# Must have upgrades to live steam products...



## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Another thread mentions "Must Have" upgrades. I almost posted this there, but, in retrospect, I decided it deserved a thread by itself. The two that immediately come to mind are chuffers, like the Summerland, and the Terry Robinson's SloMo, as seen here on my Roundhouse Katie...


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Woah - that SloMo is neat. There have been discussions about inertia-simulators, usually using flywheels, for years. This is the first compact professionally built one I have seen.

http://smallsteamperformance.com.au/

And apparently we talked about it before (Sept 2014) though I don't recall it.
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/40682-return-momentum-inertia-drag-slomo-car.html


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## Charles M (Jan 2, 2008)

Tom,

I agree the Slomo and Chuffer are two must haves for locos that they can be fitted to. I have both on my Accucraft " Earl " and they make a big difference in how the engine runs and sounds. 

Charles M SA#74


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

I just finished installing a Slomo in a weighted-down dump car, to be used behind a number of my sand and clay hauling engines. My track is buried under leaves at the moment, so I plan to give it a good show and tell at Diamondhead. 

Larry


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Hmm, I found the number one item for my Accucraft locos was to replace the leaky pop valve with one from Jim's Wee Bee loco works, available from Jason. Considerable difference on my Forney, and C-16

Jerry


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## Tom Bowdler (Jan 3, 2008)

I'll chime in,
I'm awaiting arrival of my slomo (any day now) for my Roundhouse Darjeeling B. From what I've seen it will transform the locomotive. I'm very interested in Larry's (and Chris Bird's) slo mo wagon which would allow one device to be used with several locos. Be prepared to show me at DH Larry.
Jerry is right on with his wee bee pop valve recommendation to which I would add a goodall valve as a must have.
I'm sorry Tom and Charles but I don't share your opinion on the chuffer. I have a couple on locos and woulld like to try the adjustable FX model. Outdoors OK, but indoors I find them irritating after a short time. Jeff Young was able to "soften" the sound effects by drilling a hole in the top while retaining the advantage of directing the start up spittle downwards to keep the loco clean. They are a mixed blessing for me.
My opinions,
Tom


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

when running my sandy river, i have to hold my ears when i lean over the chuffer, it is thaty loud(i agree with tom that indoors they can get a little annoyin, but outside they are GREAT!) i thought about a slo mo, but mine runs pretty good as it is


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## TonyW (Jul 5, 2009)

Black wheels.


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## lotsasteam (Jan 3, 2008)

Credit Card !


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

first aid kit for burnt fingers.


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## Steve Ciambrone (Feb 25, 2014)

I attended a Steam Up recently and even outside the Chuffer on a participants locomotive was really too loud. If it was just turned down a few notches it would have been Ok.

I have the same 0-6-0, I recommend radio control if you like, and then just run it a while as is, they do run really well.

Steve


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## rwjenkins (Jan 2, 2008)

The "Bark Box" is another alternative to the Summerlands Chuffer, the sound is generally deeper and mellower in tone, and not quite as loud as the Chuffer, but still satisfying, especially when the engine is working hard. Here's a video of my K-27, which has one installed.






Here's the link to the Bark Box website (no affiliation, just a satisfied customer):http://www.trainsales.com/barkbox.htm


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Steve Ciambrone said:


> I attended a Steam Up recently and even outside the Chuffer on a participants locomotive was really too loud. If it was just turned down a few notches it would have been Ok.
> . . . .
> 
> Steve


I find the Chuffers can be loud, which is good if that's what you want. They do control the Accucraft loco's tendency to toss crap out of the stack - all my Chuffer'd locos are clean.

There's an adjustable version, which I have in my EBT #12. It was too loud (and EBT engines have a very soft chuff anyway.) So I moved the Chuffer down the pipe into the smokebox out of the stack - now a I get a soft chuff and no oily dump out of the stack!

In orther words, if you want a quiet chuff and no oil, get a Chuffer that fits low in the stack. Jason at TTD or Chris B will help you pick a good one.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Steve Ciambrone said:


> I attended a Steam Up recently and even outside the Chuffer on a participants locomotive was really too loud. If it was just turned down a few notches it would have been Ok.
> . . . .
> 
> Steve


I find the Chuffer's can be loud, which is good if that's what you want. They do control the Accucraft loco's tendency to toss crap out of the stack - all my Chuffer'd locos are clean.

There's an adjustable version, which I have in my EBT #12. It was too loud (and EBT engines have a very soft chuff anyway.) So I moved the Chuffer down the pipe into the smokebox out of the stack - now a I get a soft chuff and no oily dump out of the stack! 

In other words, if you want a quiet chuff and no oil, get a Chuffer that fits low in the stack. Jason at TTD or Chris B will help you pick a good one. If you want lots of steam, their new ones with the hole on top will give you lots once the loco is warm.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

I have Chuffers in my C16 and in my Accucraft Mason Bogie. The Bogie sounds good even though the stack has baffles in the top. TC16 hardly makes any sound even after I raised it nearly to the top of the stack.


