# How To: Simple Accucraft Quality of Life Modifications



## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Prologue: The Patient*

This how-to will be using an AML 0-6-0 Live Steam loco as the example. I'm pretty certain these modifications would be similar for most Accucraft locomotives, indeed, many brand-name steam locos.

Our loco is a 1:29 scale USRA switcher from the war years, I believe it's supposed to be a Baldwin.

*Part I: Summerlands Chuffer*

For most Accucraft locos, this is a screw-in modification that seriously changes the sound qualities of your loco for ~$50 or so. The following photo shows the very professional looking chuffer compared to the crimped outlet pipe that ships with the loco. A by-mouth blow test through each will reveal that the stock pipe produces almost no sound, while the Summerlands Chuffer gives a rich, whooshy hiss.










Once attached to the loco, the quick puffs from the exhaust valve will give life to the smokestack. However... there are opportunities for improvement.

On my AML loco, the chuffer produces an amazing amount of sound. Some neighbors might say too much. I love it, and am not interested in changing it. However, because the chuffer for my loco is rather chubby, it fills the smokestack. When equipped with the stock exhaust port, the little switcher would put a nice fat column of steam up from both the chimney and the safety valve. After chuffer install, more steam exited from the bottom of the smokebox than from the top of the loco. Enter the Steam FX add-on! where the user can adjust the steam/vs/sound output of the chuffer. 

Sadly, the FX control doesn't fit in my little switcher. The chimney is simply too short, and too narrow. Time to turn the MacGyver genes on. Reading the fitting instructions for the FX control reveals the need to drill a 2mm hole in the top of the chuffer. Figuring this matched the size of the larger of the FX control's ports, I opted for something a little smaller, but very permanent. I decided to drill a 60gauge hole in the top of the chuffer. The _where_ wasn't important, as I wouldn't be adding a control sleeve over the top.

My Chuffer has a screwdriver slot milled into the top, and a 60gauge bit didn't quite fit inside it, so I opted to countersink the top just a bit so I didn't destroy my teeny little drill bit.









Countersunk, now time to go all the way through with a bit that's roughly 1mm wide.









The final product is a hole so small that the chuffer still prevents 90% of the spitting common during startup, but produces a very nice jet of steam on each "chug" of the engines.









I was really worried that punching even a small hole in the top of the chuffer would ruin the boisterous sound of my loco. Mercifully, my 3rd party survey group (wife) was not able to tell the difference between my blowing through the chuffer with the hole exposed, or with it covered by a fat finger. During my test run, the loco still produced hearty-sounding chuffs, even with no load.


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Part II: Goodall Valve*

Part II: Goodall Valve

Stock, our Accucraft loco didn't ship with a way to fill it while under pressure. A quick trip to The Train Department fixed it.

Here's the stock cab:









And here's the goodall valve that replaces it. Note the male quick-disconnect.









It seems like a luxury, and it is, but having a quick-disconnect on your top-off valve means the hose doesn't break loose from the loco while you're pumping water into it.









Plus, the super-minature components just look cool.


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Part III: Radiant Burner*

Part III: Radiant Burner

The stock poker burner on most Butane-powered locomotives is a simple metal cylinder with holes or slots cut into it. When lit, it puts out a nice blue flame.









Unfortunately, as mentioned on Southern Steam's article about improving burner performance, these burners only take advantage of convection and conduction, leaving the third method of heat transfer, radiation, unaddressed. The result is that the poker burners are very inefficient, using a lot of fuel per run.

This can be addressed with two physical alterations:
1. Reducing the size of the holes in the burner.
2. Providing a metallic object that can be heated to the point of incandescence.

I placed a very fine stainless steel mesh over the burner's ports to cover item 1 above.
A mesh of Nichrome (NiCr) wire went over the top of that. Apparently the NiCr is designed for high-heat, incandescent environments (not scientist or engineer). Here's the nifty-looking result:









Once installed, I learned I had a bit of a problem...









The burner mounting hole on my engine has fairly tight clearance. My first attempts at securing the meshes to the burner involved simply tying it on with separate, thicker NiCr wire. Unfortunately, the extra bulk prevented the burner from being re-installed. I was forced to strip a few lines from the NiCr mesh, which had very fine wire in it, and use that to tie the mesh to the burner. With its footprint reduced, the modified burner slid back home with some friction, but no need for caveman force. 

Here's the burner in place, and glowing satisfactorily.


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## zubi (May 14, 2009)

rexcadral said:


> Unfortunately, as mentioned on Southern Steam's article about improving burner performance, these burners only take advantage of convection and conduction, leaving the third method of heat transfer, radiation, unaddressed.
> attachmentid=38962&stc=1&d=1481418496[/IMG]


That has as much truth in it as the legend that deionised water will corrode your boiler (more than distilled water). But slowing down the hot air flow will be beneficial for efficiency. Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


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## deltatrains (Nov 25, 2010)

*Accucraft Modifications*

Very good mods and great pics.
The first half is the installation and then the test run follows.
Here is a video of how the Summerlands Chuffer sounds in my Accucraft AML 1/29 scale 0-6-0




I don't get too much steam out of the bottom of the smokebox.
Enjoy,
Peter.
.


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

deltatrains said:


> Very good mods and great pics.
> The first half is the installation and then the test run follows.
> Here is a video of how the Summerlands Chuffer sounds in my Accucraft AML 1/29 scale 0-6-0
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFPZZi5LuTk
> ...


Seen it! Probably "liked" it. It was "train porn" while I waited for my loco to arrive in the mail. From what I understand, there are subtle differences in the smokestack design of this particular loco depending upon which manufacturing run it originated on.

I ran her outside in 20deg weather this morning, and the #60 hole in the top of the chuffer really helps put out an amazing cloud. I do still get a lot of bottom of the smokebox steam, but it no longer makes the engine look "stuffed up". No video today due to a mechanical failure while warming up. Lost one of the main rod pins _again_ I'm considering switching to Loctite 603, since the standard blue stuff just doesn't seem to have enough grip.


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

zubi said:


> That has as much truth in it as the legend that deionised water will corrode your boiler (more than distilled water). But slowing down the hot air flow will be beneficial for efficiency. Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


Hi Zubi, if you can provide clarifications, I will gladly amend that part of the article to be more scientific. Part of the reason I'm doing this is for posterity  

I'm assuming that you don't modify your poker burners? If you do, what modifications do you install, and what is the science behind them?


