# The let it loose "Bash" thread



## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

To keep "bashing" out of other threads, I thought that it might be a good idea to start one on it's own merit's. 

My good friend John F. stated in another thread: 

I remembered that Steve had some problems with his BB oiler


It is so good to have John F. back to his old self around here. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/crazy.gif The "Problem" that I had was I needed to replace a fiber seal. Aster gives you a huge 36 page book of exploded parts illustrations, and another 61 page book of assembly and driving instructions. Each part has a name and number. I was able to call Hans with the part number and get a replacement seal in hardly any time at all. The next time you come over, please bring one of the manuals and parts diagrams that come with one of your engines, oh........I forgot.......you do not get them with Accucraft's.  By the way, how is their support on replacement parts? Oh......that's right.....they come off of tear down engines in the scrap heap. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/tongue.gif 

And yes, because I was born with 10 thumbs and two left hands, the changing of that seal brought me to my knees./DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/blush.gif Because of Asters incredible diagrams and instructions a normal hobbyist could have done it in no more then a hour. But yes John, it took me about a week./DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/cry.gif If anyone needs any tiny E clips, you are welcome to come search my carpet for one of the hundreds that I lost while reattaching the linkage to the oil pump.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

I hate digital TV.


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## NHSTEAMER (Jan 2, 2008)

OK GENTLEMAN. Don't you all think this has gone to far? I am a Happy owner of 6 Accucraft locomotives 1 Aster Locomotive and a small fortune of Accucraft rolling stock. I know that ALL!! of these locomotives have one problem or another. This is not to say that we should not talk about the problems and how to fix them, but this constant bashing is all that is being done. Let's please accept the fact that yes Accucraft has there problems (I myself have returned a loco) But so dose Aster! If you are a Aster snob then so be it! If are happy with your Accucraft then so be it! If you have a problem with either then lets use MLS for what it is meant for, and discuss the problem and how to fix it! NOT for this loco/your loco sucks! I for one am tired of this being the only subject on MLS. 
My two cents do with it as you please!


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

"We had _cleansed_ ourselves. Now you bring the evil _back?_"


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## rbednarik (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

This is a bad idea. Plain and simple. Steve, even you should know, don't mess with the bull. 

It leaves way too much room for people to misconstrue and interpret sayings into an attack on one another. Perhaps there should be some sort of self restraint on this matter. Sure, all the engines have problems, and I have announced my fair share of "how-to-fix" ideas, but I do have to draw the line somewhere. Perhaps those whom mis-interpret the "bashing" on this forum by taking the bait of the instigators should show some self restraint.


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## AsterUK (Jan 2, 2008)

Too right Ryan â€œShow some restraintâ€� should be posted at the top of this and every Live Steam MLS Forum perhaps under the words â€œForum Sponsored By: Quisenberry Stationâ€�. 

I posted an innocent question about Oil Pumps and get some good answers which helped me fix the issue with my loco. Thatâ€™s great and exactly what MLS is for. Then someone thinks they are going to be Mr. Smarty and posts a dumb comment about the loco under discussion and WW3 breaks out! How crazy is that? 

I think that there is space on MLS to talk about the pros & cons of the various manufacturerâ€™s products â€" in the past we have had some very useful contributions which really help the market improve. Just being rude and stirring the pot helps no-one. A Newbie seeing this stuff is likely to choose Golf over Large Scale Live Steam and who can blame them?


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

I don't know about you, Andrew, but I plan to take up golf---when I grow up. Let's see; when will that be?


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## livesteam5629 (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

I have a problem with my 5 iron. Every time I try to use it as a driver the little white ball goes left (sometimes right) I can only afford clubs made by Thom McAnn. This one I have had since college days. It is a nice steel head with a bamboo handle and duct tape grips. Should I send it back for replacement?


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## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

Hello Dwight, sorry I started this thread. I thought we could all have a little fun but after sleeping on it have realized that it was a bad idea. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/blush.gif I guess I am about as good at starting threads as changing a seal on my BB /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/shocked.gif. 

