(^5) BOIL WATER, FINAL
PREPARATION
Watch the pressure gauge. It will take minutes,
maybe 10, before the needle starts to lift from 0.
Take this time to make your final preparations.
Move the locomotive to the main track, check the
radio controls, and connect the locomotive to its
train. Make sure the throttle is closed to avoid
warm water from bubbling into the steam line.
This Lady Anne has a safety valve set at 40 psi by
the factory. Some operators wait until the safety
valve activates to ensure they have a good head of
steam to run. If you watch the pressure gauge,
you’ll know if the safety valve and pressure gauge
are in agreement or if you need to adjust it or order
a new pressure gauge.
Before you know it, the locomotive will be
at full operating pressure and you can set the
Johnson Bar in the “forward” position, open the
throttle and... enjoy being an engineer of a real
live-steam locomotive.
(^4) LIGHT’ER UP
The trickiest part of live steam is lighting the
fire. Hold a lit match or longneck lighter next
to the smoke stack and slowly turn on the
gas valve. In this Lady Anne, butane gas
flows from the tank through the burner, into
the boiler tube, and then into the firebox
and smokestack. When the gas reaches the
lit match it will ignite and “pop” — exploding
all the gas in the system. Please be careful!
This nearly invisible explosion can ignite
nearby gas, alcohol, and even dried leaves
or pine needles.
If the burner is working, you hear the hiss
of the gas, the pop of ignition, followed by a
low-pitched sizzle — the burner jet. If all you
hear after the pop is the hiss of gas flowing,
close the tank valve and restart the lighting
process. A cold locomotive seems to be
harder to start than a hot one.
Adjust the gas valve per the manufactur-
er’s instructions. If you have none, keep the
gas turned low for a few minutes until the
engine begins to warm. Once it’s warm,
adjust the gas valve until it sounds like a low
roar — sort of a medium loud between barely
audible and full blast.
WATCH VIDEO
of Steve’s startup
process and his
kit-built Lady Anne in
operation. Subscribers
to Model Railroader
Video Plus can enjoy
the fun by linking to
MRVideoPlus.com/
RMRO3
50 GARDEN RAILWAYS FALL 2019
Related reference: Marc
Horovitz’s A Passion for
Steam: Small Scale Steam Locomotives
and How They Work (#86001), can be
ordered from KalmbachHobbyStore.
com or by calling 877-243-4898.
Light the
match
Pressure gauge
(Remember: this is pressure,
not temperature. Even low
on steam, the engine can
be oven-hot.)
Safety
valve
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