Thread: Calling all steam railway fanatics!

Red Hen. They've got at least two. 412 and 428.
And the Brill.

Isuzutoo-eh, looks like a Tas Gov B class from 1885????
What gauge is it? I'd love a 7.25" railway in my yard but yard not big enough.
Regards
Robbo

Originally Posted by robbotd5

Isuzutoo-eh, looks like a Tas Gov B class from 1885????
What gauge is it? I'd love a 7.25" railway in my yard but yard not big enough.
Regards
Robbo

Good guess, correct gauge but wrong island. Fairly close to an SAR D class too by memory. The model's gauge is 16.5mm. It isn't quite HO or OO scale though...

I was a fireman based at Everleigh in my younger years. I fired all types of engines based there...19 class, 30 and 30T, 32 class and everyone's favourite '3801'. Although it's many years since I was on the footplate I still love the sounds, sight and smell of a steam loco.

Cut my teeth as a teenager on Admiralty Pattern boilers and Parsons turbines in the Navy.
Nothing compares to the power those turbines make, driving 50 thousand HP as a youngster put the love of silly mountains of power in me.

Really love the old recips though, and quite often do trips on PS Industry out of Renmark.

One good thing about steam power is the engines run at full HP right from idle, they just go faster and louder as you open more throttle.

Originally Posted by JackH

I was a fireman based at Everleigh in my younger years.

Hi jack and I too spent some time at Eveleigh, in the last 3 years of steam, but I have to be honest, while I love watching them pass by but hell I hated working on them.

The largest I was qualified to fire was a pig.

And I fire my last steam engine in 1979, from the Creek to Broadmeadows, and I have no interest is firing another one.

My hat is off to anyone who has the patience to make one though.

For those interested in technical aspects of steam locomotives, particularly regarding thermal efficiency, www.5at.co.uk is a very interesting site. It was originally set up as a project to build a new steam locomotive incorporating developments that have been made since around 1950 but have so far only been used as modifications on existing engines. If the work of engineers Andre Chapelon and L D Porta had been taken up and continued further earlier, there obviously would not have been such a rush to replace steam with diesel electrics as a cost saving measure. It seems if a bit more development work is done there is potential for commercial use of steam locomotives using low cost fuels and with relatively low maintenence requirements compared with "classic steam"

Originally Posted by drivesafe

Hi jack and I too spent some time at Eveleigh, in the last 3 years of steam, but I have to be honest, while I love watching them pass by but hell I hated working on them.

The largest I was qualified to fire was a pig.

Yeah I fired a pig as well but my favourite was the 'P' class, they were so easy to work on. It was a dirty job with terrible hours but I'd still like to fire one again. I left Everleigh in early 1968