RE: Aristocraft 2-8-2 steamer.
My first thoughts also, plastic shell? My second thought was how can it be pulled off and a metal shell applied. Steve Ciambrone Vance, Im ambivalent about this ,to me a great deal of the joy in this live steam hobby is Tactile/Visual and by this I mean ,if the full size loco had wood end beams , then the model should have too,and if the smokebox was metal then so should the model!and if the full size one was lit up and fussed over /lubed and prepared by the driver, then thats what I want to do as well..it seems they are marketing it to the switch on and run crowd.no knowledge needed! I think we may hear some grievous stories in the future. Gordon Watson.
Re: Aristocraft 2-8-2 steamer.
Gordon, I'm with you in many respects! Geoff. Im ambivalent about this ,to me a great deal of the joy in this live steam hobby is Tactile/Visual and by this I mean ,if the full size loco had wood end beams , then the model should have too,and if the smokebox was metal then so should the model!and if the full size one was lit up and fussed over /lubed and prepared by the driver, then thats what I want to do as well..it seems they are marketing it to the switch on and run crowd.no knowledge needed! I think we may hear some grievous stories in the future. Gordon Watson.
Re: Aristocraft 2-8-2 steamer.
Hello All, When I had time at the convention I watched the engine run. It was running light and the pressure gauge was barely at the first mark. Didn't see if it was a 80 or 120 psi gauge. The point being is that it was running cool. The boiler shell and domes ARE plastic. My concern is will the plastic warp over time and higher temps. My experence in the car dealerships with plastic valve covers and intake manifolds says no. I thought the casting seam running lenghwise on the boiler shell was a turn off and the sound system chuffs don't go with the stack talk. The engine is RC only. There are no levers to control it manually. Other than that it ran well. I think it will appeal mainly to Aristocraft fans that want to get into live steam. Dave Hottmann - Original Message - From: Ciambrone, Steve @ OS [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Multiple recipients of sslivesteam [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, August 16, 2004 9:40 AM Subject: RE: Aristocraft 2-8-2 steamer. My first thoughts also, plastic shell? My second thought was how can it be pulled off and a metal shell applied. Steve Ciambrone Vance, Im ambivalent about this ,to me a great deal of the joy in this live steam hobby is Tactile/Visual and by this I mean ,if the full size loco had wood end beams , then the model should have too,and if the smokebox was metal then so should the model!and if the full size one was lit up and fussed over /lubed and prepared by the driver, then thats what I want to do as well..it seems they are marketing it to the switch on and run crowd.no knowledge needed! I think we may hear some grievous stories in the future. Gordon Watson.
Re: Aristocraft 2-8-2 steamer.
When I had time at the convention I watched the engine run. I was stuck inside most of the time, so I regret that I didn't get to see it run. I examined it at the Aristo booth, however, and talked to Lewis Polk about it. The boiler shell and domes ARE plastic. My concern is will the plastic warp over time and higher temps. That's the big question, of course. There's a layer of Fiberfrax or some similar material between the boiler and the plastic shell, but I wonder whether that will hold the heat away from the plastic enough to protect it completely. Of couse, if your plan is to strip it and build a real loco from it, that's moot. The engine is RC only. There are no levers to control it manually. But the throttle is a conventional backhead design, with a horn and a reach rod coming up from below the footplate. If you wanted to disconnect the R/C from the throttle, you certainly could. I didn't really pay attention to the reverser, so it could be that one's going to be harder to do. There were some funny gears or cams behind the Walschaerts expansion link that were identified to me as being part of the reversing mechanism -- perhaps they have a servo instead of a weigh shaft? I think it will appeal mainly to Aristocraft fans that want to get into live steam. Agreed, but that's a market of unknown (to us) size. Maybe Mr. Polk knows something we don't? regards, -vance- Vance Bass Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Small-scale live steam resources: http://www.nmia.com/~vrbass
Re: Aristocraft 2-8-2 steamer.
Fellow Steamers and Learned Skeptics I have thrown my hat into Aristocraft's ring, for the 1,500-1,600 bucks this engine will cost, I'm willing to see how far along modern manufacturing coupled with imagenation, marketing and materials has come. I don't expect miracles, I do expect a look over the edgecome what may. I have heard the negativity, some of it may be warrented. I intend to find out first hand (blistered or not) if Mr. Polk's Mikado is a winner or not. My limited experience is with a pair of Ruby's, not much to be sure. Other than that, many radio controlled models, planes, ships, on and off road cars comprise my building and tinkering backround. Questions about high heat materials? No worries, I've dry steamed my wife's tea pot numerious times and I can still identify the handle and the lid. All kidding aside, I believe that some of the new plastics (aerospace-industrial) can handle the heat and also be molded with enough detail to allow an acceptable piece of work right out of the box. Hey, we'll see and I'll keep you all posted, we have some time before these engines hit the shore. Spring '05? We'll see, how many are still waiting for the Ruby Kit? Let's face it, would'nt it be great if this Mikado is a resonding success? _ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! hthttp://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/
Re: Aristocraft 2-8-2 steamer.
Thanks Dan, I, for one, look forward to your reports. We will all learn something from your experiences so BE SURE to keep us posted. When do you receive the loco? Geoff. Fellow Steamers and Learned Skeptics I have thrown my hat into Aristocraft's ring, for the 1,500-1,600 bucks this engine will cost, I'm willing to see how far along modern manufacturing coupled with imagenation, marketing and materials has come. I don't expect miracles, I do expect a look over the edgecome what may. I have heard the negativity, some of it may be warrented. I intend to find out first hand (blistered or not) if Mr. Polk's Mikado is a winner or not. My limited experience is with a pair of Ruby's, not much to be sure. Other than that, many radio controlled models, planes, ships, on and off road cars comprise my building and tinkering backround. Questions about high heat materials? No worries, I've dry steamed my wife's tea pot numerious times and I can still identify the handle and the lid. All kidding aside, I believe that some of the new plastics (aerospace-industrial) can handle the heat and also be molded with enough detail to allow an acceptable piece of work right out of the box. Hey, we'll see and I'll keep you all posted, we have some time before these engines hit the shore. Spring '05? We'll see, how many are still waiting for the Ruby Kit? Let's face it, would'nt it be great if this Mikado is a resonding success? _ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! hthttp://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/
