# Accucraft UK "Earl/Countess"



## JoelB (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks to Pete Comley at Sunset Valley Railroad for arranging delivery of a new Accucraft "Earl/Countess" to my doorstep last Tuesday. It was definitely worth the wait. 

I'll post photos as soon as I can get them onto a hosting site. Steam test is also on hold, as we've had continuous monsoons in the Northeast.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Congratulations, Joel, on your new baby. We are getting great reports from a couple that have steamed over here with total success.

There is ONE proviso - the water runs out before the gas - *BEWARE*!!!!

I was over at Welshpool last thursday and friday watching the real thing, and took a scad of pix - if you want any, please pm me to get my e-mail address. Sadly, I can't post images on this site. 

Enjoy this beautiful locomotive, and post pics, please.

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## Charles M (Jan 2, 2008)

Tac and others , 

Here is a photo of my new Earl running over last weekend. I received mine 6/12/09 . I had suggested to my local Accucraft representative that I wanted the first one off of the boat. He delievered on my request and I had my by 2:30 P.M. on that date. 
Very nice model , well built and has every visual detail that real locomotive has. Have fitted a Goodall valve to mine to take advantage of the long run times. I have gotten 30 minute run times easily. 

Link made active by Peter Bunce - Moderator. 

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd344/Charles_MM/EarlRunning.jpg 

Charles M SA#74


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Charles - saw that shot on GSM. You need lining!!! AND name-plates....









tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## topshed (Jan 20, 2008)

Hi All, 


I Picked up my Countess from Brian at Glendale Junction (near Peterborough UK) yesterday - she is beautiful! Steamed her on the rollers today and all seems to be in order, just need a nice dry weekend and we'll see what she can do! Ian at Accucraft UK seems to have really excelled with this model, it really deserves to sell well. Having lived at Welshpool for eight years (1989-97) and been back at least once most years since, I know the prototype of this little loco pretty well and the model is a superb representation. Thanks Ian!


All the best,
Martin


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## Charles M (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Accucraft UK "Earl/Countess"*

Since the photo was taken I have added the number plates and the name for " The Earl " to the locomotive . I just wanted to make sure that all was well before attaching the plates. The only question I have about the model , if I have put " The Earl " on a green locomotive what time period would this set the model in ? Is this Name , Number scheme alright or is it ok only for Rule 8 operations now ? ( Rule 8 states that it is my railway and I will run it the way I want . From GSM . ) 

Charles M SA#74


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## topshed (Jan 20, 2008)

Hi Charles,


The Earl and Countess ran in green during the period they were owned by the Great Western Railway, between 1923 and 1948. I suspect that they would still have been running in Cambrian Railways black until after they were modified at Swindon works in 1925 and may have been painted black during World War 2, though Ralph Cartwright in his history of the W&L states that they only recieved minimum maintenance and so may well have stayed green until nationalisation in January 1948. Both were shopped at Swindon works in early 1948 and would certainly have received their plain black British Railways livery then. I can find no record of lining ever being applied by the GWR or BR. Your Earl therefore represents the loco as running between 1925 and 1948. Enjoy!


All the best,
Martin.


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## JoelB (Jan 3, 2008)

*RE: Accucraft UK "Earl/Countess"*

Here's the engine in black: 

http://s655.photobucket.com/albums/uu278/GWR822/?albumview=slideshow 

As to when which engine was painted what color, there's still some debate. A recent post on the WLLR Yahoo group maintains that both engines were green up until just before closure by BR in 1956, when they painted black. There were also subtle variations from year to year in lining out (or not not lining out), presence/absence of nameplates, whether the "GWR" on the numberplates was painted out or not, the presence of a small "W" painted below the 823's numberplate (but not below the 822's). In other words, you can decorate the engine to your own tastes and it will undoubtedly have been correct at some time. The only plates not included with the engine are the oval numberplates that were fixed high up on the cabsides when the engines were in Cambrian ownership and carried the names on the tank sides, so one couldn't model the engines as they've appeared in preservation, but even that changes over time. 

