Hello Stewart,

Welcome to the forum. The picture below is the 'standard backhead' as per the original plans, but be aware that many builders have their own ideas and your might be different.

Also, if you are unfamiliar with operating a live steam loco, it's probably agood idea to get some advice on how teh various controls work, as well as firing etc.

At the very least, give this article on managing small locomotives a very good read.

Good luck!

Neil

<edit>

The valve at the bottom of the sight glass is  a blowdown valve for clearing it of limescale and general crud. The big unlabelled lever at top centre is the regulator (i.e. control for steam to the cylinders).

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 18/01/2015 14:07:05

Hi stewart. I am working on a pansy at the moment. What you may have is the following. Looking at the locomotive backhead. Lower right hand side, water valve for injector. Middle right hand side blower valve.upper right hand side injector steam valve. On the left hand side you will have the water gauge blow down valve. Michael

stewart. in a word yes. Michael this is a pic of my pansy back head before the rebuild. michael

Edited By terry callaghan on 20/01/2015 09:37:01

Edited By terry callaghan on 20/01/2015 09:39:51

Do you have a hand pump for pumping water into the boiler? The original design was to put one in one of the pannier tanks but sometimes they are in the coal bunker.
Is there any pipework associated with this? It could have been an attempt to put in a second hand pump that proved difficult to use. It could also have something to do with feeding water from a spare tank in the driving trolley.

Sorry Stewart, I missed your reply,. Please post a photo, but I'm no expert on live steam locos, I just have access to the Pansy plans.

I doubt anyone will be able to be 100% sure of what any extra valves etc. are, you need to trace the pipework and see what they are joined up to.

Neil

Hi Stewart,

What you are describing as a 3 way valve is the actual injector itself that puts the water into the boiler. It will no doubt be a commercially bought one (although some of us do make our own – not easy!)

John

Hi Stewart

Have a look at http://www.dvr.com.au/all-about-us/injectors.php

I hope VN does not have all the blocks that your neighbours to the west do re googling info. There is a wealth of info on the net

Sounds like your engine just needs a good going over, but first, how's the boiler, has it had a recent inspection, hydrostatic test, etc? If you are pretty new to live steamers, I found the publication called Beginners Guide to Model Steam locomotives by Tim Coles to be a great read.

Andrew

Stewart,
It will definately help to have some picdtures so look around this site for instructions which have been posted a few times. You might be able to put some on a picture share site but those tend to be a problem with us having to be members of the site too. Have you worked out the 'private message' (PM) system on this site? I will send you a PM.

You mentioned two brass bits with holes by the coal shute. If one goes to the T-piece what abut the other?
The injector will not work well with warm water – don't rely on it. The hanging down pipe is an overflow. Water will come out of that when you turn on the water supply. You only then turn on the steam supply and look for the overflow to stop which means the water is going into the boiler instead. Then you stop the steam and see the water overflow again. Injectors are very sensitive to temperature and pressure, easily clogged by dirt, and like they say in car manual "not user serviceable" (until you are a lot more skilled).

Not clear what you mean about the safety valve – they can weep a lot if not well made and also may need slight adjustment. Sometimes you have to push down on the pin in the middle with a screwdriver to let the steam blow off any scale on the valve seat and re-position itself.

You may find the regulator tight or jammed when cold. Don't force it. It will relax when hot.
The slide valvse for the pistons are under the cylinder block and hang down from the valve face when stopped. When you start it takes a bit of extra steam to push the valve up into contact with the face so steam leaks straight up the chimney initially and Pansy does not make a slow gentle start. This is normal. You may also have a drain valve (hopefully) under the cylinder block connected to a lever somehow in the cab. You open this before starting and close it after a few yards. It will leak steam and water when open and reduce power but is meant to.

I second the tim coles book. as to the waterworks of the pansy per the drawings. Under the side water tanks are to valves. you will find them just behind the smoke box on the boiler. these two valves are called clack valves and they are just one way valves that work by pressure moving a ball inside. sometimes these balls get locked in position and need cleaning along with the valve body. You do need to make sure these valves both work or no water will get into the boiler from the injector or the axle pump. On the left hand side of the loco from the firebox end under the water tank you will find a tee junction in the pipe work. the pipe that leads to the front of the loco ends up at the clack valve on the left hand side. the pipe that travels under the boiler and then leads back to the cab ends up at the axle pump return valve in the right hand water tank. the pipe from the foot of the tee leads to the axle pump. also on the end of the left hand water tank cab end is a pipe that leads to a further clack valve for the hand pump. you then have on the right hand tank near the cab a water feed to the injector and from the injector towards the front of the loco a further pipe leads to the clack valve under the right hand side water tank. the injectors work a bit like a paint spray gun. instead of compressed air, steam is used to pick up the water and force it into the boiler. use lemon juice to bath valves etc in overnight to clean them. I am working on a pansy at the moment if I can be of help please let me know. michael

I have put some photos up under Ern Marshall in ALBUMS.

We are struggling to figure out how to remove the firebox….ANY suggestions will be appreciated

hi ern,

it looks to be a very nicely made Pansy with lots of extra detail added and a much better arrangement of backhead fittings with a proper manifold.

dismantling the loco ought to be straighforward. however a lot will depend on what other differences have been incorporated by the original builder. if you are not careful and are not sure of what you are doing you could easily cause a lot of damage.

the smokebox is secured to the tops of the frames exactly as per your pics via a line of screws. this is the angled very top row of countersunk holes close to the top edge of the frames. all these need removing.

anything securing the tanks to the running boards and brackets underneath will need undoing. at the moment it looks like the tanks are holding down the boiler as the 'boxes' that the tanks are secured to are still attached to the running boards.

on the sides of the firebox on the top of the frames is the angle that supports the firebox. there may be a securing clasp over this angle that needs removing. you will also have to remove the blowdown valves from the sides of the firebox.

the boiler and smokebox should then be able to be tilted upwards from the front slightly and the whole lot lifted out.

if all you want to do is replace the lifting link pin then it isnt necessary to remove the boiler or smokebox anyway!

the plans do not contain all the construction details. you really need to obtain the construction series itself (ME 1958/9)_

cheers,

julian