Steve Cook
Flying Squad
Coal firing has always fascinated me, particularly when it comes down to the small scales. I've spent many a happy hour watching other people fire their own locos at the various events and get togethers I've attended and in terms of hands on running, you can't beat it. Its 'proper' in a way that gas or meths doesn't really achieve, but it is more fiddly, requires more prep and is less relaxing as a result. However, the smell and satisfaction far outweigh the compromises in my opinion, but I know its not for everybody.
I had hoped this year to convert one of my 16mm narrow gauge engines from gas to coal firing and had actually got as far as getting the kit ordered and an idea formulated of what I was going to do. The lead time was pretty long and during that period I had a phone call from a good friend who offered me first refusal on one of his engines - yup, you guessed it - 16mm and coal fired! We had spoken many years ago about it and I said if he ever sold it I'd be interested, well with the opportunity there and the funds in the bank account I made the four hour drive down to Exeter to pick it up.
The engine itself is a Tolhurst Model Engineers rendition of the Vale of Rhiedol locomotive, mine is the one on the right in Stroudley's Improved Engine Green Livery, of which there is very little green and lots of ochre
Sharp eyed readers will have noticed that both locos are displaying the same name and number, even sharper ones will know that mine is actually incorrect and should really be numbered 9 and called Prince of Wales. However, whilst initially disappointed with the colour scheme (I wanted a green one as per my other friends loco above), I have grown to really like the Improved Engine Green such that I wouldn't change it now It also looks magic with a matching set of coaches - more on that another time.
Rather than getting too bogged down in whys, wherefores and options, I figured I could just steam in with actually firing an engine and if people are interested in other stuff then we can just back track. To start with, here's a photo with all the kit required to run. Hopefully its all self explanatory - suction fan, water, charcoal, coal, tools, steam oil and lubricating oil.
The cab rear comes off in one piece on this loco and the roof lifts up to give good access to all the cab controls.
One of the best bits about these engines is the near as dammit scale appearance of the cab with all the working controls. If you had gone to town on the options list, you could have had working whistles, draincocks and steam lance , on top of the usual blower, regulator, blow down on the sight glass and reverser. Alas, my engine is pretty basic, but I have arranged for it to go back to TME for upgrading in the early part of next year - I'm not bothering with RC control as I like the tactile response of driving the engine, but draincocks and a whistle are topping the to-do list Sorry, I've got distracted again haven't I 
Right coal firing. At this stage, the lubricator has been filled (indicated by the 'Full' sign hanging off the sight glass) and all of the valves have been shut - I leave them all cracked open after a run to ensure nothing gets stuck as the engine cools down. The next job is to fill the boiler full of water. There is no onboard water system on the engine so all filling is done with the water pump bottle, connected to a quick release valve in the side tank (you can see the lubricator cap just below the water connection).
Ideally you want it about 1/2 to 3/4 full, rather than the 7/8ths I achieved here - its all down to concentrating on taking photos of each step and thus not concentrating properly on what you are doing...
With water in the boiler, the grate needs to be covered with charcoal next. Coal is pretty difficult to light on its own whereas charcoal soaked in parafin is the opposite, thus its easier to start the fire this way and when we get a decent bed of charcoal fire, start adding coal to that. We need around 8 shovelfuls of charcoal for the grate in this engine
I suppose now is a good time to talk about sizing the charcoal and coal. I buy both in 5kgs bags which have been mostly sized down to something usable, however there is still some prep work to be done. The reasons are twofold - one is that the firebox door and shovel aren't that big and secondly its to do with the density of material you load on the grate. Big bits leave lots of air gaps whilst really small bits leave tiny air gaps. As ever, its finding something that gives the happy medium - enough space to draw air through the grate and fire, not too little so the fire can't breathe, not so much that the air finds an easy route through the fire and disappears up the chimney having performed no useful function at all.
The charcoal is the easiest to size as its almost all ready straight from the bag.
Nothing makes it into the engine without having run through the sieve first though. Laid out on the garage floor is the kit I use - two washing up bowls, the sieve, dust mask and gloves (it is horribly messy and dusty this job), carpenters pincers and a container for the sorted materials.
Stack the sieve on the round bowl to start with having gloved and masked up
Tip the coal from the white bowl into the sieve and shake like mad. The end result is stuff that goes straight through the sieve (9.5mm square holes) and can be put straight in the sorted materials container, the stuff that sits in the sieve then needs breaking down to size.
This bit is tedious I'm afraid - nothing for it but some good tunes on the stereo and get on with it - half an hours prep generates about enough coal for an hours running at this scale which isn't too bad. Each bit of coal gets picked out of the sieve and stuck in the pincers.
A quick snap and you get two useful bits of coal
There is always the temptation to use a hammer
But even with a gentle tap..