Although I'm a huge fan of God's Wonderful Railway, I opted for black this time because a) it looks great on this engine, and b) every other engine I've owned was green, so it's time for something different. 

I'm hoping to steam the engine on rollers this weekend, as my the clearances and curves on my 32mm gauge line are 'way too sharp to fit this engine, and the 45mm gauge line is still in the planning stages.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Topshed - I live about twelve miles south of Peterborough, and have a lonely little track in my back yard that would just love to be visited by your new loco.

Edit - Martin, many thanks for the call - we are looking forward greatly to hosting the inaugural steaming in these parts of this beautiful-looking loco!

tac
http://www.ovgrs.org/


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## JoelB (Jan 3, 2008)

Many thanks, Tac, for the invitation. But which Peterborough? There's one in New Hampshire (imminently reachable by car from Western Massachusetts), another in Ontario (a bit of a drive, but also within reason, and I've always wanted to see that part of Canada), and possibly others in North America that I'm not aware of. However, if this were Peterborough in the UK, that would require a bit more planning and SWMBO's acquiescence. But I'd dearly love to get back to the UK under any pretext.


I've had a chance to run GWR 822 (as it shall now be known) on rollers last night; the following are some observations -- not criticisms, mind you, merely observations (in increasing order of complexity and concern):


-- As delivered, the very nice safety valve trumpet casting is separately packed. On my engine, the inner bore of the casting was about a thou too small, and wouldn't fit over the safety valve. This was set right after a little attention to the trumpet casting from a Dremel tool.
-- The very necessary Goodall valve was not packed with the engine, but rather Accucraft (California) sent it to me separately. Unfortunately, the outside diameter of the O-ring on their stock valve is too large, and the plug did not seat properly. This was only noticed when steam pressure started to build and the plug conveniently sprayed hot water all over the inside of the cab. Simple fix was to substitute the O-ring from the regular (non-Goodall) plug supplied with the engine.
-- The burner is a different design from the Ruby or any of the other Accucraft UK models I'm familiar with -- perhaps it was used in the Garratt or WD Baldwin. If one looks down the flue from the smokebox end, the bow end of the burner presents a big cylinder, noticeably larger in diameter than my last engine (an Edrig). It lights without drama and burns very quietly and evenly, no bad behaviors such as flame in the smokebox. It is also very efficient; it only took a slight turn of the knob (from say, twelve o'clock position to eleven o'clock) to get results. Steam pressure builds fairly quickly (in comparison to older models), getting up to 20 - 30 PSI in seven or eight minutes. However, after about ten minutes, the burner suddenly starts to make a very noticeable roaring sound for about 10 - 15 seconds, then the fire goes out. It did this twice, same pattern. At first I thought there was something in the jet, or perhaps I was running it a bit too lean. Now my thought is that as the fuel tank warms, it's overpressuring the system and the fire is blowing itself out. I'd be interested in any and all theories, or other users' experience. Next time, I'm going to put some insulation in between fuel tank and boiler, and see if that helps.
-- When the engine is running in forward gear, the entire valve gear bracket flexes back and forth. This isn't going to be obvious when running on a track, but is noticeable when bench-testing. The effect isn't as severe in reverse. The root cause seems to be that (as on the prototype), the expansion die-block is carried in a bearing that's offset to the rear of the bracket, so in forward gear (the radius rod is at the top end of the expansion link), the force of the valve motion is working at an angle to the bracket. (This is probably easier to draw than describe.) Funny thing is, the flexing doesn't seem to bother the valve events very much, although with this variation on Walschaerts, there's no lap and lead, so it may not matter. I am concerned, however, that all this movement will ultimately result in one of two Bad Things: either the brackets will work themselves loose in service and damage will result, or the brackets will ultimately get tired of all this flexing and break off.