Please lock this thing before it grows into a monster, that was not my intention.


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## sparks (Jan 2, 2008)

Steve, 

I thought it was great. I had a big smile on my face till things started getting serious again. I guess that one of the reasons that I don't post on MLS is cause I am a tongue in cheek kinda guy and my wife says I am way too cinicle. I also can't spell worth a durn. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/angry.gif Oh well, I do enjoy a good round with John F. and the gang. You guys keep up the good work. I'll save religion and politics for serious. 
I hope this makes it before the thread gets locked. 

Regards, 

Chuck (the flame proof long johns are on) Sparks


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## jfrank (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By sparks on 08/06/2008 7:00 AM
Steve, 
I thought it was great. I had a big smile on my face till things started getting serious again. I guess that one of the reasons that I don't post on MLS is cause I am a tongue in cheek kinda guy and my wife says I am way too cinicle. I also can't spell worth a durn. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/angry.gif" border=0> Oh well, I do enjoy a good round with John F. and the gang. You guys keep up the good work. I'll save religion and politics for serious. 
I hope this makes it before the thread gets locked. 
Regards, 
Chuck (the flame proof long johns are on) Sparks




Hey Chuck, are any of you guys going to make the Labor Day steamup at Zube this year? You need to roundup all the Austin area steamers. And those that bring an Aster, have them bring that 100 page exploded diagram book for all of us to read. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/hehe.gif I hope Ed Hume comes down with that new Climax. Did he make a huge instruction manual for it yet? His Heisler was awesome. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edhume3/2726098799/in/set-72157600964223180/


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## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

Did he make a huge instruction manual for it yet?

No, but if anyone could do it better then Aster, Ed could. I'm off to see a real BB in Dallas Texas today. I promised my Nephew that if he passed all his grades this past year I would take him there to see it. Well........he just about passed em' all (he takes after his Uncle Steve)so I am taking him anyway. It will be the first time I get to see one in person too, so I am as fired up as he is. I never meant for this thread to be mean spirited. I started it as a fun way to take jabs at each other about our Loco's, but I still think that I made a bad decision./DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/blush.gif


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

Steve - I hope you realize that _I_ was just having a little fun as well. Maybe you'd have to be a Star Trek fan to understand the "Ruk" reference.


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## jfrank (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Steve S. on 08/06/2008 7:23 AM
Did he make a huge instruction manual for it yet?

No, but if anyone could do it better then Aster, Ed could. I'm off to see a real BB in Dallas Texas today. I promised my Nephew that if he passed all his grades this past year I would take him there to see it. Well........he just about passed em' all (he takes after his Uncle Steve)so I am taking him anyway. It will be the first time I get to see one in person too, so I am as fired up as he is. I never meant for this thread to be mean spirited. I started it as a fun way to take jabs at each other about our Loco's, but I still think that I made a bad decision./DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/blush.gif" border=0>




Steve, check out the "oil pump" on the real one when you get there.


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## livesteam5629 (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

Dwight, 
I thought that was Lurch from the Adams Family. 
N


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

I read the title I thought it was gonna be about KIT-bashing? 

Oh well, goin' back under my rock


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## Bob Starr (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

Gee, I don't care who makes my engines; I take them apart and put them back together anyway


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

Dwight, 
I thought that was Lurch from the Adams Family. 
N
Same actor, but he played "Ruk" the android in the Star Trek original series ep, "What are little Girls Made of?" - which is where he spoke the line I quoted.


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## Jim Overland (Jan 3, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

Acceptance is the key 
I have a toy dragon that likes to ride on the tender sometimes and a furry fireman called stinky. 

Some think this is too whimsical for an Aster 

jim


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## jfrank (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

Of course there is one make that has never made a mistake or a bad locomotive, hence the coining of the term "runs like a Roundhouse".


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## zephyra (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By jfrank on 08/06/2008 12:26 PM
Of course there is one make that has never made a mistake or a bad locomotive, hence the coining of the term "runs like a Roundhouse". 