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Pic of a radiant burner in a Shay, couldn't squeeze it into my AML 060 switcher, the NiCr screen never glowed, just a very nice even ring of fire, front to back of the poker. Came to pressure much sooner than just the poker burner. As you demonstrated, the burner when unrestricted glows very nicely, but restricted in the flue of the 060, not so much. Also I have found if the gas isn't restricted along the poker only the very end of the burner will have flame. A good test, time it to go to pressure with just the plain poker, then with the screen. If just the tip of the poker is burning, it will take longer to come to pressure and will not hold it for a good run, just personal experience. LG


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## Tomahawk & Western RR (Sep 22, 2015)

nick, is see your #24's cab peeking out from behind the smokebox door in the 5th photo


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Nate, you have a sharp eye. Yes, a great runner. Nothing serious, just replacing a the jet that I borrowed to check out my Brunel. 
LG


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## zubi (May 14, 2009)

rexcadral said:


> Hi Zubi, if you can provide clarifications, I will gladly amend that part of the article to be more scientific. Part of the reason I'm doing this is for posterity
> 
> I'm assuming that you don't modify your poker burners? If you do, what modifications do you install, and what is the science behind them?


Rexcal, of course I do not modify my poker burners. They are fine as they come. The radiant burner story is such a lot of patent nonsense that it is hard to believe that anyone actually allowed it to be published. The surface of the boiler flue is covered by soot and has absorption properties very close to those of the black body. In other words it hardly reflects any wavelengths, just absorbs everything https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_body It does not care what wavelength the burner emits. Now the burner can only emit as much energy as the amount of heat produced by burning the butane. The blue colour of the flame in your photo shows that the flame is burning at the highest possible temperature, turning combustion products into plasma and radiating heat through many wavelengths. At maximum efficiency. Restrict incoming air flow and the flame will turn yellow, burning at a lower temperature and emitting some unburnt carbon from the combustion zone i.e. the flame in this case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame. Unburnt fuel and lower flame temperature means lower efficiency of the burner. It is really as simple as that. Does not matter what you put into the flame, wire mesh or your finger. The flue walls will absorb all the wavelengths the flame produces. The higher the temperature and the more complete the combustion, the more energy the boiler will absorb. End of the story. Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi PS for some reason people just like to believe in myths, radiant burners, deionised water, pizza conspiracy, criminal spaghetti network or secret gelato code, whatever;-)...!


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

zubi, I respect your opinion and the opinions of wikipedia, "Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit." Their words, not mine.
I am one who likes to compare things for myself. The Shay: I first timed how long it took before reaching running pressure with the plain poker. I then put the radiant burner together and tested it again. Not only did it come to pressure quicker it used less gas for the run. I also had to keep lowering the gas to keep the relief valve from blowing off. I personally am happy with the results. I did the same thing with the 060, plain poker then screened burner, used less gas also and happy with that one. LG


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## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Rexcadral, sorry for misspelling your name!
Nick Jr, I included links to Wiki to help those who want to learn. I can insert links to books and scientific publications which most of you will not be able to access... 
It is true that fine tuning the hot air flow by playing with burner holes sizes, burner and flue diameter, etc will increase efficiency. This is what Roundhouse did with their FG http://www.roundhouse-eng.com/tech.htm#gas. Their burners are quite good. Coincidentally, they do not use radiant mesh;-)... 
Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Zubi, I have the Roundhouse with the FG burner and do like it very much. I learned how to make the Radiant from Mike Chaney who installed them in his Catatonk Climax, If I may quote a portion of the spec sheet. 
Boiler: T type with single flue and gas fired radiant type burner, etc. . LG


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## rwjenkins (Jan 2, 2008)

I have added mesh to the burners on three of my engines. Although I didn't gather any hard data on fuel use, steam up time, or overall efficiency before or after, I have noticed improvements to the performance in other ways. 

First of all, the burners on all three locomotives are noticeably quieter with the mesh installed. On Lisa's Mimi, the burner is so quiet now that it's practically inaudible over the ambient noise at a typical steamup, so if I have any doubts as to whether or not the burner is lit while I'm firing up, I usually have to check it visually or feel for the heat coming off the stack.

Secondly, on my K-27 I was constantly having problems with one of the burners going out before I installed the mesh. The mesh hasn't eliminated the issue completely, but it has made a huge improvement.


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## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Rwjenkins, as I previously mentioned, slowing down the hot air flow will be beneficial. This can be achieved by installing a turbulator. It seems that it worked in your case where the mesh functions as a turbulator. Turbulator can also be installed inside the poker burner to slow down the butane-air mixture. Accucraft burners especially the early ones had problems with resonance manifesting itlself by audible whistling. These kind of problems are due to too regular slots in the burner, in the early burners under unfortunate angle leading to resonance. Irregularily distributed holes in the burner are a better approach (turbulator enforces irrelgularity to some extent). Ideally, the burner would be a fractal like porous structure - hence someone thought of ceramic burners which provide near random distribution of gas-air mixture. Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

zubi said:


> Rwjenkins, as I previously mentioned, slowing down the hot air flow will be beneficial. This can be achieved by installing a turbulator. It seems that it worked in your case where the mesh functions as a turbulator. Turbulator can also be installed inside the poker burner to slow down the butane-air mixture. Accucraft burners especially the early ones had problems with resonance manifesting itlself by audible whistling. These kind of problems are due to too regular slots in the burner, in the early burners under unfortunate angle leading to resonance. Irregularily distributed holes in the burner are a better approach (turbulator enforces irrelgularity to some extent). Ideally, the burner would be a fractal like porous structure - hence someone thought of ceramic burners which provide near random distribution of gas-air mixture. Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


What is a turbulator?


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## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Chris, turbulator is a device that turns a laminar flow into a turbulent flow. Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

zubi said:


> Rexcal, of course I do not modify my poker burners. They are fine as they come. The radiant burner story is such a lot of patent nonsense that it is hard to believe that anyone actually allowed it to be published. The surface of the boiler flue is covered by soot and has absorption properties very close to those of the black body. In other words it hardly reflects any wavelengths, just absorbs everything https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_body It does not care what wavelength the burner emits. Now the burner can only emit as much energy as the amount of heat produced by burning the butane. The blue colour of the flame in your photo shows that the flame is burning at the highest possible temperature, turning combustion products into plasma and radiating heat through many wavelengths. At maximum efficiency. Restrict incoming air flow and the flame will turn yellow, burning at a lower temperature and emitting some unburnt carbon from the combustion zone i.e. the flame in this case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame. Unburnt fuel and lower flame temperature means lower efficiency of the burner. It is really as simple as that. Does not matter what you put into the flame, wire mesh or your finger. The flue walls will absorb all the wavelengths the flame produces. The higher the temperature and the more complete the combustion, the more energy the boiler will absorb. End of the story. Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi PS for some reason people just like to believe in myths, radiant burners, deionised water, pizza conspiracy, criminal spaghetti network or secret gelato code, whatever;-)...!


Zubi;
Are you serious or just having your usual fun to provoke in appearing to dismiss our radiant burner methods and results laid out in Kevin O'Connor articles? I ask because there are other subtle mischaracterizations(?) in your posts, that could easily been place to also provoke     that add to the impression.

