Weekend Running

Finally a weekend with some nice weather for a change, and some opportunities to run some trains!

On Saturday I was able to steam Cackler, following some tweaks as a result of an e-mail thread with the Loco's maker, David Hardy. The filler valve problem turned out to be resolved by cleaning out the non-return valve. I did some further fettling of the steam regulator to try to get it to close completely, I also tighted up one of the connecting rods between the slip eccentric and the piston valve which seemed to have worked loose. The resulting run was one of the best I've ever achieved with this loco; lovely slow scale speed pulling a couple of wagons, gas & steam regulators perfectly balanced. Certainly looking forward to more runs like that!

Today I was able to do some gardening, and clear the plants that had overgrown the line. Having done that, I ran Mortimer, once before the kids went to bed, and for an extended run after. I don't usually run once it's dark, even with the patio light on (primarily in case the track works loose), but Mortimer is very reliable, and with the single-fill system there's not a great deal that can go wrong. It was very atmospheric, and great to sit back with a glass of wine and watch her going round!

Hopefully we will get that Indian summer with more good running sessions into the Autumn...