I only have one Roundhouse (Darjeeling) and I have to say it's a very willing little engine that just works - it cheerfully pulls loads up and down gradients that put it's much more expensive cousins to shame and sets off when it is barely up to steam. But, like many live steam fanatics, I'm always secretly disappointed when somethings works full time because fixing things is a big part of the fun. Luckily I have a stable of Asters and Accucrafts that are always in need of care and attention....


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## livesteam5629 (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

[/quoteSame actor, but he played "Ruk" the android in the Star Trek original series ep, "What are little Girls Made of?" - which is where he spoke the line I quoted.

Dwight, 
Must have been in Viet Nam because I don't remember that episode. Watched all the original series in 67 before going over. Picked up again in 68 on return. Man that was the future. So many devices used on the show way ahead of their time. Whip out your Verizon Cell phone and say "Beam Me Up Scotty" No intelligent live down here" 
Noel


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## Charles M (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

Guys, 
How about we all just enjoy running steam locomotives , powered by meths, coal , butane or whatever . We can all be " STEAM SNOBS " and be glad we don't have to run on " Electron " power !! I don't care who builds it , a steamer is a thing of beauty no matter what . Just because I don't own any Aster locomotives , doesn't mean I can't appreciate them for what they are. They are very very nice. 

Rant off . 

Charles M SA# 74


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## Ed Hume (Jan 3, 2008)

I've got a Roundhouse that is out of water (crownsheet is dry) when there is still visible water in the sight glass. That is poor design. Other than that, it is a very satisfactory model.


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

Most accucraft locos have exposed flues when the glass is low. My Aster Climax is another culprit of the same thing. Glass base is lower than the flue.....My thought is you should never let them get that low..I usually dont run my locos till they are out of water to stop them but to keep water in them at least 1/2 full. Some exceptions are my Ruby and Mogul as neither have a glass and I always find that adding water with the small gas tanks leads to even shorter run times.


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Posted By Bob Starr on 08/06/2008 8:30 AM
Gee, I don't care who makes my engines; I take them apart and put them back together anyway 




I care greatly. Quality counts, y'know: /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/angry.gif 

If New Brights get any more expensive on Ebay, I'm going back to blacksmithing. 

Les (Kidding, if it didn't come across.)


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## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

I just got back from my trip to Dallas Texas to see Big Boy #4018. The museum has recently cosmetically restored most of the engines that are on display. She looks brand new. You really do not get a feel for how big these locomotives actually are untill you stand right next to one. It was my first time to see a BB in person so I was fired up to say the least. Right next to the BB is a 4-8-4 "Frisco" Northern. She is #4501 and is painted in her original blue and white "Meteor" colors. She was made for fast passenger service. I was also amazed at how large this engine is too. Very tall drivers for speed. Then, there was a engine that I really did not even care to see but am so glad that I took the time to check her out. She is not steam but a Diesel-Electric. UP DDA40X, #6913. She was made in a run of engines in the late 60's - early seventies and are called Centennials. They are the largest Diesel-Electrics ever made. They are the Big Boys of modern engines. This thing is *HUGE*, I mean a real *MONSTER*. I never thought I would enjoy seeing a Diesel-Electric, however this beast is an exception to the rule. There were other engines and cars to look at but these were the three that I spent most of my time admiring. 

And John, I do think that it would be easier to work on the oilers on a real BB then on the Aster. The real ones do not have any of those /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/crazy.gif E clips!!!!!


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## Dave Hottmann (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

Dwight, 

My first thought was the alien leader from the "Twighlite Zone" episode "How to Serve Man". After looking at the back ground color I realize it was from Star Trek.


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

Actor Richard Kiel was in "To serve man" 

Ted Cassidy (Lurch) was in "What are little girls made of" 

They do look similar, FYI Richard Kiel later shows up as Jaws, in James Bond movies.


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## Jim Overland (Jan 3, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

A warp drive looks a lot like a vertical boiler with an electronic water feed


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## Kurt Sykes (Feb 28, 2008)

*RE: The let it loose "Bash" thread*

More dilithum crystals captain, 
We can not keep the boiler full with out them


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