What's on your workbench?

[81F]

I too have an Ian Kirk Gresley coach somewhere. Not sure where I put it though and haven't seen it for years. As I have some Hornby Railroad bogies spare I might try and find it and finish it off.

[Twintop]

Oiling and cleaning, Bman green 25 D5011, Fairburn black 2-6-4T 42073, Ivatt black 2-6-0 43047, Class 08 green D3729 and Hornby, L & Y black 0-4-0 Pug 51218 and Mainline green Jubilee 45690 Leander.

I could not work out how to get the bodies off the Ivatt and Fairburn, so could not get to the gears. Dare not force anything as have had trouble before with bits like the brake rodding being damaged, so left them be.

The 08 runs fine, but very, very slow. I know this was prototypical, but do wonder if it is too slow and something is wrong. I have lost a sanding box, so will have to keep a look out for that.

The Pug, I slipped up and took the baseplate off and the pick ups sprung out of place and a devil of a job to get them back. I also initially failed to notice a locating lug on the front of the plate - wondering why the screws did not line up at first ! It runs fine on plain track, but not great over point work, although to be fair, the track does need a good clean. All the above have been test run on the layout. Leander runs well, if a little noisy.

Lima class 50 D400 is next in line.

[The Doc]

The Gresley coaches are now complete and have had their first run on the mainline. The Brake third kept derailing - turns out the back to back measurement on one of the wheelsets was way out. A bit fiddly to widen it without damaging the bogie (Ian Kirk bogies are rather fragile) but all sorted now.

The J69 needs some bufferbeam detail!

[Rana Temporia]

I had great fun over the weekend repairing these clockwork motors from by box of ‘bits’. All now working although some are a bit of a ‘bitsa’ now. The box of bits now contains mostly useless parts such as broken springs, worn gears, damaged wheels etc. Great fun to wind them all up and set them off on a metal tray, very noisy!

[Twintop]

I have now cleaned and oiled the Lima class 50 D400, green class 40 D241, Green Class 47 D1842 and green class 117 DMU. All straightforward to get the bodies off (47 needs buffers removing though) and see to.

Then the Railroad class 31 in Blue, which needs renumbering from its TOPS number but I dare not attempt that yet. It was very cheap new around £40 I think on an offer from Hornby so I ignore the TOPS number !! I was amazed to see it has full 12 wheel pickup and also easy to get the body off. I could not get anywhere near the motor though to oil any gears there may be, it appeared to be a sealed unit ? I am tending now to leave things alone if I cannot work it out as otherwise there is a high risk of something breaking !! What I did get out of it were NINE track pins and a coupling hook that the magnets had attracted.

Then the Bmann class 47 D1500. That was awkward to get the body back on, and I only ended up oiling a gear wheel and the gear shaft at each end, as I dare not dismantle any further. That has 12 wheel pick up and 12 wheel drive. At quite a few points I was thinking I should leave it well alone as once the body is off and you start working on it, there is so much wiring etc. that I was fearful of breaking/dislodging something. Whilst I am sure I am best to clean and oil the engines, there are a few fraught moments when I think that maybe I should have left alone, but good fun overall !

[ellocoloco]

Now that the weather is a little warmer I've been able to start spraying this years projects; a pair of Electrotren ALCos and a couple of EMDs.

I'm not looking forward to putting these back together! Each time I take a model apart for a new identity, I have more respect for the employees in China (and Austria) who put them together. Even stripped down for painting the Electrotren 316 in the foreground has 33 separately applied parts only 6 of which are left for the end user.

[ellocoloco]

As the weather has stayed fine and I'm off on holiday the next colour has been done....annoyingly the 66 needed a different shade of yellow than the other three. At this rate I'll have to look for something else to do later in the year. yum

[Twintop]

Several Bachmann diesel have been tested, cleaned and oiled now. Classes 44, 46, 37, 40, 2 x 20, 04 all in green.

