Regner Betty - Steaming Issues Following Stuck Reverser

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hemingp

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Dear forum colleagues- I need your help again. I had previously posted an issue with my Regner Betty (Regner Betty Woes) which after great advice, resolved the problem.

Well, the Betty was running fine down at Butterley Garden railway late summer when i tried to reverse direction, it stalled, tried forward reverse etc, no joy.. it then blasted a load of steam out of the front under the smoke box. I let it cool down then had a good look underneath and discovered the reverse gear had stuck in neutral. I could find no reason why. This resolved, assumed just bad luck it stuck for some reason, then tried running again and it ran awful, about 4/5 feet then stopped with full pressure, would reverse for about the same. Thought best give up at that point. so, on to now, after being too busy over last couple of months, i had a look at it today, steamed it on rolling road, reverser working fine, raises steam good, try to run it, very erratic, pressure drops from 3 to 2 bar very quickly, then stops. Pressure, rises, same agin. I did notice when it's first started, water pours down from the smoke box area, had it up on block with a mirror but i still can see where it comes from.

Any thoughts where to look! Im beginning to think i bought a dud... On the positive side, sure helps you learn about how these things work.

Many thanks

Phil...
 
Does the Steam Line to the Cylinders come through the Smokebox? If so it sounds like this could be Fractured somewhere along the Run. As these beasts are Kit Built it may be possible to enable a fix by dismantling and sleaving the Break with a Short Length of Larger Tube. Then carefully Silver Soldering the ends so that the Break is Steam Tight but no Silver Solder Blocks the Original Tube. This ought to be taken care of if you do not Clean the inside of the Original Tube as Silver Solder is very finicky about adhering to any sufprface that is less than Spotlessly Clean.

Others may come up with a better plan. So please wait for further advice.
JonD
 
Thanks Jon. it's only run a few times so could be a weak component which was put under greater pressure at the time. Or maybe a connection was not fully steam tight and this has blown it out. . A few things to look at. I hope it's not a cracked pipe.. I'm no silver solderer that's for sure! Be easier to order replacement. I think I could manage that... .:giggle:
 
Just a thought, is the quartering fixed or able to possibly slip? Can it be pushed without any catching when not in steam?
 
JRinTawa said:
Just a thought, is the quartering fixed or able to possibly slip? Can it be pushed without any catching when not in steam?
Click to expand...

From what I have seen it is pretty much Screws into Dimples (with Small Alum Keys that should have been included with the Loco when bought). But still worth a check out.
JonD
 
Gents,
Just tried it and it pushes with ease. Everything looks fine in that department. I think next action is to steam it again on the rollers then when at 3 bar, turn off the gas, open smoke box door and then open regulator to see if the leaks shows easily. From a safe distance that is! I'll post progress.. Thanks..
 
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