Hi,
I've never heard any negative comments about Rogers turnouts. He has used my
nickel silver rail for some of them and the ones I've seen worked very well.
Do not expect overnight shipment though.
The Mike should have no problem with them at all.
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Lunk
Joe,
As it comes from the factory, there is a small screw holding the steam dome
to a 10mm hex plug that screws into the boiler. Norm used the plug to make
the fill valve. He then puts a pin in the steam dome so it fits in the hole
in the 10 mm filler. The dome is thus easy to lift off when you
Advice is free, so take it for what it is worth! By all means do the axel
pump. Forget about the hand pump in the tender and send the plug under the
stean dome to MRTRAIN and have Norm make you a "goodall" type valve for the
initial filling.
Mr. Lunkenheimer authorized the maintenance crew of t
Senior moment -- one of the list members sent me two springs when I talked
about the problem some time ago. I regret that I do not remember who was so
thoughtfull and sent me the springs. They replaced the ones in the trailing
truck. That helped the "trim" a great deal, but the Mike still is a
On a good day, 15 minutes depending...
Small Parts has 100 mesh SS Screen. I use it in the Mikado for wicks, works
great!
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Lunk
Contact Norm Saley @ MRTRAIN@AOL>com
Has anyone heard what ever happened in Michigan with their new boiler law?
Did it ever get applied to our "toy" boilers?
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Lunk
I have one MDC Erie RR 2 bay hopper, would like another 15 or so to put
behind the Mikado.
Keep your steam up!
Walt
USA trains is 1:29 scale
Aristo Craft is 1:29 scale also, but their ex Delton line is 1:24 +/-
LGB is basically 1:22.5
MDC used to have some 1:32, but I haven't heard much about them recently
Marklin has some 1:32 but I have not seen a rolling stock advertisement for
them recently.
If you close o
A short time back, someone mentioned trouble with "spiraling" when bending
rail, especially the longer (8, 10, & 12 foot) lengths. The primary cause is
lack of support for the stock. You must either have two friends (or
accomplices) assist you, or you must have a bending table that supports 75
There are many grades under the name "StayBrite." Some are much more
expensive than others. You are right that larger quantities at welding
supplies are generally less expensive than retail hardware and hobby stores.
Keep your steam up!
Walt, Mr. Lynkenheimer's gofer
Check the rail bender, it may not be mating with the rail properly. The
bender should exert most of its bending force on the WEB of the rail, with
less force on the head and foot. There is some variation on all rail as it is
drawn, and the head or foot can be oversize or undersize by a couple o
Just my 'thoughts'
I've never found the Cricket to be underfired. I think the #3 would provide
too much heat and endanger the smoke box. On both my Crickets you just barely
crack the gas feed open to get more than enough steam using the original
burner.
The Ruby needs more heat because you are
You can also try a good WD-40 bath, followed by an alcohol rinse. Really
cleans up them innards slicker'n grease thru a goose!
B.W. Lunkenheimer
Hi,
The older of the Cricket's at The SWAMP RR (does not have the sump on the
exhaust) is very easy to light once you master the "quick on off on"
technique to get the flame back where it belongs. Mr. Lunkenheimer's Cricket
is a Type A, Series 1, number 101, delivered in July of '98. I do not k
What ever you do, do not loose that little copper thing that is the jet. I'm
sure there are lots of cricket owners that would like to have a spare! I've
never had much of any trouble with the burner or the way the cricket runs out
of gas before the water is used up!
I would not recommend toppin
K,
Try using a little turpentine as a drilling fluid. Do not use a high RPM.
My earlier suggestion of a spotting drill is that those drills have a
narrower angle point that sometimes penetrates work hardened material better.
If you haven't all ready tried it, you may want to anneal the areas bef
Did you try using a spotting drill first? On two occasions I've purchased
drill sets at major "discount" outlets and found they were not properly
pointed. Get out your magnifying glass and look at the points.
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Lunk
A few months ago we got a call asking if The Depot was interested in buying
an Emco lathe and milling machine with lots of attachments. They faxed us a
list of what was included and we faxed that to one of the current retailers
asking for the price of all that stuff now. They replied that today
Hi,
I wonder if Mr. Lunkenheimer would be satisfied with a new chrome plated
choke chain and a new leash for our evening strollstill don't think the
SWAMP RR credit rating is high enough to afford a new 2-6-6-6.
