# Accucraft Royal Hudson



## Alan Wright (Jan 9, 2008)

Now for some good news.

The first shipment of the new Royal Hudsons has arrived in California and Jerry Hyde has told me that the priority is to ship them as soon as possible this week to their new owners. Having seen the development at close hand I look forward to my wife Phyl receiving hers. I know that some time soon we will be clearing our track of snow to run hers in a very prototypical environment .

The following will take you to a clip on youtube that we made of one of the prototypes running during boiler trials at Dick Abbott's track here in Canada in December 2006. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fc0ijEDgxI 

David Morgan-Kirby has been the ring leader of the Canadian part of the development and it was him that pursuaded Dick Abbott to become involved in the early stages with the boiler design and such details as the valve gear and pumps. You can see from the clip that there is no shortage of steam or power. Each one of the preproduction models have performed well and this will be a very popular model.

Congratulations to Jerry, David, Dick and of course Accucraft --- Job well done 

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fc0ijEDgxI


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Alan - that is indeed the best Christmas present I could wish for [apart from a full head of hair, that is]!

With Phyll's loco #40, and mine #41, and all the others eagerly awaiting delivery, I'm certain sure there will be no shortage of happy steamers over the Christmas festivations! Mine will be coming the old slow way to me here in UK, i have no doubt, but will be THE most welcome visitor this season. The waiting while this has been developed will, I'm sure, have been well worth it, and a note from David while I was in Tokyo last week leads me to bleeve that THIS will indeed be Accucraft's 'Glory Loco'. I DEFINITELY need more than one car now.









Best to you and Phyl, to Dick and to D M-K, for making it all happen.

tac
http://www.ovgrs.org/


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

At the very beginning of my DH 2008 video there is a clip of Dick running the Hudson...


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Street price?


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Around $3950, unless you pre-ordered like I did the day it was announced back in October 2006. That saved $500.

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## Rayman4449 (Jan 2, 2008)

Another fine edition to the Largescale product offering. 


Raymond


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## Mark L Horstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Scale?


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## Rob Meadows (Jan 6, 2008)

Which particular livery did everyone choose?


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## Dan Pantages (Jan 2, 2008)

The scale is 1/32 the liveries are #2860 as it is today, #2860 as it ran in service and #2850 as it was (blue) when it carried the King and Queen across Canada in 1939. Over the long development time of this model I have been providing pictures of 2860 to Jerry plus the engineer that runs it today is a personal friend who lives about 2 blocks from me has spent some time on the phone making sure the details are correct. The original plans were provided to Jerry from here. Rob, as to which livery everyone chose, I had one customer buy all three. The rest all bought as it is today and as it ran about equal. Only 3 in the blue livery have been made so far. All were available in either gas or alcohol fired. 

This is quite a good site for quick information http://www.rrsites.com/royalhudson/intro.htm


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Hi Dan,
Actually 2851 was NEVER in Blue livery, and was in maroon livery when she handled the Pilot Train for the Royal Tour in 1939.
I think what you meant to say was 2850 which was in blue for the few days that she handled the Royal Train before being quickly repainted back to maroon.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

#2860 in CPR standard livery for me. To match my Tenshodo and Samhongsa brass H0 versions....

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Well, mine arrived safe and sound this afternoon.
It is a 2860 in 'as ran in service' livery.
Looks 'okay', but I am having to make a list!!!!!
Hopefully I will be able to get it in steam this weekend, although I only have about 40 foot of my track useable at the moment due to being in the middle of a rebuild.
Regards
David Leech, 
Delta, BC Canada


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## Dan Pantages (Jan 2, 2008)

Of course you are correct David but I was tricked by the on-line information I found. 

“CP Hudson #2850 was given the honor of pulling the Royal Train to Vancouver. It was specially refinished in Royal Blue and aluminum, with a golden crown (the King's crown) at the front of each running board. CP Hudson #2851 was chosen to head the procession as a pilot train. It preceded the Royal train by exactly one hour, carrying the press and other officials. Both locomotives performed perfectly over the 3224 mile trip. After the trip, 2850 and 2851 were returned to their standard paint scheme.” 

I know it was 2850 that pulled the royal train but what color was 2851 returned from?


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By David Leech on 12/10/2008 7:49 PM
Well, mine arrived safe and sound this afternoon.
It is a 2860 in 'as ran in service' livery.
Looks 'okay', but I am having to make a list!!!!!
Hopefully I will be able to get it in steam this weekend, although I only have about 40 foot of my track useable at the moment due to being in the middle of a rebuild.
Regards
David Leech, 
Delta, BC Canada



Pictures, pictures, and MORE pictures, please. For those of us who will have to wait.

And waddya mean, 'looks 'okay''?.......talk about a put-down!









tac
http://www.ovgrs.org/


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

Pots o munny


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Okay everyone,
I thought that I would start sending notes of my experience with my Accucraft Royal Hudson.
For those of you who are also owners, or waiting for yours, you may have a different experience.
Overall, it looks very good, and assuming that it runs well, I would say that it is good value for the money.
Perhaps, because I was originally making my own kit bashed H1e and have plans and numerous books and photographs about the Royal Hudson, I am being a little too picky about some of the parts of the model that are not quite accurate, so I will not make comments about that here.
What I will comment on is where I have problems.
1) The cab was leaning backwards by a couple of degrees. I managed to loosen some bolts and get it better. Not perfect yet as I want to make sure it runs well first.
2) On one of the driving wheel flanges is a large lump of hard glue like material. I am sure that I will be able to remove it prior to running it, but if not spotted it would have probably led to a derailment at the first switch.
3) The pressure gauge is lying on it's side below the window line. It can't be pulled up due to the whistle valve. Also the gauge is lower than the lowest part of the 'U', and I would rather see it higher. It will need to be removed to re-arrange it.
4) Just removed the burner to check it out. NO wicks at all installed. I wondered why there are some in a plastic bag with the tools. Nothing in the instructions about that this needs to be done, or how many, how long and shape etc..
5) To remove the burner, I had to remove the drawbar support, and discovered that the screws holding the actual part that the drawbar pivots on were very loose. Not sure if they would have ever fallen out, but I'm glad that I found it now.
6) Also, my drawbar only has one hole, and the instruction manual say's that it should have two.
7) The front of the front truck of the tender has the sump and fuel line, plus the two water lines, pass through it. As it is, my truck will not turn one way at all, and just a little the other. Recommended radius is 10 foot, but I'm not too sure that mine will make it as unpacked. I am going to try and move the water lines in as tight as I can, and try and move the water feed line clamp a little and that should fix it.
8) Other problems and concerns are minor, so I won't mention them at this time.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

David
Please continue as you experience the various aspects of inspection, firing and operations with the engine. Appreciate an honest and informative overview.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

All that is a mite disconcerting, Mr Leech. May I ask what your build number is?

BTW, the last time we were in BC, we noticed a couple of folks walking around with little box-like things that they pointed all over the place. Curious as to what they might be doing, I asked them. They told me that the little box-like things were apparati for recording, by means of strange and mystical alchemical means, a scene at which they were pointed. I bleeve they called them camraz or some such name.

Do you have one, Sir?

And if so, could you employ it to make a record of the appearance of YOUR Hudson?









