The Big Cheddars

C

Chris Bird

Steam,gardening, photography
Hi folks
I collected a mint Cheddar Hercules from Simon Whenmouth on Monday, and on Tuesday it was on test at Roy Wood's railway, luckily inder the shade of the trees. I had just fitted 2.4 ghz r/c and a modified Millie safety valve bonnet ...oh yes and the new big-bore chuffer for these large Cheddar locos. Driving was interesting challenge for Roy as I had not realised it is better to run at about 20psi so it was seriously skittish. I have slowed a couple of the clips down - which I confess I rather like ;-)

You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGD2oPfehdA

And on my website news page as usual. There is also a photo below for those who prefer silence:D

Any thoughts on driving these beasts would be much appreciated!

Cheers
Chris
a0004e18d04e4b29921c4121e0572749.jpg
 
Chris,

I've always liked Hercules, infact I did have a green one at one point, but found she derailed a lot even on my wide curves. I think cheddar should have given Hercules a slightly wider diameter boiler looks wise. I take it Simon's list on his website isn't up to date?
 
Elmtree Line said:
Chris,

I've always liked Hercules, infact I did have a green one at one point, but found she derailed a lot even on my wide curves. I think cheddar should have given Hercules a slightly wider diameter boiler looks wise. I take it Simon's list on his website isn't up to date?
Click to expand...

Hi Keith
Between agreeing the deal with Simon and collecting the loco I read your website and thought uh-oh. It is a major challenge on my track with 4'6" curves. It will go one way but not the other and has to be driven across the tight bits - too slow and it derails. It was fine on Roy's thank goodness.
I spoke to Simon this morning and he will update in the next couple of days. I knew about this one before he had collected it so it never made the list.
Cheers
Chris
 
Lovely loco Chris, Cheddar loco's are so well built. I had a look at one of these recently and the gas tank was massive, what sort of running times are you getting?.
 
Rosco said:
Lovely loco Chris, Cheddar loco's are so well built. I had a look at one of these recently and the gas tank was massive, what sort of running times are you getting?.
Click to expand...

Well the key to it is the automatic gas regulator valve that I am just getting the hang of. In Tag's GR write up in 2004, he said the gas was good for 90mins and the water can be topped up from the tender, which is full of water. That is something you remember when you tip the loco on its side on the bench to check underneath ;-) The lubricator is good for at least that time too. I ran it for a good hour yesterday and still had gas.
Cheers
Chris
 
I have had my Hercules for seven years and it does indeed run for 90 minutes. Mine has had a lining job done on it by Lightlines and I have added a cab floor and coal load. The only problems with it have been twofold. First, I have polished the boiler bands so much that the adjacent green paint is getting worn off. Secondly, bits of dust, etc tend to get into the tender water and these will block the hand pump. It is then a fifteen minute job to remove, strip and clean out the pump.

Chris, I have just successfully fitted a chuff pipe to my Roundhouse Taliesin and now want to do the Hercules. Is there much work involved and what do I order?

Regards
Peter Lucas
MyLocoSound
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Hi Peter
Your Hercules looks very smart with that lining - I might be tempted....
One thought about the boiler bands - they are relatively easy to loosen and move to a fresh spot for polishing, or you could remove, polish and lacquer them. Thanks for the tip off about the pump.
The Chuffer is a very easy fit using a method tried out some time back by Richard Page. The smokebox front and hinge on these big Cheddars is a solid brass casting just pressed into the very thick smokebox wrapper. I used a wooden drift to just tap it forward and out. I then cut the exhaust with a Dremel (type) cutting disk at about 45 degrees. The intructions (and warnings!) are here:
http://www.summerlands-chuffer.co.uk/#/5-cheddar-locos/4567120036 < Link To http://www.summerlands-ch...eddar-locos/4567120036
The new Chuffer is the SCGP3-40-L (Summerlands Chuffer General Purpose 3 - 40mm tube - Large). Nigel at DP Supplies has the spec now and can make you one. Alternatively you can just fit the standard SCGP3.

And now a question. My loco has a rigid connection to the tender for the gas control steam pipe. Does yours? And if not, is a silicone tube OK as for the gas and water?
Cheers
Chris
 
Chris, the one I owned had silicone tube for the water and metal solid connection for the gas line. One thing I did was to extend the draw-bar between the loco and tender, which did to some degree stop some of the derailments, but after a while i got annoyed and off she went to be sold, I replaced her with a second RH Fowler.
 
Thanks Keith - though I am now confused about the pipes. The gas pipe is definitely flexible, as is the water. The third pipe comes from the top of the boiler and I assumed it was some sort of pressure pipe for the gas regulator - but now I think it may be something else. Anyway, whatever it is, it is a rigid copper pipe screwing into a union with a knurled nut. Any clues before I take it apart to look?
Cheers
Chris
 
Ah ha! It helps to read the instructions! The one flexible pipe is the whistle, the other is the gas and the copper pipe is the water. As there is no clack valve on the boiler, I guess it would be too risky to have a flexible pipe there. I might think of putting a clack in line and using a plastic pipe......
Cheers
Chris
 
Chris,
At the moment I am 80Km away from my Hercules so am having to work from memory. As far as I recall, all three pipes are flexible on my loco. I will be back with it on Monday and will take a photo.
regards
Peter
 
Elmtree Line said:
I've always liked Hercules, infact I did have a green one at one point, but found she derailed a lot even on my wide curves. I think cheddar should have given Hercules a slightly wider diameter boiler looks wise.
Click to expand...
These Cheddar Hercules locos put me in mind of a Bagnall that worked on one of the timber trams near Melbourne.
There's a photo of it late in it's life on Bob Dow's website at http://www.ozbob.com/grand/images/p...n before. What is it? Regards, Graeme
 
Thanks Peter - I look forward to seeing a photo.

That is an interesting photo Graeme - though I am not tempted to do major mods for the time being.

The valve gear has been around for 100 years on model locos (according to Tag Gorton's review in Garden rail 114) but is now generally known as Turner valve gear as he used it on models in the 80's. It clicks into position and the stick can be released. This does mean, however, that it is always in one gear or the other and the R/C must be on and the regulator must be closed when raising steam. I returned from a comfort break during filming to find Roy with one foot on the track, holding back a rather excited loco - I had mistakenly turned the Tx off during steam raising:D
Cheers
Chris
 
Somewhere I've seen the Bagnall factory photo of the prototypes for these locos which where 2' gauge locos exported to Mexico. The models look leasonably like the originals although I think the real ones add more strange proportions with big cabs and small diameter boilers.
 
funandtrains said:
Somewhere I've seen the Bagnall factory photo of the prototypes for these locos which where 2' gauge locos exported to Mexico.
Click to expand...
Probably it was the photo in the Plateway Press reprint of a Bagnall Catalog. Not the prettiest product turned out by Bagnall........
Graeme
 
Chris,
I have attached the photo of the connections between my Cheddar hercules and its tender.
Regards
Peter Lucas
MylocoSound
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Thank you Peter - is that red pipe a piece of flexible?
I have solved my derailing problem by modifying the coupling to make it articulate. I had thought the problem was due to the rigid water pipe, but that seems fine now.
Cheers
Chris
 
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