Narrow Gauge Live Steam Trains

New Opportunity

2008-08-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

OK so how many of you people have just spent many thousand of dollars on a brand new engine? I think the answer for most will be Yes. We spend much money on making sure our live steam engines look and run like the real ones. We spend much money on making sure that our live steam engines are transported safely. But how many actually change the oil and fluids with something that will help them last longer and run better. How many use a cleaner that will help ensure thier lasting beauty. I can help with this, we now have products like Briteside Miricale Wash that can help to clean your live steam engines and at the same time help provide a shield against surface abrasion and also protect the engine from the sun's UV rays. We have synthetic oil specficly engineered for small engine operating in hot temperatures and severe service. Come on over and check it out.

The Website again

2008-06-27T09:18:00.000-07:00

So the web site is going well, I am in the process of getting suppliers on board and setting up the Live Steam For Sale page. I have also created a links page witch I hope will be full of suppliers and clubs here soon. I have spent a lot of time promoting the site and working to get it to the top of the search engines. My plan for the future is to continue to work on the search engine side and will hopefully have many new products here soon. Any supplier that wants to be sell products on the site is more then willing just goto www.livesteamhobby.com and click on the business proposal. This website is a long term project for me so I will continue to keep working and changing it often. I am trying to figure out the best way to promote it and what products to sell. If you have any ideas for me please let me know.

Trailers

2008-06-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

To go along with the last post, I would recommend using a double or more axle trailers. The trailer I have been the happiest with is my 6 x 12 foot double axle. It is long enough that I can get 2 riding cars end to end on each track, and wide enough that I have three tracks. Right now this is more then enough room. I plan on making a second set of tracks above the first for more riding cars. With the cars I have right now I figure the total weight is about 1500 to 2000 lb.. Since the trailer is a double axle it is capacity is well above that. I choose the double axle based on how they tow and handle behind the truck. I do not recommend ever pulling a large trailer behind a car. My double axle with all my live steam stuff in it tows like it was never there behind my truck. I towed it across the country and back and not any problems at all. The double axle trailers tend not to hop around as much as a single axle trailer. I have a 5 x 8 ft single axle that I was using to carry the engine and 2 riding cars but it would throw them all around when it hit the bumps. I also have a 8 x 16 ft enclosed trailer that you can but a lot of stuff into but the biggest problem is that you cannot see around it. So when transporting your live steam equipment, I say a 6 x ? ft double axle trailer.

Transportation of equipment

2008-06-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

Transportation of live steam equipment is very important. Most people will not always be able to keep their equipment at the club or track. Or you will want to take your equipment to another track. The most important thing is to make sure that the equipment is securely attached to what ever you are transporting in. Depending on the size and number you might be able to transport in a small car or if you have a large collection a custom trailer. I prefer using a enclosed trailer, this way you keep prying eyes off of your live steam equipment. I had bought a 5 x 8 foot utility trailer to handle a small locomotive and 2 cars. I expanded it to include a second rack above the first. The problem with having an open trailer is that driving down the road people would pull up in the blind spot to look at the trains. With a simple little change every thing was changed to a 6 x 12 foot enclosed trailer. On thing about putting the trains in the back of a car / truck or on a trailer is to make sure that every thing is held down very tight. I have tried to just use ratchet straps but as the weight of the equipment gets heavier the straps will not hold for very long. If the equipment is not held down and starts moving around it can cause big problems. I use a combination of straps and clamps. I set the trailer up to hold the trains about 6 inches from the floor, this way I can install clamps that hold the axles of the cars to the track. I use between 2 to 4 clamps depending on the weight of the live steam equipment. This holds the majority of the weight to the tracks securely. To supplement this and hold the equipment from rocking I then use ratchet straps to keep the cars from moving. Spacing should be such that each car has room to rock back and forth with out touching, usually about 6 inches but will depend on the width of the trailer used. The clamps I make from 1 inch square tube with a hold drilled in the center for a clothes line hook. The clothes line hook is the largest one that is available from home depot. to install you hook the hook over the axle and then tighten down on the nut. make sure that you are using a double nut to ensure that it doesn't come off down the road.

Construction of a live steam locomotive

2008-06-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

Starting the construction of a live steam locomotive can seam like a large task. Here are some tips to make it easier. The first task is to decide on what type of locomotive you are going to build. After this you need to gather reference material to help. It is well worth spending the money to get plans and drawings before hand. This will allow you to get a good idea of what you are going to need to get together. I would suggest building a stand first, this will allow the construction fully without having to move the engine. Most of the engines start out small but will very quickly get to the point that you will not be able to move with out help. Alot of live steam manufacturers sell kits on sections. This is very good on the pocket but I suggest at least buying all the castings at once. This will allow you to work on parts of smaller things while you are waiting on other things. Figure out what you you will need for stock and then buy in bulk. If you only need a few pieces or a short piece, then check at the local scrap yards or also the scrap pile at the steel yard. You would be amazed at what you can find in the scrap piles. Building a steam locomotive can be a rewarding experience so make sure you have everything in order when you start.

