Bassett Lowke 3/4 Traction Engine

[Glyn DaviesParticipant @glyndavies49417]

I recently aquired a Bassett Lowke 3/4 scale traction engine. Always hankered after one having seen them listed for £136 fully built in a 1959 B-L catalogue. I think mine was sold by a company called Steam Age as a kit in the 1980s and the design seems to have been value engineered in some aspects compared with the 1950s versions.

Anyway, having redrilled the holes in the regulator spindle so that steam can actually get through to the cylinder, and having shortened the valve so that it doesn’t cover all three steam ports, I managed to get it to run bacwards and forwards on compressed air. Not so well on steam though, hence this post. I wondered if anyone has experience of these engines and knows the secret to getting them to run.

Having filled the displacement lubricator with steam oil and the fuel tank with meths, I fill the boiler with boiling water from a kettle and poke my gas lighter under the burners, hoping all four will light. And open the smoke box door, as per the instructions. The problem is the lack of steam pressure. The boiler has five small diameter tubes running underneath longitudinally and connecting the front and lower rear of the boiler, that the burner heats. I don’t know if this is some kind of flash steam system, but whatever it is, it doesnt seem to work on mine. I tried shortening the air vent tube in the fuel tank to raise the level of meths in the burner reservoir, but still no steam and burning meths spilling if I lift the rear of the engine.

I think not being able to see the burners is a big design flaw and I am pondering drilling sight holes in the horn plates. But what is the reason for the tubes under the boiler and does modern meths just not have the heat content of 1950s stuff? All suggestions welcome!

 

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Be patient with me and I will turn up the instructions and other details for this engine. I have the larger 1.5 scale Burrell by bassett Lowke. I WOULD NOT drill holes in anything and some meths is not very good. The rest of the of the team will be along with answers soon. Good luck. Noel.

[Dave WoottonParticipant @davewootton]

As Noel says above some meths is not very good and models will not steam properly on it, my late friend Basil used to source his meths for his gauge one engines from a chap called Cliff Barker in Essex, who  supplies track and specialist items to G1 enthusiasts. I just googled and he still supplies it from his website, before obtaining this he tried countless brands in an attempt to get his loco’s to run well, or in some cases at all. Definitely worth trying a known decent grade of fuel before making any modifications.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

They are known as “smithie” boilers and quite common on small meths and spirit fired boilers, the Stuart Turner 500 series being a good example where there are several water tubes below the main barrel.

The idea is that the tubes increase the heating area compared with the flames just playing on the underside of the main barrel. They also help circulate the water as the heat will make it rise from the backhead or “downcomer” as it was known to the top front of the tube and be replaced by cooler water entering at the backhead

[Glyn DaviesParticipant @glyndavies49417]

Thanks for the replies, I hadn’t realised that the small tubes were used on other model boilers. I ran the engine again today and left out the fuel tank. Filled the burner reservoir directly, keeping a better eye on the fuel level in it. It ran very well. Better than it ever has. It’s quite a sweet little thing!.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Please excuse the interruption, but I am interested to know what is special about Mr Barker’s Meths … or maybe what is bad with the common varity.

I guess the answer is in the term “non reconstituted” but I don’t know what that implies.

https://cliffbarker.me.uk/FuelandLocomotiveItems.html

MichaelG.

[Dave WoottonParticipant @davewootton]

Hi Michael

I confess to having no idea what is so special about Cliff Barkers meths! There have been several articles in the Gauge 1 Association newsletter regarding the difficulty of obtaining decent supplies of meths. I certainly know my friend Basil had me running round various hardware shops trying different brands (he had to give up driving), even with that one batch of Rustins meths would be fine, another bought some weeks after would hardly burn. His loco’s were a mixture of Aster, Basset Lowke and scratchbuilt and would all steam well on good meths, but hardly drag the tender along on inferior. Mr Barkers meths did solve all the steaming problems and many G1 enthusiasts use it, Basil’s answer was to refer to it as single malt! I too would be interested to find out what the difference is.

Dave

 

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

I rather suspect that like any cheap spirits of any sort it’s the water content. Bit like coal, wet coal has a lower calorific value than dry, same with wood.   Noel.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks Dave & Noel

I did a little digging last night, and I think the answer is that some inferior grades are recovered from previously used product, and the good stuff is virgin.

But my brain started to fade when I looked at the Government regulations … So I had another Malt.

MichaelG.

.

 

Ref. https://bartoline.co.uk/product_items/methylated-spirits/

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