All are easy to get the bodies off, but access to gears and driveshafts on some is tricky/impossible without major dismantling, so I mostly leave things as they are to avoid creating more problems. One bogie is accessible on the 20s, but the other ends would need the electronics circuit board removing for example.

The 04 is a problem. The wheels kept jamming and all the plastic axles have splits in them, so are not gripping the metal axles. I have glued them for now, but will wait a few days before re-assembling. Worth a try. Seems a common issue with the split chassis Bmann locos. Otherwise, I am hoping I can get spares. If not such a shame that a good loco is essentially scrap.

Class 46 D193 is also suffering, as when testing one bogie it was easy to stop the wheels turning with the PECO brush that energises the engine whilst cleaning, so that must have a split in a drive shaft. However, whilst the class 44 was manageable, albeit with great difficulty to repair a while back, it looks like the 46 will be very tricky to access as they are different chassis designs. I will see how it runs on the track before I attempt a fix.

One issue with the 40 was that 4 of the bodyside windows fell out. The glue must have failed, I suppose a legacy of the engine being quite old now.

I have also done the BMann standard 4MT 2-6-0 76079 and access was fine for that as well, although the body is a very tight fit. I have done the jinty too, but over oiled that and smoke was pouring out ! I took the body off and it must have been when I tried to do the motor bearing at the other end to the worm. I was in a panic but it has burnt off now and the motor still runs OK. i have a proprietary oiler but it dispenses far too much oil.

All good fun, but trying at times of course!

 

[Twintop]

Bachmann have come back to me quickly but cannot supply the wheelsets for the 04. They said it was made in 1997 !!! so I guess you cant expect them to still carry spares. Peters Spares do have some manufactured replacements so if glueing mine does not work, then I will try some of those. Just like me, my engines are getting old and past their best !

Bachmann do have the "drive cups" for the class 46 listed though, so that is useful to know if, as I suspect the engine will slip, when I run it under load. Looks like being very complicated to mend though.

[Twintop]

I have been carrying on with servicing the fleet and encountering issues with body removal and/or access to motor gears. I tend now to just leave them as opposed to extensive dismantling. Example are the bachman 20s. One bogie gear is readily accessible but the other is under the Pcb and is tightly wired, so this time round I'm leaving it be to avoid the risk of issues.

I did wonder about the hornby class 101, so looked on the Internet and it says no lubrication needed anyway. The railroad class 31 is the same. I have the instructions and they also says no maintenance needed.

The heljan class 15 defeated me as well. I managed to get the body off with difficulty but no easy access to the motor so did not even bother trying with the Clayton as last time i could not fathom out how to get the body off.

The bachman class D193 is back on the bench. As suspected, as I could get slipping in the drive train just by using the peco wheel cleaning probes, when on the track, it soon started to slip to a halt. It will likely be the "drive cup" . I have glued one successfuly on a class 44, but access on the 46 seems a lot more difficult.

I have decided to put these awkward jobs to one side, pending servicing all the fleet and then I can order all the spares I need in one go.

[Twintop]

Now on with a bachnann lightweight 2 car DMU. I have the instructions and to get to the motor, it says one screw then ease the body off from the cab end and gives positions of body clips. I can't do it. I can get the cab end up slightly, but after a lot of creaking I dare not do it, especially after I have broken off an underbody part. I can get to a gear "axle" but not to motor bearings. Is it just me or do others have similar issues ? The dmu runs OK, so I don't think it is worth the risk trying to remove the body.

[Fazy]

a bit busy on the workbench at the moment the L&YR class 25 is waiting a dcc chip in the meantime a Hornby Fowler Limousine cab is having a repaint and will have DCC concepts loco lamps fitted once they arrive and the last is a multiple stalled build due to a bag gearbox mesh. Has finally got to a running stage thanks to a new motor and gearbox from high level models. needs transfers and dcc chip to finish.