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Mr. Lunkenheimer
As I'm sure most of you know, Jack V. also burns his fingers quite often
running his #1 gauge pufferbellies.
Keep your steam up!
Mr. Lunkenheimer
Hmm, let's look at that word some -- the anti part I recognize, that
means against. For the life of me I don't know what this "cipation" is that
Geoff is against!
Also, who will get the honor of building the loco - as I hear it, they will
ALL be kits. Does each member get a chance to screw
Hi,
I presume we are talking about the H8. Although there is some controversy
about it, I recall reading about C&O suing the builder because the last run
of H8's were over weight and over size. The result being that the H8 is a
little longer, higher, and heavier than the Big Boy! Most cocktail
Hey, your tubing and fittings need complete rest!
Take my advice, I had the same hernia repaired twice, the SOB didn't put in
the mesh the first time. Take it easy for a month, don't lift anything
heavier than 72 ounces (approximately the weight of a six pack).
Keep your steam up!
Walt
Hi,
No, I did not re-set my clocks last night at 2:00 AM. I have one of those
clocks that tune in to WWV every night and adjusts itself to the correct
time, +/- so many milliseconds. Thus I was up WAY before sunrise, but that
gave me a chance to actually eat breakfast before going out to the tr
Victor,
I can't seem to find info on the number of 2-10-10-2's built. Do you know?
Walt & Lunk
Yep, it was a senior moment, built by ALCO in 1918. Did anyone else build
them in the US? I couldn't find stats on stroke, etc., in my Alco book.
You would think by this age, I'd realize that I should not stay up after Lunk
has his 10:00 PM milk bone.
Dropping the fire for the night,
no steam ti
Do you have a picture of the 2-10-10-2? Maybe I'm having a serious senior
moment, but that sounds a little large for an articulated US locomotive.
Maybe a Garratt? I think Lunk would wear himself out trying to "mark" that
many wheels non-stop!
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Lunk
Hi,
I had a visitor at The Depot this morning that had in his possession a
steamer trunk full of the plans, letters, records, etc. of a Mr. Hart. Mr.
Hart designed Maintenance of Way Equipment in the 1800's. The cars were
manufactured by The Rodger Car Co.
Builders photo's of each type of c
It has been done before! Try it you'll like it...
Mr. Lunk
Clark has presented the proper way to do it. Howsomever --
if you are building a portable track system, you will find that the trains
run as well without transitions and staggered joints. A Challenger pulling
umpteen coal hoppers at scale 105 mph negotiated the 10 foot radius cu
Instead of points, it works like a stub switch. The lead in rails move
laterally to line up with either the thru track or the off track.
At the location of the frog there is a swivel rail. By connected linkage, the
swivel rail either aligns with the thru rails or the off rails.
A turnout of this
The portable track I had at DH for a few years had 10' radius turnouts.
However, they did not have a frog or points, so that may have been the
difference.
Keep your steam up!
Walt
Jim,
Excessive flaring could have been eliminated by proper machine adjustment. I
had 0.500 thick stainless water jet machined with less than 0.002 flare.
Keep your steam up!
Walt
The "Assembly & Operating Instructions of USRA Light Mikado" by Aster Hobby
Co., Inc. On Page 2"MINIMUM RADIUS 2.0 METERS (dia. 4 meter)
There's lots of lateral play in the drivers, so this sounds reasonable. All
the curves on the SWAMP are 10 Meters radius or larger.
Keep your steam u
Tag,
Apparently they evolved over time more than I realized. Mine is only a few
years old, and it is not an oscillator. The cylinder is rigid and the piston
has a spherical shaped head. I'm having a senior moment and cannot recall the
name of the rig, but there is a little white nylon(?) tab st
Spen,
Have you tried removing the tank and flushing it out? I haven't had an
orifice clog on mine ever, not even on the one that "rents" roundhouse space
from the SWAMP RR.
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Lunk
Hi,
Berkeley Locomotive Works made the Cricket for a number of years. I
understand it is no longer available. It is a single cylinder, spherical
piston little jobber with a good set of reduction gears. The SWAMP RR's Mr.
James Cricket has been slightly modified to help it do the work it does. M
The SWAMP RR entertained some VIP's today. Mr. Lunkenheimer greeted the
visitors and explained that the SWAMP RR was sending their eight car MOW
train and three loaded adult beverage cars to Everglades City and return.
