TESTING MY OWN SMALL STEAM LOCOMOTIVE IN THE GARDEN

[@carsten4594]

An exquisite little engine. Thanks for sharing.

[@keithappleton]

Many thanks }:-)))

[@mikec.1259]

Outstanding Keith, Hands across the water from the USA. I enjoy watching your videos. They are very informative and safety minded. Thanks!

[@datawizard8194]

I have respect for anyone who has made their own miniature steam engine

[@finndahuman57]

R.I.P Ken gone but not forgotten

[@leokimvideo]

very informative and impressive little engine, good luck with your home railway

[@obfuscated3090]

Love the ball bearing idea! Low friction and easily replaced if ever needed.

[@shaneellasdaicastrestorati3675]

what a beautiful train, I can't believe it's hand made, great workmen ship

[@wi11y1960]

I am glad you have your own steamer. Model engines are fun for static display. Yet it is more fun to me to be able to pull the throttle and feel the motion from something you have created. My machining skills pale in comparison to your mastercraftsmanship. So I can only sit here and admire what a wonderful channel you have. I will give you a shout out of sorts to my Facebook page as you really do have some very good content. Thankyou for all that you do.

[@keithappleton]

Thank you for your kind comments .... I have just bought a GWR 14XX Chinese 5 inch gauge engine that I am going to rebuild very shortly - that will be a good series - even I am looking forward to that one - the engine is currently sat on my sideboard in the dining room {:-)))

[@bleeksbentbits3150]

I do enjoy a well built "Tich" no matter the size.... It was only after I purchased a partially finished 3 & a 1/2" Viginia that I found out about LBSC & his designs. The Virginia was poorly built prior to me purchasing it & most of the work I did on it was to fix the poor workmanship by the previous owner- sadly it has never been finished as I've never had a workshop of my own & the friend who's workshop I was using sadly passed away some time ago.... I now doubt I'll ever get the chance to finish her due to the skill levels required to fix previous mentioned shoddy work, but if I ever do gain access to such a workshop again a "Tich" would be my first choice- OR a "Blowfly" with 'proper' valve gear! :) Thank you again for your time & content & I look forward to watching more...

[@phooesnax]

Nice work....looking forward to seeing the rest.

[@drakestrainz2026]

Also I love the review and I love the locomotive and good job on building it to 😎

[@oke215]

can you make a full steam up video with showing all the controlls and how you do it. i drove a model steamtrain on 125 years of railway in holland it was a dream coming true i'm only 16 i hope that i can afford or make a stream train like that when i'm older what a nice engine

[@ollieduncan5646]

im 13 and also drive minature locos and full sized traction engines

[@Verthias]

Just hypnotic to watch.

[@JonatanGronoset]

Looking foreward to the video of the run. It's a good engine by the looks of it.

[@keithappleton]

JonatanGronoset it's a simple engine and it works well, very easy to manage & has been totally reliable since I built it in 1996

[@johnkinnane547]

Hi Keith thank you for your reply and suggestion it. I am in the process of checking it out. Kind regards John

[@stanleycarter6275]

Great engine I have bought a vertical boiler kit from GLR kennions

[@Hornhausen]

Excellent.

[@AEKarnes]

Would you ever demonstrate your showmans engine fired and under live steam?

[@keithappleton]

+A. E. Karnes I sold it a couple of years ago.

[@Mentorcase]

Why should you not blow down a boiler at full pressure? Just wondering as I was taught to blow down the boiler after a days work just before shutting it down, we had a 30 HP oil fired stationary boiler we used for steaming 44 gallon drums and heating a caustic bath and dryer.

[@keithappleton]

Mentorcase I was always taught to let the pressure drop a bit before blowing down on model copper boilers to prevent sudden distortion of the boiler shell.

[@antiussentiment]

Is blowing down just venting the boiler freely from the bottom so any particulate (aka scale/crap/dirt/chocolate wrappers) is carried away in the out rush of water (and eventually steam)?

[@uncreativename-u6d]

Nice loco much better than something I could make

[@The7humpwump]

If you never got the red injector to work right, check the bend on the inlet...looks to sharp of a radius

[@keithappleton]

I got it to work by unblocking the pipe.

[@dickda1]

Beautiful - is there really any other reason to have a garden?

