Instruction Manual - Baldwin 4-4-0 1:20.3 Scale, Live Steam
Page 4
Draining the Adjustable Lubricator:
At the end of the run the lubricator
condensate needs to be blown out through
drain valve. The easiest way of doing this
is to open the lubricator drain valve and the
open the throttle a small amount to allow
pressure to enter the lubricator and push
the condensate out through the drain valve.
Close the throttle then close the lubricator
drain.
LIGHTING UP
:
Open the smoke box door; just pull it open by
the door handle. Light your lighter/match etc.,
and gently open the gas control valve until a
gentle hiss is heard in the burner. Apply your
light in to the smoke box and the glame should
'pop' down the fire tube and ignite the burner
inside the fire tube. If the gas valve is opened
too much the flame will not pop back; it will
either fail to ignite, will roar in flame out of the
smoke box, or there will be a ball of flame
around the front of the engine, which will then
blow the whole fire out (After giving the driver
a fright)! When the fire sound has stabilized,
after about 30 seconds the gas can be turned
up until a healthy roar is heard. The smoke
box door may be shut after about two minutes.
Now leave the locomotive to raise steam.
RUNNING:
When the engine has raised about 40 psi,
you are ready to start running, It is advisable
to run the engine in reverse fi rst; It clears the
condensed water from the cylinders best this
way. Before commencing your fi rst run of the
day, it is advisable to put a cloth loosely over
the chimney for a few minutes, as condensed
water will be ejected from the chimney. This is
quite normal; the motion of the engine will be
jerky until all condensate has been ejected. DO
NOT stand over the chimney as ejected boiling
water/steam could cause serious scalding.
Place the direction lever into the reverse
position, and then open the main steam
valve. The engine should start to move off
in the reverse direction . When starting from
cold it will be jerky, this is normal, as it has
to clear the condensate from the system. The
more the main steam valve is opened, the
faster the engine will go; our advice is to start
slowly and learn the road with your engine.
After a minute or so, remove the cloth and
continue running. In running it is correct practice
to balance the boiler pressure against the load
being pulled and the track conditions. With a
light load and level track the pressure may
need to be only 25~30 p.s.i. Therefore, turn the
gas control down to keep this pressure. When
running a heavy train with steep gradients,
increase the pressure. This can be learned
by experience and is one of the pleasures of
running a live steam engine. There is no need
to have the safety valve constantly blowing off
(it is what its name implies - a safety vent for
excess steam pressure). In all our designs,
the gas has been programmed to run out just
before the water, thus it is important not to