Best wishes, lots of luck, and please let us know how it all pans out - I have to admit that I may well be dead and cold before I figure out the density of a single wick, let alone its length and shape... 

tac
www.ovgrs.org

PS - having stood on the footplate of #2860, walked around her on numerous occasions, been hauled up and down Howe Sound as well as having been capaciously soaked by the steam form the drain cocks, would I necessarily notice much in the way of inaccuracies in general?


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Rod Hayward on 12/11/2008 1:24 PM
Pots o munny


Not aimed at MOI, I hope. Unless you mean a Marmite pot, that is.









tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## Rob Meadows (Jan 6, 2008)

David, 
There is quite a good Accucraft dealer in your area, talented chap. If you could drag him away from his S2 for a moment, he may be able to help you rectify all these problems. That is a long list for straight out of the box. Have you built your coaches yet to go with it? 
Rob


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Hi Rob,
Yes I had heard about him.
I had my coaches ready for a long time, mainly to go with my H1b, but now of course they will go with the Royal Hudson.
The more I look at this loco, the more I recognise how good it looks, and I think that Jerry Hyde should be well satisfied with all his efforts over the last few years.
I am attaching a couple of 'dull' pictures. (I need a better flash on my camera).
Sorry the rear truck is still off, as I am waiting to re-installed the burner.
Accucraft have checked two of the locos they have, and both have wicks in them, so I guess I am just special.
Also Dick Abbott has kindly sent me instructions.
If it stops snowing, and the sun comes out, I will try and get some outside photos.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Posted By tacfoley on 12/12/2008 6:10 AM
All that is a mite disconcerting, Mr Leech.  May I ask what your build number is?


Sorry Tac,
I forgot to answer your question.
Mine is s/n 29
According to one web site I looked at on Chinese numbers, 2 and 9 should mean Easy going and long lasting.
So I think that is a good sign!
Maybe starting off a little too easy going!
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Mr Leech - many thanks for the reply. Let's hope that by the time they got to #s 40 [Phyll Wright's] and #41 [mine] they had included all the missing bits and sorted out the plumbing!

Hafta say it looks VERY nice, though. even without its trailing truck...

Guess I won't be seeing mine till after Christmas, the way things are going [sigh].

BTW - are those manual drain cocks I see there, like the Garratt?

Best wishes to all there

tac
http://www.ovgrs.org/


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Hi Tac,
Received a message via Dan Pantages that two Hudsons have been checked in California by Accucraft, and both had wicks.
Perhaps it was number 42 that they checked!!!
Yes, manual drain cocks.
Regards
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

Dear Mr Foley 

Perish the thought, I am quite fond of Baltic’s, also I know you are permanently semi-impecunious 

Welcome back.


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## Rob Meadows (Jan 6, 2008)

Very lovely David, I can't waite to see it run at the NSS. As an aside, Australian Pacific is a bus company. Trust the Aussies to get it wrong! 
Rob


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Hi Rob,
That's interesting, Canadian Pacific started with the railway, added hotels, ship and finally planes, but I don't think that they ever had buses!
I decided to see what would happen if you tried to light up a loco without any wicks. I blocked a piece of silicone tubing and thenj filled the burner tubes about half full. I attempted to light them, but there was just a small amount of flame for a second and then it went out. I would assume that with a blower running it would be the same.
Dan Pantages suggests that the trouble might start if someone then turned the loco on its side to see what might be happening and spill alcohol everywhere.
Anyway, I then fitted the wicks this afternoon and tested them 'out' of the loco, just because.
Discovered that the fuel valve would not shut off, but that was just a case of the handle on top rotating on the shaft when the threads seem to have had something stopping them from fully closing. A removal of the valve and a little bit of screwing in and out seemed to solve that.
Just for interest, here is a picture of the lit wicks.




Click for photo[/b][/b] 
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Wick fire looks pretty good. I don't know the room available above the cups to the crownsheet, but you could shorten them a wee bit if needed without a problem.

I had a similar problem with the fuel valve on my Aster Mike. I had to chuck them in a lathe and remove some of the shoulder at the top so they would screw in farther. I removed about .05-inches.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Nice wicks, but more of the loco, please, Mr Leech. 

tac 
www.ovgrs.org


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## Taperpin (Jan 6, 2008)

Rob. 
Hey cut that out,, our entire east coast is lapped by the Pacific,[also the Tasman sea ] so the bus Co name is not unreasonable! 

Gordon.


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## Rob Meadows (Jan 6, 2008)

Gordon, 
I used to pass a small Australian Pacific depot every morning, on my way to school in Brighton. I remember back then their coaches were beautiful, and at least they did pull something, even if it was just a bloom'n big camping trailer for their outback safaris'. But it's a railway name they're using, or at least it should be! 

Rob


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

News to date.
I have now put the burner back in and had to re-adjust the trailing truck to get it just right,
While I had the tender off I have also re-adjusted the various controls in the cab so that they don't interfere with each other and moved the pressure gauge so that it was more readable.
The tender was then attached and I placed it on a piece of supposedly 7' 6" radius track.
To my surprise it looks as if it may make it round something like that. Of course under it own power it may not like it.
Anyway, a couple of photos of it on the bench.
Hopefully a test steam in the next couple of days depending on weather. 
I don't want to get my nice new engine wet, do I!
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

David
Seems to have "GS4" style rods, beefier than the CF sets. Wondering about the running components such as working combo levers? Is there a deadleg oil? Is the smokebox door sealed?


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## Dan Pantages (Jan 2, 2008)

David only lives a few miles from me so for those of you waiting for pictures of his engine running it may be a while. I just checked the weather forecast. Tomorrow will be the warmest day until the 25th or 26th. Tomorrow it’s to hit a high of -1 with a low of -5 then highs of -2 to -3 with lows of -8 Thursday it will be a high of -8 with lows of -11. This with snow flurries most of this week and next, I have about 3 inches right now and it’s snowing. It’s not going to go above -3 until the 25th or 26th. 

I wonder how dedicated David is. :>)


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Charles,
The mechanical side of the loco seems reasonably well engineered with good fitting parts.
I just removed a screw holding on the connecting rod to see what there was in the way of a bushing.
Looks to be bronze type material, and a fairly good fit, but I was a little surprised to find the screw NOT tight, not loose mind you, and no evidence of loctite.
Having lost one just recently on my Aster Hudson, I think that I will remove all the important screws and add some blue stuff, just to be safe.
Yes, the displacement lubricator is a dead leg and you can see it on the left side just under the loco number 2860 on the running board, pretending to be an air tank, much the same as the Aster HYC Hudson did.


Dan, 
It might be getting cold, but as long as I can get the snow off the track I WILL have a test steam up soon.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Charles,
Smokebox door.
Not sure if it opens or not.
I'd like to open it to see if I can remove the 'inner chimney' which is horribly brass so that I can blacken it.
If it doesn't seem obvious, I will do as Dan suggests, and just blacken it in situ.
On the real one, only the central portion opened. This summer up in Squamish i watched in astonishment as a rather large man managed to scramble out after having done some service inside.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## RP3 (Jan 5, 2008)

David, 

A quick suggestion. Don't use the blue loctite. It is too strong and may make screws too difficult to remove. I've done repairs on Aster locos for others and the blue can actually hold tight enough to snap 2mm brass screws. On a customer's engine put together with blue loctite had to add heat to remove some fasteners . The appropriate Loctite is the purple version which is 242MS (medium strength). 