[Twintop]

I moved on to the bachmann class 105 DMU. I managed to get the body off. Just clips and inserting thick paper once a clip was released seemed to help. Not worth the risk though as whilst I could get to a bearing it was still well lubricated. Always a risk of disturbing the interior lights and directional lights as well.

I did have a lot of trouble with the motor bogie pick-ups. They worked fine, but had a lot of grubbiness around the wheels. So i used a brush with meths to work around the wheels and lost the current flow! It took a while to ease the pick ups away and clean between them and the axle bearings that they pick the current up from. I must have with the meths transferred dirt to effectively insulate the bearings. All is well now, but at the moment it seems like I would be best to leave the models well alone as there are a few fraught moments as opposed to having fun!!

No such issues with the Lima 40 47 and 50. Bodies easy to come off and access good. The 47 needs the buffers removing to get the body off.

I have also fitted a couple of modified peco points on the layout, so the Up relief line is back in full operation to enable final testing of my serviced locos.

[Twintop]

More woes on the servicing, I am beginning to think I should just mend them when they stop working !

I managed to get the body off a Heljan class 28 Metrovick easily enough as instructions were in the box. However, I spotted some loose piping and when glueing back in the locating hole, managed to break about half an inch off. It is back on glued, so OK, but I seem fated. I still could not get to any gear wheels though, but did get to the motor bearings, which were well greased anyway !

Worse was to come when doing the Bachmann STD 5MT 73014 in green. t Looked in the box and no instructions but an exploded diagram of the motor parts etc., so that gave me confidence to take the body off. No problem. Next stage was to take off the baseplate to get to the gear wheel which I have done on many locos. However, a pitfall. The wires from the PCB to the motor are a tight fit and so as soon as I took the baseplate off the wires separated from the base plate. No mention of that in the box. I think I have a solution as I have unscrewed the PCB and that releases 2 inches of the wires so it looks accessible to solder now, but won't be easy, so into a tin to await a day to be able to spend some time on it. It really is getting to be a case of leaving well alone save for oiling axles and cleaning.

I did look in my class 20 boxes and I had put a note in to say I could not be sure that I had oiled the worm gear at the nose end, that was in 2011, so the same difficulty of course persists.

Do you service the locos and have the same problems that I am encountering on most locos ?

 

[Twintop]

An update on the Bachmann Std 5MT. I started on my other one, 73110 in black and avoided taking the baseplate off. The body was easy, I had previously broken the speedo cable, so no need to unscrew that !

I did twig that there is another way to get to get to the worm gear without the risk of removing the baseplate and disturbing the wiring/brake gear. There is a metal block held in with two screws above the worm and although wires pass over it, it can be eased up sufficiently to oil the worm and the front motor bearing. If the PCB is unscrewed, then the block can be fully removed and access is uninhibited. It was already well greased so I guess it did not need doing anyway.

I did find my note in the box - "May 2011 - oiled, but not the gears"

I also found metal nameplates in the box - The Red Knight - which I had completely forgotten about, and must get them put on. I was looking at one on Hattons the other day and wondering why the loco was described as named !!

[81F]

Just left the work bench is a Hornby 06 shunter which I have fitted with a DCC chip. I actually used a chassis from a collectors club loco I bought off Ebay combined with a spare body.

As this was a later 0-4-0 chassis the conversion was simple.

1. take out the motor and motor mounting block.
2. unsolder all the wires, capacitors etc.
3. solder black and res wires to the pickups.
4. solder pink and grey to the motor terminals and test.
5. Put the whole thing back together.

As the 06 body is roomy there is plenty of room for the chip so the latter was easy.

I will hopefully do my green one over the weekend, but I am not relishing my Bachmann 2251 - Easy enough to wire up the chip but where do I put it - I'd like to avoid the tender so I swap them around occasionally.

 

[Deem]

I bought an used Hornby Class A1 Flying Scotsman R3284TTS which arrived today, bought it for £65.00 so I think it's an bargain.

All seem to be working fine and I will doing full service soon.

See attached pictures.

