Rebuilding Bachman split chassis loco

[Colin-357870]

Bachman HO/OO 4–6-0 Jubilee Class split chassis loco - I’m in process of DCCing it but can’t get it back together, is there anyone in Kent who could do this please?

[Going Spare]

If no-one comes back with a personal offer (which may be difficult as there is no personal messaging), have a look in the Directory of ukmodelshops.co.uk. which gives details of retailers on a county-by-county basis, or Bachmann's or Hornby's own listings of their retailers on their websites. Do you have a model railway club near you? I can think of Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone and Whitstable - which may have a member who might offer help.

Looking on Bachmann's website, it appears they offer a repair service.

[Topcat2018]

@C3

I sympathise. I have a few Bachmann split-chassis locos (all LNER A4s) and they are a devil to overhaul and reassemble. The bearing surfaces in the chassis casting wear and the split axles detach from the central insulators so the wheels waggle and the axles don't always make contact with the chassis. The construction is over-complicated and why Bachmann thought it was a good idea I can't imagine.

[508006]

There's not a great deal of info I can offer interms of dcc, however, from watching some videos on the dan's model railways channel on youtube, he does mention frequently his saying of red and black to track, orange and grey away ( to the motor ).

The 1 thing I do know is that there are 2 springs that connect the motor to each respective side of the chassis block, these have to be removed if not already done.

I have never owned a Bachmann A4 or done dcc myself which is why my knowledge is limited on the subject.

If you could please supply some pictures of the loco we may be able to help further with your reassembly process.

Hope this helps

[Going Spare]

@Topcat: Not sure about the history of the A4 (may have originally been a Lilliput product) but the Jubilee came from Mainline, so the construction of the chassis was not Bachmann's choice. As with the reworking of Dapol and Lima products by Hornby, the split-chassis loco's were gradually upgraded as time/economics permitted.

[Topcat2018]

@GS

I don't have any Mainline locos and know nothing about the relationship between Mainline or Lilliput and Bachmann. I do have a Bachmann LMS 4-6-0 No. 6100 Royal Scot, made in China,which is not split-chassis, so I guess that's later than the A4s.

As for the springs that connect the motor to the chassis block in Bachmann split-chassis locos, they are another source of unreliability.

[ColinB]

I have done many of these converting them to DCC, I live in Essex near the Dartford Crossing.

[ColinB]

There isn't that much wrong with the design other than you have to be careful with lubrication. When I was doing mine about 6 A4s and 4 Scot/Patriots you could still get the insulators from Bachmann. I think if I remember correctly there was an issue with the valve gear, the locating piece of plastic snaps off as you try to remove it. Bachmann still had those but it was about 2 years ago.