# Corgi/Bassett Lowke Mogul



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

Does anybody here have experience running one of these? Or might have one of the crimson red LMS versions they might consider selling. Kind of on the hunt for one, have wanted one since seeing them reissued several years ago. Got my start in trains in O scale, planning a new indoor layout this fall and a UK tinplate twist to it might be interesting. MIke


----------



## Captain Dan (Feb 7, 2008)

Mike,

Give me a email, I have a red one, new in the box, unused.

dfuller440 ?aaaaaat? gmail.com

Dan Fuller
Carrollton, Texas


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

Thanks for the reply Dan, email sent! Mike


----------



## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Mike,
Mine runs well, once I figured out how to light it.


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

I ended up buying an unsteamed late 60's vintage crimson red LMS mogul. Let me know the light up procedure Tom, that would help greatly. Along with what your using for meths. I have read that using Everclear is the cleanest burning if not the cheapest fuel. Mike


----------



## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Mike, Are you seriously thinking to run 151 proof booze in your loco? Cant think its the cheapest either. Most use SLX or Denatured Alcohol, get the highest percentage you can find! From Lowes Homedepot or a hardware store


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

Jay, the Brits say the Everclear burns cleaner, doesnt soot up the nice crimson paint as much and has less toxic fumes from the stuff you can get from Lowes. One gentleman wrote that the additives that the US goverment puts in denatured alcohol makes it more toxic to burn. In such a small engine as mine, the bottle of Everclear lasts awhile according to him. Till I get the track up, the engine will just look pretty on the mantel. Mike


----------



## StackTalk (May 16, 2014)

Kovacjr said:


> Mike, Are you seriously thinking to run 151 proof booze in your loco? Cant think its the cheapest either. Most use SLX or Denatured Alcohol, get the highest percentage you can find! From Lowes Homedepot or a hardware store


Jay, I use Everclear when I make Limoncello, Arancello and Limettacello.  It is actually 190 proof (95% ethanol) so I'd expect it to work quite well, but seems unnecessarily expensive to use for live steamers. It is not sold in NY, but it is sold in NJ. Here in the US, the liquor lobby is behind making it either expensive or hard to get (and also is partly responsible for poisoning us with Methylated spirits.)

I am not aware of what sort or methyl (denatured) alcohol blend Lowe's carries here in NY, but I will be going to Lowe's today for other reasons.

I posted on this side topic somewhere else, but the best bet I have found so far is the "green" version of Klean Strip denatured alcohol.

Check the MSDS on line for the product of interest.

Regular red label Klean Strip Denatured Alcohol is 30-50% ethanol and 40-60% methanol, so no better than a 50-50 mix, but probably a 40-60 mix as they do not have to pin down the exact numbers in the MSDS for trade secret reasons. It could also have water in it with lower percentages of the other two ingredients. Quite poisonous stuff even when just getting on the skin in large quantities with frequent use.

The pale green label Klean Strip Green Denatured Alcohol is 80 to 90% Ethanol, <5% methanol and 1.5% acetic acid. I'm guessing the mix is 90-4-1.5 with maybe 3.5% water?

http://www.kleanstrip.com/uploads/documents/QKGA75003_SDS-1623.pdf

Cheers,

Joe


----------



## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Mike,
To answer your questions...
First you have to light the pilot wick. Then, after a few seconds the alcohol will boil, feeding vapor to the tube. Then you light the vapor coming out of the holes in the tube. It's all in the instructions that came with the loco. Do you have them? If not, PM me your e-mail, and I will send you a copy.
I use ethanol from an ventless fireplace company, Moda Flame. The reason for using the ethanol is that in one of my other locomotives, an Aster Pannier, methanol will boil, and then burst into flames. The kids love it, but the loco does not. 
Post a video of your maiden run.
Cheers,


----------



## StackTalk (May 16, 2014)

Moda Flame looks like a really good choice as it is over 90% Ethanol according to what is stated in the MSDS:

http://american-ethanol.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/AEC-ETHANOL-MSDS.v1.pdf