Finding a club

2008-06-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

So you have just got the itch for live steam, how do you find a club to get information? First thing you have to understand is that there are three kinds of clubs. The first type of club that is going to be the easiest to find is going to be the public clubs. These are going to be clubs that operate on public or private lands for the public. Most of these will have listings in the phone book or a website. Most of these clubs will be more then happy to talk about their equipment
and steam locomotives. They will usally have areas that the public will not be allowed, but if you ask they will usally show you around.

The second type of club is going to be the clubs that operate on private land and do not do anything with the public. Usally the will not have any numbers listed in the phone books and if they have a website it will not give an address. They are usally still happy to give information to new people but you will have to show your intrest.
Most only operate to give them a place to run their steam locomotives. So make sure you do show your intrest, not just get a ride for your child.
The last type is going to be the private railroad. These are just going to be a track that is set up on private property. These will normally not be open to the public at all. If you can get ahold of the owners the might let you in to talk and take a ride.
So the easiest way to find a club is to use the Internet. When in doubt just keep looking.

The Wife

2008-06-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

Well I know there are a lot of people out there asking right now, How do I get my wife to go along with this live steam thing. Simple, make her part of it. My wife at times I think is more into it then me. Right now she has her own engine, I am still making mine. She has been a member at each of the clubs we have belonged to. So if you are just getting into the live steam hobby make sure you are including you wife and kids with you. I suggest that at first you both go visit a club. You will find that at most clubs the other wives will show her what's going on while you are talking guy stuff. There are plenty of things to do besides just running trains. Most clubs people are needed to collect tickets and load trains. On work days at some clubs some of the wives would put together the lunch. These are just a few examples but of course many help with the trains and steam locomotive.

The model

2008-06-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

So in the beginning of my model railroading I was stuck on the standard gauge models. Not a lot of model railroad stores growing up in Vermont. Well once I started getting into making the "G" scale trains I found that I liked the looks of the smaller narrow gauge railroad equipment. Now like I talked about before I started building a 0-4-0 switcher engine since I wanted to keep things small. After going to a few live steam meets and visiting clubs I started to get interested in narrow gauge equipment. I really liked the gear type locomotives (shays and climaxes). I started to collect books of narrow gauge equipment. At first I was very interested in the Sumpter Valley Railroad and the Unitah railroad. Each had used the 2-6-6-2 narrow gauge mallets for there power. I actually have a 2 1/2" drawing of the Unitah mallet that I started planning in CAD to build. What a big project that was, way over my head. So then I started reading about the Westside Lumber Company. Here was a narrow gauge railroad that operated well into the 1960's still using geared locomotives and link and pin couplers. This really started to appeal to me, so I found a supplier that had castings for the Westside shay #14 or #15. Since both of these locomotives are still around today I thought this would be a great project. I had already bought most of the machine tools that I would need, it sounded like a good project. The plan at the moment is that when completed with the engine I plan on making the #5 Tank Car, a snow plow, #3 caboose, and a string of flat cars. All will be using link and pin couplers and all will be equipped with working brakes. Sounds like a big task, but I will be retired here in a few years and have all the time in the world to make it happen.

The website

2008-06-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

Since I have been in the live steam hobby, I have had the chance to meet a lot of great people and see some great things they make. I have also had to deal with some suppliers that made great products but were not the greatest at business. So I wanted to create a site that made it easy for the business to sell products without having to deal with the customer. I have grown up with both my mom and dad running a business, I understand what it takes to be successful, and I hope to make a place for one stop shopping. Building a steam locomotive takes a lot of effort and time. If I can cut down on the time required to get the parts then that would eliminate some of the difficulties that I had gone through.

When building my first locomotive I was ordering the parts each section at a time. This was easier for me and the wallet. Well then I found out that when I ordered parts it would be a a couple of months to a year till I got them. In the beginning I would just order when I was ready for the parts, buy the end I just ordered things as I had the money. Well when the engine was stolen I had just received the last box of parts to finally finish it off. I had also just bought a boiler that day. So for this next locomotive I am still trying to get all the money together to buy all the casting required at once.

The website right now is starting out just dealing with 2 1/2" scale parts but I will be trying to expand that to anything related to live steam railroading. I want to make it a place that is easy to shop and have the ability to order from different suppliers and make just one payment.

Up next I will talk about how I decided on the model I am making none.

The beginning

2008-06-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

Well this is the beginning of my blog for the website and my engine.

The history: I started in the live steam hobby about 10 years ago. I had been making model "G" scale trains for a few years. The while looking for more models to make I came across a web page for live steam locomotives. Wow now not only could I have the fun of making the train and cars but I could also ride in what I had made. I have always been into making my models look and work like the real thing. I have built radio controlled cars, trucks, boats and even a helicopter. All these had been great in that within reason I could make them function like their real counter parts.

I finally got the money in order and started building myself a small 0-4-0 switch engine. Don't want to start out with anything to large. I bought a small mill and lathe, that was the first big mistake I made. Found out both of these were to small to actually do what I needed. So now I have moved up to a full size mill and lathe. I will get into that at a later time.

Well this steam locomotive I was building after a couple of years was really starting to come along. At this point I had moved across the country and had my shop set up in a trailer. Things had been going good when someone broke into the trailer and stole the partial completed locomotive and a set of drill bits (never figured out why they took the drill bits). Well after a couple of weeks the insurance finally came through and off on to another project.