RVLR freelance industrial steam loco No. 11 "AFRICAN QUEEN"

African Queen started life as a MiniSteam which loosely represented an 1832 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad “Grasshopper” type loco. With its central vertical boiler and upright steam engine it immediately resembles a small De Winton quarry loco so a decision was mad to build a freelance engine styled loosely on the De Winton. The kit needed no machining but there was an enormous number of very small parts, the cylinders and gears looking like something from a steam driven pocket watch! The tiny steam
engine is a two cylinder double acting oscillator which drives just one axle via a series of gears giving a reduction of 11:1. The loco was built according to the instructions first before making any changes. This allowed me to evaluate the performance which proved to be perfect for my needs. The boiler, engine and gear train were left unaltered, the changes being made were all cosmetic. There were no plans except for the ideas in my head. This allows me to change anything during construction. The loco eventually evolved into what you see. Because the boiler is very small steaming is limited to just under 15 minutes at the most
before refilling with water and gas. Normally it will run at a steady gentle pace but if stopped and pressure is allowed to rise then it will take off with plenty of wheel spin. The very low gearing also allows it to crawl without any problems other than it takes forever to get anywhere.

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