Jeff, thanks heaps for thos photos - they showed me what I should be looking for. And I found that both the spring perch and the axle centre casting both have had the steering bracket portion broken/cut off at some stage. Just a rough protusion where once the fittings had been.

Your photos show that the down tube is braced by both these mountings, and simply floats free thru the hole in the body? Whereas mine is attached to the body, and braced by a bracket on the TOP spring perch. Guess what I will do is extend the down tube, and manufacture a guide that I can attach to the axle, however have the down tube bounce freely thru the lower brace rather then the body, where it is attached. Perhaps I can make a telescopic arangement so it does nor hang below the axle......

Appreciate the effort you went to in taking and posting the photos. Dave, thanks for the advice on my lack of power. Have decided to take it to an old steam guy who has a wealth of experience.... He says he will be able to tell what the problem is simply by listening to it run. And I believe him. Just waiting for the weather to clear a bit, and shall keep you posted.

Cheers

Merv Kroll

The weak points in the Locomobile engine hasn't been the unribbed cylinders but the weak cross heads, and the crank shaft. Look at the Locomobile parts engines avaiable on eBay and see what parts have been ruined. Also ask the Locomobile engine rebuilders. Both will tell you where the weak points are in the Locomobile engine. 200 PSI is about as high a steam pressure as you can safely expect the engine to last at. It will run at a little higher pressure but not for long. At 220 pounts, from a stand still, the Locomobile can lift it's front tires off of the ground. Merv, your next Question 2: "What is the correct method of putting my baby to bed?" If you are running your Locomobile every week, the drill that I use for our Stanleys is: when you know that you are putting the steamer away, you shut off the fuel to the burner before you even get it to your driveway and run on the stored steam until you have it parked in your garage. This clears the exsisting fuel in the burner. Do a double check to be sure that all fuel valves are off including your pilot light. Top off your water tank. After the burner has had at least 10 minutes to cool and there isn't any fire in the burner, do a blow down of your boiler to dump the solids that have accumulated during the day's run. Blow down until all of the water has left the boiler, and now just clear steam has started to come out. Shut the blow downs off at this time. On the Stanleys, the steam gauge will still be registering over 100 PSI when the water has finally left and you shut off your blow downs. Open your steam chest but keep the throttle pinned closed. As the boiler cools, the boiler will siphon it's self full of water from the water tank. The steam left in the boiler will condense into distilled water. I now do all of the little things that have to be done before the next outing with the steamer. If I do not have time to do them at this moment, I will write out a list and do them later.



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 02/10/08 07:24PM by SSsssteamer.

Thanks SSsssteamer. Had a good explanation of the blowdown procedure recently, but your phrase "until all of the water has left the boiler, and now just clear steam has started to come out" was a missing piece. I'll be able to be more precise the next time I blow down. Also didn't know to give burner 10 minutes to cool. And if a locomobile is capable of lifting it's front wheels, then mine should be able to climb my little hill to my shed. (CDO gets up in top gear). So am looking forward to taking it to the Olds Foundry in Maryborough for assistance in diagnosing the problem, if the rain ever stops!!!!! Thanks for all the help.

Cheers

Merv Kroll

Dear Merv, I said 10 minutes because I wanted to make real sure that you are blowing down a boiler with no fire or hot sports left in it. After the fire is out, the soonest that I have blown down a boiler is after 3 minutes of cool down which is too soon. If any pilot or fire was left buringing when the water was blown down, you would quickly have a scorched boiler. I just want you to be safe. Also, never blow down a boiler at full pressure down to zero on the gauge. Releasing the stress on it to zero all at once is bad for the boiler too. I have been told this for years and I have followed their advice. The bigger the boiler, the more fragile they are. There are things that you can get away with with your small Locomobile boiler that you could never get away with in a big boiler for fear of damage to it. It is much easier to warp the tube sheet in a 30 hp boiler that has 999 tubes in it than is it to warp the tube sheet in a small Locomobile boiler. Comparable metallurgy: Caterpillar diesel engines that have been worked hard are left to idle for at least 10 minutes or more before shutting them down. This is to get rid of hot spots in the engine so that nothing gets cracked or warped after the engine is shut down. The same cautions should also be applied to boilers. Before blowing the boiler down, keeping water on the bottom tube sheet until it has an even temperature all across the bottom tube sheet will give you a longer boiler life. Get rid of the hot spots first before blowing down.

Hi Jeff. You once said you thought my 1899 may have been a Mobile, because of the wooden dashboard, and I have not been sure what to call it since. However I have found reference to the first batch of Locomobiles having a wooden dash.

In the HCCA Gazette, Vol 39, No. 3, issued for May-June 1977, there is a print of the "Chicken Coop Special", by Chuck Figge. As part of the article, he has a chapter on "Identifying the 1899 Locomobile & a Chronology of Subsequent Production". Number 11 in his list of changes says "In late 1899 the wooden dashboard was changed to patent leather which continued to the end of production".

Not sure where he got this piece of info from, but I am more than happy to believe him........

Cheers,

Merv Kroll

Hi Merv,

Looking through my 'Genealogy of the Locomobile Steam Carriage' I found the same information, here it says.....

"The early cars until perhaps the 2nd quarter of 1900 had a wood dash which was varnished with black paint. After that time, the standard dash was a metal frame covered with patent leather. A handhold was provided on either side of the dash for assistance in getting into the car"

So I was wrong, I had it in mind that only the Mobile's were like this, shows it pays to check before engaging key board!! all the best, Jeff.