Good luck and enjoy that new engine. 

Ross Schlabach


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## chooch (Jan 2, 2008)

Ross, 
My information shows Loctite 222 MS as the purple color. Loctite 224 MS as blue. See product information on link.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Thanks Ross and Chooch,
I don't want any broken screws here.
I have actually been using the Permatex Threadlocker Blue 'Medium Strength'.
Not that I have ever had to remove any of the screws that I have put in.
Maybe I should make a few holes and test some of the 'extra' Accucraft screws that came with the tools to make sure that they can cope with it.
I was a little concerned that there were extra screws in the bag.
Kind of, 'well we don't know where these go, so have then anyway'!
Regards
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Smokebox door.
Well that was easy.
I removed the marker lights, which it turns out was not necessary as they do not hold the door, and the smokebox door is a nice sliding press fit and the paint was not hurt with some light pressure with the tip of a small screwdriver.
The door is nicely protected with an additional insulating plate.
The petticoat was easy to remove, and the upper pipe slid out, ready for blackening.
The boiler has 7 tubes of approximately 19/64" id. (a 9/32" od tube would fit in, but a 5/16" would not), so I guess that it is 7.5mm, one of which has the main steam pipe running through it.
Insulation around the smokebox with a brass inner liner, and insulation around the boiler proper.
Looking good.
Next to fill the boiler with water so that I can just check for leaks.
Regards
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## RP3 (Jan 5, 2008)

Thanks Cooch. I didn't run downstairs to check the part number on the bottle before completing my response, but the point I was trying to get across is that purple loctite is the one we want. In my experience the blue will also leave a hard residue on the paint surface if too much is applied and that residue is hard to remove without damaging the paint. 

Ross Schlabach


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## Dan Pantages (Jan 2, 2008)

I talked with Cliff this morning and he has said “instruction and wick material will be available to those who need it at no charge”. Cliff will be trying to contact all customers who bough alcohol fired Royal Hudsons. Not all engines are missing the wick material however the parts packet contains extra wick material and should be able to cut four pieces from it if it is missing from the burner. It’s important to check the burner for wick material before firing. If there is no wick material in the burner, please call Cliff at Accucraft.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Hi Royal Hudson lovers,
I just came in from the cold, (well, minus 3 degees on our sundeck thermometer is cold for here in British Columbia) after a very successful first steaming of the Accucraft Royal Hudson.
I filled the loco with the various liquids in the comfort of my workshop.
I discovered that the water pump has too much movement to the back of the tender, and if you don't 'think' about it you can hit the back wall of the tender with the handle, which is also rather a loose fit on the pump.
I transported 2860 out to my track on my 'Hot Loco Carrier'.
I was going to steam it up sitting on the carrier before I bothered to put it on the tracks, but I discovered that I could not open the cab roof when it was on the carrier, so I rolled it onto the track anyway.
The instructions call for "open the fire door with the pull wire and light with a fire stick".
Incidentally, I had to move the pull wire and adjust the throttle control as they got tangled up together causing the throttle to not open, or not close!
Well, it needs something that can reach right into the firebox door to light the wicks, and none of my bbq lighters will get anywhere near.
Even with the blower fan going it wouldn't suck my longest flame as far as the wicks.
Likewise under the burner didn't work either.
I managed to find one of those 11" long matches, and that did the trick.
I am now looking for a very thin 1/8" lighter. One of those bendy ones might work, but I was disappointed as to how they worked last time I looked.
Boiler was about 3/4 full with cold water. (NOT frozen)
Pressure started to show at 2 minutes.
20 psi at 3 minutes, so I opened the blower.
Pressure did not increase until blower was opened more. Needed to be roaring.
At just under 60 psi, and 5 minutes, the rear safety let off.
Opened the drain cocks, selected forward, opened the throttle and a lot of water came out, and kept coming out of the drains.
I ran back and forth and whilst the amount decreased in forward, it didn't seem to in reverse. Not sure about that!
Anyway, I shut the drains and continued back and forth.
Smooth going forwards, but lumpy in reverse.
I discovered that the left side valve radius rod is not being allowed to move to the full top position.
Just needs some adjusting I guess.
Definitely seems to using oil.
Turned off the fuel and kept running back and forth for probably another 5 minutes or more.
I was beginning to get too cold to bother to expose my wrist and check my watch. Actually I forgot to look!
So, I am very happy with it and can't wait to give it a really good continuos test pulling something.
Dave


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

David
Without a doubt a die-hard live steamer with an enthusiastic effort given the weather and the hurdles of getting it fired. 

How about a long stainless steel rod with some torch material attached to reach the wicks.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Mr Leech - many thanks for posting such useful detail and great pics to accompany your first impression/run







However, I'd have to admit to being rather surprised at the instructions, written in in 'Chinglish'. 'Pull-wire'? Fire-stick'? How much else of it is written like this?







All my other Accucraft instructions seem to have been written in standard English.

Not that it bothers me that much, y'unnerstan' - after all, I work in Japan, where the use of English displayed on notices and instructions can cause anything between total hilarity and sheer horror.

Example - 

'Alert, honorable pssenger - DON'T do this things in our elevator - we watch you it by secret camera!

Fuming, spiting, body funxions like evacuate bowl, any intimates between you, so on.

We worn you!!

Greate thanks and kindest felictation - 

Manegers of this establishment - Kyochi bros. ' 

Back to the Hudson - it looks a real beauty, no doubt about it.

Besp graders

tac
http://www.ovgrs.org/


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## F7 (Jan 29, 2008)

David,
I like your "HOT LOCOMOTIVE CARRIER". 
Has there been any building instructions on how to construct it on this forum?
If not, please could you give us some instructions?
F7


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## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

David,
I really like the design of your locomotive carrier. Mine is made out of wood and consequently heavier. I never thought of aluminum, which not only makes it lighter, but more compact. Tac,
I always liked this sign.....


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Hi F7,
The Hot Loco Carrier.
The one in the photo was actually the very first one that I built.
I have supplied about 20 over the years to customers, and the later ones had folding handles so that when they were not in use they would take up less space.
As far as instructions are concerned, 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 1/8" aluminum angle, with a 1/16" plate screwed underneath so that the angles are rail width apart.
The plate stops about 6" from one end, and the aluminum angle is chamfered on the underside to nearly nothing, so that it will fit over the outside width of the track when the other end of the carrier is lifted and will lock into alignment with the track. 
I have a piece of dowel wood in the handle that I use to put under the carrier for this use and don't have to hold up the end.
The handles can be made as you like. I like to have at least a foot of handle to allow for ease of balance when carrying.
This will mean that it is not as critical where your loco is placed on the carrier, as you can still make it balance when carrying.
The loco is stopped from rolling in the carrier by use of 'sliding window' locks, the ones with a groove and a locking screw, one on each corner, and a suitable piece of wood to hold the loco back.
I normally glue some foam, or a sponge, onto the wood so that the loco has something soft to press against.
For the 2860 I had to do some cutouts so that the pressure was against the front beam.
I hope that this helps you.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

David,
Thank your for sharing your carrier design. I understand it all except for the anti-roll window lock feature. The resolution of the posted photo is insufficient to allow that portion to be enlarged and inspected. 
My winter project is to build one because I like the chamfer feature allowing rolling directly from the carrier to the rails. I've been unable to do that with my wooden one. Thanks again.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Since I have had a couple of you ask about the 'Hot Loco Carrier', I have started a separate topic on the subject.
Perhaps between us, we can come up with the 'ultimate' solution.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta. Canada


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## afinegan (Jan 2, 2008)

OT: but too funny not to post here (hours of entertainment)


They call it Engrish.

