'Russell' Live Steam Model Locomotive Part 20

[@vicariousaviator9742]

That wee loco is work of art.

[@CarlosGonzalezSirCharles]

Great videos, amazing lessons .I´ve learn a lot watching them.Thank you

[@GandyDancerProductions]

Thanks for your comment. Hope you get to build a loco yourself.

[@WeedMIC]

What a fascinating series. Ty eve sm!

[@Steven_Rowe]

Your videos are amazing and I truly admire your skills at creating live steam locos. I also love your industrial steam videos..Some great shots of extremely well weathered 16 ton mineral wagons that will aid me in my O gauge modeling .

[@carlos6ago]

Very nice locomotive, some day I would make my own, thank you for sharing

[@dave41184]

It's alive!!!! :) Been great watching the progress of this

[@GandyDancerProductions]

Thanks, I've enjoyed it.

[@flippop101]

Congratulations on a beautiful model, and stunning workmanship. Be careful however, when running in an enclosed space. When applying a touch of "blower" on the workbench, the exhaust carries used steam oil in its vapour and should not be inhaled. Your videos are amazing. Thanks and best regards, Germany

[@GandyDancerProductions]

Thanks for the comment and advice. I've been breathing in the oily steam from my 5" gauge engine for year so maybe I should be more careful. I'm thinking of testing with coal in my basement with the windows and doors open because the test track is there.

[@donaldasayers]

Lovely.

[@joecresswell1186]

Im really enjoying this series of videos. One question and please excuse my ignorance but by using a gas jet to heat the loco isnt there a risk of melting the silver solder in the boiler as i assume you also used the gas jet to melt the solder to begin with?

[@GandyDancerProductions]

Thanks Joe, as long as there water in the boiler above the crown/top of the inner firebox nothing will melt. You can see the water on the gauge glass in the cab and as long as the level is above the bottom nut it's safe. When I fire it up with coal it'll be a much hotter fire with a lot more energy to run the loco and pull a train. I'll be carefully watching the water level and the axle pump will constantly add more water to the boiler as it steams along.

[@andrewbailey7999]

Fantastically detailed build. I've been enjoying this series. Just a quick question. When running the engine do you have to watch how much water is pumping into the boiler quite carefully? I'm just wondering how often you have to stop and adjust the bypass valve or refill the tanks

[@GandyDancerProductions]

Hi Andrew, I put the big water gauge on the engine so it is easy to see. I'm still getting use to running it but it's not too fussy with the water pretty steady from the pump. It takes quite a while before the pump starts to over whelm the boiler which is a good proving the pump is adequate. Depending on the weight of the train the tank water last about 15 minutes which again is fine as I need to put more coal on the fire then anyway.

[@danprice7973]

Thanks for uploading, very informative especially for a beginner like me. I am debating whether to go coal fired for gauge 1 or larger 5”. Which do you get more enjoyment from?

[@jonathanguilbert8658]

Hi Dan, coal firing in the smaller gauges like gauge 1 is very fiddly, frustrating but totally absorbing. 5 inch gauge is much more forgiving and you get the change to really drive the engine sitting behind it. As a beginner I recommend gas firing on gauge 1 unless you have a tried and trusted design and a mentor to guide you through.

[@danprice7973]

Jonathan Guilbert Thanks very much Jonathan, I will have a look at a Roundhouse classic range locomotive such as Katie or Billy then and perhaps go to coal fired for gauge 1 or a larger scale in the future

[@jonathanguilbert8658]

@@danprice7973 You can't go wrong with a Roundhouse loco. I would suggest considering a Riverdale boiler with a Roundhouse chassis when you eventually decide to go with coal.

[@danprice7973]

Jonathan Guilbert Thanks Jonathan, I had a look at the Riverdale website, are they easy to fit? I have no knowledge of locomotive building

[@jonathanguilbert8658]

@@danprice7973 You need to have some pretty good knowledge about steam engines and fitting radio control gear to work in a very small space. The design of the boiler has been worked out to have success with coal firing. Get the gas fired Roundhouse locos and have fun running them for a while. Then see whether you want to mess with coal.