Kevin's articles: "Radiant Poker Burners" articles. First (link below) in one on Southern Steam Trains web site, "Radiant Poker Burners"; Second (not soon after the first article) in SitG #63, "How to Convert a Gas Fired Poker Burner to a Radiant Poker Burner", (longer and with more details.) In that same SitG issue a companion article by Larry Bangham, " A Radiant Burner for the Aster C&S Mogul." You might not have seen the latter two. I would be happy to email a copy.

"Radiant Poker Burners", Southern Steam Trains:
http://www.southernsteamtrains.com/notes/radiantpokerburners.htm

Admittedly a fan and disciple of Kevin's ideas and methods if there is anything I might be able to help you with understanding or applying his approach please don't hesitate to ask. either here of in a private message.


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Transport/Loading Shuttle*

To make it easier to move the loco and tender together, I've made a shuttle.



















It's 18 gauge steel, 4 1/2" wide, 6" tall, and 30" long. No sagging thanks to the bends along the length. It's a very close fit for height, but forgiving enough on length to allow for a set of magnets to hold the loco in place during transfers to the track.There's a 1 1/2" strip of steel down the center of the shuttle to keep the wheels lined up. I plan on building a bridge plate that lets me drive the loco onto & off of the shuttle painlessly.

While this device is sufficient to get the loco out of the basement and onto the track, I'll be building a wooden transport box for road trips. The shuttle will simply slip into it, simplifying the box design and minimizing hardware requirements.


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Part IV: Finding some room for electronics.*

The tender on the AML 0-6-0 Switcher has about 50% of its internal volume completely welded shut and inaccessible.

I wanted to use it to hold RC batteries, possibly an automatic de-coupler servo, and, if it can be done, a small valet-style bell, also activated via servo. (We'll leave a servo-driven axle pump on the wish list).










I used the frame to sketch out a "safe" area for the entry point/hatch, although since it's on the bottom, I'm not sure I'll ever install a floor. It's also nice to note that the center of the frame is a channel, suitable for running servo cables to the locomotive.










Pilot holes in the corners, and time to get to work with the Dremel. I'm not being very picky about the finish, because it's on the bottom.










Post-cutting wheel. A nice mess of shavings to clean up, but look at all that space! 

One thing I've noticed while running is that the onboard water tank is not welded to the roof of the tender. It is possible (um, make that unavoidable) to overfill the tank and get water into our new compartment. A bead of silicon along the offending edge will give my electronics a safe, dry location to live.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

rexdadral, I was thinking along those lines, but didn't have the nerve to cut the hatch out. Can I ask what you used to cut such straight and even lines. I hope to see more progress on this, thank you.


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Thanks for the series of articles, as I recently acquired a used 0-6-0, and am enjoying your modifications.
My loco was fitted with RC and a previous owner had cut the same hatch you did to hold electronics. I noticed that the center beam on the underside of the tender does block access to the hole to some degree. Mine had a 5 cell 6V Nimh battery (dead of course) which was too large to get in and out without removing the shell. While it is outfitted with a charging jack and on/off switch, I would still like to get the battery pack out easily, and also reach the receiver in case binding is necessary. I have a 4 cell 4.8V on order, and I will be interested to see how you approach these issues.
Regards
Jerry


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

Nick Jr said:


> rexdadral, I was thinking along those lines, but didn't have the nerve to cut the hatch out. Can I ask what you used to cut such straight and even lines. I hope to see more progress on this, thank you.


I have a Dremel 3000, and used it at ~15,000RPM with a quick-disconnect metal cutting disk. I started by tracing the line with the cutting tool, digging a trench to help hold the disc in position, then just "dug in" on one side and worked my way across. So basically, just steady hands.


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

Naptowneng said:


> Thanks for the series of articles, as I recently acquired a used 0-6-0, and am enjoying your modifications.
> My loco was fitted with RC and a previous owner had cut the same hatch you did to hold electronics. I noticed that the center beam on the underside of the tender does block access to the hole to some degree. Mine had a 5 cell 6V Nimh battery (dead of course) which was too large to get in and out without removing the shell. While it is outfitted with a charging jack and on/off switch, I would still like to get the battery pack out easily, and also reach the receiver in case binding is necessary. I have a 4 cell 4.8V on order, and I will be interested to see how you approach these issues.
> Regards
> Jerry


Hi Jerry, glad you found it useful! I am curious, where is the receiver mounted in your loco? Mine is tiny, maybe 1" x 1.5" with a 1" antenna. Originally I was thinking of putting it in the tender, but I worry that all the metal will impede the signal. I'm interested to see what your seller did to theirs.

The chassis for the tender comes off with just 6 screws. It's really simple. - Just watch out they don't fall down the small round holes at the front of the tender, they're a bear to get out.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

rexcadral. I have the same tool, but usually while I am cutting the wheel jumps out and damages the surrounding area. Maybe If I build a wooden barrier around it I can accomplish what you did.
about the antenna, my receivers have a plastic whip and on my Mason the whole thing is in a space just below the boiler, surrounded by insulation and metal and it performs just fine. Keep posting as I am very interested. thank you.


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Hi rexcadral

The receiver was up in the cavity in the rear of the tender, but I never used it as it was a Futaba which is not compatible with my DSM2 Tx, so i am using a Spektrum 6100, I think, at any rate I was also concerned with putting it inside a metal box, well I ran it today, with the rcvr in the cavity and it worked fine, my maximum distance is about 75 ft. I am using a Spektrum DX5e radio. My ultimate plan is to use Velcro to attach the rcve to the underside of the center beam so I can bind it again if need be.

And by the way, remember I said above I was having a hard time getting the battery pack into the hole, well duh, I just pulled out my Dremel and cutting wheel and the hole is now 3/4 inch longer, no more problems with access. Yes the tender shell is easy to remove, but dang getting the tiny screws back into the holes...not fun. I ended up dipping the screw driver into a bottle of "Tacky Glue" to hold them while I screwed them in, worked fine. Thanks again for the narrative, there is always more I can do to my new locomotive!

dang google photos can't seem to post the link....sigh

Jerry


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

OK try again










OK so as others may have said Google photos will only work if you 1-do not use the share link 2- do not copy and paste the address in the browser address window
but 3-will work if you right click the actual photo and paste it into the photo icon window. Another sticky note on the monitor...

Jerry


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Part 6: Meddling with Servo Control*

A while back I bought a TX 9 R/C Throttle and a pile of servos. Time to put them to use.

First order of business was modifying the Johnson Bar, which also meant figuring out how to access it... There are two screws holding its bracket to the floor of the cab, but it's not obvious how the linkage comes free of the actual reversing lever.

Here's my solution:








This is the other end of the control linkage in the bottom of the cab.This bolt holds the linkage between the reversing valve up front, and the Johnson Bar in the cab (off camera, left of arrow). Removing it allowed me to remove the Johnson Bar for modification.