Engrish.com


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Andrew,
Thanks for that.
The instruction manual does call for: Completely clear up any split alchol before attempting to light burner.
Now I have heard of split atoms, but not alcohol!
Regards
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Well, thanks a lot, Andrew... You oughta be totally ashamed... You have caused me to waste most of my day and caused considerable pain in my sides. You are just lucky that my computer hung-up while I was on that site or I would STILL be wasting time there!









Often we think that when God confused the languages at the Tower of Babel all he did was vary the pronunciation of words... 
One Two Three, English
uno dos tres, Spanish
un deux trois, French
uno due tre, Italian



eins zwei drei, German
unu doi trei, Rpmanian
en to tre, Norwegian


etc., 
but things like this show that it is so much coming from the bowels without exhalation of the nose hairs in the ear.


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## turbohvn (Jan 7, 2008)

FYI

I have a couple of these for sale due to cancelled orders (delivery took too long!)

One is the standard "as ran in service at the pre order price, and the other is the already sold out Blue version in alcohol.

Check my separate thread for details

Royce
Quisenberry Station
202-422-2892


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## zephyra (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By turbohvn on 12/17/2008 1:54 PM
FYI

I have a couple of these for sale due to cancelled orders (delivery took too long!)

One is the standard "as ran in service at the pre order price, and the other is the already sold out Blue version in alcohol.

Check my separate thread for details

Royce
Quisenberry Station
202-422-2892



Royce, emailed you with an expression of interest but no reply...

Robert


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## turbohvn (Jan 7, 2008)

Robert,

Please call my cell at 202-422-2892. Also sent you a msg through MLS

Royce


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Well, there is a saying 'look before you leap'.
Well in this case it should be 'look before you steam'.
I took my Royal Hudson out to steam, put it on the track, and then I realised that it had snowed!!!
A scale 24' 8" on the track.
Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas, and I hope that 2009 will be good to you and your hobby.
All the very best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Well David maybe you should stop building coaches and start build rotatry plows. god knows no one offeres them either..Well ones that work.


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## Dave -- Use Coal (Feb 19, 2008)

Impressive Picture. It has been a long time since I lived in snow country and saw snow like that. I do remember the big NYC Hudsons running at high speed in the snow. As you may have guessed your picture brings back fond memories.


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## Stephen Korte (Dec 24, 2008)

I have serial # 27. 


Unlike Accucraft's other locomotives there isn't a filler plug. How do you add water to the boiler? Do you unscrew the safety valve that is closet to the front of the locomotive?


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Just use the hand pump, it probally got the 5/8" bore so 20-30 strokes shoudl get you there pretty quick. I guess they decided a filler was not necessary, Id think there was some consistancy with things like a filler plug.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Stephen Korte on 12/26/2008 10:52 AM
I have serial # 27. 


Unlike Accucraft's other locomotives there isn't a filler plug. How do you add water to the boiler? Do you unscrew the safety valve that is closet to the front of the locomotive?



Uh, welcome, I think, to the forum, Mr Korte. No need to be so shy, none us here want to steal your loco from you.

Knowing a little more about you than your name is a good way to make friend on this forum, actually one of the friendliest around. Seems to me that you can always get more out of folks that way, than by being an anonymous poster appearing out of nowhere.

Give us a try.

We don't bite.

Usually.

tac, awaiting serial #49
www.ovgrs.org


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## Stephen Korte (Dec 24, 2008)

Thanks Jason and Tac.

This is my first live steamer. I have been modelling for close to 30 years in N scale always Canadian Pacific. I am close to retirement and bought a 1 acre lot on purpose so that I could have an outdoor railway which I will start constucting next fall once the house is built. The second I saw the announcement for the Royal Pacific (2 yrs ago) I had to have one.

I live in a suburb of Montreal but will be moving back to Niagara Falls.

Regards
Stephen


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## Stephen Korte (Dec 24, 2008)

Sorry its a Hudson, my Pacifics are in N scale. Incidentaly Accucraft's manual isn't explicit enough.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Jason,
Actually the tender pump is about 3/8" bore, so it is much more user friendly, more like the Aster pumps.
More strokes, but far less strain.
This is a new pump design for the Royal Hudson, and is also used on the new F4/F5 2-10-2.
Stephen,
You don't mention is you have the alcohol or gas version loco.
If you are not too sure as to what to do, I would strongly recommend seeing if you can find someone 'local' to help you when you are ready to first steam up.
It's not rocket science, but it can be a little 'different' from electric trains, and even scary for the uninitiated.
Good luck,
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

On many of the live steam loco's, the water is pumped into the boiler from the pump in the tender. At first, I did not like this idea...............but have since gotten used to it. Rememeber to move the loco back and forth a few times while pumping so as to get a true water level reading on your site glass. Welcome to live steam, this is a great hobby. You may find a few things that will frustrate you (Like me and "e" clips







). However, it's all part of the fun and you will probably never go back to sparkies again.


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## Stephen Korte (Dec 24, 2008)

Thanks for the help guys.

Mine is alcohol. It too did not have the wicks in the burners.

Stephen


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Stephen Korte on 12/26/2008 4:36 PM
Thanks for the help guys.

Mine is alcohol. It too did not have the wicks in the burners.

Stephen



Hmmm. I'd ruther have a box containing a loco with no wicks, than a box containing wicks without loco. 

Which version did you get? Mine will be #2860 as running in service.

My family live around the Trenton ONT area.

Happy New Year!

tac
www.ovgrs.org

BTW - you'll need a blower/fan unit to get the fire going before you can turn on the loco's own blower at around 25-30psi [2 bar on the metric AccuCraft pressure gauge]. Get in touch with David Morgan-Kirby in Stittsville.


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Well thats good to hear that they stopped using a 3/4" scale hand pump design.. heh looks straight out of Kozo's book just like the old m5 safeties look straight off an Aster.. ohh did I say that out loud.. 

at least they are learning how to make things work better.


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## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted by, tacfoley:
Hmmm. I'd ruther have a box containing a loco with no wicks, than a box containing wicks without loco. 


That my friend, makes good sense. I can hardly wait for you to get your Loco Terry. You have been waiting a long time for it. Sure looks like a fine engine.


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## Dan Pantages (Jan 2, 2008)

Stephen 

Before you make the same mistake that many live steamers in Canada make, you should know you are building in the wrong place. You need to build out in Sunny South Surrey, BC. We have fewer steamers therefore you will be appreciated more and politics in BC is a "contact" sport that helps to pass those hours that you can't run because there is a..., OK there is almost never a time you can't run here.


