I am new to the forum and I live in Geneva switzerland, but there is no club which I can look to advice for really. Im 17 and I have no workshop but I am obssesed with steam, mainly because of my english family. In December last year, I jumped at the opurtunity to buy a part built 5" railmotor. I am planning on finishing the loco by buying most of the parts ( mainly boiler fittings) and relying on my grandad workshop for anything else. I think I might change the body work from a traditional railmotor but keep the engine as simple as possible.
First of all, I would love to know if any of you can give me any information on past experinces with steaming a railmotor ( past problems, pulling power etc..) and also, I little quiery I have, do I need a mechanical lubricator?
my first loco which i started when 16 was a RAILMOTOR collecting the castings and drawings on my bike from don young's home at adgestone.. i was advised by Don to match the No.2 chasis with the No.1 boiler and No.2 cylinder bore, which i did. the loco performed superbly and steamed on a candle. in fact it was such a boring loco to drive i sold it to a good friend who still runs it regularly and wont sell it back to me!
you need some form of positive fsteam oil feed for the cylinders whether the mechanical lubricator or sight feed hydrostatic lubricator.
do not attach the water gauge to the manifold/turret – fit a separate elbow on top of the boiler backhead. and make sure the front springs are quite stiff. othewise an excellent design and thoroughly recommended (and far better IMHO than a serial currently in ME!).
Is a book which you could recommend me to read give me a bit more guidance? I have added the photos on my profile. My loco is a no 1, although I have to say I think I would have preferred a no 2 tank engine, me being a tank engine fan myself. However, I am lucky with the fact that most of the hard work is done for me so I can still change the cosmetic appearance.
Oh and also, I know it isn't but if it were you, what would you do first apart from test the boiler. I really haven't touched the engine since I bought it off ebay in December.
you ought to get your club to test the boiler. the rivets to the firebox outer wrapper look a bit too much to me like run over with comsol rather than silver solder, and far too many rivets for my liking. not a good start im afraid though perhaps (and hope) your pics are deceptive.
any further help required re Don's RAILMOTOR happy to help. perhaps easier to PM me with your email etc.