# Coal Fired British Saddle Tank



## main131 (Jan 3, 2008)

The attraction of coal firing, is not only the smell of the fire, but having the satisfaction of knowing that steam dependancy for engine movement is entirely the results of your own skills.
The balance of coal, water and drafting is achieved with practice plus an engine with good pedigree and a skilled builder.!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=farU6Mt0ev8


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## iceclimber (Aug 8, 2010)

This may sound silly, but I want to get a whiff of that "coal smell". I have some hard coal, but no coal burner. I have a grill and was thinking of the best way to get the coals lit and burn off the smell of the starter tinder. What would you do and what set-up would you use to get the coal lit and burning? I know this has nothing to do with this thread, but perhaps you could be of assistance. I have a limited quantity of coal, so I don't want to experiment with methods that end up not working.


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## thumper (Jan 31, 2009)

Operating a small coal fired loco proves that the most important job on a railroad is the fireman, not the engineer! The pleasure of building a strong fire and watching the loco leave the station with a small string of cars is simply tops in model railroading.

To Iceman: if you will be at Diamondhead in January, bring your coal and look me up, but first, break it up into pieces a little larger than your small fingernail. We'll see if the coal is good and will make a strong fire or whether it builds clinkers in my Annette from Sabre Steam.

Regards,

Will

Regards


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

A "Steam powered" exercise machine there! Chasin' it to make the video! Nice machine!


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## iceclimber (Aug 8, 2010)

Nice video.


No, I won't be at Diamond head this year.

Thanks though.


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Main,

Who built your loco?

Here is a picture of mine...


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## main131 (Jan 3, 2008)

WOW, almost a twin. Roger Marsh made mine. I know that he still has one on his workshop shelf.
That makes three!


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Mine is a Roundhouse Jack, built to be coal fired by John Shawe. It runs great, and is a real crowd pleaser.

Here is a video from a few years back at Diamondhead... 




As you can see, I was still learning. Come to think of it, not much has changed.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Tom - main131's loco is in Gauge 3 - 1/22.6, running on 64mm gauge track. As you can see if you look at this latest video and others, he has dual-gauge 45/64mm track. The prototype of this loco ran on a brewery site in Burton-on-Trent, a well-known British city of brewers for the last two or three hundred years. 

It is a beautiful steamer, and to be honest runs like the real thing - only needed attention every ten minutes or so. 

tac 
www.ovgrs.org 
Supporter of the Cape Meares Lighthouse Restoration Fund


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## main131 (Jan 3, 2008)

We have two really great makers of coal fired engines engines in the smaller gauges here in the UK.
They are Roger Marsh and John Shawe, although in your case John has converted a Roundhouse loco which makes the package a little expensive.
John would argue that it is still the cheaper option than building from scratch.
It is a credit to Roundhouse quality that John sees fit to use them as a prototype.

For what it's worth I prefer to keep the blower open a touch when running these small steamers. It sure keeps the fire bright. You burn more fuel (and water) but it is an option worth paying for.
They can sometimes be a little fussy about the type of fuel you use but small anthrasite seems to suit mine. I asked Roger once how he gets his fuel into such small peices?
He said he grinds them down. I said where can I get a suitable grinder from. He said he made his. He would wouldn't he!


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## AsterUK (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice video Tom.

These John Shawe conversion of Roundhouse locos really do work well. 

The John Shawe 1/32nd scale coal conversion are more spectacular but these NG models are much easier to fire and control as you show us in this video.

Cheers.


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By main131 on 26 Sep 2010 11:50 AM 
We have two really great makers of coal fired engines engines in the smaller gauges here in the UK.
They are Roger Marsh and John Shawe, although in your case John has converted a Roundhouse loco which makes the package a little expensive.
John would argue that it is still the cheaper option than building from scratch.
It is a credit to Roundhouse quality that John sees fit to use them as a prototype.

For what it's worth I prefer to keep the blower open a touch when running these small steamers. It sure keeps the fire bright. You burn more fuel (and water) but it is an option worth paying for.
They can sometimes be a little fussy about the type of fuel you use but small anthrasite seems to suit mine. I asked Roger once how he gets his fuel into such small peices?
He said he grinds them down. I said where can I get a suitable grinder from. He said he made his. He would wouldn't he! 
I am sure a few others might come to mind but I believe that David Bailey can be on the list....


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