Gas fired GWR Pannier on eBay

[IanT]

A GWR Pannier by GRS on eBay - looks to be in very nice condition. Seller (in Leek) will deliver within 100 miles. Suggest usual caution of course.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-1-2-inch-gauge-live-steam-GWR-Pannier-tank-locomotive-/270647388198?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item3f03d76826

IanT

[MikeWilliams]

He appears to have bought the kit (or one just like it) on e-bay a month ago for £600.  There's a lot of work putting that together, so he's not making a huge profit.

I hope it sells well - might encourage him to do more Gauge 3.

Mike

[keith Bristol]

yep hope so, mine runs well, hopefully hes carried out some of the modifications such as changing the burner.

[MikeWilliams]

"changing the burner" ??  Sounds like you should jot down some notes for the Society's Newsletter Keith.

Mike

[John Candy]

Chris Cory's notes on this kit can be found at http://gauge3.org.uk/members/GWR2021.pdf and are essential reading for anyone about to build this model.

Keith has mentioned in a posting in an earlier thread (under the "Live Steam" board) that the GRS burner sounds like a "doodlebug" and he replaced it with a Roundhouse burner.
http://lakes-pages.com/gauge3.co.uk/G3Forum/index.php?topic=234.0

I shall soon be starting my own kit (which has been languishing in the corner for at least six years) so shall be paying particular attention to these recommendations and have a few modifications of my own in mind.

John.

[keith Bristol]

John,

If you fancy sometime I will bring mine over and you can have a good look / borrow of it whilst you build yours.

My outdoor line may be being truncated due to major building works on the house (Extension) sadly my application for a tunnel through the new lounge at sofa height was refused so my gas fired pannier will need an outing. Plus I have started construction of an intermidate section to go in Mark P's Blackgang which if you are at the meet in December you will no doubt see.

There are NUMEROUS alterations to this kit. I ended up paying a professional model builder to finish mine due to having too much work on to concentrate on it. For about a year every time I mentioned it all I got back was silence and the sound of the screw top of a bottle of pills being opened. But it looks and runs very well once done and is probably the most complicated kit, especially as i had one of the first produced around 10? years ago?

keith

[John Candy]

Keith,

Have just got back home after a week away and am catching up.
Your line being cut off in its prime really is bad news.

Thanks for your generous offer to bring the 2021 but I am afraid it will likely be next Summer before I have any track laid since I have already been waiting six months for my builder to come and erect scaffolding to repair a chimney stack and the proposed track runs right past where the scaffolding will need to be planted.

I also need the double slips I ordered from Robin (two years ago!) but otherwise the concrete mixer is ready to go and track is waiting to be laid.

Gordon at GRS told me the kit is a devil to build (unfortunately not until after I had bought it) so any pointers to useful mods. will be very welcome.
I am hoping it may be possible to fit a water gauge and possibly either a ram pump or injectors to feed the boiler from the pannier but that will require mods. to the boiler to add bushes (and I shall definitely not try doing that myself).

The GWR diesel railcar is currently on the workbench and progressing rather slowly (quite a lot of wagons are also under construction) so it will probably be early next year before I get to work on the 2021.

Regards,
John.
 

[keith Bristol]

John

No problem its a case of deja vu... Gordon at GRS said the same to me again after had bought it....You might struggle with the pump etc... But let us know the offer stands.

keith

[dajo]

Hello G3 People,
I bought a secondhand live steam GRS Pannier tank a year or two ago and it performed very badly; it was not clear whether the boiler was not steaming well, or the engine was not performing, or both.  It was shelved for a while due to other more important tasks.  Getting the engine running has risen, finally, to the top of the priority list.  So, today I ripped it apart and started my quest for perfection by checking the burner, which is both noisy and not particularly good at heating.  The burner did have swarf inside due to poor machining; this was duly drilled out, with no important effect.  I steamed the boiler (no load, just the boiler on the bench) and the safety valve lifted at 55-60 psi regularly a few times, but really I was not encouraged by my perception of the steaming rate.  And my head hurt due to the burner noise.  I logged in to this forum and found this thread, and, in particular, several comments about the engine's burner.  Thus I am really hopeful that I can get useful help.  Reading the comments leads me to think that a solution is to install a Roundhouse G1 FG burner - is that right?  Does it really stop the awful noise?  And does it give the boiler a bit more oomph?  What else can you tell me about the engine?  I am very envious of comments such as "mine runs well".
dajo

[Ted Sadler]

Any chance of sending some pictures of your US G1/G3 line to Newsletter editor Ian Harper, please?

Thanks. Ted

[John Candy]

Hello Dajo,

I have the GRS GWR 2021 class pannier tank kit still waiting to be built so am unable to comment on performance but Michael Adamson (of GRS) told me that he found it performs best with the boiler two-thirds filled and with water added little and often.

I know there is at least one G3 Society member who experienced performance problems with this kit but eventually managed to cure the problems with "expert" help but I cannot at the moment recall the details.

Regards,
John.

[dajo]

I am well into this engine now.  It is pretty clear to me that there are a number of problems to be solved.  W

[dajo]

Obviously, I had finger trouble just now and posted without realising it.  Here is a second attempt.

I am well into this engine at this point; I think that I get the picture from re-reading the various posts.  It is clear to me that there are a number of things that need attention.  I have found a significant design error in the motor, and probably a second one, too.  Suffice to say that when doing a bench test, on a "before and after" basis, correcting the first design error halved the air pressure required to get the motor idling.  A subsequent track test gave easily the best run I have ever had with the engine.  There is still a lot to put right, however.  I shall report on what I find later.  I am about to order a Roundhouse FG burner - no-one has confirmed or denied that that is the right one, but I think it must be since I can only find one internal burner in their online catalogue.

Just for grins I am going to try to send an image of the beast taken during today's encouraging run.

dajo

[John Candy]

The result of your initial test sounds promising.

I look forward to the details of your modifications, particularly the steam motor improvements and anything else which improves the sluggish performance which has been reported by other owners.
I have read complaints of the poor performance of the GRS R-T-R model of the 45XX class Prairie tank which I believe is powered by a similar steam motor; one owner complained his model would not move the GRS Great Western 2-coach "B Set"!

It would be useful to add a supplement to the construction files in the downloads area of www.gauge3.org.uk/members .

John

[MikeWilliams]

I know nothing about GRS steam units, but somebody told me they now sell a larger version.  I believe they are proprietory units bought in anyway, so you may find more by identifying the manufacturer and looking at their customer base.  Sorry to be vague but somebody out there knows about this.  Gauge 3 Pirate perhaps?

Mike