[@schutendohkji548]

Mr. Dancer, what happened to ur 'Russell' parts 3 - 6 and 12? i hope ur still with us? Trying to learn how to fix n build a 16mm live steam loco, From the USA

[@schutendohkji548]

OK. I've found ur Part 1 - 20 under different title. I can now review them one by one in sequence, more or less. Also Thx for answering my previous questions 7 yrs ago. I'm trying to get back to this live steam hobby. Thx again, From the USA

[@bambukouk]

I have watched (and subscribed to) all you videos - thank you for producing them! Thoroughly enjoying them :-) One thing that puzzles me though, is you running the locos using compressed air via an inlet under tha cab floor on the RH side - is it usual to provide this air connection on the loco? or is it something specific to 16mm designs? or... is it perhaps your own enhancement? Could you possibly show some of the details in one of your future videos? thank you!! Chris

[@GandyDancerProductions]

The inlet you mention is a water fill connection for the hand pump bottle I show at 2:18 in the video. The plastic tube end fits into the connector and I pump water into the boiler against steam pressure via a non return valve. The connector is also convenient for putting compressed air into the boiler for testing. I'll show it in more detail when I fire the loco up on coal.

[@bambukouk]

Thank you for the explanation. Why then do you have fill plug on top of the boiler and fill valve down at the bottom? Or is the one on top of the boiler for filling in un-pressurised boiler? and the other one is with clack for filling in while the boiler is pressurised? Look forward to more videos from you - thank you!

[@zebooker]

After watching all those episodes, I'd very much like to know how well your idea to coal-fire this locomotive worked. Inquiring minds want to know!

[@GandyDancerProductions]

I'm waiting for better weather so I can steam outside. You can see on my last video it's still cold and snowy here. I have some welsh steam coal all ready.

[@zebooker]

Thanks! I've always wanted to do handicrafts in the worst way, and I did. I guess the coal is about the size of aquarium gravel.

[@GandyDancerProductions]

It's about the size of peanuts. Hey, don't forget to subscribe, thanks.

[@jasonwells7327]

Crikey that it wonderful. How's the slide bar attached to the cylinder head?

[@GandyDancerProductions]

Hi Jason, there's a grooved bracket that fits on the piston gland boss. The slide bars fit in these groove for alignment and are screwed to it by by 10 BA hex headed set screws. The other end is held in place by the motion bracket.

[@williamou417]

This locomotive looks a little bit like Fearless Freddie the narrow gauge engine from Thomas & Friends vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/thomasandfriends/images/7/77/Freddie.png/revision/20150822002956

[@GandyDancerProductions]

It definitely does.

[@williamou417]

There is another Russell locomotive at the Tallylyn Railway www.rail.co.uk/images/7794/original/6-Russell-and-Prince-Cliff-Thomas.jpg

[@GandyDancerProductions]

That's the original Russell from the Welsh Highland Railway visiting the Talyllyn on a special occasion. Russell can't run there because his gauge between the wheels is smaller.

[@dollywoodrailfan]

What are the o rings made of

[@GandyDancerProductions]

I use silicone 'o' rings for the pistons but they are a very loose fit on the bore and groove so the 'o' ring can roll along the bore. For sealing the plugs I use nitrile or silicone.

[@dollywoodrailfan]

What did you seal the steam dome with

[@GandyDancerProductions]

You can see the plug under the dome is sealed with an 'o' ring. The dome cover itself is just a tight push fit on the filler bush.

[@dollywoodrailfan]

What does the lubricator do

[@GandyDancerProductions]

The lubricator mixes cylinder oil into the steam feed to oil the slide valves and pistons.

[@dollywoodrailfan]

Thanks

[@Steven_Rowe]

Your videos are amazing and I truly admire your skills at creating live steam locos. I also love your industrial steam videos..Some great shots of extremely well weathered 16 ton mineral wagons that will aid me in my O gauge modeling .

[@GandyDancerProductions]

Hi Steven, thanks for your comment. There's more to come.

[@Steven_Rowe]

Im glad there is more to come. Even though I have not the requisite skills or equipment I find it amazing . To be honest I would love a 7 1/4 A3 pacific or a V2

[@GandyDancerProductions]

I learn my chops building 00 gauge electrics, then 16mm scale live steam and 5 inch gauge railways. Read a lot on Model Engineering Magazine. It's wonderful the resources and help now available from people. I didn't have much money to spend on this hobby but it'd been most gratifying.

[@Steven_Rowe]

Gandy Dancer Productions well I build O gauge kits but building live steam must be incredible. You must feel like God in Genisis when aftet every day he said it was good lol

[@GandyDancerProductions]

Thank for the comment. Those O gauge kits take skill and a lot of work too to get them to look and run right.