About an hour and twenty minutes into the trip, the Mikado pulling the train
Hi,
Under the guidance and direction of Mr. B. W. Lunkenheimer, I used a
piece of 16 oz. copper to wrap snug around a mini servo. The servo was placed
so that the arm of the servo was under and parallel to the motion of the
steam control.
A turnbuckle (auto racing parts at hobby shop) was
Salty,
Was the bike motor a Wizzer or was it Whizzer? They were really popular after
W.W.II when cars were still scarce. As I recall, they used white gas, and
also required pedal power on the hills.
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Lunk
Thank you for your response. Your comment about the sound of the snails
singing has struck a chord (b flat, I believe) with me. After checking the
medical records of the current trackwalker, I find that he wears two hearing
aids and also complains of
hearing all sort of noises in his ears. I b
Thank you for your response. It seems the snails are trying to escape the
somewhat overly wet conditions we are experiencing at this time. The beer
bait would undoubtedly work, but I'm somewhat concerned about the possibility
of mosquito's imbibing and making life totally miserable here in para
>From the office of B. W. Lunkenheimer
CFO of The SWAMP RR
This office is now accepting applications for the position of "Track Walker."
The present employee has been given his second notice of deficiency in
performance. This morning he failed to set out warning flares and failed to
attach torp
and for a time thereafter!
Walt & Lunk
Hi,
This is an open invitation to any of you that will be treating your family to
spending the Christmas season in South Florida. (might be a good bribe to
permit you to go to DH in Jan 2001). The SWAMP RR will hold the "Last run of
the 20th Century" and the "New Millennium" steamup on D31 2000
Hi,
As a veteran of 10 years coping with St. Louis weather, I'd strongly suggest
a facility that would allow indoor steaming. I remember a 7" snow on an
Easter weekend back in the early 70's. In addition to sunshine, rain sleet
snow hail and an occasional tornado are possible almost anytime bef
HI,
Steam oil was still not being used on my Mike. I took the front end apart
-i.e.,
removed the smokebox, steps, walkways, handrails, and a few other things --
including the cab -- in order to find out what the problem was with the
steam oil use. I removed the oil tank and the piping to the s
Hi,
Electronics and I are not on a first name basis. All I know is it is a gadget
with little (dip?) switches on it that change the rate at which things
happen. It plugs in to the receiver and the servo is plugged in to it. I know
that it reduces much of the radio interference I get from the bu
To get finer adjustment on the servo controlled throttle, try using a
"deglitcher," it lengthens the time, or slows down the movement of the servo.
Seems to have helped my loco's.
Walt
Salty,
I wear TWO hearing aids, sixty is still a memory - but the memory is fading.
Plase, don't telll me there are other "frequencies" that will diminish!
Doing my best to keep my steam up!
Walt, assistant to Mr. B. W. Lunkenheimer
Hi,
After six years, Mr. Lunkenheimer has developed a sure way to wake me up when
he feels I need to be roused from a deep sleep. I remove both hearing aids
when I go to bed, so for all practical purposes, I am deaf. At 5:14 AM this
morning as I was peacefully sleeping, a cold wet nose invaded
Considering that butane lighters are made out of plastic, and the cans that
butane is sold in are not really high pressure vessels, we do not need to be
too concerned.
Let's just let this sleeping dog alone.
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Lunk
No, I'm not a diver and have no real knowledge of the tanks.
Walt
Hi,
It was my pleasure to attend the inaugural opening of a new elevated Gauge 1
Live Steam track in Saddle River, NJ. This track was constructed on the
property of Mr. Robert Hekemian Jr. this past summer with the help of Bob
Mosier and another local live steamer who's name I've lost in anothe
Hi,
You can get DOM tubing -- that is Drawn Over Mandrel. That is seamless and is
also somewhat expensive. DOM is not to be confused with extruded tubing.
Usually aluminum tube and shapes are extruded, but it is also done to a
limited extent in other metals.
If you want to go to the trouble (e
Hi,
I think one of the main considerations is if there would be any porosity in
the weld.
Also, when working with brass or other alloys of Copper, work hardening can
be a mixed blessing. At my shop we often refuse to accept deep drawn, deep
stamped, or "spun" pieces that have some age on them.
Vance,
Are you "Technical Editor -- Steam" or have you defected to be "Technical
Editor -- Sparkies'?
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Lunk
Tom & Group
No apology necessary, I too sometimes get on my tree stump and try to be a
preacher.
