Real steam engine...?

[Anonymous]

I've just started looking into all of this model trains and stuff and the first thing that came to my mind is "Are there any REAL steam engines?" I mean, they're all electric and they can sometimes pretend to be steam engines, but y'know... I'm the kind of person who just likes the steam engine even if the electric one does just as good of a job. I thought, at first, that perhaps steam engines might not be able to be small enough, but some quick searching on google proved me wrong. So what excuse is there for not having a true steam engine model?

If anyone knows of one, please point me in the direction. I'm obviously not looking for some massive train, either. HO would be nice. :-p Otherwise... someone please please please let me know why the hell they don't exist? I'm tempted to go buy an electric ond, rip it apart, and find a way to get a steam engine in there. LOL!

-D

[cacole]

Hornby of England is making an OO scale live steam engine that is sold in the U.S. as HO scale, even though they are not exactly the same size. This locomotive has been advertised in Model Railroader in past issues.

[mcouvillion]

Dion,

Hornby has come out with the Mallard, which is an HO/OO steam engine that gets its heat from an electric heating element. I'm fairly sure that it is not compatble with any other control system. Looks pretty neat, though!

As far as a real, working steam engine in HO, there are several very good reasons why no one has done it on a mass scale before. First, boiling water in an enclosed (pressurized) space is EXTREMELY dangerous. In the chemical industry, water is one of the most hazardous substances that we deal with - period. It changes volume by a huge amount when it flashes from liquid to vapor. In a small volume, just a tiny difference in liquid volume results in a huge pressure difference in vapor. Tiny boilers are not the place for high pressures. Second, it is very difficult to control the temperature and pressure on something of such a small volume with such a high relative surface area. Too much heat loss. Third, steam is HOT (212 deg F at atmospheric pressure; it gets a lot hotter as the pressure increases). It can cause severe burns and is unforgiving. Not something for the unaware or those unfamiliar with the dangers.

If you look closely at the Hornby Mallard, it has quite a few safety features: low voltage electric heat for the "boiler", pressure safety valve on the tender (apparently the water is boiled in the tender), safety valve on the engine by the cylinders, and high pressure articulated steam pipe. This is a real, working steam engine!

Buy yourself a Mallard then let the rest of us know how much fun / trouble it is to operate. How much control do you actually have? The add says 20-35 minutes of operation from a single filling of water (makes sure the engineer has to stop regularly at the water tanks!). Look at how they advertise it: "A Remarkable Miniature Engineering Achievement". I fully agree!

Mark C.

[Anonymous]

Hornby's website is www.hornbyrailways.com
They are built to OO scale, 4mm:ft, not HO scale at 3.5mm:ft, but the British loading gauge is much smaller than the American, so they do not look too out of place beside an HO US locomotive.
However, the steam powered Hornby locos do need a dedicated track as they are not compatible with normal DC or DCC. I think, but I am not sure, that they need 14 volts to operate the boilers.
Have a conversation with some of the letter writers to the Hornby Steam Chat site and you will get loads of info from current users.
Prices start at around $600 per locomotive and a complete train set with dedicated transformer, controller, etc is around $900. Theses are British prices with their horrendous VAT added, so they should be much cheaper if importing them to the USA. Shop around for a bargain . . .[:)]

[Anonymous]

I've heard that the Hornby (or any other live steamer in HO) requires a lot of voltage from the track to get it to boil the water. I've also heard that it will not work with any American track or powerpacks.

[Jetrock]

4884bigboy: It will run on standard HO track, but yes, it requires its own powerpack. It's not a standard DC locomotive with an electric motor, so of course it's going to require some special equipment.