Home Page Operation Please go to the Stafford pages by clicking here or on the link at the top of this page. Modifications Functional Cosmetic Photo Gallery Gentoo 2 Running Logs 2014 2015 2016 Links Please go to the Stafford pages by clicking here or on the link at the top of this page. Contact Me 2014 Running Log Summary of the year. A year packed full of surprises.  I would never have predicted the sale of my Stafford 'Gentoo' and the purchase of the 0-6-0 Feldbahn, let alone the unfortunate boiler tube failure that affected the Stafford.  Amazingly the total mileage covered by my two Station Road Steam engines, and my petrol hydraulic Hymek (click here for its webpage) that I had just finished rebuilding when the Stafford's boiler failed is the highest I have ever recorded in a year at 168 miles.  However the biggest surprise was that instead of finishing the year hauling the Pinewood Santa Specials I actually ended up leaving Pinewood and having nowhere to run my engines.  What next year will bring is unknown.  "Watch this space" as they say, but if you can no longer find this website you may safely conclude that my days of operating 'Gentoo' have come to an end.   Date Location Activity Mileage Comments 07/09/14 Pinewood  (Wokingham) First test run 11.09 First test run with 10 different drivers !  Loco a bit stiff (needs running in) and consequently consuming more coal and water than expected.  Injectors more fussy in operation than those of the Stafford 'Gentoo', but no problems all day. 10/09/14 MAINTENANCE While looking for where an M5 Nyloc nut had come from scuff marks were spotted on the connecting rod retaining disc of the centre axle (see below). 23/09/14 MAINTENANCE Replacement retaining discs arrived from Station Road Steam and were fitted.  Loco cleared for operation again. 28/09/14 Pinewood  (Wokingham) Test run 23.12 New retaining discs seem to be OK and engine running well.  Non stop run of 10.05 miles completed (24 laps of the track) proving that the high water and coal consumption is caused by the vacuum brake ejector (You can read all about the ejector issues by clicking here).   05/10/14 Pinewood (Wokingham) Test run 12.25 Modified lubricator no longer "over oiling" (see Functional Modifications page by clicking here).  Test of vacuum ejector exhaust simply ending under the cab floor improved the steaming ability of the boiler when using vacuum brakes (You can read all about the ejector issues by clicking here). 19/10/14 Pinewood (Wokingham) Public Running 13.36 First public running on a very busy day pulling 3 fully loaded coaches all afternoon.  No problems and easy steaming all day, but ejector exhaust directed up funnel created the same affect as having too much steam blower in use  (You can read all about the ejector issues by clicking here). Total mileage this year                   = 61.82 Total passenger mileage this year  = 13.36

Centre Axle Connecting Rod Retaining Disc

After a successful first run of my Feldbahn 0-6-0 I spotted an M5 Nyloc nut on the floor of my van which had obviously dropped from the Feldbahn, and while searching for where it had come from I spotted the scuff marks on the centre axle connecting rod retaining discs shown in this photo. It didn't take long to notice that there was very little clearance between the disc and the expansion link mounting bracket even when the loco was standing on the flat storage trolley, and a mirror showed that the rear face of the bracket was also scuffed.  Obviously the disc was hitting the bracket as the loco moved on its suspension when running on the track and something had to be done before I could run the loco again. This problem was simply one of those things that happen when developing a new engine, and my 0-6-0 was the very first one built by Station Road Steam.  They had exhibited an 0-6-0 Feldbahn in green livery at the Harrogate show but at that time it had never been run on a track, and to bring forward the delivery of my Feldbahn (after the unexpected problem with my Stafford) that loco was simply refitted with a cab assembly in the colours I wanted and tested on a rolling road.  So finding a problem the first time the development loco ran on a track was always a possibility.

Two new discs soon arrived in the post and the photo on the left clearly shows the differences between the new small and old large discs.  Fitting them was quite easy, although I did have to extend the length of the Allen Key by putting a ring spanner over its shank to get enough leverage to undo the socket head screw. With the old disc removed from the loco I was surprised to see how much metal had been worn away because none of the drivers had heard any noises while running the Feldbahn to indicate that the problem had been occurring. Hopefully these new discs will have cured the problem, but the source of that M5 Nyloc nut has still not been discovered.