C.P. Huntington

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Mjordan
Posts: 59
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2021 6:52 pm

Re: C.P. Huntington

Post by Mjordan »

Getting the Huntington back together. Had a few speed bumps with the oiler glass ID and OD but it’s all together now. Did a steam up on the stand and looks good here. I’ll be taking out to Mid-South on the 25th for their fall meet.
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gwrdriver
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Location: Nashville Tennessee

Re: C.P. Huntington

Post by gwrdriver »

Mjordan wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 6:34 pmOooh the drill press might be a good trick! Thanks for that info
I use a different technique which is to heat-polish the tube ends.

I cut and perhaps even grind (a la drill press) the tube ends, to insure squareness, and then play a propane flame across each end applying only enough heat to melt the end surface which glazes over and seals the irregularities (scratches, etc) left from cutting and grinding. The reheating doesn't change the the performance of a borosilicate glass.

Certainly some practice is needed to get the hang of it, to prevent deforming the end beyond use by applying too much heat for too long, but it's a pretty simple process and I've found it to be worth the effort in better sealing and extended life.
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Nashville TN
apm
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Re: C.P. Huntington

Post by apm »

For cutting gauge glass at least on the larger sizes I have found my diamond blade wet tile saw makes it a breeze to cut. Has anyone else tried this especially on the smaller sizes. Any other way and I was breaking more than I was making
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Bill Shields
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Re: C.P. Huntington

Post by Bill Shields »

Yes on the saw.

I also successfully use a tube scriber and heat
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
Mjordan
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Re: C.P. Huntington

Post by Mjordan »

This past weekend at MDLS was a success for the Huntington. The only issues I had were operator error with water and fire. I often was not stoking and adding to the fire soon enough as well as putting water in at too fast of a rate with a small fire. To me I feel like working with such a small boiler is tedious. I think with practice and finding the right rhythm for the track I’ll get proficient with it.


The only thing I found to actually fail on the engine was the deflector in the fire box kind of melted. I ordered some 3m stainless to replace with. I’m not sure what the original material consisted of but it did appear to be quite old and deteriorated.


Also I saw another steamer with a bag of BBQ briquettes, is that a good fire starter? I meant to ask them but forgot by the time I was leaving.
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Pipescs
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Re: C.P. Huntington

Post by Pipescs »

It was great to see you at MSLS. The Huntington was, as always, a work of art to watch.

Watching you run I realized you are dealing with the same problems I have with my American. (I believe they share the same boiler)

I find when opening the fire door to add coal, that if I leave the door open to throw in a couple of shovels of coal and then spread it that my steam pressure falls. Not just a little either. If I leave my fire door open for 30 seconds, the cold air going into the firebox thru the door, and straight to the tubes, will drop my pressure to less than 40 PSI and I quickly come to a stop. I recommend when you come out of the covered bridge you open the door just long enough to throw in a shovel of coal and let it get burning before you open it again.

Like me I notice you are staying on the lower loop. I add coal coming out of the covered bridge and then just past the mainline switch. If I need water, I usually add it, with the cross head pumps coming back toward the yard and then add coal at the yard. Try not to add water and coal at the same time as this seems to bring my pressure down quickly.

Once again, the Huntington was best of show.
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Charlie Pipes
Mid-South Live Steamers


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James Powell
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Re: C.P. Huntington

Post by James Powell »

Small engines require more attention...it's a laws of physics thing, not subject to repeal :)

Little and often is the way ahead. Get your shovel of coal ready, open the door, add it, close the door, repeat as required. You want to dark the fire at the top of the hill, and put the pump on too...and start @ the bottom with a clean fire/clean stack...that way maximum heat from the bottom of the hill.

(This is all in general terms...because if you have a 1/2 mile long grade, you are going to have to add coal part way through...)

It gets easier with practice, and it becomes a skillset that you will just "have", and something bigger will then become much easier to run. Remember that it takes time & heat to light fresh coal.