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## John 842 (Oct 1, 2015)

I'm not sure if this qualifies as an upgrade 'to' live steam products, but for me by far and away the most important upgrade to the whole live steam environment for the most satisfaction/enjoyment - is to have at least part of the track elevated to a minimum of 1 meter high.

Of course, the folks who live on a hill have the best of all worlds - a tunnel section - a ground level section - and an elevated section for all the faffing and fiddling about ....


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

John 842 said:


> I'm not sure if this qualifies as an upgrade 'to' live steam products, but for me by far and away the most important upgrade to the whole live steam environment for the most satisfaction/enjoyment - is to have at least part of the track elevated to a minimum of 1 meter high.
> 
> Of course, the folks who live on a hill have the best of all worlds - a tunnel section - a ground level section - and an elevated section for all the faffing and fiddling about ....


As much as I enjoy getting my steamer up & running, I think having a nice, level, chest-height table to run it on really limits the whole "garden railway" experience. I want to see it blasting by trees, stations, and sidings - ideally I want to do operations with it, and I'm not ashamed to add radio control in order to do it.


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

The SloMo and radio control would make a great combination, as seen here...


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## rexcadral (Jan 20, 2016)

steamtom1 said:


> The SloMo and radio control would make a great combination, as seen here...
> https://youtu.be/LdtOTsi4um0


Yeah, I love the concept of a SloMo. Talked a lot to the Austrailian who makes them last year. Problem is, if you're running an inside-framed loco, you're limited to the tender (assuming it's not full of water & butane like mine) or always towing a retrofitted car, which sort of puts a damper on operations.

The whole thing needs to get smaller. A lot smaller, so it fits in 1:29 and 1:32 American mainline steam.

If I ever get around to building my own loco, I will probably build a slomo clone into the frame itself.


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## John 842 (Oct 1, 2015)

rexcadral said:


> As much as I enjoy getting my steamer up & running, I think having a nice, level, chest-height table to run it on really limits the whole "garden railway" experience. I want to see it blasting by trees, stations, and sidings - ideally I want to do operations with it.


Yes, I can apreciate that the whole scenic side of garden railways is important to some - and just as there are people whose main interest is signalling, or railway architecture, or whatever - there are others whose interest may be confined to just the locomotives and trains themselves. I think that it's for these folks where the pros of raised track start to outweigh the cons.

A possible compromise here is to make the raised track-bed much wider than is often used for the track alone so that platforms, buildings, sidings, signalling and othe scenic features can be incorporated. 

Another consideration perhaps, is that anybody with thoughts of welcoming guests, friends and fellow enthusiasts to run on their ground level track, are effectively excluding many older, disabled and otherwise physically disadvantaged people from enjoying the experience that would be available to them on a raised track - some might even argue that it could be seen as socially irresponsible .... 

Of course that wouldn't apply to tracks built for the sole use of the owner, but they tend to be, by definition, rather lonely places. 




> I'm not ashamed to add radio control in order to do it.


I think any shame associated with R/C expired a long time ago with the demise of the old frequencies and the introduction of the modern, cheap and unltra reliable 2.4 gig systems borrowed from the model aircraft industry.

Any lingering doubts among some of the older, dyed in the wool, traditionalists will surely be eliminated by the undignified sight of some poor octogenarian desperately hobbling after his speeding train to reach the throttle before the impending catastrophy of a rapidly appraching bend ....


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

John,
The Brits do a good job of adding scenery to their raised layouts, as seen here. And for all those coal fired wimps, myself included, who insist on using shovels to stoke their locos, check this guy out. He is my role model...


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## Tom Bowdler (Jan 3, 2008)

I'm going to try that method of stoking next time I fire up a coal loky,
NOT! Guessing from the paint job he's a Harley guy, tough as nails.
I've seen a lot of portable layouts with scenery and the G scale club I used to frequent had electric modules with beautiful scenery and structures.
My portable is going to remain a running track but I really miss the garden railway I used to have. Come spring I'm likely to start landscaping parts of my outdoor raised layout. I'll also add sidings for some minimal operations. 
It will be the best of both worlds.
Have fun,
Tom 3


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Pete Thornton said:


> I find the Chuffers can be loud, which is good if that's what you want. They do control the Accucraft loco's tendency to toss crap out of the stack - all my Chuffer'd locos are clean.
> 
> There's an adjustable version, which I have in my EBT #12. It was too loud (and EBT engines have a very soft chuff anyway.) So I moved the Chuffer down the pipe into the smokebox out of the stack - now a I get a soft chuff and no oily dump out of the stack!
> 
> In orther words, if you want a quiet chuff and no oil, get a Chuffer that fits low in the stack. Jason at TTD or Chris B will help you pick a good one.


Thanks for the tip. As my EBT is also quite loud now maybe I can get better sound. Later RJD


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