All those caveats aside, the engine does run very sweetly for a machine with virtually no run-in time, and I would only expect it to get better, once these problems are ironed out.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Doh, sorry, Mr Joel - that post was aimed at Topshed, whom I know from visiting main131's tracks.

I COULD help you out with the Ontario P'boro, about an hour's drive from our place in Eastern Ontario, but I don't get there till the near-end of July.

Please continue to post us details of the running loco, AND movie, too, if you are able. This 'flapping' motion bracket both intrigues and bothers me.

Best Graders

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## JoelB (Jan 3, 2008)

My oops, Tac, I'd thought that your reply was directed my way. Nonetheless, I'd still like to see Peterborough someday (any of 'em).


An update on this morning's report:


After the engine cooled down, I went over the works with wrenches, and found that the lower crosshead guide bar on one side was very loose -- the tine (M1.6?) screw had backed out quite a ways. I tightened that up and checked all the others -- there are a lot of hex and Phillips head screws on this beastie -- and found nothing else scary. I couldn't detect any drastic movement on a subsequent run, so it appears to be fixed.


First lesson learned: Check all fasteners, even on a new, just-out-of-the-box engine. In fact, especially on a new-out-of-the-box engine.


The burner issue was a bit tougher to work out. I tried three runs on rollers since posting the e-mail this morning, and each time the same thing would happen: after about ten minutes, the normally docile burner would start to roar and pop, then abruptly go out. The last time this occurred, I opened the smokebox door (using a wet rag, I am neither that foolish or battle-hardened) and saw that the aft (footplate) end of the burner was glowing orange-yellow, the flame was still blue but very irregular. When I shut off the butane, there was a loud pop as a short flame backfired down the flue. Yes, I still have my eyebrows. 


Having been a faithful reader of other members' postings about burner debugging, I figured that this is probably a mixture problem: the burner runs fine until it gets hot, then it gets into some kind of overheating loop until it finally quits. Probably needs more air. First thing I did was adjust the mixing collar on the jet assembly from half-way covering the holes to fully uncovered. Judging by the lack of drama on the next steaming, the bad behavior seems to have disappeared. Another learning from this is that this new design of burner works best at a very low setting -- sure, it takes a couple minutes longer to get up working pressure, but even set 'way down, it ultimately produces more steam than I could use running on rollers. You will go a very long way on a tank of butane, so Ian Pearse's caution about keeping the water level up is critically important.


Second lesson learned: Don't assume that the factory setting for the burner is correct. After all, if they ran the burner at all prior to packing the engine, it was probably only for a few minutes, not nearly enough time to detect this particular problem. 


So, faith in Accucraft restored. Now, all I have to do is figure out how to install R/C...


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## dhamer52 (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Accucraft UK "Earl/Countess"*

Thanks to Stretch at Califorinia & Oregon Coast Railway I got my Countess last Tuesday and just found that the coaches came in today and will be on their way tomorrow. Thanks Stretch for the great service you provide.


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## JoelB (Jan 3, 2008)

*RE: Accucraft UK "Earl/Countess"*

Congratulations, Dan, welcome to the club! What color did you get?


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## dhamer52 (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Accucraft UK "Earl/Countess"*

I got her in green. I just got an email that the coaches are on their way so I should have them by next Monday.


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## topshed (Jan 20, 2008)

Hi All,


My 'Countess' and I visited Tac Foley yesterday as planned and had a great day's steaming. If you want a sample of what went on, have a look at this clip on Youtube:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQqv3UX4iPE&feature=channel


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQqv3UX4iPE&feature=channelMany thanks to Tac for the chance to try her out on a level, elevated track, and many thanks to Mrs Tac for looking after me so well! 


All the best,
Martin


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Hi there, Topshed and all fans of the W&LlR - isn't this loco a beauty? I have to contratulizate Ian Pearse and his late and much-missed father for this latest British outline steamer. The real thing is so well-known that I'm not going to waste bandwidth by posting pics, but the if the model is as near as you are ever going to get, then you will not have been cheated. Martin's loco, with less than six runs on it by the time he visited with us, came up to the boil in under six minutes, and ran, with top-ups through the Goodall valve, for 34 and 32 minutes, hauling a short, but realistic train without breaking into a sweat, from a scale fifteen mph right up to forty. 

