Having been raised in Wiltshire and a keen train spotter, the GWR Castle has always been a favourite. When Aster released their Castle kit I became seriously tempted, even though I have a G Scale railway and a Gauge 3 railway but no Gauge 1 railway. The recent strength of the Australian dollar made the price more attractive so I took the plunge.
It took 105 hours over three months to build the kit. But it has to have been easily the best kit I have ever made. The quality is absolutely superb and consists of 644 components plus fasteners. With full inside Walshearts valve gear and four working cylinders, assembly has to be done with great care.
And so I arrived at the Great Southern Steamup in Emerald, Victoria last Saturday with my Castle under my arm; finished but never steamed. I was a nervous wreck. Would there be steam leaks? Would the inside valve gear disintegrate in heap of loose screws the first time it moved. I needn't have worried. It ran beautifully at the first attempt, under the watchful eye of steam maestro Gordon Watson and, after the wicks had been trimmed, was pulling eight coaches on the third steaming.
But what impressed me most was driving the Castle. It's quite a complex balancing act which makes gas fired locos look simple to drive. My checklist for raising steam has 19 steps. When running, the regulator, blower, by-pass and cut-off all have to be delicately balanced:
[UL][*]The regulator - controls the steam delivered to the cylinders and hence the power[*]The blower - turned on to keep the fire up when static. Also needs a bit of a tweak when pulling larger loads up gradients at lower speeds[*]Cut-off - set high for maximum power or reduced to save on fuel and water[*]By-pass - Too high and the water level in the boiler is reduced, too low and too much cold water in the boiler reduces steam output. [/UL] And while all this is going on, you have to pressurise the lubrication, watch the gauge glass, minimise the safety valve blowing off and check the water level in the tender.
So now I have to really learn how to drive a steam engine. Wonderful.
It took 105 hours over three months to build the kit. But it has to have been easily the best kit I have ever made. The quality is absolutely superb and consists of 644 components plus fasteners. With full inside Walshearts valve gear and four working cylinders, assembly has to be done with great care.
And so I arrived at the Great Southern Steamup in Emerald, Victoria last Saturday with my Castle under my arm; finished but never steamed. I was a nervous wreck. Would there be steam leaks? Would the inside valve gear disintegrate in heap of loose screws the first time it moved. I needn't have worried. It ran beautifully at the first attempt, under the watchful eye of steam maestro Gordon Watson and, after the wicks had been trimmed, was pulling eight coaches on the third steaming.
But what impressed me most was driving the Castle. It's quite a complex balancing act which makes gas fired locos look simple to drive. My checklist for raising steam has 19 steps. When running, the regulator, blower, by-pass and cut-off all have to be delicately balanced:
[UL][*]The regulator - controls the steam delivered to the cylinders and hence the power[*]The blower - turned on to keep the fire up when static. Also needs a bit of a tweak when pulling larger loads up gradients at lower speeds[*]Cut-off - set high for maximum power or reduced to save on fuel and water[*]By-pass - Too high and the water level in the boiler is reduced, too low and too much cold water in the boiler reduces steam output. [/UL] And while all this is going on, you have to pressurise the lubrication, watch the gauge glass, minimise the safety valve blowing off and check the water level in the tender.
So now I have to really learn how to drive a steam engine. Wonderful.