Getting steam up with a coal fired engine: I think I've written it out before, but I start with charcoal that has been soaked in paint thinner (because it's cheap, and unlike gasoline, doesn't go "boom"...diesel is another option, a little cheaper even than paint thinner). Put in enough to cover the grate by about 1 1/2 thicknesses. (the door size determines the thickness...it all has to fit through the door...). Then, put your blower on the chimney, light a shovel full, tip it in, and turn the blower on. At this point, it depends- the smaller models I tend to continue to use soaked charcoal, bigger ones I go to charcoal out of the bag. If they are briquettes, you may have to smash them to fit them in the door (try it first...). "real" charcoal is better than briquettes, but not a huge amount better.

Get the fire going, and then start adding coal. You want to have a coal fire before you leave the steaming bays for the track, as that way you have everything you need to hand if there is a problem. The first lap on is going to be a bit slow, so if there is a shortcut, take it...and then stop at the station/etc after the first lap and correct anything that needs/can be corrected. Make SURE that you have a way of getting water into the boiler that works during that first lap, or give up and ride the wild pine home to the yard and start investigating why.

Tools I find handy to have at the track: Vacuum cleaner & attachment for emptying the firebox. (I can't get the grates back in on 1/2 of my models...). Tube brushes to sweep tubes. A moderate amount of tools and bits (nuts, bolts, soft packing, spare gauge glass, wire, appropriate box wrenches, crescent hammer, real hammer, coal smash hammer) Spare cylinder oil. Rag. Paper Towel. A hat. A lighter that works (and or a box of matches). Water for the engine, water for me.
Pontiacguy1
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Re: C.P. Huntington

Post by Pontiacguy1 »

When I was regularly running my 0-4-2 chloe, which isn't that much bigger than the C.P. Huntington or L.E. American, I found that using charcoal briquets did not work very well for me. The reason was that they are designed and made to burn for a long time, and the engine would fire up fairly quickly. First lap, I would still have a bunch of charcoal in the firebox so that when I was going around it wouldn't steam correctly and I would lose pressure on the grades. On the second lap around, after all of that had finished burning out, it would steam perfectly fine. I switched to using wood chunks, about 3/4" x 3/4" soaked in kerosene or diesel fuel, and it never did that again. Just my experience with it, and I may have been doing something wrong, your mileage may vary.

You WILL get better with experience. Practice makes perfect. You have to learn how to run YOUR locomotive and what it likes and doesn't like and how it responds to your inputs. That is a very individual thing, as no two locomotives will respond and operate exactly the same.

You made several laps with it, so it will successfully run, and I think you will get a lot better with it. It was great to see it going around the track. Other than yours and Leo Myers' 4-2-4s, I've never seen another one on the track there. Haven't seen Leo's 4-2-4 on that track for probably 30 years at least. Glad you were there with it.
Mike Walsh
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Re: C.P. Huntington

Post by Mike Walsh »

Nothing beats experience when it comes to operating trains.

If you can get out more often and run often, you will learn what the engine likes. You will learn the railroad. When you learn what your engine needs vs what your railroad requires of your locomotive, you will eventually be able to visit another track, get a lay of the land, and then be able to modify your operating strategy to suit the new railroad.

Congratulations on a fairly successful run. I hope to get to see this engine someday :-)
Mjordan
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Re: C.P. Huntington

Post by Mjordan »

I appreciate the tips and compliments. They guys at the track have been very kind, also hope I had proper switch points Etiquette. I wanted to stay in the lower loop so I had to keep stopping to switch the points back for the trains running the public around. There was a couple times they had to stop to allow me to switch it back.

I agree I was leaving the door open for too long. I’d open it, poke around, throw two scoops of coal, poke around and then close. Probably open for 30-40sec. I figure I need to do less coal more often.
Berkman
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Re: C.P. Huntington

Post by Berkman »

100% it's about learning the locomotive, the railroad and how to get the most from your engine under differing situations.

Typically the larger the firebox/boiler the easier a locomotive is to run and fire.
Mjordan
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Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2021 6:52 pm

Re: C.P. Huntington

Post by Mjordan »

I’ve thought about going propane but some purists have told me I should stick with what the train was built for, plus my grandpa says getting dirty is half the fun. I’d have to agree with him, I enjoyed scooping the coal and watching the smoke turn black.

I will definitely need to go out and run the rails more often.
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