One useful bit of coal (maybe two at a push) and lots of dust. Much quicker, must less useful, take your pick I go down the pincers route. At the end of a sorting session, the charcoal gets put into a glass jar (I should replace it with a plastic one really to save it breaking if it gets knocked over) about half of which is filled with parafin. It all gets shaken around and left for about 24 hours before being used to fire. The coal goes straight into what ever storage container I have lying around
Steve
I had hoped this year to convert one of my 16mm narrow gauge engines from gas to coal firing and had actually got as far as getting the kit ordered and an idea formulated of what I was going to do. The lead time was pretty long and during that period I had a phone call from a good friend who offered me first refusal on one of his engines - yup, you guessed it - 16mm and coal fired! We had spoken many years ago about it and I said if he ever sold it I'd be interested, well with the opportunity there and the funds in the bank account I made the four hour drive down to Exeter to pick it up.
The engine itself is a Tolhurst Model Engineers rendition of the Vale of Rhiedol locomotive, mine is the one on the right in Stroudley's Improved Engine Green Livery, of which there is very little green and lots of ochre
Sharp eyed readers will have noticed that both locos are displaying the same name and number, even sharper ones will know that mine is actually incorrect and should really be numbered 9 and called Prince of Wales. However, whilst initially disappointed with the colour scheme (I wanted a green one as per my other friends loco above), I have grown to really like the Improved Engine Green such that I wouldn't change it now It also looks magic with a matching set of coaches - more on that another time.Rather than getting too bogged down in whys, wherefores and options, I figured I could just steam in with actually firing an engine and if people are interested in other stuff then we can just back track. To start with, here's a photo with all the kit required to run. Hopefully its all self explanatory - suction fan, water, charcoal, coal, tools, steam oil and lubricating oil.
The cab rear comes off in one piece on this loco and the roof lifts up to give good access to all the cab controls.
One of the best bits about these engines is the near as dammit scale appearance of the cab with all the working controls. If you had gone to town on the options list, you could have had working whistles, draincocks and steam lance , on top of the usual blower, regulator, blow down on the sight glass and reverser. Alas, my engine is pretty basic, but I have arranged for it to go back to TME for upgrading in the early part of next year - I'm not bothering with RC control as I like the tactile response of driving the engine, but draincocks and a whistle are topping the to-do list
Sorry, I've got distracted again haven't I Right coal firing. At this stage, the lubricator has been filled (indicated by the 'Full' sign hanging off the sight glass) and all of the valves have been shut - I leave them all cracked open after a run to ensure nothing gets stuck as the engine cools down. The next job is to fill the boiler full of water. There is no onboard water system on the engine so all filling is done with the water pump bottle, connected to a quick release valve in the side tank (you can see the lubricator cap just below the water connection).
Ideally you want it about 1/2 to 3/4 full, rather than the 7/8ths I achieved here - its all down to concentrating on taking photos of each step and thus not concentrating properly on what you are doing...
With water in the boiler, the grate needs to be covered with charcoal next. Coal is pretty difficult to light on its own whereas charcoal soaked in parafin is the opposite, thus its easier to start the fire this way and when we get a decent bed of charcoal fire, start adding coal to that. We need around 8 shovelfuls of charcoal for the grate in this engine
I suppose now is a good time to talk about sizing the charcoal and coal. I buy both in 5kgs bags which have been mostly sized down to something usable, however there is still some prep work to be done. The reasons are twofold - one is that the firebox door and shovel aren't that big and secondly its to do with the density of material you load on the grate. Big bits leave lots of air gaps whilst really small bits leave tiny air gaps. As ever, its finding something that gives the happy medium - enough space to draw air through the grate and fire, not too little so the fire can't breathe, not so much that the air finds an easy route through the fire and disappears up the chimney having performed no useful function at all.
The charcoal is the easiest to size as its almost all ready straight from the bag.
Nothing makes it into the engine without having run through the sieve first though. Laid out on the garage floor is the kit I use - two washing up bowls, the sieve, dust mask and gloves (it is horribly messy and dusty this job), carpenters pincers and a container for the sorted materials.
Stack the sieve on the round bowl to start with having gloved and masked up
Tip the coal from the white bowl into the sieve and shake like mad. The end result is stuff that goes straight through the sieve (9.5mm square holes) and can be put straight in the sorted materials container, the stuff that sits in the sieve then needs breaking down to size.
This bit is tedious I'm afraid - nothing for it but some good tunes on the stereo and get on with it - half an hours prep generates about enough coal for an hours running at this scale which isn't too bad. Each bit of coal gets picked out of the sieve and stuck in the pincers.
A quick snap and you get two useful bits of coal
There is always the temptation to use a hammer
But even with a gentle tap..
One useful bit of coal (maybe two at a push) and lots of dust. Much quicker, must less useful, take your pick
I go down the pincers route. At the end of a sorting session, the charcoal gets put into a glass jar (I should replace it with a plastic one really to save it breaking if it gets knocked over) about half of which is filled with parafin. It all gets shaken around and left for about 24 hours before being used to fire. The coal goes straight into what ever storage container I have lying aroundSteve
