General Discussion

Having a few hours to spare, I thought I would try to get a Mallard loco, that I have tucked away going... I'd tried it before, but it did not want to run... pressure was good, regulator worked and steam appeared to be getting to the cylinders, but it would not move...

I thought I would retime it using a method shown on the forum.

Having stripped the front rotary cover off, to set the position of the drive pin to vertical, I found the first issue....

the pressure pad was as thin as a piece of paper !

I had a spare pad and spring, so this would be fitted on the rebuild.

Next to come off the chassis was the 'Dummy Brake gear plate, this was so I could remove the Gear Assembly - Part 21 on the A4 parts picture.

When I inspected this, it was very clogged up and very difficult to turn, the small pinion could be turned on the shaft ! This would allow the timing to slip.... could this be another problem ?

I borrowed another Gear Assembly from an old chassis, which was ok.

The wheels were put in position and the Gear Assembly replaced. The front rotary cover was refitted with new bits and a gasket, then the loco was steamed.... incredibly it runs ! Its a bit lumpy, so I imagine I need to tinker further with the timing....

On the same loco ( loco only -bought at an auction - not Ebay) I found it was fitted with 3 traction tyre wheels , not the normal 2! ......so it has obviously had some repairs in the past.....

Into the parts tub and a plain Red wheel was swapped with the traction tyre wheel.

Question for the knowledgeable ......

what is the small 'tag' on each coupling rod called ? What does it do or represent ??

The arrow points to a little tag of metal, there is one next to each hole on the coupling rods.... does it go to the top or the bottom ?

I noticed when changing the driving wheel, that my Mallard has the tags up on one side and down on the other ? ?

joe