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## Dan Pantages (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi 

Has anyone run a butane fired Royal Hudson? I would like to hear from you and how it went, we all know the alcohol ones steam very well.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Dan Pantages and I had a very successful visit to a Greater Vancouver Garden Railway Club member last night, where I steamed my Royal Hudson on the indoor portion of his railway.
This is an return loop, and storage yards, for his very (thousands of feet) outdoor railway.
Unfortunately it still meant 'back and forth' running, and due to the size of the room it has 8 foot radius which the Hudson did go around, but didn't really like it and would come to a stop until I worked out how fast I needed to enter the loop.
I am very impressed with the efficiency of the boiler on this alcohol version of the Royal Hudson, and I think that I will probably need to lessen the wicks a little, but until I pull a train on a continuous track, I will wait to see.
One thing that I do need to make, is a proper lighting stick.
I haven't quite got the lighting technique down right yet.
The idea is to let the wicks get wet and the fumes build up a little, then open the firebox door and poke in the lighting stick so that all the wicks ignite, and then turn on the suction fan.
I think that it took me about five tries last night, so I'm getting better!!!
Here are a couple of photos of the evening.
The second Royal Hudson is a gas version which we were not able to fire at this time.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## Mark Scrivener (Jan 7, 2008)

Thanks for the reports David - and glad to see Accucraft is having success with an alki burner. If I wasn't between jobs I'd be seriously tempted. 

BTW - that is very interesting indoor layout. More info (and photos) please. 

Mark


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## Alan Wright (Jan 9, 2008)

A Happy New Year to everyone.

Phyl received her Royal Hudson just before Santa arrived. We managed to put it to work on the track yesterday even though the temperature was minus 4 degrees C.
It ran well and seems to have more than ample power. Like David we had to find a way of lighting it easily. We found the old trick of a length of 0.032" wire bent in a U and twisted with a couple of strands of wick twisted into the end did the trick. It is just a simple case of applying a few drops of fuel to the wick, lighting it and then passing it through the fire hole door to the main wicks. Works every time. You can certainly see the possitive influence that Dick's hand has had on the boiler. cylinders, valve gear, and pump designs. 

Happy steaming in the New Year.

Alan and Phyl


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Posted By Mark Scrivener on 12/31/2008 1:04 AM
Thanks for the reports David - and glad to see Accucraft is having success with an alki burner. If I wasn't between jobs I'd be seriously tempted. 

BTW - that is very interesting indoor layout. More info (and photos) please. 

Mark

Hi Mark,
Well here is another photo of the track looking the other way.
As you can see, it is a teardrop shape loop, with a bunch of storage tracks on two levels.
There is a track going down just to the left of the turntable.
Outdoors, I was told that the track went around his 'pond'.
On his pond was a row boat and a canoe.
The track winds its way around three side of the lake and I think is over a thousand feet total distance.
Running live steam without any r/c is an effort as you can't access all of the track without scrambling over banks with a risk of falling into the lake which is some 10 feet deep.
It can be done if you have a couple of people to adjust the throttle as you go up and down the very long climbs.
The indoor section is new and is about 300 feet from the main track, so he is building a long spur to connect them, but also a return loop just outside the building, so that you can (in theory) stay inside and run steam.
Regards
David Leech, Delta, Canada


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Alan and Phyl,
Glad that you have yours running too.
That makes at least two of us up and running.
Now where are the rest of you?
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## Mark Scrivener (Jan 7, 2008)

Thanks David! That looks and sounds like a very impressive layout. Since land is stupid expensive in these parts I doubt I'll be making major expansions or running steam indoors, but always good to have plans and ideas. 

Happy New Year to you and Ryan. 
Mark


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## George Zimmermann (Apr 5, 2008)

Thanks David for your through write-up on the new Royal Hudson. I am waiting on delivery of my 1939 Blue & Bushed Stainless Steel Royal Hudson in alcohol and am hoping that mine is free from any major issues out of the box as I am relatively new to the hobby of Live Steam (prior LGB collector). I had contacted you a while ago about passenger coaches for my Accucraft Live Steam GS-4 Daylight in alcohol (which I am still working out the bugs on) and was wondering if you know or could direct me as to where I could find the exact color blue paint, so I can custom paint some MTH passenger coaches I have ordered to match the engine. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks 

George


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Hi George,
I am sure that you will have no problems with your Royal Hudson, other than a few minor things.
I am not sure that I can be of much help to you about the colour.
I saw the ‘prototype’ Accucraft Royal Hudson some years ago, and it was painted blue, but I am not sure it was the correct shade of ‘Royal Blue’.
I think that you will have to wait until you get the model, and then if you’re lucky, you will find a paint that you like to work with that matches, or perhaps take a part of the loco with you to have some colour matched.
The ‘correct’ Royal Train that 2850 pulled when it was blue, was a very unique train made up of some CPR, and CNR heavyweights, some of which had a false roof fitted over the clerestory to make them look more ‘streamlined’ to go with the new engine. 
The trip took 44 days and was conducted on the CPR heading west and on the CNR returning east.
2850 of course only did the trip west.
The cars were all restored to their original condition and liveries after the Royal tour was finished.
2850 while still blue apparently was at the 1939 New York worlds fair, but I am not sure if any of the train went too. (Some research to be done when I have nothing else to do!)
I have a friend locally who built the whole train up in HO by kitbashing various commercial cars to go with his blue Royal Hudson.
It does look rather good.
Good luck with the project, and let us know how the loco is when you get it.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## George Zimmermann (Apr 5, 2008)

Thanks David. I am planning on using streamlined MTH passenger cars as I'm not skilled enough to try and duplicate the actual cars used. It does sound like I will have to try and match the paint used after I receive the engine. Now that I think about it I wonder if Cliff at Accucraft could find out the exact shade used, if it's not a company secret.


In any case I will post some pictures as I progress with the project.

Thanks again.

George


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey George, I have a few friends at bodyshops that I can talk to ab out colormatching. Also we can try Hobbymaster in Redbany, they have a large collection of paints from many companies


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Well everyone, 
I think that I have solved MY problems with lighting up the Royal Hudson.
I didn’t want to have to have another piece of equipment, as in a piece of wire with some wick material, that I have to dip into the fuel, which I then have to light with my BBQ lighter, so I just modified my old one by fitting a smaller tube, so I can use it to light all my locos.
I haven’t actually had a go at lighting up the Royal Hudson, but it produces a three inch flame and looks as though it will work.
I will let you know as soon as I have time to get outside.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## Rob Meadows (Jan 6, 2008)

David, if this lighter gives off such a long flame, can you not light it from underneath? I think that the draw from the electric blower will suck the flame up onto the wicks. 

Regards, 
Rob Meadows


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## tony23 (Jan 2, 2008)

I agree with Rob, surely as you cannot see how far your near the wickes you may push the wicks over!


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

As an impending owner, I am rather keen to know what Mr Abbott, who designed the boiler in the first place, would use to light it up.

