Superheater

[Michael FosterParticipant @michaelfoster47072]

I have bought a part built bantam cock, with a boiler in early stages. The tubeplates are drilled without tubes for superheaters; like early boilers were. my question – are superheaters really necessary for a loco like this?. Does anyone have evidence that they will make a noticeable difference to performance. This boiler is quite large for a 3.5" gauge. The barrel is 4.5" OD , is round top , with a wide firebox. There is no combustion chamber. Any opinions/advice would be much appreciated. I was surprised to find there is no similar thread already.

[Michael FosterParticipant @michaelfoster47072]

An old chestnut – Is it worth it?

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

necessary – no

desirable – yes

there was an article by a chap called Wallbank in ME a couple of years ago which went into it in detail. For the extra effort of making new firebox and smokebox tubeplates I'd definitely go for it, and use radiant elements, much more effective than LBSC type

[Author]

Posts