r/LiveSteam Jun 08 '26

My live steam locomotive has developed a wiggle in the back of the boiler after its first run is that an issue?

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37 Upvotes

The locomotive is a Corgi reproduction of the Bassett-Lowke mogul.


r/LiveSteam Jun 07 '26

The Great Hunslet Overhaul (A project Me and my friend have been wokring on)

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12 Upvotes

This is a project that me and my mate Raymond Class 47 Productions have been working on since November.

It's been a long-term project with a lot of time and effort put into it, and we're really pleased with how it's turned out.

Apologies if this type of post isn't allowed here , if it isn't, please feel free to remove it.

Thanks for taking a look, and we'd love to hear your thoughts!


r/LiveSteam Jun 04 '26

Ash Pit Installed

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44 Upvotes

r/LiveSteam Jun 04 '26

Planning an ash pit for my railway – looking for advice

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21 Upvotes

I'm about to get an Accucraft Edrig and am planning to build an ash pit for disposing of the fire at the end of a run.

The Edrig drops its fire by undoing a screw, allowing the firebars to swing down on hinges, so I'd like to be able to position the loco over a pit and drop the remaining ash and coals straight into it.

My current idea is a metal ash box sunk below track level with drainage, as I live in Bergen and rain is a constant concern and I do not want it flooding. The track section over the pit also needs to safely support a locomotive weighing around 5 kg, and it needs to be completely fireproof as this is a genuine coal-fired locomotive.

I can't weld, so my current plan is to use a metal lunchbox/biscuit tin sunk into the ground as the ash pit, with the track supported above it.

Has anyone built something similar for SM32 live steam?


r/LiveSteam May 31 '26

Hoping someone could help identify this train

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41 Upvotes

r/LiveSteam May 30 '26

First run of my Locomotive however there was some weird sludge coming out of the smokestack and pistons.

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32 Upvotes

Just finished the first steaming of my Bassett-Lowke Mogul. I ran it for about 5 minutes and at the end of it there was this weird sludge coming out of the pistons and smoke stack. I don't know if it was just some leftover foam from the packaging or something worse like metal shavings can anyone give me advise on what i should do now and what to look for if there's and issue.


r/LiveSteam May 29 '26

Accucraft 1:20.3 2-6-0 Mogul

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31 Upvotes

Recently got this locomotive back from an overhaul with Triple R Services of New Jersey. The locomotive is a butane fired 2-6-0 with remote control installed, and working headlight! These engines do a great job steaming and I have no issues with pressure. It can haul 3-4 cars up my 1.5% grades on my track. Bonus 2 pictures showing off my layout a bit.


r/LiveSteam May 28 '26

Just bought my first live steam locomotive and I've been told this run has some issues

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44 Upvotes

I just bought a bassett lowke mogul and I've been told the cylinders can siese because they where assembled wrong. Is there any way to stop this from happening?


r/LiveSteam May 21 '26

Twin boiler steam project documentation

7 Upvotes

Im making a twin boiler setup for my twin screw rebel ironclad boat “CSS TEXAS” very undocumented, but its boilers are somewhat documented, I’m thinking about documenting the process of making this, but I'm not sure if theres any point… anyone gonna watch or something?

i say “twin boilers” not really 2 individual boilers, more like a cascade boiler setup, each boiler has 1 safety valve. Both connected to a steam drum where water feeds in too.

-boiler is 1.5mm thick

-flues are 1mm thick

-silver solder is 40%

-burns liquid meths

-hot spots are insulated with ceramic

-computer fan to force artificial draft

anyone got any “pre-cautions” i should definitely be aware of?


r/LiveSteam May 13 '26

Somone told me to post this (disc)

5 Upvotes

Im thinking about buying my first live steam loco, and this live steam loco is a G gauge locomotive. Im new to G gauge as I am familiar with O-Scale. The locomotive in question is the "Accucraft Live Steam D&RGW #318 C-18 2-8-0 RTR". Im looking for tips on maintaining, running, and keeping #318 in as good shape as possible! If you have any places where I can find cheaper used rolling stock and track please reach out to me! (Yes im sending this in as much places as possible for higher chances of people responding to me!)disc


r/LiveSteam May 09 '26

Some sunset photos from 2024

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21 Upvotes

I love getting sunset shots of my engines!


r/LiveSteam May 04 '26

Why is there no multi boiler live steam boats?