I didn't take any photos of the unit outside the loco (derp) but basically I removed the detent screw and drilled a new hole further up the bar...








Johnson Bar (behind window) with the manual detent bolt removed (lower hole) - This allows the bar to slide freely back & forth for servo use. The top hole will hold a Du-Bro connector and link to a servo.


I figured while I was reverse-engineering, I'd document my findings for posterity.








The Johnson Bar has a little play in its mount to ensure that it actually opens the reversing valve in both directions. I had to run the loco back & forth with the throttle open, listening for sucking sounds when the loco was "officially" in forward or reverse to make sure I reattached the bracket in the right spot.











Here's a tip for you Jerry, in lieu of dipping your screws in sticky stuff.I learned this from another live steamer: Use a bit of silicon tubing as substitute fingers when you have to place a teeny, tiny screw deep into the bowels of your contraption. You'll lose fewer screws, and keep your sanity. 











Here's the bar mounted again. Note it's at the backward limit of the bracket.



On to the fun stuff!









This is a servo placement test fit. Obviously the control horns on the servos need to be trimmed off. This is when the procrastinator in me kicks in: It's time to make permanent changes, and in my case, this is the first time I've done anything with servos. Makes me nervous, makes me think about having a beer instead... but the objective is worth it.











The throttle servo was the lower hanging fruit, so I decided to attack it first. Here's it wedged into what will eventually be its final location, with some test fit control rod. I've shown the range of the servo's swing and noted the attachment point to the throttle's control horn. They're perpendicular to each other, but I _think _there's enough flex in the components to tolerate the slight swing in the servo's arm relative to the throttle.











Here it is from the other direction. I didn't want to lock-in the Du-Bro fastener in the throttle control horn, but the **** thing did not want to stay in place for testing!











The throttle servo has to live next to the output pipe from the oiler on its way to the superheater. The white stuff is high heat insulation to protect the plastic servo. It's a press-fit for now. I need to make brass mounting brackets. Tomorrow...


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Nice work, I appreciate the tubing/tiny screw tip.
Nice of you to document your work. Of course my install done by a mystery owner of the past, is different I will take some photos and post for comparisons sake. The J bar is straight forward, the throttle, is always a challenge for me, and despite being already installed I had to adjust the length of the push arm and the position of the collar on the valve stem. The owner also used Futabe S3114 servo for J bar, they are small and just tuck in behind the Jbar assembly.
My first RC install was on my Accucraft Forney, turned out to be simpler then I thought as that little loco has a great deal of space in the cab compared to this one and my C 16...who would have thought/

Looking forward to the next installment. have a beer...

Jerry


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

Naptowneng said:


> Nice work, I appreciate the tubing/tiny screw tip.
> Nice of you to document your work. Of course my install done by a mystery owner of the past, is different I will take some photos and post for comparisons sake. The J bar is straight forward, the throttle, is always a challenge for me, and despite being already installed I had to adjust the length of the push arm and the position of the collar on the valve stem. The owner also used Futabe S3114 servo for J bar, they are small and just tuck in behind the Jbar assembly.
> My first RC install was on my Accucraft Forney, turned out to be simpler then I thought as that little loco has a great deal of space in the cab compared to this one and my C 16...who would have thought/
> 
> ...


Hey Jerry, Yes, please do post pics of your loco's cab. I'm really interested to see how someone else solved the problem.


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

OK here is a series of photos of the servo install on my 0-6-0 by a previous owner. There are 3 servos, the left firemans side is a Futaba 3102 controlling the throttle, the center right for the whistle is a 3110 and the far right engineers side is a 3114 for the J bar. An over all view:










This top view shows the throttle at the bottom of the photo with a collar and set screw to the steam valve shaft, and the J bar in the upper area is the white plastic push rod from the 3114 servo which is glued to the rear cab wall with the rotating shaft facing towards the fireman's side










This shows the throttle on left and whistle servos










It is difficult to get a good shot of the J bar servo but it is the white rod attached with ball joints and when the servo rotates toward the front it pushes the J bar.

Also note the 3 servo plugs hanging out of the back of the cab. Those mate with female receptacles on the front edge of the tender, then the wiring heads under the tender, through another set of plugs, then to the void space where connection to the rcvr, battery and switch are.

Hope this makes sense!

Jerry


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

Jerry, your Google images don't show up in the forum, but they do show up in my Gmail. Probably grabbed the wrong link.


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

This is not good, I can see the images. I see no way to post from Google photos

Jerry


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

You can store then in a 'Photo Gallery' here - see second blue banner/menu bar.


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Thanks Pete, but if I put them somewhere it will be Photo Bucket or flicker, the issue is all my photos were sucked into Google photos when they killed Picasa, so they are already there, however their sharing modes are not compatible with MLS and several other things It would be much more convenient if I could post photos from google photos rather then uploading selected photos to another site.... more testing on my part is warranted
Sorry for the thread derail
Jerry


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

do over..

OK here is a series of photos of the servo install on my 0-6-0 by a previous owner. There are 3 servos, the left firemans side is a Futaba 3102 controlling the throttle, the center right for the whistle is a 3110 and the far right engineers side is a 3114 for the J bar. An over all view:









his top view shows the throttle at the bottom of the photo with a collar and set screw to the steam valve shaft, and the J bar in the upper area is the white plastic push rod from the 3114 servo which is glued to the rear cab wall with the rotating shaft facing towards the fireman's side










This shows the throttle on the left and whistle servos










It is difficult to get a good shot of the J bar servo but it is the white rod attached with ball joints and when the servo rotates toward the front it pushes the J bar.

Also note the 3 servo plugs hanging out of the back of the cab. Those mate with female receptacles on the front edge of the tender, then the wiring heads under the tender, through another set of plugs, then to the void space where connection to the rcvr, battery and switch are.

Hope this makes sense!

Jerry


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Please let me know if with this try the photo are visible
Thanks
Jerry


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, the shots are very clear. a nice and neat installation, thank you.


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## John 842 (Oct 1, 2015)

I think perhaps one of the biggest improvements to my 'quality of life' when running my NA loco has resulted from mods I've made to the water level gauge.

Ideally, for the best gauge performance, the top and bottom connections should tap directly into the back head and the fittings need to have a larger bore that the gauge glass itself.

However, for these small engines that is just not practical, so the most expediant solution for the manufacturer is to cobble together a variety of standard fittings to enable the top connection to made via a tortuous path through the steam manifold.

Unfortunately, there's no easy way to improve this situation other than increasing the bore of the various fittings, taking care to leave sufficient wall thickness to withstand the stresses of assembly and steam pressure - especially at the root of the threads.

Lower fitting increased from 1.96 to 3.3mm.
Upper fitting increased from 1.96 to 3.3mm.
Top bajo fitting increased from 1.96 to 2.5mm
Banjo bolt x-bore increased from 1.5 to 2mm.
Manifold to central riser increased from 1.96 to 2.5mm. (note - this could impact the boiler certification as it's an integral part of the shell.)

