A Roundhouse Katie for the Moel Rhos - Simon Wood

Simon Wood — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 08:10:29 GMT

@fedivideo@fedi.video It is radio controlled. Neither electric nor steam actually need to be (the models are big enough you can mount controls on the actual loco - but then you need to run after and catch it to adjust it). My first steam loco (a Roundhouse Millie) is manual and still very enjoyable to run. Before I bought it, about 10 years ago, I wrote and absurdly detailed summary of the considerations. But the key thing about steam locos is that they are actually powered by heating water (these days most commonly with a gas burner) to generate the pressure to drive the motion. The radio control, if fitted, then just allows you to adjust things like the regulator, or reverser, via tiny servos.

The Katie is actually my fourth loco, each one brings something different, in this case part of the appeal is radio control, good slow running, an authentic chuff... I will write a brief blog post about it shortly.

It's not the only new arrival this year though. The next one has a key difference, video to follow soon...

A Roundhouse Katie for the Moel Rhos - Fedi.Video on PeerTube

Fedi.Video on PeerTube — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 22:25:39 GMT

Yay, another garden loco! Is this controlled like electric trains, or does the steam element make it work differently?