Alishan shay

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Fetchamshay

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Has anybody had any trouble with steaming the Astor Alishan Shay locomotive?
I have purchased a second one and it will not hold steam, it leaks straight through to the chimney.
Fetcham shay.
 
Fetchamshay said:
Has anybody had any trouble with steaming the Astor Alishan Shay locomotive?
I have purchased a second one and it will not hold steam, it leaks straight through to the chimney.
Fetcham shay.
Click to expand...
Ok bit more info please.

1-Does Steam leak out if the regulator is closed?
2-I presume you can get steam up to pressure with the regulator closed and the leak is when you open the regulator?
 
There is no steam leak with reg closed.
Steam gets upto pressure with reg closed but but leaks to chimney when it is opened.
 
Fetchamshay said:
There is no steam leak with reg closed.
Steam gets upto pressure with reg closed but but leaks to chimney when it is opened.
Click to expand...
Hm ok sounds like there may be a leak in the superheater tube if there is one. To check if one is fitted where does the pipe from the regulator go? If through the boiler then out somewhere (likely by the smokebox) to the cylinders the leak could be somewhere in the fire tube.

Not impossible to fix but unless you can do silver soldering and know how to bend pipe correct a professional should be able to fix for you. I forget what type of tube is used for the superheater one, but not copper or brass as the temperature is too high in the flame I think.

Tac of this forum may be able to direct you to someone who should be able to fix for you.
 
Just read your other posts, apparently these are meths fired that makes things somewhat different. But I think there may still be a tube from the flame to the chimney, if so then the leak could still be in that.
 
Superheater tubes are, I think stainless. I had one go on my Accucraft Peveril, and got a replacement made up by someone; it needed a fair bit of spannering to fit it (front bufferbeam & smokebox off, cab & side tanks off, gas tank out) but was just about within my comfort zone. I Iearnt a lot along the way, needless to say. But there are several independent specialists (Rhos Helyg Locomotive Works spring to mind, tho' I've never used them; others are available) who will undertake this kind of work.
 
Obviously there's a problem somewhere. I know nothing about this loco, so excuse some silly questions. Can you see through the boiler at all through the smoke box door? If you can leave it open and see what's going on?
 
No, I just recently took the smokenox door off to have a look and could see nothing except the steam exhaust pipe and the blower pipe.
 
If you can see all the way through the boiler of your Aster Alishan Shay then you have a VERY serious problem. I've never seen a 'see-through' meth-fired model so far in over forty years.... However, on a more useful note, depending on the age and useage, your loco could just be plumb wore out - the first series are up to 47 years old now, tha' knaws. Even the second series are ten years old now, but gas-fired.

In the first series the entire three-cylinder motor block is a single die-casting, and they do wear out. Spares are virtually non-existent.

Sadly, it sounds liker a tear-down to me, and with that in mind, I recommend THE man - Geoff Calver at Rushford Barn, near Newmarket. He takes in, builds, repairs and deals in mostly Aster and UK-grown custom builders products. Give him website - Rushford Barn Models - a shake and make your number with him. Tell him I sent you. If you are not a member of G1MRA then you might consider it, but it's not a requirement of getting Geoff's services. He rebuild my Accucraft Royal Hudson after it was trashed by the TSA in San Francisco, and made a beautiful job. My Aster Br01 came from him, as well.

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