Although still not ideal, these changes alone give a much more useable gauge.

My next mod will be to increase the gauge glass to 6.0mm as favored by 'Aster'.


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Good thoughts John for sure
On my Accucraft Forney I put a thin bronze wire into the sight glass to try to break the surface tension and make the reading more accurate, and I believe that has helped. I do not plan to do that to my 0-6-0 yet...at least not without spare glass on hand!

Jerry


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

I have tried brass and stainless steel in the site glass. While the loco is cold it is just fine. Under steam it goes right back to being unreliable. I think the larger openings feeding the site glass sounds like the real solution. Roundhouse approached it in a different way. This the Mountaineer, very reliable.


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

John 842 said:


> I think perhaps one of the biggest improvements to my 'quality of life' when running my NA loco has resulted from mods I've made to the water level gauge.
> 
> Ideally, for the best gauge performance, the top and bottom connections should tap directly into the back head and the fittings need to have a larger bore that the gauge glass itself.
> 
> ...


Hi John;
Is your NA Loco an Accucraft model, The Victorian Railways (Australia) ‘NA’ class 2-6-2 tank locomotive? If so roughly do you know when was it built?


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## John 842 (Oct 1, 2015)

Chris Scott said:


> Hi John;
> Is your NA Loco an Accucraft model, The Victorian Railways (Australia) ‘NA’ class 2-6-2 tank locomotive? If so roughly do you know when was it built?


Hi Chris - 

Yes it is - It came from the 2014 production run and as far as I know there have been no subsequent runs.


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Very interesting. 
The point of this is, I am really surprised your NA locomotive has those small bore site glass fittings. 

The first two Accucraft locomotives I bought, a Mich-Cal 2Cyl. Shay and a 3Cyl Shay. That was way back when they first came out, which was (?) I think at least pre-2003. I'm quite certain the 2Cyl Shay had sight glass fittings with the small dimensions you listed. I went to the roundhouse (garage) and checked as I still have them. One of the 2 Shays I bored out the fittings to about what you did, with one exception. The other Shay I replace the site glass and fittings. Since I sold both Shays that's the end of that story. 

The one exception was the banjo bolt. I slightly enlarged the original holes, I also added a 2nd pair of holes perpendicular and just below the original hole although the size of the original holes I cannot remember what wise steaming sage suggested the cross bore. It just didn't seem to me that the small banjo bolt holes or only two did not promote good breathing. Like you the glass worked much better.

Here's the thing though. Every locomotive I've had since those two has had much larger diameter passages. I just measured a set of these fittings and they approx. match passages' sizes you listed. For all, I've cross drilled the banjo bolt. 

From some strange intuitive feeling, without any real evidence I thought the site glass problem was a vapor lock. Suffering scorn, I dug into stuff, a lot of stuff and discovered there are a number of locks. One was a steam lock that affecting steam boilers. It seemed to fit the situation. The lock forms at the top because of the restricted passages, the banjo bolt the most obvious problem. 

That digging was quite a number of years ago and while I cannot explain why it appealed to me. I just still cross bore the banjo bolt. PLEASE for the experts out there, it's was long long ago and now just a wild recollection of which I can explain nothing. Any debate would be useless, on me.

I add a few drops of water wetting agent to the boiler water which helps a great deal with accurate water level reading. This is quite controversial, some believe the boiler will melt from these few drops over time (exaggeration). Knowing nothing I'm not of that persuasion. Maybe toward the end of this millennium would there be a cumulative melting effect  but I've decided not to try to preserve my locomotive's boiler until then.  Life is full of risks.

So the point of this is, I am really surprised your NA locomotive has those small bore site glass fittings. They simply don't work at all. I would bet you order a replacement site glass assembly form Accucraft you would get the larger bore fittings. 

I guess you'd have to call this a moment of curiosity.


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## John 842 (Oct 1, 2015)

Chris Scott said:


> Very interesting........
> 
> ..............Here's the thing though. Every locomotive I've had since those two has had much larger diameter passages. I just measured a set of these fittings and they approx. match passages' sizes you listed.......
> 
> ...


Hi Chris - curious indeed - I would be interested to know if those locomotives with the much larger diameter passages that you mention, were in fact commissioned by the American parent company of Accucraft for the US home market.

If so - it would tend to confirm my long held perception that the engineering - and more specifically quality contol - for the Accucraft home market is a lot better than that applied to models commissioned by their overseas agents for local markets.


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Both US and UK Locomotives.


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Part 6A Continued bashing of the cab interior*

Putting this thread back on the rails, so to speak.

I've been waiting for parts in the mail and haven't had much to post.









Here's the servo brackets. The left one is a press-fit due to all the components in the area near the sight glass. The right one has a hole tapped so that I can drive a screw up through the currently empty drain hole on the right-side cab floor. I painted the brackets black before installing, but you really can't see them.









Servos mounted, yet to be fully tuned. Everything stuffed into the cab so I can see what kind of room I have left for plumbing.









Plumbing test fit. Right now it's just resting near the driver-side, but its final position is likely to be close to that.

The manifold is 3/16 40UST parts from http://pmmodelengines.com I really like these fittings, with a little planning, you can get a pretty tight-knit setup. The two globe valves will serve as limiters for power to the whistle (to be mounted between the frame rails) and to the tender's water heater.

As you can see, I've removed the blank from the top backhead port, which of course, is M5 thread. Not a match. My plan is to use a tube union with an M5 on one side, and a nut/ferrule combo for a 3mm tube.

Since 1/8" is 3.175mm I'm thinking that a 1/8" ferrule will probably mate with the metric union just fine, converting to UST on the other end of the tube. I'm still waiting for the Regner union, so we'll have to see how it all works out.


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Looking good! My previous RC installs also used brackets and mini bolts, but my 0-6-0 came with glued servos, so I went with the flow. I missed that you were doing a whistle and tank heater, very nice. I added a tank heater to my Frank S, and at Cabin Fever a few weeks ago I bought 2 more valves from PM Research on spec for future installs. I assume the steam for both is coming from that backhead port you opened up. I will be very interested in how you plumb it up as a tank heater would probably be a good idea for me. Although some locos like Frank S seem to really need one, my C-16 seems to do fine without. Keep it up

Jerry


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

rexcadral said:


> As you can see, I've removed the blank from the top backhead port, which of course, is M5 thread. Not a match. My plan is to use a tube union with an M5 on one side, and a nut/ferrule combo for a 3mm tube.
> 
> Since 1/8" is 3.175mm I'm thinking that a 1/8" ferrule will probably mate with the metric union just fine, converting to UST on the other end of the tube. I'm still waiting for the Regner union, so we'll have to see how it all works out.


