Ruby Kit #2 Red w/o Pressure Gauge

Ruby is a freelance, gauge 1, 1:20.3 scale, live-steam locomotive based on Baldwin practice. It has been designed to be both simple to operate and sophisticated enough to satisfy more experienced modelers. With proper care, Ruby should give years of service in the garden.

Operating a live-steam locomotive is much different from running an electrically powered engine. It is a more hands-on, interactive experience. The locomotive must be periodically fueled, oiled, and watered. As supplied, Ruby is manually controlled, which means that you must actually drive the locomotive using the controls in the cab, just as you would a full-size engine.

The performance of the engine is also unlike electric locomotives. Ruby should pulled up to half a dozen standard size freight cars on good, level track, which is about the same capacity as a full-size locomotive of this configuration. Grades and sharp curves will diminish its capability. A good engineer will learn the engine's characteristics and idiosyncrasies over time, to get the best performance and longest duration from it.