I haven't met a perfect person yet (but old Geoff comes close)!
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Mr. Lunkenheimer
A very little bit of baking soda will impart a yellow-orange color. It is the
Na+ ion (sodium) that does it. Table salt would also do it, but the Cl- ions
would produce a mildly acidic reaction, OK if you are using alkaline water,
but distilled should be near neutral.
Keep your steam up!
Walt
As a former chairman of a post secondary vocational program, I feel justified
in my comments concerning wages received and the cost of the training program.
I will not discuss politics or unionism in this list or any other. The only
emotional subject here should be the joys of operating live ste
NO WAY JOSE!
Walt & Lunk
Yes, it runs on air pur in the oil fill. Even at very low air pressure.
Walt & Lunk
Richard,
I re arranged the pressure gauge so it can be seen from either side, with the
servo on the throttle, it would probably be OK, just might be a little tough
getting to the Johnson bar control. Even with the extension in the UP
position, the water glass still takes some head manipulation.
Jim,
To make it even 'curiouser', yesterday after the morning run and everything
had cooled down, I took out the safety and filled the boiler almost full with
water. Put the safety back in and opened the throttle. The oil reservoir was
full of oil and the cap was off. I pumped the tender hand p
Phil,
AGREED!
Walt
Vance,
He is obviously in an area that either has an overabundance of machinists, or
an area that has very few machine shops and does not need any machinists. A
pay of $7.21 per hour is more like what custodial helpers get elsewhere.
There must also be something wrong with the school system if t
In the case of the Mike, mine is a factory built product.
I like Aster products, but I believe their quality, engineering, and
workmanship is not on a par with their earlier models. Yes, the K-4 has a
somewhat noisy burner and the Hudson is not easy to lite without singing your
philangees. The
Al,
The cab roof extension is really a low point for Aster. Even their publicity
pictures look like the model was put together by a 5 year old using an
erector set.
Considering the hand pump inadequacy, the lateness of the axle pump, roof
extension droop, steam oil use problems (My Mike is appa
From: Mr. B. W. Lunkenheimer
This mornings run of the Beer Train to Everglades City was hindered today by
diminished power of the locomotive. This power decrease means that we had to
side track the Bud Light and King Cobra Malt Liquor cars. The remaining six
carloads of Brew, the Hopper car wi
Hi,
The drooping cab roof extension has been bothering me recently. Jerry Reshew
said he use a couple of dabs of "GOOP" applied to one piece to act as a
support to alleviate the droop. Sounded like a good idea, so I got some wax
paper, tape, and my tube of Goop. Had everything all ready to go w
Vance,
Mr. B. W. Lunkenheimer thinks the SWAMP RR should support the C&TS RR.
Do you have a snail mail address so he can send a check?
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Mr. Lunk
The manual for my K-4 and Hudson says 3 meter radius. To a S. Florida
"cracker" that translates to 10'. That's why the PETS are basically 10'
inside radius, 11' outside radius.
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Lunk
Hi,
Just try to get the highest "proof" they have. Absolute ethanol is 200 proof.
Anything else is diluted with water -- thus 100 proof is actually half water
and half ethanol. The less water the better, but the price goes up as the
proof goes up!
Keep your steam up!
Walt
Don,
If the safety's are popping off and you do not want to pull a heavier load,
or run faster, you can reduce the alcohol flow to cut the heat so you are
using the steam to run, not lift the safety valves.
Walt
I'd suggest you leave a hole over the alcohol feed so an extension handle
could be readily slipped in to shut off or adjust the flow without taking the
coal load out.
Keep your steam up!
Walt
Vance,
On two occasions it has howled again -- both times the tube was off center.
Convinced me!
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Lunk
Check the position of the exhaust tube relative to the smokestack opening. I
found that if the tube was off center, there was excessive noise. The run
time and the amount of water left in the boiler sounds typical.
Walt
Hi,
Tried to run Rube (a transgender Ruby) in the gentle rain we have been having
today. No wind, temp in the low 70's, etc. Normally Rube makes three to four
trips around the track before it runs out of fuel. Today it only made one and
a half rounds. He stopped about every 30 or 40 feet to bui
Hi,
My paternal grandfather died when my father was less than 2 years old.