It performed like the aristocratic lady after which it is named, and, in the case of this particular model, with a prefectly muted and subtle chuff - exactly like the real loco that I had been looking at the previous week. 

The Pickering coach model is another true gem, and there is little on it that is not represented in fine model fashion - even the slatted seats are there in all their uncomfortable 'glory' They have to be the large-scale bargain of the century, and won't break the banks of any fan - there were only ever three of them in real life - unlike the massively long trains of the Welsh Highland Railway...

A good-looking and truly representative train could look like this -

Ex- Zillertal brown four-wheeler [LGB or other make] 
Ex- MAV coach- repainted LGB
Pickering saloon
Pickering half-brake

...maybe a couple of good wagons too. 

I might even be tempted myself, as a treat to stifle the gloom of coming back to UK after my impending trip back over to the Dominion to annoy my family. 

Thanks then to Mr Pearse and Mr Pearse Snr, and to topshed for bringing it over for us to play with.

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## topshed (Jan 20, 2008)

Hi Tac, 


Glad to see you're back online after your computer breakdown while the Countess and I were with you the other day - pity they're not powered by steam....










See you later,
Martin


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## dougiel (Jun 3, 2008)

*RE: Accucraft UK "Earl/Countess"*

Reports from users in the UK is that this is a very good model. Very fine detail and a very good runner. Users report that it runs very slow and very smooth with the gas turned right down and up to forty minutes burn time. Some have commented on the fine valve gear fitted with very little or no slop in pins and connections. But the return cranks seem to be 180 degree`s out with the radiuus rod in the upper quadrant when running forward. Not a problem. 
One point that no one seems to have mentioned on this list about this model yet is the change to slide valves. At last we have a scale Pearse/Accucraft UK model with slide valves. I think this is why this model is so smooth and powerfull. I also think its why it will run for so long on one gas filling. The old ported piston valves were so wastefull of steam the boiler was overworked to keep up. 
Now, if I stop wasting money on daft things like food could I afford one from the second batch ...... 
Dougie Leaver


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Mornin', All of you over there, and afternoon to you, Martin - just in case anyone is wondering who the sad looking shamblin' freak imitating Quasimodo that you can see following the loco around might be in the Youtube clip, I hafta tell ya that it's my twin brother that we don't talk about, let out on a home visit.

Martin - if you e-mail me your address I'll send you a DVD with the takes on it that you can edit...some very good run-bys and follow-me's there, too.

Best

tac
http://www.ovgrs.org/ -


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## David BaileyK27 (Jan 2, 2008)

*I have heard that the reason the valve gear is "upside down" is that in fact it has piston valves, not slide valves, I have not had confirmation eather way, but it would make sense for the valve gear to be in reverse if it in fact was piston vales. David Bailey www.djbengineering.co.uk
*


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## dougiel (Jun 3, 2008)

*RE: Accucraft UK "Earl/Countess"*

David, 
was discussed on the 16mmngm group. From pictures it would seem there is no large diamater piston valve visible in the end of the valve chest. Also one poster said he had talked to Ian Pearse and he had confirmed slide valves had been used. A large step forward in my opinion and one that seems to show up in the reports of the model running. 
Dougie Leaver


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## David BaileyK27 (Jan 2, 2008)

Dougie and others, I have just had two of my friends who have the new Countess confirm that it definatley has piston vales, they can be seen proud of the steamchest as per other Accucraft engines.
David Bailey


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## zubi (May 14, 2009)

*RE: Accucraft UK "Earl/Countess"*

Which is also perfectly consistent with the tradition at Accucraft of building models with piston valves if the prototype has slide valves, and with slide valves when the prototype has piston valves, why not;-)))? Best wishes, Zubi


