Garden Railways – August 2019

46 GARDEN RAILWAYS FALL 2019

START-

STEAMER

5-step

by Steve Sweeney ■ Waukesha, WI

PHOTOS BY BILL ZUBACK

A pictorial

guide to firing

a live-steam

locomotive

So what’s it gonna take to get you into live-steam

operation? From first-hand experience, I can tell you

that few elements of the garden railroading hobby are

as satisfying as successfully preparing, firing, and

operating a train powered by steam. It’s here you feel

the heat of the burner warm the engine, hear steam

chuff through the smoke stack, and you experience —

in a small way — the power that boiled water transmits

through a reciprocating engine and wheels to the

track below. Even my most impassioned testimonial

wouldn’t do justice to such a visceral experience.

Yet if I somehow managed to pique your interest,

you might still perceive live-steam operation as

prohibitively expensive, labor intensive, and an

endeavor that requires numerous pre-requisite skills.

If only I could show you otherwise!

That’s precisely why I’m presenting the step-by-

step process I use to bring my kit-built Roundhouse

Engineering 0-6-0 Lady Anne gas-burning live-

steam locomotive (with 2.4GHz R/C) to life.

Through this sequence, I hope to highlight a less

explored segment of the hobby — one that’s perfectly

suited for those who love to tinker, tweak, tune, and

engage so many senses in the process.

Live-steam (full-size and model) operator

Steve Sweeney shares a step-by-step start-up

process you can use to get things heated up in

this intriguing segment of the large scale hobby.