LGB Frank S - real G Scale Steam

[dewintondave]

Dear All,

Here is my offering for G Scale live steam forum. Many locos can be set to run on 45 mm gauge, but this one is true G Scale, and not made in China either Pulling a lovely rake of LGB stock it was pure G scale.

It's my first experience with butane firing. It goes very well with it's big 15 mm cylinders. The gas tank seems huge, I left a load in since last run a month ago. Eventually it ran out, in a quite inaccessable place, which is a lesson not to build a tunnel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0_oIAOPycg < Link To Here's a video link to the fateful event, the loco was running so nicely on my favourite part of the line.

I need to make a Goodall valve for the loco. It's an ideal candidate for water top-up. The burner makes plenty of heat, and I only like to run loco's slowly - as slow as I can, and the gas tank is large enough.

Best wishes,

Dave.

 

[mike]

owww very nice!!

 

[Steve]

Brilliant pics and video, if iwas to have another live steam loco i think it would be the Frank S

 

[steamtom1]

The Frank S was my first live steam locomotive, along with at least half a dozen others I know of. She still runs great, after all these years, (about 20)...

 

[palmerston]

First hand experience here too....nice loco

 

[steamtom1]

And she makes a nice Christmas train...

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[steamtom1]

And we used to lash them together down at Diamondhead...

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I think it was in the '97 or '98 time frame. It was before they put the fence around the pool. I believe it was Walt Schwatz's track. It was before we had the high track.

When we first tried it we thought we could do it without hooking them together, with my Frank S in the lead, since it was radio controlled. Wrong! It looked like a Keystone Cops fire drill.

The Aster representative for the Frank S was there. I'm thinking his name was Inoue-san. He said, "You Americans are crazy." I told him we agreed with him, and we furthermore were proud of it.

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[dewintondave]

I've just finished making a Goodall style filler top-up plug for Frank S. I had to get some special kit in to cut the fangled fine series metric thread. I made the whole thing rather than adapt the original plug - I couldn't bring myself to do it.

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Best wishes,
Dave.

 

[dewintondave]

We've just tested the new filler valve for the first time since making it. We had a great run, the loco ran for at least an hour on a full gas tank. Putting in 16 pumps on the spray bottle for every lap of our 56 metre circuit. The burner was turned down low and just made enough steam with the topping up. A very good run was had.

Best wishes,
Dave.