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## JoelB (Jan 3, 2008)

Gentlemen,

I remember bringing the question of the Countess' valve gear (and, by extension, valve type) 'way back in November of last year (see URL: http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/forumid/11/tpage/1/view/topic/postid/60047/Default.aspx#60047). At that time, I was told that the Countess would have slide valves:

*Tac, the GIMRA agm is next saturday, the Valve gear is simple Walschaerts, which is used without any lap or lead and represents the valve gear for driving a Piston Valve, but is actually driving a slidevalve, hence the crank being the other way round, on my scratch built K27's I used a reverse port plate to get the valve gear looking right and included the corect combination lever and union link so that the slidevalve can be notched up, the new Countess also uses the simple valve gear to drive a slidevalve.* 
Now I'm not so sure. A change in spec between then and now, perhaps?


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## Charles M (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Accucraft UK "Earl/Countess"*

I have this engine and took the right hand valve chest cover off to look at this . The model is equiped with slide valve cylinders !! The vavle gear is backwards just like on the K-28 models. You move the reverse gear forwards and it lifts the die block up to go forwards. The problem is in the way the reverse linkage is made in the cab , it it not setup up to provide the right motion for forward and reverse . Small problem , I can live with it as it runs like a " Rolex " . 

Also my Accucraft C-16 has slide valves , Roundhouse " Katie" and " Old Colonial " also have slide valves so I am sure that this is what in the valve chest. 

Charles M SA# 74 .


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By JoelB on 06/29/2009 9:38 AM 
*Tac, the GIMRA agm is next saturday,*




Uh, right. Don't quite recall asking about either the G1MRA AGM or the valve gear.

Did I miss something while I was asleep? 

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## dougiel (Jun 3, 2008)

*RE: Accucraft UK "Earl/Countess"*

Charles, thank you for putting this right. One gentleman on the Yahoo 16mmngm list has said that Ian Pearse told him they do have slide valves and you have proved it beyond doubt. It is my belief that this is the reason for the better running model. As for the "wrong way" valve gear all you have to do is reposition the return crank ( eccentric crank on your side of the pond) by 180 degrees and the radiuus rod will be in the lower quadrant when going forward. Not a problem as I see it. My order for the second batch will stand. 
Dougie Leaver


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## JoelB (Jan 3, 2008)

*RE: Accucraft UK "Earl/Countess"*

I would definitely agree with Charles' comment about how the engine performs. The Earl/Countess is my third Accucraft engine, and this one has to be one of the smoothest-running machines "right out of the box" that I've ever owned.


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## Charles M (Jan 2, 2008)

I decided this was the weekend to fix the vavle motion on the " The Earl " . The fact that the radius rod was in the upper position for forward motion just didn't look correct when it was running. Loosing the screws on the eccentric crank and resetting it was easy. I just needed to do an " air tune " to equalize the running qualities in both forward and reverse motion. A 30 minute setup and change over has the model running fine , and the valve gear going in the right direction now . I have disgused the " Johnson bar " with a small piece of black heat shrink tubing as it is now in the incorrect operating position on the locomotive . As it is not to scale anyway the tubing is a perfect way to hide it. 

According to Cliff from Accucraft , " Earl / Countess " models number only 10 in the US at the present time so hold on to it !! 

Charles M SA# 74


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## dougiel (Jun 3, 2008)

Charles M, I think this loco is based on the Pearse Countess which uses piston valves. Well I dont think I know. At some stage in its re-design for Accucraft the decission to use slide valves was taken. With outside admission on the slide valves this means the Johnson bar would be back for forwards. Hence the eccentric or return crank was moved 180 degree1s to compensate. Easier than re-doing the linkage to the weigh arm or lifting arms. 
It would appear that just about all the first batch has now sold here in the UK. Probably down to the very good reports on the internet. Ill have to wait till the end of the year for the second batch to appear and funds to be made available. 
Dougie Leaver


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