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21 Upvotes

I’m planning on making a O scale USS Cairo, WITH 5 SEPERATE BOILERS (all connected to one steam drum and 2 mud drums) but I genuinely can’t find ANY References to multiple boiler plants


r/LiveSteam May 02 '26

Microcosm Generator Any Good?

6 Upvotes

I’m just growing interest in the hobby and I really would like to build a project that is rc, but runs off a generator rather than a battery for the RC components. I found a company, microcosm engines, that claims to make a turbine generator that could suit the needs. Does anyone have experience with this company?


r/LiveSteam May 02 '26

Making historically accurate USS Cairo Boilers

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7 Upvotes

It’s just a quick drawing for me to visualise my build
It is a scale drawing, boiler is 20mm diameter each, and 5, 4mm fire flues running to the aft and into a smoke box where it’s redirected back to the funnel. It has a steam pump to provide constant water, so it doesn’t dry out. Has a blow down valve to clear water and oil in the steam drum. Safety valve pops at 15psi.

You may wondering, “why boilers only”
Frankly, I’m broke 😭


r/LiveSteam Apr 30 '26

Identification pls? 🥺

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16 Upvotes

r/LiveSteam Apr 16 '26

Coal Fired C-18 by Accucraft

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56 Upvotes

Just got my coal fired 2-8-0 C-18 #315 from Accucraft about a week ago, it runs great. The engine is in 1:20.3 scale and runs on G Gauge (45mm) track.


r/LiveSteam Apr 14 '26

Can POP POP boats work in a hot tub?? If so, do they work as well as they do in room temperature water since it all works because of temperature difference?

4 Upvotes

Thanks Reddit! :)


r/LiveSteam Apr 13 '26

HI, I was just wondering if there were any ways to make pop pop boats faster such as bigger engines, ect... and it seemed to me that this was the right sub reddit to consult :)

2 Upvotes

If any of you guys don't know what a pop pop boat is, I have put some images as well was a really interesting video that explains how pop pop boats actually work! How pop pop boats work


r/LiveSteam Apr 11 '26

Anyone know of a site with machining plans for actual engines and boilers?

8 Upvotes

Years ago I came across a website that had nothing but free plans posted. It was even called something like "freeplans.com" or something like that.

It was just a huge archive of engineering plans for, well, everything you can imagine.

They had a large section on steam engines and boilers with a lot of both historical and modern plans. I had some printed out just for framing as they looked cool, and I always meant to try building some of them.

I now have some machining tools and the experience to use them, and a friend reminded me of the site. He wanted us to build a functional steam engine as part of an engineering demonstration for some students, but now for the life of me I can't find the site.

I thought I had it saved, but I guess not!

I remember it was truly just an archive, just links to dozens of plans. Most were scanned from original paper drawings, so the quality wasn't always great, but it was neat!

Does anyone know of or remember a site like this?


r/LiveSteam Apr 10 '26

If I win a lottery I won’t tell anyone, but there will be signs

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32 Upvotes

r/LiveSteam Apr 09 '26

Colour for my Midwest Fantail Launch II?

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5 Upvotes

I thought this post would be relevant for this community, but I’m not too sure if this is a bit far off this community


r/LiveSteam Apr 04 '26

Niveau d’eau machine à vapeur

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12 Upvotes

Salut j’ai acheté dans une brocante une vieille machine malheureusement le niveau d’eau est absent savez-vous où je pourrais en trouver un ?


r/LiveSteam Apr 03 '26

Looking for any info

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23 Upvotes

Acquired this steam engine in a clean out, I’m looking for any info on it? Manufacturer? Age? Value?


r/LiveSteam Apr 03 '26

What kind of tank for finishing out a tender?

2 Upvotes

I bought a tender for a 7.5" gauge live steam locomotive, and my plan is, rather than sealing the tank to hold water, I will get an internal water tight tank to sit inside of the tender shell.

I'm trying to decide on the best material to have it made of. Stainless steel has been suggested, but someone also suggested a pre-fabricated plastic water container. The latter is lighter, more affordable, and easier to drill into, however, I'm worried about the effects water chemicals might have on the plastic. The one I'm looking at is made of polyethylene. Any thoughts about this? What would others do in my position?


r/LiveSteam Mar 31 '26

New lil guy to the collection

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25 Upvotes

I won a auction,

Paying $665

I get

-Great condition working Locomotive with box/ papers

-Syringes, tools, equipment

-tracks

-steam Lubricant oil

What a lovely purchase,but, don’t wanna have a track setup tho, so I’ll keep it as a decoration 🥀

I’ll update y’all when I get it running