Quarry Hunslet 7/8ths

StephH

StephH

7/8ths and 1/12th modeling in Railways and Birdwat
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Its here!!! And its a beautiful loco to look at! Anyone else on here get one???

QH1_zpsfba86746.jpg


Looks great tootling round the garden! Must remember my camera next time I run it!
Boy is it a messy runner though, oil etc everywhere. If you are going to run one beware and put a rag over the chimney cap.... Chris Bird and his chuffers will be doing a roaring trade I think!!

ATB

Steph'
 
Looks great. A friend is due to get his this week. He is going to bring it to my open day on Saturday. If my clearances are sufficient I hope to see it running then
 
That looks great on yourline Steph. You plan on adding anything to it?
The oily mess is what makes it. Nothing better then oil stains between the tracks etc...... Cant wait to see more pictures and maybe a video hint hint lol
 
I gather the problem is that the oil goes everywhere BUT on the track. :)
A Summerlands chuffer will deposit the stuff in the right place!
Steve
 
Oil doesn't scale particularly well and doesn't look quite right sat in great globs on the smokebox ;)

Especially applicable when the engine looks as good as these do- very nice indeed Steph!
 
I've got a red one too, made a chuffer for it yesterday as when fired on the bench it did rather cover a lot in oil.
How does your run? Mine when stalls will bow steam up the chimney and needs a push to get going. Could be a timing issue perhaps?

David
 
Well a Chuffer certainly stops the mess - mine had a big yellow slug climbing out of the chimney. It sounds good too - the Chuffer, not the slug:D
David - mine has the same problem and it doesn't appear to be timing. I have just come off the phone to Ian Pearse - I suggest you phone him.
Cheers
Chris
 
I got mine last week and have found the same characteristics - it looks totally gorgeous but spurts oil and is prone to stalling. It runs great on rollers but on the track it can't cope so well with bends and inclines. And it stalls when faced with both. It will run up a straight incline but races away at breakneck speed on the downhill. This results in a disastrous loss of steam pressure (I guess because the burner can't keep up steam production) and this may be the reason it can't get up the next slope. Leaving it to build up steam pressure when it has stalled gets it going again. I think I will have to rebuild the track to make it perfectly level. However I'm open to suggestions. My electric powered train runs no problem - it just draws more current when pulling uphill at a fixed voltage.
 
Ken,
There's been quite a bit of discussion about the Hunslet on the 7/8th s forum "SE Lounge". Have a look at http://www.7-8ths.info/index.php?topic=16684468.135 Replies no. 143 and 147 on page 10 from John Boyes, who also posts on this forum as Sea Lion, describes some of the problems some people have been having, and you may be one of the unlucky ones. I gather there is a solution in the offing but it hasn't been made public yet.
Steve
 
Ken Tonge said:
I got mine last week and have found the same characteristics - it looks totally gorgeous but spurts oil and is prone to stalling. It runs great on rollers but on the track it can't cope so well with bends and inclines. And it stalls when faced with both. It will run up a straight incline but races away at breakneck speed on the downhill. This results in a disastrous loss of steam pressure (I guess because the burner can't keep up steam production) and this may be the reason it can't get up the next slope. Leaving it to build up steam pressure when it has stalled gets it going again. I think I will have to rebuild the track to make it perfectly level. However I'm open to suggestions. My electric powered train runs no problem - it just draws more current when pulling uphill at a fixed voltage.
Click to expand...

