An outside cylinder prototype is not too difficult to make using nothing smaller than 10ba bolts.

Yes they are magnificent. David's track is great exercise for both locos and man.

Thanks - Its so difficult to get suitable music which does not detract from the beauty of the natural exhaust sound. My preference is for them to speak for themselves - glad you also agree.

I agree Rafe's Single is incredible.

Yes John is a master at firing. Note he chose a loco prototype with a wide firebox to make it easier. Still impressive

Indeed. Thanks for your comment

Brian Dickinson they actually have HO live steak

Railroad Institute of America do they have HO gauge cows for theHO steaks ?😂

The prototype with a wide firebox helps in O gauge. As does John's experience in firing from 1:1 down to 1:45 and everything in between. At dusk, the real coal fire is magical. See the end of my video from Crewchester in 2018 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/q7Koo5t6u-C4mKM.html.

Rafe's Allan 6' is also magical. Its amazing that such a small engine is able to haul 4 bogie coaches for such a long distance.

Thanks for your comment

+ChainsawCHARL1E Most of the live steamers in this video are meths (alcohol) fired - exception is John Shawe's coal fired Atlantic. They are all internal fired with one or more fire tubes. Most have cross water tubes to increase the heating surface area as well as improve water circulation. Internal firing makes the engines less susceptible to wind when running out of doors. There are some examples of gas firing and of course several members have Bassett Lowke and Leech, which are external fired pot boilers in my other videos. Often the wheel profile has been adjusted to GOG standard gauge (29mm back to back) If you are interested, GLR Model Engineer Supplies has several 'kits' for O gauge live streamers. These include frames, castings for cylinder, eccentrics, wheels.

Lots of questions - Here are some answers I hope they help 1) These are (mainly) to Gauge O Guild fine standard running on 32mm gauge track and nominally to 7 mm to ft. Of course 7mm/ft should be 32.76mm gauge 2) 1 1/4 inch is 31.75 mm - Actually the original design for my Netta by LBSC was for 1 1/4 gauge track. 3) Most of the locos in my videos use meths (alcohol). With the forced draft, they can create sufficient heat to generate steam at 50+ psi even when refreshing the water 4) Its probably not worth converting an existing electric logo as too much will need to be replaced. 5) Working valve gear is possible including outside Walschearts. Slip eccentric is easy to make and if you are manually controlling, then pushing the loco half turn of wheel in the proposed direction is no issue.

Good question. The Gauge O Guild Live Steam book tells you how to make a live steamer. The Henshaw article in GOG Gazette May 2013 (in GOG archive) details a simpler solution using oscillators. The engines in this video are all high pressure most with axle pumps and super heaters. My KZfaq video on how to operate high pressure live steamers gives guidance on running them. The rest is practice. But don't be afraid to start even with a simple pot boiler. We will be at the GOG spring show in Kettering first sat in March demonstrating live steam. Happy to answer any questions face to face

These are scaled down steam locomotives with water converted to steam in a boiler. Most of the engines in these videos are meths (alcohol) fired. The thumbnail picture ( GNR Atlantic made by John Shawe) is coal fired - hence the miniature fire irons being used. Steam is fed to the cylinders as per the full size. The regulator is usually manual - so you have to walk along beside them to control the speed. As you see, they are capable of pulling long trains and at realistic speeds.

BTW most tracks are level or close to level. This means the regulator can be set and the engine / train proceeds as a near constant speed. An exception in Andrews track ( kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y8yhjL2ruZPaeHU.html )which as a 1 in 75 gradient - you have to drive the engines

Hi John thanks for your questions. Most of the engines are manual controlled. So if the track is level, then you can set the regulator and it will run with little intervention. With an axle pump to replenish the water in the boiler, you can get run of 20-30 minutes - limited by the amount of fuel. A displacement lubricator the valves and piston get oiled. The other moving parts are oiled before the run and do not need any additional attention.

Actually the locos are mainly meths fired with John's Atlantic being coal fired. There are some gas fired locos in my other videos. Part of the attraction of meths or coal is the need for the blast to draw the fire. The harder the engine works, the hotter the fire.BTW at 3:30 into the video, you can see John tending the coal fire.

