Model Railway Forum

Hello Happy Steam fans !
What's your steam dream ?
Mine is very simple: a green MSS side tank steam loco...when I'll be a little bit more richer than today.

I used to have the Mamod version. I assembled it in kit form. It tended to leak steam so all joints were soldered instead of using the little o rings, and I then sold it. I didn't have any track. I wanted to know if I wanted to model in SM32 or not.
Everything is nice and chunky, but it is not cheap. The cost of track made me think twice. Lovely things though. MSS is basically an improved Mamod loco. They are nice things.

Some time ago I went for broke and purchased a Hornby live steam Mallard in OO. A rather lovely contraption, except that it required its own circuit to accommodate the AC current used for throttle control. That, and a small quantity of distilled water. Having studied the CD that explained its operation, I put it on the rails, and once a little pressure came up I gradually opened the throttle. Nothing. So I waited a few minutes. Nothing. Opened the throttle a squidgen more. Nothing. And so on.

Then ever so incrementally, the drivers commenced to revolve. And stopped. Heartened, I opened the throttle another crack and blamo, the thing took off like lightening, trailing a wisp of steam behind her making a marvelous, if rapid, chuffing. Alarmed at the acceleration I turned back the throttle; it kept on hurtling, but made it around the first curve, and then around the oval and through the second curve, tilting perilously upon the outside drivers. In great alarm I shut the throttle off completely, but she continued to roar down the straightaway, and then pitched headlong through the curve, in strict obecience to Newton's laws of motion. I lunged upon the hurtling projectile as it went airborne and successfully snatched it out of thin air, its drivers and side rods squirming in my palms like small rodents...like small, very hot rodents.

Regrettably, your American Cousin, in his enthusiasm, had forgot to put on the oven mitts supplied in the kit. I howled like a stuck pig and dropped the thing immediately, as it was precisely 100 degrees Centigrade. That was pretty much the end of that rather expensive experiment.

Now you have "Mallard" branded across the palm of your hand? BB

I had one of those. It takes a rake of ten coaches to keep it running well. It will easily pull them. I could get it to steam for at least double the time that was officially stated. I sold it cheap to a friend as back then I had left the railway job I had and my new employment didn't take off. (I had bills to pay so I sold the loco and its little set for just over half what I paid for it).

I would love to still have this loco (A Live Steam Bowman 2-2-0T) that I had 60 years ago. It didn't survive my childhood.

This is my G1 "Cock O' the North" It has run on air but not under steam yet.

Lovely. Bet it will be a strong puller.

They say you should always have a dream or you will never achieve anything. Well my dream is to have a steam loco big enough to sit in the cab with seat on the tender and a rake of rolling stock which will seat passengers.
I did back in the 70s drive a train which ran around the boating lake at Southend which was loosely modelled on an LNER B12. she weighed about 2 tons (with coal and water) and pulled 5 coaches and with about 20 people on a normal run. Ever since then I have always wanted that as my dream. But at 71 and not all that well these days I don't think it will ever happen.
It is nice thought though MG ......................John

A lovely thought. Could have a garden railway here and have even worked out where the track could go, but it means money... I will stick to 0-16.5