Cheers,

Joe


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

Thanks for the tips. I got an original BL mogul thats much older than the reissue from Corgi. I wont have it till late this week or early next week so I do not know if it has instructions. Good tip on the Moda Flame fuel. Or the Kleen strip green. Mike


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

Here she is! The big brown truck dropped her off just before I got home from work. Mike


----------



## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

*Who says there is no Santa Claus?*

*We all know he drives a brown truck!*


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

exactly Tom! I gave the burner a try with the only alcohol I had, which is some old rubbing alcohol, 70/30 mix. It will light but not stay lit. But using the aim n flame lighter as a booster, I got it to vaporize so I could see the burner work for about 20 seconds. I will try and pick up some better fuel tomorrow. Mike


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

She isnt as pristene as she was, had a major meths cab fire, melted the cab off the chassis. *The black paint that was used when the engine was restored wasnt heat resistant and it burned off the roof. *So its been repainted a flat black that is heat resistant to 1500'F. *I resoldered the cab back together but need some advice. *First, I notice as the engine comes up to temp, it the whole thing gets hot, I start to get little spits of meth out of the vent tube on the stock BL vaporizing burner. *I think this is what spread and caught fire. *I have only ever had one other meths fired engine, a Mamod SL1 with a IP engineering meths burner installed. *I never had little "burbs" of meth out of the vent tube with that one. *I am using good quality meths from Lowe's that is for alcohol fired stoves ect. *Am I doing something wrong? *Also, need a source for some of this dark crimson red paint so I can touch up the upper cab sides were it got scorched off. *I have some gold lining decals I can use to fix the lining with. *It took about 6 tries to get her to run. *Whoever did the restoration, put the middle driver set in backwards so the eccentric cranks were set wrong no matter what you did. *removal and reinstall of the driver set corrected this and she now runs in both directions. *Just steaming on blocks right now as the whole mechanism was quite stiff from decades of slumber. *Last, can anybody date this model, she lacks the 3 lamp irons that i see on other BL moguls of later vintage and only has a round disc on the front of the smokebox, but this could be something that was added to replace a missing dart lever. *Is this, along with the steam dome/safety cover available from anybody? * Thanks guys, you are all the best! * Mike aka Artful Dodger.

Here we see the eccentric cranks as I recieved the model, leaning way to far towards the front


And here she is post cab fire and partial repair


----------



## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Hi Mike,
Maybe try a little less fuel next time, as the alcohol will expand as the burner gets hot, causing the overflow.
As to dating you loco, I am not a Bassett Lowke aficionado, but I do have some books and catalogues that may help us to date it.
Firstly, the number is incorrect, so I would think a complete repaint was undertaken at some point.
The LMS Mogul first appeared in 1925, but that is not yours as the cab and running boards were different.
The 1936 catalogue shows your loco and explains that it has been ‘entirely remodelled’. Price £5-5-0. (For those of you not familiar with old UK money - that’s five pounds, five shillings and no pence)(or five guineas)
The 1950 catalogue is still showing the same design, but in BR livery. Price £17-19-4, or as an unpainted basic kit £13-15.0.
Not too sure when the last one was built, but I would put yours somewhere between 1936 and 1950.
Bassett Lowke did offer the mogul in slightly different design for each of the four main railways, but the LMS one outnumbered the other three with a two to one ratio, probably because it was the most scale like to a real loco.
I think that you will find a couple of producers of spare parts.
All the best,
David Leech, Delta, Canada


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

Thanks David, that what myinitial though was a bit less fuel, I also "tweeked" the vent tube to angle towards the tender instead of towards the backhead, so if it does spurt a bit, its away from the fire. Yes she was completely repainted at some time, thats when the middle driver was reinstalled backwards and the cab number changed. If I can match the paint with something in a rattle can, I will respray the whole cab and renumber correctly. Mike


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

I got some suggestions on tuning the vaporizing burner over on the Mamod steam forum(mostly folks from the UK and more knowledgeable on old tinplate burners). So I set the burner up that way and ran a normal fill of meths thru it with no spitting. I am only guessing the max fill on the burner as I have found no referance to the amount like the boiler water which is 100ML for a full fill. Mike


----------

