A tired Regner Stainz arrives on the railway

[artfull dodger]

Many moons ago, I had the black/red version of the Regner Stainz. I ended up selling it off and have regretted that one the most of all the engines I have sold. The Regner TSSD Mallet I got in trade for a couple vintage steamer was a real turd, so to make up for it being a total mess, he sent me this one. The Stainz is in better shape, but needs new eccentric rods for its Allen valve gear. This was his first engine and was run extensively on his ground level railway without the knowledge about keeping the engine clean. So the grit and grime wore the valve gear badly. The main and side rods are fine thankfully. She raises steam good, has full RC(although the gears in the servo for the drain cocks are stripped). I lack a 3 channel radio, so I made the drain cocks manual control for now like my old Stainz was. Hopefully Regner can supply some fresh eccentric rods and lobes so I can refresh things. Took me nearly 4 hours with Q tips and WD40 to clean and flush things to look this good. She was super filthy. AD.

 

[dunnyrail]

Many moons ago, I had the black/red version of the Regner Stainz. I ended up selling it off and have regretted that one the most of all the engines I have sold. The Regner TSSD Mallet I got in trade for a couple vintage steamer was a real turd, so to make up for it being a total mess, he sent me this one. The Stainz is in better shape, but needs new eccentric rods for its Allen valve gear. This was his first engine and was run extensively on his ground level railway without the knowledge about keeping the engine clean. So the grit and grime wore the valve gear badly. The main and side rods are fine thankfully. She raises steam good, has full RC(although the gears in the servo for the drain cocks are stripped). I lack a 3 channel radio, so I made the drain cocks manual control for now like my old Stainz was. Hopefully Regner can supply some fresh eccentric rods and lobes so I can refresh things. Took me nearly 4 hours with Q tips and WD40 to clean and flush things to look this good. She was super filthy. AD.

Nice to see a Regner Herbert, me n a couple of friends call Stainz Herbert. Dont ask me why, lost in the depths of time and 1.5 decades.

 

[artfull dodger]

Hopefully Regner has the needed parts for "Herbert" so he can run under his own steam again. Otherwise I may have to take a crack at making brass bushings for the eccentric rods. The outboard eccentric is the worse, the inside one isnt to bad and would probably be ok. If Regner has the parts, new eccentric rods and their lobes will get replaced. He also fitted a RH gas tank in the cab. If the have original style tanks, that might get swapped out as well. My goal is to get him as close to factory set up as possible. He also fitted a water top up in the cab, vs using the stand pipe set up. Which probably leaked badly as my last Staniz leaked and its a major teardown to get to the valve which is under the boiler inside the frame.

 

[artfull dodger]

She is all torn to bits on my bench now. The tiny twin O rings on each line that feeds steam to the cylinder have perished. No good local source I can find so I await them from another source. So I took all the valve gear off, cylinders off and gave everything a good deep cleaning. Plenty of wear on the rear crank pins(they are pressed into the drives from the looks of it, so not much I can do there. No word from Regner yet on replacement parts. The main and side rods will survive a bit longer, but I definatlly need new eccentric rods and their matching lobes that they ride on. I did replumb the original funnel thing along side the boiler as the water top up, it seeps some, as did my other one. I need to get some white vineger to pump thru the valve to flush it. That helped my last Stainz.

 

[Henri]

That engine is very high on the want list, but prices are very steep, if ever available... Very very nice engine!

 

[artfull dodger]

Ash models in the UK have one for sale, but its not cheap at 1895 pounds. But they are a rare model to see up for sale. No word back yet from Regner if they have any parts for these still to refresh the worn valve gear.

 

[AustrianNG]

I owned one.
I wouldn’t buy another.
Not a good runner.
The scale doesn’t match much rolling stock

 

[artfull dodger]

I used to have the black/red version, it ran fine as long as the valve gear was adjusted properly. I find that Regner engines with their smaller cylinder tend to need lots of throttle to get them to move(much like a real locomotive), then the throttle quickly reduced to keep speed in check once moving. So they run best if RC controlled. Not sure what scale your dealing with. My Regner Stainz matches the "scale" or "size" of my LGB Stainz just fine. So it looks fine pulling normal LGB rolling stock. Maybe your running 16mm scale rolling stock on 45mm track and that is not what it matches. Even with worn out valve gear, with some adjustment I have my Stainz able to run, just not as good as it should.
I do wish Roundhouse would do another Continental style engine other than Billy. William was one of my favorites but I missed out getting one when it was in production. I would love to see them do the Zillertal engine thats on loan to the W&L, or the 0-8-0 that they are almost done restoring back to operation on that railway. I keep my fingers crossed each time RH announces new engines each year that they might get my $$ that year, but nothing so far. The Regner 2-8-0t kit is on next years wish list when I get my profit sharing check in March, unless I find one of the Harz 2-10-2T they did a few years ago. I just bought the 0-6-0T that Ash Models had for sale.