+Paul Lubliner Lucky you in having a Felix Spring model. Did you get it as a working model or is some renovation expected? I would recommend you get a copy of the Gauge O Guild 'Live Steam' book. This takes you through the steps necessary to raise steam and run a live steam locomotive. Its more complex than just putting on the track and turning on the power. But very rewarding. Some immediate steps 1) check the wheels and motion are free when pushed on the track. May need oiling. Best use steam oil which can be bought from garden railway suppliers 2) Check runs on air. You can probably use a car foot pump if you do not have a small compressor. One used for air brush painting is sufficient. 3) Get your boiler hydraulically tested unless the model came with a boiler test certificate. 4) Fill up boiler with water (distilled) to cover the crown of the firebox but leave some space at the top. 5) Put steam oil in the lubricator 6) Put fuel in 7) Ignite !! - if meths you will need an external blower to get up steam , if gas usual trick is to open the gas valve a little and put a lighter at the chimney - best use those poker type. The flame should flash back to the burner. 8) Wait until pressure is about 20-25 psi and open the locos own blower while removing the external blower. If all is well, pressure should rise. BTW Where are you based?

Most are using meths (alcohol). However John is using coal in his GNR Atlantic - hence the small shovel in the thumbnail..

+Jared Abbate The engines in my videos are all 29mm back-to-back wheel spacing for GOG standard. Not sure if Lionel uses 28mm or 29 mm back to back. You can generally run 29mm stock through points designed for 28mm. They just rattle a little

Adam Riffe due to this being a British train and o gauge's birth place being in the UK I don't think you can get them in America... Try Lionel...

These are made from kits I think given the fact some were running in brass.

No. O Gauge as display here is 7mm/ft scale (1:43.5) on 32 mm gauge track. So the prototypes are all standard gauge engines. G scale is 1:22.5 scale on 45 mm gauge track. And prototypes are narrow gauge. LGB is G scale.

I don't think they still make em. Been trying to find out more about these O gauge live steam beauties but I can't find a single one still in production. 1/32 scale is the smallest that seems to have manufacturers I can find.

I found tuns of them bought some to

If you need to ask you probably can’t afford one !

Not sure of the details of Lionel MTH O gauge track. However engines in my videos are all 29mm back-to-back wheel spacing for GOG standard. Not sure if Lionel uses 28mm or 29 mm back to back. You can generally run 29mm stock through points designed for 28mm. They just rattle a little. Indeed when I pressure tested my loco. it ran through SM32 points (facing and trailing) without trouble. FYI SM32 is the spec usually used for narrow gauge stock on 32 mm gauge track.

Lionel is tinplate track and therefore back-to-back is irelevant as it does not have check rails. 29mm b-b should run ok on Lionel track if it is well laid and the curves are not too small radius for the loco.

However.... The curves on Lionel track are probably too sharp for these locos. Most finescale locos are only happy on curves of radius greater than 6ft.

32mm. And the scale is 7mm to ft.

BTW the astute will note that 32mm is too narrow for 7mm/ft. And you may notice that some of Rafe's engines appear too small. This is to make them correct scale for 32mm track (1:45 rather than 1:43.5) :-)

@@DrDave_63395 Thank you.

Doctor Dirk - where are you based? Most of us are in the Gauge O Guild. We will be at the Kettering Spring show 7th March so com alone. Plans are available - start by getting the GoG Live Steam Book. Some of LBSC designs are available including BAT (4-4-0 tender based on Southern Schools Class) and Owl (based on NER internal cylinder 0-6-0). Both can be adapted to your preferred prototype. BTW if you decide on using LBSC , please use 29mm back -to-back wheels rather than the coarse scale 28mm back to back.

@@DrDave_63395 Thank you for replying. I'd better pop along to Kettering for a chat and a closer look. When I looked at the 0-6-0 tender loco I did wonder if it would make the basis of a 'Dean goods'.

если нужны чертежи этих паровозов LBSC , то могу дать

Most of the locos in these videos are scratch build. But Jack Shawe is planning an batch of O gauge live steamers. There are also some pot boilers available on the Internet auction sites

@@DrDave_63395 thank you

Steam.

David's track is electrically powered and he sometimes runs electrics. But the engines in this video are stream powered.

Sure is. Coal firing is even possible - see John firing his GNR Atlantic. Most of the other engines are meths fired.

@@DrDave_63395 Where did John get his firing equipment?.

@@williamhart6273 I'm sure John made it himself.

@@DrDave_63395 Thanks you the reply, I thought that would of been the case. I need one similar you see.

@@williamhart6273 Try sending John an email to Shawe Steam Services

Daniel, - thanks for your comments. I''ll them them onboard for the videos I make and edit in 2020. Perhaps holding the camera still and letting the train pass in front. BTW with the exception of Andrews track in Essex most are flat or intended to be flat - subsidence over the years changes things. Andrew's track is a challenge to open the regulator at the bottom of the hill and shut off at the top :-)