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## GaugeOneLines (Feb 23, 2008)

Rob,

You really can't light it from underneath because first of all the trailing truck gets in the way, and secondly there is sheet brass under the burner to restrict the amount of cold air entering the firebox.........one of the reasons the engine steams like a witch. 
The best way is just like Alan Wright described a few posts back. On this engine you light the wicks through the firehole door THEN turn on the electric blower when you hear the pop.


Cheers
David M-K

Ottawa


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

As DMK has already explained, the plate on the bottom of the burned leaves only perhaps 1/16" gap all around, so the flame just won't get up there.
With such an air restriction, I am really surprised that the burner works at all.
One thing that I did notice, was with the wicks installed as directed, during the initial firing up indoors, the fumes of unburned fuel was just overpowering and I could barely see.
I lifted the suction fan a couple of times in case some of the wicks were not alight, but that did not seem to help.
Perhaps it just needs the wick tubes to get hot enough to help the fuel vaporise, as the smell just went away as the pressure began to rise and I was able to open the blower.
Ah, I wonder if the fan is too strong, and was sucking too hard!
Anyway, the fumes were much worse than any of my other locos during firing up.
My Aster CP Hudson has the 'traditional' burner, and I can just put my BBQ lighter under the trailing truck and it lights just fine.
I know that Dick Abbott will not understand, but if I ever have time to do 'stuff'. I may make up an alternate traditional burner for the Accucraft Royal Hudson, and see what the difference is.
On second thoughts, I have better 'stuff' to do, like play trains!
Regards
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

I should add that the instructions that I received from Dick, and which are not quite the same in the instruction manual, are as follows:


Here is the procedure.
 
·       Open fuel valve about ? turn and wait a minute or two for the wicks to absorb fuel.
·       Ensure fire door is closed and blower in position But not started.
·       Apply fuel to lighter device and ignite, open fire door and direct device downwards into the fire box.
·       Wait about 10 seconds, burners should light.
·       Shut fire door and start blower.
The idea is to allow the fire box to fill with fuel vapor that will easily ignite. If the blower is started first it will remove the vapor.


All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By David Leech on 01/04/2009 10:33 AM


...Open fuel valve about ? turn... 

All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


Mr Leech - please advise me much of a turn '?' might be? I really don't want to destroy this loco for want of prior knowledge, after waiting over two years for it.

Best

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## F7 (Jan 29, 2008)

Tac,
No problem, with my meths fired locomotives the amount of turns varies between 1/4 of a turn for an Aster SNCF 140C to 9 turns for a Barrett City of Truro. It is one of those things that you will discover with use. Just get your eyes down to the level of the meths supply clear tube from the tender to the locomotive and turn the meths on and watch the flow.
F7


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## tony23 (Jan 2, 2008)

I wouldn't have thought it matters once the valve has been opened fully because the drip feed supplies the fuel at the precise rate into the sump so it doesn't matter how far open the valve is


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

You can have the valve not open far enough and starve the fire, but if the top of the wick cups are at the bottom of the siphon tube in the sump the fuel should not overflow the cups, and the flow of fuel stops until the fuel in the cups burns (or evaporates, if there is no fire). 

On my Aster Mikes I have to open the valve about 3 to 4 turns to get full fuel flow... more than that makes no difference unless I get the shaft of the valve so far out that the vacuum of the siphon tube gets broken by air leakage down the valve shaft, then I get overflow in the cups, but that is at about 8 to 10 turns of the valve.

If I don't open the valve enough then the fire never gets to burning properly and I don't get enough steam. I can reduce the fire some after I get steam up to keep the safety from blowing off and wasting steam, but the range of control is only about 1 to one and a half turns of the valve without losing a significant amount of fire and the resultant loss of steam power.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Posted By tacfoley on 01/04/2009 1:50 PM


Mr Leech - please advise me much of a turn '?' might be?  I really don't want to destroy this loco for want of prior knowledge, after waiting over two years for it.

Best
 
tac
www.ovgrs.org  


Well Tac,
As you are aware with your Canadian background, the ? is a Canadian value of just enough!
You know, I never saw that when I was sent it.
I just turn it enough to make sure that the fuel tube fills with alcohol, and then I know that it is enough!!!
I have never seen any reason to try and starve the fire.
Any idea when your Royal Hudson is due to arrive in your hands?
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks for the advice, guys, much appreciated. I've figured out how much my Aster 01 needs to keep a good fire going, and, as noted, the system is supposed to be fool-proof in terms of self-regualting feed due to its design. I'm helped on my old 01 becuase the valve stem actually stops on the top of the cut-out in the tender front - a kind of self-regulator if you like.

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By David Leech on 01/04/2009 4:52 PM
Posted By tacfoley on 01/04/2009 1:50 PM


Mr Leech - please advise me much of a turn '?' might be? I really don't want to destroy this loco for want of prior knowledge, after waiting over two years for it.

Best

tac
http://www.ovgrs.org/ 


Well Tac,
As you are aware with your Canadian background, the ? is a Canadian value of just enough!
You know, I never saw that when I was sent it.
I just turn it enough to make sure that the fuel tube fills with alcohol, and then I know that it is enough!!!
I have never seen any reason to try and starve the fire.
Any idea when your Royal Hudson is due to arrive in your hands?
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada




Evenin', Mr Leech - again, thanks for taking the trouble to respond to my inane queries, and a'cors, I shoulda knowed what a '?' was. Heck, I use it enuff m'self when I'm fixin' the lonmoor or the chainsar.
Got no idea when mine will arrive here. Thassa turble pittydoo, 'cos weegotta steamin' weeken upcomin'. 

Bess

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## F7 (Jan 29, 2008)

The chicken fed principle seems very simple and should not go wrong, BUT if the wicks are not tightly packed enough when the valve is opened fully then flooding of the wick cups may occur, but if the wick is to tightly packed then the meths cannot get through and burn resulting in poor steaming. 

It is a balancing act, too little wick strands and flooding, too many wick strands and not enough meths gets through.

I have experienced both on my Aster SNCF 140C and have at the present achieved, I think, the correct amount of wick strands per wick cup. By opening the meths valve by only 1/4 turn it achieves non-stop runs of between 45 and 60 minutes on one fuel filling. 
If I open the valve more than 1/4 turn the result is a shorter run and blowing off of the saftey valve which is very wasteful of fuel and water. I want all the steam to go to the cylinders and not out through the saftey valve.
F7


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## Mark Scrivener (Jan 7, 2008)

Looking at Accucraft's site, no where does it say if this engine has an axle pump....does it? 

Also, in David's last photo above, there appears to be a whistle valve on the left side of the cab (bottom of photo) - and it looks factory. Does the Royal Hudson have a factory whistle? If not, what is this valve/lever? 

Thanks, 
Mark


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## Alan Wright (Jan 9, 2008)

Mark,

The Royal Hudson does have a very efficient axle pump and bypass valve. The factory fitted whistle is not in keeping with the loco being very high pitched and suffering from the usual problems encountered with small whistles.


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## Rob Meadows (Jan 6, 2008)

Were the interiors of the Royal Hudsons painted green? Or are Accucraft taking liberties with this colour that they seem to use on other engine interiors?


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## Alan Wright (Jan 9, 2008)

Rob Medows asked "Were the interiors of the Royal Hudsons painted green? Or are Accucraft taking liberties with this colour that they seem to use on other engine interiors?"

