Model Loco's

I can't recommend a book per se, but 'useful people who sell interesting stuff' are Camden Miniature Steam Services (free catalogue) and Tee Publishing.

Hi Kevin, Without doubt you should join your local club. Quite apart from the wealth of expertise that will be available to you, you will also be able to get/renew your boiler certificate and, when the time comes, have a track on which to run your loco. If you say where you live I'm sure someone from a local club will contact you if you show any interest.

Kevin I've just come across the answer to your prayers - get hold of "A Beginner's Guide to Model Steam Locomotives" by Tim Coles, available from Tee Publishing (01926 614101) for about eight quid. It describes itself as 'An entertaining and informative manual to steer you through the pleasures and pitfalls of building and running a model loco' and looks to me to do 'exactly what it says on the tin'.

It will even tell you that a 'snifter valve' is a superheater vacuum release valve. I'm so impressed that I've bought a copy for myself!

--

Chris Edwards (in deepest Dorset) ..."There must be an easier way...!"

Since when was £15.95 plus postage "about eight quid"???

It describes

That's an answer that poses more questions than it answers!!

Thanks for the reccomendation, it sounds exactly what I was looking for. I think i'll order one (even at that price ). I am a member of the local club, but don't want to pester people to death with bloody stupid questions -I still want them on side when I get really stuck later on! The one great thing about the local club is that the track is only about half a mile from my house, so at least I'll have somewhere to run it if I ever finish it.

Regards

Kevin

I'm so impressed that I've bought a copy for myself!

I borrowed a copy of that book from my brother. There is some very good stuff in it, but I didn't like a few of his ideas. Not to say that they aren't any good, it was just that I didn't like them/couldn't work out how it was going to work. There is no substitute for chatting to people about a particular technique or problem. In my case, my brother is only a phone call away - BT Anytime pays for itself many times over !!

Good luck with it, and don't forget, you can always awsk questions here - I've received some sound advice, for which I'm very grateful.

Cheers Mark

Thanks for that, what a deadly site -you could spend a fortune there. But most of these book dealers have stuff much cheaper than ebay.

Regards

Kevin

Oh yes, that's why I use it... :-))

Peter

If your local club gives you the impression that they do not want to answer 'bloody stupid questions' then find yourself a more friendly club.

You have not said where you are, but within about 6 miles of me in Windsor there are two clubs who would be happy to give you advice.

Thanks Chris,

My copy arrived this morning, in time to take on holiday tomorow. Looks good, and I now know that you need to allow water to flow into the superheater pipes to stop them overheating and burning out when you close the regulator -and a snifter valve allows the water in when there is a vacuum due to there being no steam.

Regards

Kevin

It's not water it allows in - where would it get the water from. It allows cold air in and prevents the ash in the smokebox being drawn into the cylinders via the blast pipe.

A useful additi> Thanks Chris,

Sorry about that, cold air not cold water -posting in a rush thinming of other things there. I think I was wondering about the wet header, hence my water obsesion.

Thanks for adding more information, the book only mentions the cooling effect -not the fact it prevents ash being drawn in. This is obvious when pointed out, but I'd never have thought of it.

Regards

Kev>It's not water it allows in - where would it get the water from. It allows cold