit fast, due to the smaller diameter cylinders, but I've got two of them and they're both very good performers. If you don't mind spending a little more money, Accucraft's mogul (2-6-0) or 2-cylinder Shay are both solid performers as well. Both of them come in around the $1,200 mark--comparable to Roundhouse's regular line.

I've heard good things about Aristo-Craft's live steam mikado, but I have only seen the prototype for it actually under steam. They're releasing an 0-4-0 steamer in the very near future, too. Both of these locos are intended to be "entry-level" steamers.

Later,

K