Victoria B.C.: Mamod Mk 3 Live Steam - Review (See description. Please Subscribe)

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Terry’s Live Steam, O, G, Real Trains, & Cobi!

3 жыл бұрын

Update: See all of this great little engine’s final mods here: • Victoria BC: Steam Chu...
Now back to the original post:
I received my new G scale (nominally 1/19 scale, 16 mm to the foot, SM32) Mamod Mk 3, which runs on 32 mm O gauge track. It is a good locomotive for the very entry level price.
Non-live steam enthusiasts may think 353 British Pounds or 600 Canadian Dollars doesn’t sound very ‘entry level.’ However, unlike electric trains, live steam engines remain more labour intensive to build, product development costs are high (electric trains won’t explode if they are designed wrong) and the market for them is relatively small.
Still, my Mk 3 did arrive with a some bugs not related to safety - a few of which needed to be worked out. There was nothing hard in this. However, if I was a beginner at live steam it may have caused me confusion, disappointment or calls to Mamod.
Having said that, I love this engine! Is it my Accucraft? No. Nor should it be. It is a fun little engine with enough colour and whimsy to cause my mother in law to stop and smile at it - even though she has not glanced at my brutish, business-like, much larger, fine scale Accucraft engine. Now she is interested in helping me build my railway outdoors because the train is cute and she loves gardening.
This is the stuff that gets more people into the hobby - even peripherally.
My next video shows a surprising improvement just by doing one simple modification requiring only a wrench, Teflon tape and a pair of scissors. Now my engine runs like snap! I love it!
If you live in the Victoria, British Columbia (or South Vancouver Island) area and are interested in live steam - even if you don't have any equipment of your own - why not leave me a comment. The live steam train hobby should be shared.

Пікірлер: 20

@Terrys-Steam-and-Cobi Жыл бұрын

See this loco modded and how mighty it is! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iJN8q8VetcnShGg.html

@yelloweyeball 3 жыл бұрын

Do they sell these in Canada, or did you order it online from the UK? I live in the midwestern US & will be moving to a place with a lot more land. I've done Piko G scale & when I was a kid, Lionel O gauge, so I'm thinking of giving Mammod live steamers a try. I definitely will be ordering mine from the UK though as none of the trainshops near me sell 'em.

@Terrys-Steam-and-Cobi 3 жыл бұрын

Hi. I had to order this from the UK. I have never seen new Mamods for sale here. It’s a good engine. Have you seen my video on how to make a simple improvement? Maybe one you get won’t need it, but mine leaked steam out of the cylinders but a cheap easy fix stopped that and greatly improved the running. These are inexpensive (for live steam anyway) but good.

@spingleboygle 3 жыл бұрын

Are there differences from trains like that with model train? It reminds me of them

@Terrys-Steam-and-Cobi 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Railroad Fan. The Mamod live steam engine in the video is a model loco, but not of a particular real one. It is a model of a general type of small British industrial engine. Also, it is not a fine scale model. It looks a bit toy like, which I don’t mind. I do have fine scale live steam engines as well that are modelled after a real life engine. This is what I mean: m.kzfaq.info/get/bejne/g7B_ZtJ7z83JfqM.html

@enterprisevi4440 2 жыл бұрын

Hi a question, what is the white thing you lit with fire is called

@Terrys-Steam-and-Cobi 2 жыл бұрын

A tree e you referring to the solid fuel the older Mamod uses? Nesbit it what it is called, I think. Any small solid fuel bricks used by some types of camp stoves work. Or did you mean something else?

@enterprisevi4440 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah i think, that thank you

@Terrys-Steam-and-Cobi 2 жыл бұрын

@@enterprisevi4440 great

@dankinsler1930 Жыл бұрын

Mind if I ask where you get the narrow gauge track for your Mamod?

@Terrys-Steam-and-Cobi Жыл бұрын

That was track from Mamod. It isn’t the best track. Peco makes great track. The loco runs on 32 mm gauge. This is also what is used for O scale. Gargraves makes two rail 32 mm gauge track for O scale trains. Atlas does. But wherever you get it make sure it is stuff for outdoors if you intend to run outdoors. Large scale 32 mm gauge track is meant to represent real world two foot narrow gauge industrial or short line type trains. By happenstance o scale trains running on 32 mm gauge track represents real world standard gauge 4 foot 8.5 inches gauge railways.

@Terrys-Steam-and-Cobi Жыл бұрын

I should add that you can order a Mamod Mk 3 Like mine in either 32 mm gauge or 45 mm gauge. The 45 mm gauge track is regular G scale track and PIKO makes stuff at a reasonable price as do other manufacturers.

@dankinsler1930 Жыл бұрын

@@Terrys-Steam-and-Cobi Thanks Terry for the kind response. I purchased a Mamod SL1 off EBAY. It's 32mm gauge.. Thinking of doing the 45 mm conversion, but like the idea of the narrower gauge. I started it up yesterday for the first time in probably years and it ran like a champ. I have a Roundhouse Bertie in 45mm and for some perverse reason I almost think I prefer the simplistic function of the Mamod.

@dankinsler1930 Жыл бұрын

@@Terrys-Steam-and-Cobi Can't find any used two rail Pico or Atlas O track around me. The new track is rather expensive. There is a train shop near me that has old Gargraves 3 rail track with wood ties at 37" for 8 dollars a pop. Not ideal but affordable.

@Terrys-Steam-and-Cobi Жыл бұрын

@@dankinsler1930 I have much more complicated engines as well. Yet, there is something that makes me smile about my Mamod Mk 3. I think it is more toylike and simpler and in some way fun. It’s less… serious. So I think I get it. 😊

@anythingvintage2952 2 жыл бұрын

Hey mate, i got one of these not too long ago and got to say it is terrible, i like the looks but it came with a loose buffer that fell off and got lost, the piston is missing the spring so it is too loose amd the gas tank is missing the olive so the pipe won’t sit in so i can’t operate it i love it the other wise

@Terrys-Steam-and-Cobi 2 жыл бұрын

Wow. Did you get it used or new?