Ken - there is a problem with some of the batch and Accucraft are pretty close to having the solution sorted. Contact your retailer and/or Accucraft UK and they will make the necessary arrangements - they are being extremely helpful and will get it sorted. Mine had exactly the same problem and is going back tomorrow. So no need to dig up the track:)
Cheers
Chris
 
Thanks 400parker and Chris. The SE Lounge is wonderful. This is my first experience of live steam. I thought it would be perfect straight out of the box! And I was not disappointed when I ran it on rollers. I thought the globs of oil were normal. I have now seen that it is not normal - nor to have so much steam blasting out when running - more than just what should come out of the cylinder exhausts. I suspect that that is why the boiler pressure drops so quickly. It was a surprise to see SE Lounge posts with pics of the loco already taken apart for modification. There are clearly some very experienced model engineers out there. I'm not sure that my workshop skills are up to that. But I think I will try altering the valve settings as suggested by the experts in the SE Lounge. Not sure about squashing the oil pipe though! Altering the valve settings is not irreversible. I will get in touch with John at Trackshack first before doing anything though. I really don't want to send it back if some simple adjustments will solve the problems. Despite the probs I am really enjoying this new venture into live steam.
Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction. Cheers Ken
 
You don't need to be a model engineer to run this loco, if you do have this mysterious (for now;)) issue with the blowing steam and its accompanying problems (pressure drop, stalling and using too much water etc) get in touch with your dealer or Accucraft, before any fiddling etc. They will help! They are picking up several loco's already to fix and need to know who has the problem! If Accucraft don't know you have an issue they cannot help... once they do you will find them very friendly and helpful. I have never had anything but excellent service from them on any questions I have had over the years, even when I've been a numpty:D

Don't be mislead by the SE lounge thread into thinking you need to be able to strip the loco etc, you don't, those of us perhaps less experienced than Chris etc need just to let Accucraft fix it! Full marks to Chris for first raising the problem by the way! I suspect the fix will be simple and once done will result in many years of fun with the locomotive!

One note:- if you do have any new loco', follow the instructions on set up and steaming, sounds obvious but they are there for a reason! The other message is of course to use the right steam oil for the loco.

Cheers

Steph'
 
Steph'
Thanks for the advise. Being new to this game I have followed the instructions to the letter and I did wonder, before I saw the comments on the forums, if the problems would go away once it was "run in". I HAVE sent an email to John at Trackshack and will do nothing 'til he replies. It's a relief to know that I may not have to relay my track in the garden!
P.S. I just noticed that I was supposed to introduce myself as a first post. Sorry.
I am in the Aberdeen area of Scotland, 78 years old, a retired chemist (and that's not a pharmacist by the way). My other hobbies are pottery and hill-walking.
Cheers Ken T
 
Hi again Ken and welcome to the Forum!

Steph's advice is spot on - this is definitely one for the dealer/manufacturer to fix. All the work you have read about on the Lounge has helped Accucraft to diagnose the problem and John Boyes of Trackshack has just let us know there that there will be a statement later today.

I know John will get back to you about your loco.
Cheers
Chris
 
Here's the text from Accucraft:

"We have been greatly disappointed to discover that some of our customers have experienced difficulties steaming the new Quarry Hunslet. Having had the matter brought to our attention we have conducted rapid investigations on our engineering sample to try to discover where the problem lies. Careful analysis has shown that during the design process we were persuaded to allow for the fitting of DJB automatic drain cocks rather than the smaller, manually operated Accucraft type; this decision meant that the hole for the plug reduced the critical tolerance of the swept volume area in the cylinder and in a small number of cases the piston could over-run the drain and allow the blow-by of steam. The solution is simple but requires the precise centering of the piston in the bore, a job we will happily carry out for anyone who cares to return the loco to us. We'd like to apologise for anyone inconvenienced in this way and will do our best to get the locos returned as speedily as possible.

We would also like apologise for the less than perfect packing which resulted in cosmetic damage to some locos in transit. We will be able to supply replacement parts to those customers who need them and if you have a problem in this area we would be pleased to hear from you.

As ever, Accucraft (UK) stands 100% behind its no quibble guarantee and first recourse in the event of problems should always be to contact us by 'phone or email before attempting repairs yourself. We will normally arrange to have the loco collected the next working day by our couriers.

At the end of the day we are not psychic and have no way of helping folk if they don't talk to us!"

Hugh
 
With Accucraft UK products over the past few years it seems to be a gamble whether to go for the first batch and risk the design / manufacture flaws or wait for the second batch, if there is one, with the problems sorted.
 
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