Jason carries Regner parts & fittings which are metric. You might give him a call. Regner has fittings converting M5 - M3; in M/F or F/M. 

You could buy an M5 metric globe valve mounting it directly to the backhead. Or any one of a wide variety metric fittings. This link is to Regner's homepage, the catalog link is at the bottom. The catalog is in German, but the pictures are in english  Fittings begin roughly at page 60.

http://www.regner-dampftechnik.de/index.php


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## Tomahawk & Western RR (Sep 22, 2015)

I ALMOST bought a v-2 steam engine and vertical boiler from PM Research while at CF, for my nexxt project, but decided not to and hold off. i was going to get a globe valve and some copper tubing to add a "blow down" valve to my SRRL. Jerry, did they have needle valves too? i didnt look and see.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Nate: I called PM about their vertical boilers. The ones I saw are rough castings and need machining and riveting. They can recommend some people that will build it for you. LG


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

Chris Scott said:


> Jason carries Regner parts & fittings which are metric. You might give him a call. Regner has fittings converting M5 - M3; in M/F or F/M.
> 
> You could buy an M5 metric globe valve mounting it directly to the backhead. Or any one of a wide variety metric fittings. This link is to Regner's homepage, the catalog link is at the bottom. The catalog is in German, but the pictures are in english  Fittings begin roughly at page 60.
> 
> http://www.regner-dampftechnik.de/index.php


Yeah, I looked at the Regner stuff. I had already invested in some PM kit, and it was much cheaper to buy one fitting to do the conversion than to re-buy everything Regner. Also, based on their pictures, Regner stuff seems to require a bit more space between components.


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## Tomahawk & Western RR (Sep 22, 2015)

Nick Jr said:


> Nate: I called PM about their vertical boilers. The ones I saw are rough castings and need machining and riveting. They can recommend some people that will build it for you. LG


i (think) i could solder it together, but the machining cannot be done by me.


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Part 7 The saga continues*

It's amazing how the web makes things very easy to find, but it means you have to wait forever for them to get to you. Mail order has been my #1 cause of delays.

While I was buying parts for the steam manifold for the whistle and tender heater, I also purchased a WeeBee safety valve.










Silly me, I thought I had clearance under the cosmetic steam dome, but as you can see from the photo, the actual boiler hole doesn't line up 100% with the boiler jacket & dome fittings. The original exhaust hole is quite small, maybe 5/32". I enlarged it to 1/4" to give the WeeBee some breathing room. I actually prefer the bigger hole, because it lets me check on things without having to unscrew the cap, including testing the valve.

Back to the manifold. What an interesting exercise in geometry and order-of-operations! If you'll recall, my #1 problem was converting from Accucraft's metric fittings to PM Engineering's UST fittings. Quite a few people have told me I should have just bought a bunch of Regner fittings and screwed them directly to the boiler. Ha ha, that likely wouldn't have ended well, as you need sufficient clearance to actually tighten the fitting, and clearance is something you just don't have in these Gauge 1 cabs. Tube Unions is the way to go!










Tube unions do present their own problems though, You have to have a lot of clearance for the double-threaded connection, and the tube needs to have a straight enough start to fit the cone and the union nut behind it, with enough room to move the union nut down the tube so you can solder the cone onto the end. Mistakes were made.









(The mistakes. at least 12" of them)

In the end I decided that I couldn't get sufficient clearance for the throttle servo by using the holes in the boiler backhead and instead cannibalized the pressure gauge fitting on the turret. It's cleaner steam anyway... The pressure gauge's banjo fitting went to the backhead with plenty of room for my manifold under it. This had the highly beneficial effect of putting the pressure gauge at the very front of the cabin, which makes it much easier to see when I'm checking on oil and water level. You can just about see it through the skylight on the fireman's side.









Here's the manifold undergoing a pressure test. Once everything stretched out a bit, it sealed up tight. The globe valves don't have their connections installed yet, and there's a good chance the lower right valve will be replaced with a straight-through globe to a tube that exits out the bottom of the cab on its way to the whistle. But I was impatient, and wanted to see if it held water, so to speak.

At least I can work on the tender heater while I'm waiting for more parts.


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Very nice! I have been awaiting the next chapters in this story. And I have vaguely noticed the hole in the steam dome on my 0-6-0 was very small and not lined up right. I have planned to get a WeeBee pop valve at ECLSTS, but clearly a mod is necessary before it can be used. Can you see the WeeBee's blast of steam trying to get out of that tiny hole? Did the top of the WeeBee valve need the larger hole to be able to fit under the dome?
Thanks
Jerry


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

Hi Jerry, you are exactly right. The pin on the WeeBee made contact with the inside of the dome and caused it to vent at any pressure. Jason K sells a different WeeBee configuration "for recessed applications as in most Accucraft locos" that may get around that problem if you're afraid of drilling out the steam dome. I was surprised to find it's made out of Aluminium or some other white metal. It was extremely easy to machine.

I'll be interested in your experience with the WeeBee. After two steamings, I've found that it "ticks" often while the boiler gets up to pressure, then complains intermittently at pressure above 40psi. At around 65psi it goes full old-faithful, which brings the pressure back down to 60psi, which is what it's designed to do. Even during venting there was no appreciable difference in locomotive performance.


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Hi, I have no problems drilling out the steam dome, but will admit I am not thrilled with the size of the hole necessary to give the valve pin necessary clearance. I will ponder. I may be inclined to think about trying to screw in some kind of pipe nipple and elevate the WB valve so it extends above the steam dome...or use the shorter one you mentioned with a smaller hole. I love the look of the steam release from the brass valve that is proud of the steam dome on my Shay! As I think I said I am using the least leaky of my stock Acccuraft valves on my 0-6-0 at the moment. Works OK but certainly not like the Wee Bee. I have installed several WB valves on Accucraft and Aster engines, they all work very well. Especially good on my Forney whose small boiler and leaky valve caused short run times, the WB fixed that. Now I have to say I have not had your experience with the WB "complaining". Yes any valve and fitting may dribble a bit during first heat up of the day as the seats expand and seal. But not much on the WB. And never does it do anything but blow forcefully at the set pressure, either 50 or 60 depending on the loco. I doubt my gauges could see 5psi tho. 

And the WB valve does train you not to have your face over the valve when you are getting near the set point!

Jerry


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Part 8: Bath-water temperature, all the time!*

After building the manifold in the cab, we can now proceed to deliver some steam to the tender to heat the water bath for the butane tank.










I was surprised at how well just one foot of 1/8" tube did at heating the water. You can see steam bubbles forming towards the left, which is where the connection to the locomotive is. Within a few minutes of letting some steam into the tender, the water went from New England ice cold winter tap water to a very pleasant room temperature. I wasn't sure what to expect from the outlet pipe (right) but it seems to dribble out liquid water at a steady but reasonable pace.You can overdo it by throwing the globe valve wide open, which produces scalding hot splashes, and affects locomotive performance.

