After casting a discerning ear over my BIL's Accucraft 'Ragleth' loco on a recent visit to North Wales, I decided to take the plunge and get Matt Towell, prop of Barley Pit Works to do the same to a couple of my live-steamers. Although my early model 'Earless' off the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway was never particularly noisy, there were times running over on our recently-completed 45mm track at Ramsey Mereside when it had to be cranked up considerably, due to the howling 'wind off the steppes' that marks that part of East Anglia on most running days.
Rather than mess around doing it myself, and also to get a weeping gauge glass fixed, mrs tac and I went to the premises and handed 'Earless' and my three-cylinder Shay over for some work to be done professionally. The Shay, after many years of great steaming, needed re-timing so that it ran smoothly in each direction, and a fitting of one of Matt's burners, too.
I collected the 'Earless' loco at the show [the Shay to be collected soon], and fired it up as soon as I got home. All I can say is that the difference seems to be remarkable. Almost instant fire-up even at low gas-flow, and minimum noise, even when cranked up for a long train of Welshpool stock - that's one of each of all the wagons - doubling up for the bolster set - a guards van and three Pickering passenger coaches.
VERY smooth and very quiet - near silent, in fact, even with my NHS ear trumpets turned up to maximum.
Highly recommended.
Next, the NG/G16 Beyer-Garratt....
tac
Rather than mess around doing it myself, and also to get a weeping gauge glass fixed, mrs tac and I went to the premises and handed 'Earless' and my three-cylinder Shay over for some work to be done professionally. The Shay, after many years of great steaming, needed re-timing so that it ran smoothly in each direction, and a fitting of one of Matt's burners, too.
I collected the 'Earless' loco at the show [the Shay to be collected soon], and fired it up as soon as I got home. All I can say is that the difference seems to be remarkable. Almost instant fire-up even at low gas-flow, and minimum noise, even when cranked up for a long train of Welshpool stock - that's one of each of all the wagons - doubling up for the bolster set - a guards van and three Pickering passenger coaches.
VERY smooth and very quiet - near silent, in fact, even with my NHS ear trumpets turned up to maximum.
Highly recommended.
Next, the NG/G16 Beyer-Garratt....
tac