Technical

Hello OOLSC! I'm new to this, having seen the stand at the Model Engineers' Exhibition in January, I have now finally made the first steps with a rolling road!

I recently acquired a Mallard and powered her up! I put 7ccs of distilled water in, and .5 of oil. The engine steamed initially, with little bursts of steam from the pressure release valve. There was an initial problem with the regulator motor not turning - This was jammed stationary with dirt around the magnet, but having cleared that, the motor worked and I was able to regulate the valve and get her in motion, and vary the speed reasonably normally.

After a few minutes (4-5 max) she slowed down and stopped. I assumed this was due to lack of water, so I refilled her with 10ccs.

However now the tender heats up and actually bubbles with steam rising from it, but the pressure does not seem to build in the engine and there are no bursts of steam from the engine pressure release valve.

I have tried a few times now, shifting the valve to various positions as I do so but pressure does not seem to form in the engine. I am worried about overheating the tender. I certainly left her long enough to steam up if she was going to!

Also the engine is getting really hot, so the 'superheater' appears to be active.

I repeat I'm a total Newby, and I hope im making a simple mistake! I would welcome any tips or guidance.

Thanks for reading,

Toby