Here's a view of the connection:








The silicon tube needs a little trimming.

Depending upon the weather tomorrow I'll have to do a road test.


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

You can trim down the top spindle on the safety. Also can relief the inside so there is more space too. There is no special recessed valve, the 1/32 valves are the same length But have a top hex as they are buried under the boiler jacket. Not any help here. 

Its always a chore to make parts fit. I like banjos and nut/ferrule fittings, but most are custom made for the situation. Never liked the PM pipe thread fittings. 

Nice thing on tbe Regner valve is you can use a jam nut and clock the parts or valves in the direction needed.


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## Tomahawk & Western RR (Sep 22, 2015)

Kovacjr said:


> You can trim down the top spindle on the safety. Also can relief the inside so there is more space too. There is no special recessed valve, the 1/32 valves are the same length But have a top hex as they are buried under the boiler jacket. Not any help here.
> .


speaking of safety valves, i STILL havent gotten that brand new one i bought from you to work

i guess you can fix it for me/ i can get a replacement at scranton if i can make it (depends on the weather.)


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Part 9: Headlamps*

There's only a few areas where Sparkies seem to have a slight edge over live steam, and one of them is lights!

Considering that Accucraft makes most of their steam locomotives as both electric and live steam, I don't know why they don't supply bulbs & wiring for the live steam versions. However, the shortcoming can be rectified.









Here's a warm-white LED installed into the headlamp assembly. I had to remove the lens to get it in, as the "industry standard" LED housing doesn't go through the back of the lamp assembly. It turned out I also had to grind off the top 1/3 of the LED's clear plastic to get it to fit in the parabolic mirror area. It's right up against the lens. 

Getting the lens off is quite a trick. It's installed behind a wire spring that fits tightly into a groove just in front of the lens. My best method (getting good at it now) is to insert an X-Acto blade between the spring and the housing, near one end. You then twist & lift the X-Acto (a blunt/broken blade works best, because you will break the tip off) hopefully exposing one end of the spring outside the housing. Have a pair of small pliers waiting, grab the tip, and pull. Get ready to catch the lens as it falls out. I'm pretty sure it's glass. Obviously this is a 2 handed job, usually with magnifiers on. I couldn't photograph it.










Here's the back-side of the lamp assembly, with the small hole I drilled through the smokebox. I'm guessing in real life there'd be some sort of conduit running from the lamp to the generator at the rear of the boiler, but it would be unrealistically thick, and wouldn't match Accucraft's craftsmanship, so I just went for the obvious hiding solution. The LED leads are white & blue, but a little Sharpie work took care of that. A few more coats might be necessary.









I wasn't sure if the leads provided were high-temperature, so I opted to wrap them in boiler lagging. One layer between the wall of the smokebox and the wires, another over the top. There's tons of room in the smokebox, so I wasn't worried about restricting airflow.









Here's all the layers in place. I used a 1/16" brass wire, bent into a spring-shape to hold the lagging against the smokebox walls. It works pretty well while still being removable.









Wires exit the bottom of the smokebox next to the reversing valve, protected with another wad of boiler lagging. There will be a conduit installed across the bottom of the frame to hold the wires and send them towards the tender for their connection, but I need to extend them first.









Tender got the same treatment.








Hole for the wires is a little too big on the tender. I'll have to dress it up later.








Since the batteries will be back here, the wiring job is a little easier on this end of the loco.

Off to the hobby shop to get some servo connectors to complete the install...


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

rexcadral: looks like we think alike, I was afraid to put my wires through the smoke box. Presently using individual button batterie for each. Keep up the Great work, and keep us informed.


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Part 10. Soldering is hard.*

The nice long weekend is providing plenty of opportunities to work on the hobby.








I've mounted the toggle switches (to check their position) in a discrete place that can be easily reached by fat fingers, but will be invisible trackside.









Testing the single-pole double-throw switch for the lights. I'll have to manually switch between forward & reverse, but it's a bit more realistic to have them set manually than to have them bounce back & forth automatically during switching. I considered leaving them both on full time, but decided on this option for now.









These are Radio Shack's "micro" toggle switches, and I'm glad I didn't go smaller. It took me a few tries and one $5.00 switch to learn how to do it quickly and without melting everything.









Full harness test. From the battery, we go to the master switch which then has a splitter for both the RX and the lights. Yes, it's a little long, I'll end up zip-tying the surplus later when I jam it all in the tender.









Time to start thinking about the bottom of the loco again. This is just a rough test fit. The brass pipe with the wire running through it is to de-couple the Kadee out front. My transmitter has buttons for full-throw in each servo direction, so the servo can handle both the coupler and the whistle. Apparently 1/8" brass tube isn't big enough to run both LED wires through. I'll have to poke around to see if I have anything bigger...

Till next time.


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## Two Blocked (Feb 22, 2008)

*Thanks for the memories*

Thank you Rexcardel for codifying all this info in one thread. Don't worry about the Tokyo troll [radiant burner rant] as he is just emerging from winter hibernation.
Larry Bangham [Southern California} did the same thing as you with regard to the lights on his aster C&S Mogul in the late 1990's, but with the use of hi-temp Teflon insulated wire. Twenty years on it is still working fine.
The Aster B-1 Baldwin that you see in my photo at Diamondhead a few years ago also has an LED in the head light. The difference is that I used twisted strands of light gauge {20ga} transformer wire as the electrical conductor inside of pre-bent K&S tiny diameter aluminum tubing which mimicked 1:1 practice. At the end a tiny spot of superglue solidifies the route. Use the smallest diameter for the gentle radii and the next larger for the "ells". Use Beachwood-Casey aluminum black [any gun store] to hide the construction in plain sight.
Transformer wire looks naked, but it really is coated with a high temperature varnish coating that insulates it just fine. If not every transformer on the earth would vaporize in the instant that power was applied to it.
Pax Americana et Semper Paratus


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

Two Blocked said:


> Thank you Rexcadral for codifying all this info in one thread. Pax Americana et Semper Paratus


It's just giving back. I've only been in the garden railroad community for 2 years, maybe 3 if you count the research stage. If there weren't tons of resources online, the hobby would be much less accessible. I'm hoping articles like this keep the knowledge online, as nude celebrity pix appear to live forever, but information about live steam seems to die with the author.

Everything in this thread is a "first time" for me, based on research where feasible, dumb luck otherwise.

I do a lot of technical writing for work, so documenting this kind of stuff comes naturally. I also really enjoy reading and watching these kind of posts. (Keith Appleton's many videos on YouTube are definitely an inspiration. I just wish I had his amazing voice.)