Grandma and her two small children moved in with her mother and father in
their home on 11th. Street in Indiana, PA. The house was built in the 1860s
or 1870s and still stands today. I was raised in Grandma's house. Next
Hi,
I installed the pump on my Mike. I was not pleased with the crossed hose
thing with the way it was to be mounted.
First, it seems there is no way other than to remove all the brake shoes and
attached wires in order to mount the pump under the loco. There were no
written instructions with m
Mike,
Strange as it may seem, yes, this was sort of a reversal!
Walt
Hi,
Overnight we has 48 scale inches of rain in the SWAMP RR operating area. That
filled the canals and waterways resulting in a large concentration of cypress
logs floating in the pens this morning. B. W. Lunkenheimer called for both
logging trains to load up and haul the logs to the Lee Tidew
Not being trained in medical stuff, I can only pass on "hearsay." In my Dad's
case, they found out that he had onset diabetes and that may have contributed
to it. Also, strain, exertion, heavy lifting, etc., can contribute, much like
hernia but related to fluid pressure and blood pressure in th
Spen,
You know I'm just as train crazy as you are, but I won't trade one of my
floaters for your loco floater.
Mine is very much like the upper half of a voluptuous Playboy centerfold.
I spend a lot of time concentrating on the image from my left eye!
Keep your steam up!
Walt, (Mr. Lunk doe
Vance,
Heed the advice! My father had the operation in the 60's. Many days in bed
with sandbags holding his head immobile. About a year later the same retina
detached again. By this time the MD knew my Dad better and advised him to
quit drinking Iron City Beer in the 12 oz bottles and switch to
Vance,
Heed the advice! My father had the operation in the 60's. Many days in bed
with sandbags holding his head immobile. About a year later the same retina
detached again. By this time the MD knew my Dad better and advised him to
quit drinking Iron City Beer in the 12 oz bottles and switch to
Is it just the summer doldrums, or is the list kaput? HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING
FOR DAYS!
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Mr. Lunk
We have used plastic lumber for 7.5" RR ties and are planning to install 2 x
8 and 2 x 12's on the floor of the new locomotive shed just constructed.
Part of the flooring will be outdoors in a "patio" area.
I have also used HDPE/carbonblack/sawdust composite sheet formerly available
from Durabo
Hi,
After numerous runs with no evidence of steam oil consumption, today there
finally was a some progress made. Before the first run, I steamed up on
blocks with the oiler empty and the cap open, Johnson bar was in neutral.
When pressure got up to 2.5 on the gauge, I opened the throttle and st
Mr. Bow Wow Lunkenheimer will be pleased to share a Milk Bone with you if you
wish to visit the SWAMP RR.
Jim,
That catalog is "a lap full." Fortunately it is now on a CD! Request one with
your next order.
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Lunk
Phil,
A retired chemist told me this afternoon that denatured alcohol is kind of
like buying bottled milk back in the old days. There was no promise then as
to the butterfat content. He says denatured alcohol is grain alcohol with
additives to make it poisonous, generally methanol (wood alcohol
Hi,
The Canadian fuel is made by RECOCHEM Inc. Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton,
Vancouver. "Pure Shellac Thinner"
Solvent Alcohol
thinner for shellac based finishes
fuel for unpressurized alcohol stoves
The dispatcher, Theol Timer, issued an early call, 6:30 AM for the Everglades
City hostler and the crew that overnighted in EC. In view of the fact that
all the beer cars had been emptied yesterday (a SATURDAY, when hardly anyone
except bartenders work) it wasn't till 7:00 AM that anyone showed
Clark,
I bought the axle pump and installed it. That hand pump is a worthless piece
of kaka! Today's run offered some realistic branchline operation.
We were running at "the edge" of loco capacity. There are three places on my
track where there is a 1/4" change in grade over a span of 8 to 16 fe
Due to later sunrise, as the days get shorter and the peak of hurricane
season approaches, this Saturday's run of the SWAMP RR local freight was
called for a 7:55 AM fire-up. The tender was filled, fuel was filled, oiling
all around was completed by the 8:01 safety valve pop off. Because last w
I'm here Vance. Lunk got tired of ATT and their spotty service, so we tried
AOL. Don't like it, but the Depot likes it for their address, so I guess I'll
stay with it for a while.
What can I do for you?
Keep your steam up!
Walt & Mr. Lunkenheimer
Jim,
Have you tried using a thinner section of the material?
Keep your steam up!
Walt
301 - 400 of 509 matches
Mail list logo