 

[AustrianNG]

This was my Regner Stainz. Long gone now, no regrets on selling it.
As you can see from the film clip, running as fast as a scalded cat, but the throttle had very little effect on the RC. The run shown in the clip was not good - I had to give the loco a nudge twice......
On my other laptop from a few years back I have photos of it - it was definitely bigger than an LGB Stainz, which is around 1:19 scale based on actual dimensions.

 

[artfull dodger]

Couple things you didnt factor in and is inclusive to live steam. They need a load to pull to tame them a bit. Most every side rod loco I have owned needed a load of some type to tempter their speed. Second, a live steam model when new, tends to get stiff when they got hot and need several hours of run time in steam before they really run really well. Roundhouse does this in house, running the models for nearly 13 hours before the new owner receives their model. Regner, not so much. My 0-6-0T Regner does just fine with several LGB coaches behind it, as will Stainz. My first Stainz, the black/red version, ran just fine and not like a scalded cat. But I always ran with a load and it was run in nicely. Neither the Regner nor the LGB is correct for the real loco, which has a much longer wheel base. This can be see by looking at how long the eccentric rods are between the rear axle crank and the straight link that shifts. My Regner matches my LGB 2020 very closely in dimensions. Now many times in live steam models, some things are "adjusted" measurement wise to allow for mass production of a live steam model.

 

[artfull dodger]

Just put all new rods, valve gear and the proper gas tank set up on the Stainz this afternoon. Runs smooth as butter on air and steam. One quirk I found on these, maybe why Paul's was so skittish. The RC control on the valve gear likes to put the sliding block all the way to the stop in the straight expansion link. This tends to put a bit of a bind/resistance in the valve motion. I found if I back the valve gear off just a tiny bit, she runs soooooo much better. The throw of the valve gear is less than the servo's throw. So having the ablity to vary the position of the servo really helps. I use a RCS Tx1 palm transmitter, so its simple to set the valve gear in any position I want. Track time with video tomorrow, it was getting dark by the time I got done and ate dinner. Huge thanks to the crew at Regner for finding all the needed parts to get one of their older models up and running again.

My next upgrades will be the teflon cup pistons and a new metal gear servo for the cylinder cocks, which are manual control right now. Mike

 

[artfull dodger]

Here is a video for you all, showing that yes, a Regner Stainz, can be well controlled once properly run in and with an excellent RC set up to attend to the throttle as needed. We have become a bit spoiled with the already run in engines from Roundhouse and forget that other builders do not do this and that its up to us as new owners to run in the model. When I build up a new Regner or get an Accucraft. The first several runs are on my rolling road on my workbench. That way I can run in the model and see how it responds to the throttle. Like the real Stainz, sometimes he doesn't want to self start. But with the throttle open, rocking the valve gear to reverse then back to forward, away he goes. I read that the prototype is the same way at times. Enjoy! AD

 

[PhilP]

A small dragon, running at a controlled, sensible pace.

I am very impressed!


PhilP

 

[artfull dodger]

Its all about having a properly run in model and the right type of RC control. If I was trying to do that with a twin stick radio, the running would not be as sedate and controlled. But with a hand held that is much like what most of us use to control smaller scale electric trains, fine control is indeed very possible. Mike

 

[Paul M]

A smashing little engine. As you say, like the real things, every steamer is different, and you need to learn its vices

 

[dunnyrail]

Lovely job and run, my Roundhouse now have Spoerer (now Fosworks) hand sets and indeed they are much better than them orrible stick things that are only really suitable for planes, boats and cars.

 

[tac foley]

I would love to see them do the Zillertal engine thats on loan to the W&L, or the 0-8-0 that they are almost done restoring back to operation on that railway.

I've been asking both RH and Accucraft [makers of much W&L stuff] to make 'Sir Drefaldwyn' since the turn of the century with great lack of success. However, a couple of years back at the first Llanfair show for two years, no less than TWO of the 0-8-0s appeared on a demo layout at Raven Square. One was in 1/22.5, hauling LGB-style stock and the other in 16mm, hauling Accucraft Pickering cars - both were live steam AND R/C and were owned by the same person, who was running them together. I asked for the name of the builder, but was politely ignored, although sums of money in the region of £5000 for both was hinted at.