I confess I had to look it up, but of all the military songs I've had to play in bands, the Coast Guard march is one of my favorites. Thank you for your service


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Part 10 Test Run!*









I ended up re-doing a couple of splitters to make them much smaller. Here's all the current equipment stuffed into the tender. I used the 3M "picture hanging" command strips for the battery box and the receiver, it's got some sort of Velcro-like components that let me take these modules out should I need to.









Chassis back in place. The harness rides right down the centerline towards the cab-end of the tender, which has a little "nook" right below the footplate. Perfect for connectors.









The business end.









Lights on for safety!

About halfway through the run the forward lamp started flickering and went out. I figured I'd melted the wiring, but it would occasionally come back to life. I'll have to take a closer look, it's probably just a connection.

This was my first run with full RC, tender heater, and lights. If the loco seemed to be losing pressure, I'd run the tender heater to get the gas back up to pressure. It was 50 degrees today, so there was no need to run it constantly.


RC really adds so much to the hobby. You're not just watching, you're driving. My track has a number of dips and some long, steady grades. It was quite a challenge to maintain speed and manage the weight of the train through curves and grades, particularly keeping it slow while going downhill. I also made it a point to "assemble" the train from all of my spurs. This is going to change the way I grow my layout for sure.

I meant to take video today, but I was too busy operating. Now I need a cameraman.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

rexcadral: EXCELLENT, very satisfying to see it run as expected, great work. I know you posted how you cut the bottom of the tender, dremel or such and a steady hand. Knowing I can't do that I am going to use a hole saw to do almost the same thing. Using the frame channel for the wiring is a great idea. Is there more to come?? nick jr


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

I am just catching up with your work, as said above, excellent work and documentation. I will be following up with a tender heater and lights when I get the chance to work on it, later in the month. I will be referring to your thread.
One question, regarding fitting the LED into the headlight, were you using 5mm or 3mm LEDs? 

Regards

Jerry


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## lotsasteam (Jan 3, 2008)

http://www.electrodynam.com/store/102.shtml
Makes plug in simple!


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

lotsasteam said:


> http://www.electrodynam.com/store/102.shtml
> Makes plug in simple!


Wish you'd posted this a few weeks ago!


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

Naptowneng said:


> I am just catching up with your work, as said above, excellent work and documentation. I will be following up with a tender heater and lights when I get the chance to work on it, later in the month. I will be referring to your thread.
> One question, regarding fitting the LED into the headlight, were you using 5mm or 3mm LEDs?
> 
> Regards
> ...


Hey Jerry!

Word of advice, use transformer or coil wire (the enameled wire from Radio Shack) through the smokebox rather than the plastic insulated. Mine melted, and I have to re-do it. Pictures will be up once I've done that job.


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## Pauli (Jan 3, 2008)

I found experimental thin wiring with insulation that takes +270C ! It also fits inside 1mm copper tube from Regner. using both the tube and the inside wire as conductors, I get very prototypical wiring on the outside of the loco. (Copper tube becomes perfectly straight, if you roll it like a thin strand of playdough on a flat surface - also Regner tip;-) )


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## mocrownsteam (Jan 7, 2008)

You can use Kynar wire (Radio Shack has it if there are any still in your area). It is normally used in the electronics industry for printed circuit board repairs and modifications. 

It will run through a handrail tube very nicely and will withstand the temps found on a live steam locomotive

mocrownsteam

Mike McCormack
Hudson, Massachusetts


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## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

Thanks for the headlight wiring ideas guys! I need to redo the wiring on my new to me Fairymead. I have the twin wires wire tied down one of the hand rails. I am using a mag light halogen bulb right now running off 2 AAA batteries since the engine is manual control. I may look into LED at some point, but I find a good old light bulb lights up the reflector better. The Fairymead has a upright piece in the headlight reflector that would block the light from the focused end of any LED. Mike


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## Tomahawk & Western RR (Sep 22, 2015)

Im jealous mike! i have a fairymead on my list. was it by any chance the open box one Accucraft had for sale on their website?

i'm assuming that's the one you want a drawing of.


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

A few old threads on lighting I thought might be of interest. Searching Live Steam Forum, "lighting" term only. Of roughly 320 threads these are the ones that implied directly or indirectly having to do with lighting. Hope it helps. Note, some of the older threads are missing some or all photos.

Wire for live steam lighting projects?
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/54146-wire-live-steam-lighting-projects.html

Adding an LED to a Roundhouse SRRL 24
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/52010-adding-led-roundhouse-srrl-24-a.html

LS oil lamp
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/43914-ls-oil-lamp.html

Aster Berkshire: working lights
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/30753-aster-berkshire-working-lights.html

Heat Resistant Wire?
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/28618-heat-resistant-wire.html

adding LED light to Aster "mike"
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/26715-adding-led-light-aster-mike.html

Lighting an Accucraft Mogul
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/20227-lighting-accucraft-mogul.html

Headlight Reflector for a Live Steam C19
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/16995-headlight-reflector-live-steam-c19.html

Headlight Reflectors (Metal Spinning)
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/11150-headlight-reflectors-metal-spinning.html

Kerosene headlight
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/9997-kerosene-headlight.html

Acetylene Headlight
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/10013-acetylene-headlight.html

Roundhouse Headlamp
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/8321-roundhouse-headlamp.html

Need Headlight
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/7302-need-headlight.html

Source for good headlight LEDs
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/5746-source-good-headlight-leds.html


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## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

No, its not from the open box sale. Used to belong to my friend Steve, he has several live steamers. He also has a custom Accucraft 3 cyl shay, 7/8ths scale Emma, Regner shay, Regner lumberjack and now has 2 Merlins. I plan to frame that print once I have the $$ to send you for it and give it to him for Christmas later this year. He traded his Fairymead to me for my other Merlin and what he owed me for the first one. I have wanted his Fairymead for awhile, its the closest to the real thing of any of the steamers we both have. With proper Stephenson valve motion and all. Thats the next picture I want Nate, a sketch of Fairymead with a string of loaded cane wagons headed to the mill. Mike


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

*Part 11. Carrying Case*

I actually finished this some time ago, but didn't document it on this site.

Here's the "see-through" concept:









The metal "shuttle" is designed to be lift-out and allows me to deliver the locomotive trackside without having to de-couple the tender. The bottom is for storing essential supplies.









Here's the "finished" but "unfinished" piece.

It's made out of 1"x whatever Poplar. Very strong, not too heavy, but not light either. I had a lot of it lying around.










assembled dimensions: 32" x 14" x ~8". Specifically made for this locomotive.










The shuttle is made of 18 gauge steel. I'm using welding magnets to keep the loco from rolling off the end, but you can load/unload from either side, a convenience I've already appreciated a few times.

All together, it's gotta weigh north of 40lbs. I put a very robust handle on the top (no picture, sorry) The box is rock solid, it doesn't feel like it's going to come apart when you're carrying it, but you definitely don't want to carry it far. I usually have a Harbor Fright collapsible dolly with me if I need to go more than 50ft with it.


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