Accucraft got it right by painting the inside of the cab green though it does seem to be an odd choice of colour.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Posted By Alan Wright on 01/22/2009 6:22 AM
Rob Medows asked "Were the interiors of the Royal Hudsons painted green? Or are Accucraft taking liberties with this colour that they seem to use on other engine interiors?"
 
Accucraft got it right by painting the inside of the cab green though it does seem to be an odd choice of colour. 


Well Rob and Alan,
Here is a photo of the 'real' Royal Hudson 2860 up at Squamish BC.
You will note that the inside of the cab IS that colour green (or pretty close)!
When I saw Jerry Hyde with the prototype, I thought, 'that can't be right', but I guess it is as far as I can see.
One thing that Jerry and I had a discussion about was that the cab roof, and the oil tank were as far as I can find out, grey. On the model of 2860 as ran in service, they have painted them black. There seems to be confusion as to which is correct!
Dan Pantages knows the driver of 2860 and he says that they have never been grey!!!
I guess that the driver never looks at the cab roof or tender, which is good as he should be looking forward.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## k5pat (Jan 18, 2008)

Got my Royal Hudson today after ordering it at Diamondhead. Six days from California, not bad. It's a Butane fired #2860. 
I put it on rollers and fired it up. I lit the burners through the smokestack with no problems. The book says to open the smokebox door ( which is on a nice double-swinging hinge) and light it from there, but there is a baffle plate behind the smokebox which blocks the opening. It will swing out of the way, but it does not look easy to stick a lighter in there and push the baffle out of the way at the same time to light the burners. The baffle plate also partially blocks the view of the burners so it's not easy to determine if both are lit. The book also says that if one burner goes out, the other burner will not light it. You have to stick a lighter back in the hole to light the unlit burner. I did not try this since both burners seemed to light easily and stay lit. Time to 40lbs was about 6 minutes at 65 degrees F, not bad! I ran it for about 40 minutes and checked the axle pump for proper operation with no glitches. The pump easily keeps up with steam and water loss while on rollers with minimum load. 
The only complaints I noticed were a leaking water fitting between tender and engine, but I noticed this on other Royal Hudsons also, so it must be a common problem. The accucraft crimps are not 100% water tight. The other minor problem was the water return in the tender spat water outside of the water tank into the tender outer shell. I had to adjust it to keep from leaking water out of the tender. The water tank is about 1/2" below the top of the tender so you have to be careful you don't overflow water into the outer tender shell when adding water.
Hopefully this weekend I'll get a chance to run it on my layout and add some cars to load it down and see what happens. The butane tank is huge, about 8-10oz. so stock up on your butane. You will be lucky to get two fillings out of a can of Chinese butane.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By k5pat on 01/22/2009 8:51 PM
Got my Royal Hudson today after ordering it at Diamondhead. Six days from California, not bad. It's a Butane fired #2860. 
I put it on rollers and fired it up. I lit the burners through the smokestack with no problems. The book says to open the smokebox door ( which is on a nice double-swinging hinge) and light it from there, but there is a baffle plate behind the smokebox which blocks the opening. It will swing out of the way, but it does not look easy to stick a lighter in there and push the baffle out of the way at the same time to light the burners. The baffle plate also partially blocks the view of the burners so it's not easy to determine if both are lit. The book also says that if one burner goes out, the other burner will not light it. You have to stick a lighter back in the hole to light the unlit burner. I did not try this since both burners seemed to light easily and stay lit. Time to 40lbs was about 6 minutes at 65 degrees F, not bad! I ran it for about 40 minutes and checked the axle pump for proper operation with no glitches. The pump easily keeps up with steam and water loss while on rollers with minimum load. 
The only complaints I noticed were a leaking water fitting between tender and engine, but I noticed this on other Royal Hudsons also, so it must be a common problem. The accucraft crimps are not 100% water tight. The other minor problem was the water return in the tender spat water outside of the water tank into the tender outer shell. I had to adjust it to keep from leaking water out of the tender. The water tank is about 1/2" below the top of the tender so you have to be careful you don't overflow water into the outer tender shell when adding water.
Hopefully this weekend I'll get a chance to run it on my layout and add some cars to load it down and see what happens. The butane tank is huge, about 8-10oz. so stock up on your butane. You will be lucky to get two fillings out of a can of Chinese butane. 




That's great news, and congrats on getting yours. Mine is still on its way so I'm told, on a most circuitous route imaginable, no doubt.

What we need now, of course, are vids!!! Lots of vids. There was a marked lack of vids of this important new loco from the DH steamup.

Not a criticism of anybody there, just pointing it out.

tac
http://www.ovgrs.org/


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Posted By tacfoley on 01/23/2009 6:47 AM


That's great news, and congrats on getting yours.  Mine is still on its way so I'm told, on a most circuitous route imaginable, no doubt.
 
What we need now, of course, are vids!!! Lots of vids.  There was a marked lack of vids of this importatn new loco from the DH steamup.
 
Not a criticism of anybody there, just pointing it out.
 
tac
www.ovgrs.org


Tac,
I was told by someone who went, that he only saw one gas fired Royal Hudson at Diamondhead, and the owner didn't want to run it, but did have it running on rollers just once.
Like I say, this is what I was told, so perhaps someone who was there can give more information.
By the sound of it, it was at Cabin Fever that the Hudsons were running.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## rodblakeman (Jan 2, 2008)

There were gas and spirit fired Royal Hudson's running at DH without problems... You'll love it Terry..


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## k5pat (Jan 18, 2008)

Tac and David,
I saw three Royal Hudsons at DH. All three were alcohol, I believe. I ran Bob Moser's new out of the box and it ran well considering it was a first run, pulling several cars. The other one was steamed by Mike Albert from Florida and I believe he pulled several cars also. The third man just got his new Hudson from Bob Moser and is new to the hobby and did not want to run it until he familiarized himself with the procedure. There may have been more, but I don't recall any.

I hope to steam mine tomorrow on my track and put some videos on MLS for your pleasure.


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## k5pat (Jan 18, 2008)

Sorry Rod, I didn't see the Butane fired one. Did you get back home yet?


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## Shay Gear Head (Jan 3, 2008)

*The gas fired loco was delivered from Cross Creek Engineering to Ed Cook from Ontario.* 
*I went by, as I was passing out money, and it as it was running on rollers and it seemed to be doing just fine.*


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Shay Gear Head on 01/24/2009 4:58 AM
*The gas fired loco was delivered from Cross Creek Engineering to Ed Cook from Ontario.* 
*I went by, as I was passing out money, and it as it was running on rollers and it seemed to be doing just fine.*



If I give you my address, could you please pass out some money as you go by?

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## Shay Gear Head (Jan 3, 2008)

*You have to put stuff in the swap meet that sells then you'll get to know me.*


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Shay Gear Head on 01/24/2009 9:39 AM
*You have to put stuff in the swap meet that sells then you'll get to know me.* 





Hmmmm, thort there might be a catch to it somewhere......

Guess you won't be going by, after all.

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## Taperpin (Jan 6, 2008)

Tac,
I was based inside the large track and saw 2 meths fired ones working. both had strong draft [hand above stack] and where running with the pressure nailed on 60psi..with cars behind moved off easily and controlable as to speed..Dick Abbott did afine job for them on the boiler/fuel system and valve gear etc..