[@johnkinnane547]

G'day Keith thank you for the video on this great looking loco. I have just started out machining and bought myself a Sieg mini lathe as I have had a life long desire to build a steam engine. I found that your series linked videos for beginners in steam engine machining very helpful and I thank you for sharing your knowledge on a open forum such as You Tube. May I ask you what would be a good beginners steam engine to build? Once again a big thank you I have subscribed and look forward to the next instalment. Kind regards John Tasmania Australia

[@keithappleton]

John Kinnane I would suggest a Martin Evans 5 inch gauge "Simplex" as a first engine, it's easy to build and if built well runs great. (that was the first loco i ever built too)

[@exveefan]

John Kinnane You could also consider a Barry Potter Blowfly. It's an Australian designed beginner locomotive and are quite popular, they even have a rally dedicated to the design. I'd suggest going to your local miniature railway society and see what is there. It is best to pick a locomotive others have so that you can get lots of helpful advice and tips while your building, as see how they implimented the features like injectors, lubricators and so on. Other ideas is buying kit supplied like Maxitrax and Polly Engineering, but make sure they build the boiler to Australian Boiler codes.

[@jonathanparry7824]

Keith do you have any experience with building a gwr 1100 class in 7.1/4 gauge? Would this be a good beginner loco?

[@keithappleton]

I think that would be may be a bit ambitious for a beginner - just build something as simple as possible and see how you go on.

[@ManualdoMotorStirling]

I was impressed by the perfection of this work, congratulations. As I do not understand English and use google translator, that water flowed out, it would be excess water? Leandro Wagner.

[@keithappleton]

Manual do Motor Stirling - Leandro Wagner The water is from the injector overflow

[@Doan84]

You could keep your engine clean by filling it with distilled water. Just install a reverse osmosis filter at home and you have cheap distilled water at the ready.

[@keithappleton]

Doan08 Gopod idea, but I have always used tap water (I live in a soft water area)

[@mattseymour8637]

Lovely engine. What coal do you use and got any firing tips? What psi do you take the blower off?

[@jasonlatham3654]

Where do we get one

[@drakestrainz2026]

I've now subscribed

[@timgage8972]

was the dome cover fitted in place or loose?

[@keithappleton]

Loose, just a good sliding fit.

[@jorgenvids9338]

fantastic work! is the locomotive small and light enough where 2 people could carry it or flip it around?

[@keithappleton]

+Jorgen Vids Yes, I could move it on my own easily - before I got past 60 that is ....... now I need an assistant.

[@pandinhaepandinho9962]

Can im find garden engines from sale?

[@keithappleton]

www.steamworkshop.co.uk

[@pandinhaepandinho9962]

@@keithappleton tanks

[@ingensvidcz5390]

What is the full operating pressure of the boiler, and do you use some type of steam expirator nozle for the exhaust (Kylchap, Giesl,...) ?

[@keithappleton]

90 psi working pressure and it has a simple coned blast pipe and a petticoat pipe under the chimney.

[@ingensvidcz5390]

Thanks :-) Amazing loco by the way :-)

[@FredMiller]

Very exciting Keith. I am looking forward to seeing your engine steam around the tracks. Do you use distilled water for the boiler? If so where is the scale coming from? Thanks-

[@keithappleton]

Fred Miller It's ordinary hose pipe water - we live in a soft water area, and the sediment is now clear.

[@littleevan99]

Where I live, we have really hard water. So using some sort of boiler water chemical is highly advisable(as is with all boilers). I need to get some before my first fire up in a few weeks.

[@FredMiller]

I just purchased a circa 1964 Mamod SR1 Steam Roller like new in the original box. It had a bit of scale in the boiler. I used vinegar rinse three times and the inside looks like new. I used distilled water collected from my dehumidifier. Does that sound like a good idea? Thanks-

[@keithappleton]

Fred Miller I always use tap water, the scale is easy to remove with kettle descaler if it gets to be a problem.

[@randomguy9898]

Why don't you want to blow down a copper boiler?

[@keithappleton]

randomguy9898 never have done - especially in the Summer - it just saves time filling the boiler before every run - as there is no rust problem anyway . . . . .

[@randomguy9898]

Keith Appleton ah, I thought you had meant there was a problem caused by doing that or something, still learning

[@georgep.2924]

What is a ball race? Is that what would be called a ball bearing in the U.S. (with inner and outer races and rollers or balls between the races)? If this has been asked and answered, sincerest apologies from a total newbie.

[@keithappleton]

Ball Race = Ball Bearing

[@ollieduncan5646]

can you run it on your railway again

[@keithappleton]

If ever I get any spare time ......

[@ollieduncan5646]

:) thats what they all say

[@keithappleton]

in my case it's true though ..... :-))))

[@bradleynewport8364]

hi there keith ive been searching for some blue prints to build one im only 17 and me and my dad wanna build one together would u be able to help me out please

[@keithappleton]

+Bradley Newport www.blackgates.co.uk

[@GWRProductions-kg9pt]

funny enough my late granddad was called Ken

[@vladimirvladinov9270]

I'm getting a Thomas the tank engine vibe right now.