Gordon.


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## rodblakeman (Jan 2, 2008)

Pat, 
Got home this morning thanks, and it's raining. 

Mike Albert's Hudson is in fact butane fired, it was his that I was playing with.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Dear All, Further to the discussion about the colour of the inside of the cab!
I was just looking at the photo that I posted and realised that you can see the back of the cab when the door is open, BECAUSE it has the hinges to the front of the cab.
I just noticed that the model has them to the rear!
Another faux pas to add to my 'list'.
But it still a great model of a great looking loco.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## Taperpin (Jan 6, 2008)

Rod, 
You dont have to announce its raining in UK thats the rule not the exception..here we have 4 days at 40C plus!!! coming up, and when I left we hadnt had a summer at all. 

Gordon.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Sir - when you have finally compiled this 'faux pas' list of yours, what are you going to do with it?

Inquisitive minds need to know.









After two years and four months waiting, I'll be glad to see a shoe box painted maroon and grey, me.

Best

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## rodblakeman (Jan 2, 2008)

Gordon, Thanks for that, it was cold and icy this morning. no 40 degrees here /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/sad.gif Not even 4 degrees. 

Good to meet you at DH and thanks for passing on some of your technical experience.


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## Dan Pantages (Jan 2, 2008)

Rod, it's minus 2C here and snowing, just so you know it could be worse. Tac, you are going to love this engine! I sent you some pictures from our little gathering last night, hope you enjoy them. Gordon, I miss the hot olives.


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## Taperpin (Jan 6, 2008)

For the benifit of thsoe who where not at Diamondhead, "Hot Olives " doesnt not describe compression rings from miniature piping , but Chilli Olives we nibbled with Tasmanian Blue Cheese..in the late pm.. 

Gordon.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

As Dan mentioned, it was our second monthly meeting last night, and out of the five of us, there were four Hudsons.
Just have to change some of those numbers though!!!
Three alcohols and one gas.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Posted By tacfoley on 01/27/2009 5:42 AM
Sir - when you have finally compiled this 'faux pas' list of yours, what are you going to do with it?
 
Inquisitive minds need to know.








 
After two years and four months waiting, I'll be glad to see a shoe box painted maroon and grey, me.
 
Best
 
tac
www.ovgrs.org



Well Tac,
God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change those things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference.
Time will tell.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Drool and dribble.

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Posted By David Leech on 01/03/2009 10:51 AM



Well everyone, 
I think that I have solved MY problems with lighting up the Royal Hudson.
I didn’t want to have to have another piece of equipment, as in a piece of wire with some wick material, that I have to dip into the fuel, which I then have to light with my BBQ lighter, so I just modified my old one by fitting a smaller tube, so I can use it to light all my locos.
I haven’t actually had a go at lighting up the Royal Hudson, but it produces a three inch flame and looks as though it will work.
I will let you know as soon as I have time to get outside.
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


 


 


Just a follow up about lighting mine, and the other alcohol Hudsons around here.
I am sorry, but none of us seem to have the 'Abbott' knack of allowing the fuel vapours to build up and then add a flame and 'bingo', everything lights up.
My modified lighting stick does the job by sticking it in the firebox door okay, but I have discovered that it will NOT self light.
It did when I first tested it, but I think that the gas escapes too fast, or something, and the spark won't ignite it.
Instead, I press the gas switch, and light it with another bbq lighter, and then stick in the cab.
How about you other alcohol Hudson owners; how are you managing?
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Well, it WOULD behave for Dick - he designed it in the fust place!

Us lesser humings will just have to figure it out.....

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## GaugeOneLines (Feb 23, 2008)

.
How about you other alcohol Hudson owners; how are you managing?
All the best,
David Leech,
Delta, Canada


In the words of my learned friend, lighting the Royal Hudson is 'a piece of piss, mate', it's worked like a dream every time. Stop screwing around and just use the wire and wick job! The advantage of this is you can get it right into the firebox and light it by the Louis Braille method.

Plonk your engine on the bench David, and run it there. You don't need rollers, just cut two pieces of plywood, one for the pilot truck and the other for the trailing truck and tender to sit on.

DM-K
Ottawa


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Gordon,

Who'da thunk you could find a wheel of Tasmanian Blue Cheese in a supermarket in Diamondhead Mississippi? Thoroughly enjoyed your company... and the Blue Cheese. Sure goes great with a good IPA. 

Hope you can make it again next year.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Well, this evening I managed to get the front of my Royal Hudson reassembled.
As you can see from the photos, I have fitted a more correct front valence in place, and also fitted a light.
The light is easy on the alcohol version, because the smokebox front is one piece.
Not sure about the gas version, as it has a correctly opening front hatch and might be more of a challenge to fit.
The LED is covered with Kaowool and then the Accucraft internal insulation blanking piece so I hope that it will survive.
I have made a small battery 'box' that pokes under the valance, but need to make a proper one with a switch.
Never enough time!
All the best,
David Leech, Delta, Canada


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## Taperpin (Jan 6, 2008)

Tom, 
Yep I enjoyed the blue cheese and the IPA! got home safely and back at work, but weather is too hot 44c tomorrow and my track got a real heat buckle last week in 3 places.. 
Gordon.


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Jeez Gordon,

I thought we had a heat wave here today. It's about 15 degrees F. Compared to yesterday morning, -5 F, it is a heat wave; but 44 C, using my quick and dirty rule, (double it and add 32), takes me to somewhere around 120 F. Must make you wish you were back in the good old northern hemisphere.



Oh, by the way, we still have about a foot of snow in the back yard...


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## Mr Magoo (Mar 1, 2008)

Hi David,
I am in the process of radio controlling the Accucraft Royal Hudson as I am visually impaired and the loco sometimes gets away from me and I cannot see what happens down the track. I did post a topic about the radio control on My Large Scale but can’t find it any more on there site. Anyway I will be taking photos of the modification and I will have to move a few items in the cab to make room for the servos. I have a friend who is not in the model railway hobby, but loves watching. Being a fitter and machinist he will make all the parts up for me and while I have him making parts up for me he is going to make a carry case for me like the one you have made. He did ask, how have you attached the aluminum plate on the bottom of the carrier to the two angles (do you have a pic of the bottom?). Also David how did the LED go on the loco headlight? I will do that mod if it worked for you. I have two Aster locos here a Berkshire and an AD-60 Garrett but love the Hudson
Best Wishes
Wayne Robertson
(Mr Magoo)


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Hi Wayne,
The bottom plate on my carriers are held on by self taping screws about every six inches.
Then the points of the screws that 'stick up' on the inside, are cut off with a Dremel cutting disc, otherwise at some point you will catch your finger, or a cloth when wiping it clean.










As for the Royal Hudson headlight, the smokebox front is drilled from the back just the right size for the LED to fit in, which is them held in place with GOOP or Silicone type stuff.
The wires are then routed out the bottom, where a slot needs to be filed to match, and under the running board back to the cab where I have the battery and switch.
You may not have room for this now with all the r/c in there!






















Good luck with all the mods.
All the best,David Leech, Delta, Canada


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