[rpjallan]

I’m just about to have a go at making my own stay alives with some super caps etc. I am going to fit these to a couple of TTS decoders. I’m pretty confident I can solder ok to the decoders but I have a couple of old R8215’s I can practice on.

[threelink]

A coarsely minced Triang dock shunter body (steps broken off, lumps missing from the buffer beams, rear of cab split and a side panel torn off below the running plate), a suitable power unit, a few plasticard offcuts and a bottle of solvent. Result? Hardly a collector's item but a cracking little loco with all repairs invisible under a squirt or two of satin black acrylic and bufferbeam red. Such fun to work on and a joy to watch in action - smooth, quiet and controllable down to a crawl. Cheap as chips, too. The broken body cost £1.00 and the power unit £3.92 as part of an ebay job lot of 10 similar. All I need now are some finer wheelsets. If I can find any I shall remove the tension locks and substitute 3 links so that the loco can be used on my layout. Next on the list is a Steeple Cab.

[81F]

I cxurrently have 3 Mainline Class 45's in for work. Two Manchester regiments (one green the other blue, while the remainingloco has a Mainline chassis with a modified Great British Locomotive Collection class 45 body on it. All are in for DCC chipping, Two I have made DCC ready by wiring upo some 8 pin sockets while the other is awaiting another socket to arrive.

Next is aMainline/Replica class 03 (awaiting a very small chip to hard wire after isolating the motor

Following that is a Bachmann 2251 awaiting the above mentioned small chip to see if I should use one of these or grind away more weight within the loco.

Finally a class 06 body awaiting a standard Hornby 0-4-0 chassis coming from ebay (one with the motor terminals on the top.

I will then check my stock of remaining Chips (already burned out two this week) and think about doing some of my remaining diesels - 3 class 33s, a Lima Deltic (meld) a Silver Fox/Hornby baby Warship, a Lima Class 101 Railcar, and two LIMA Class 117 3 car sets (one blue and grey, the other white with blue stripe.)

I also have a Lima Class 40 awaiting a rivit for the front coupling and a Lima Class 40 chassis awaiting a body (I have ordered a Hornby Railroad version - I just hope it fits!)

[81F]

On a lighter note, I tested a sound decoder in one of my Class 45s after making it DCC ready only to find the loco did not move but made strange hammering and grinding noises - at least I found my spare sound wagon chip I hope to install into a small workshop at some point!

[81F]

The class 06 body Has now received its chassis and chip. odly it runs a lot quicker than the other I did despite the 0-4-0 chassis coming fropm the same type of loco produced in the same year so have been playing with the CV values until they are about the same.

The Lima Class 40 is now back in one piece after rivitting the coupling back on. Not a very pretty job but it is hidden. Also fitted with a DCC chip but I find the body is loose.

I'm now off to test the O£ to make sure the motor is isolated and then I'll attempt to put a chip in it.

[threelink]

Locos numbers 98, 99 and 100 on my list of locos wot I have made. They are respectively a rebuilt Scot, a Patriot and a Triang Steeple cab. All my locos are made from bits of broken stuff and rubbbish bought from train fairs and car boot sales, repaired and cobbled together into finished articles on a strict budget of £8.00 per loco. Although mongrel, each loco runs faultlessly and quietly, is controllable down to a crawl and runs close coupled to its tender - if not, it goes for scrap. Many are re-wheeled wholly or in part with finer wheels, all are fitted with screw or three link couplings in place of any other and all carry extra detail such as vac pipes, brake rigging, lamps and crew. Many are Triang based with the buffer beams dropped by 3 mm to allow buffer shunting with stock having scale height buffers. The Scot is typical - an anonymous damaged body (possibly Lima) with missing parts cannibalised from a similar damaged body, mounted on an Airfix non-powered chassis with a Lima power bogie shoehorned into a Triang Stanier tender. The Patriot is a similar brew but with a Fowler tender and the Steeple cab is from a barn find that had spent a considerable time immersed in water (or worse - everything stank of cow and was encusted in corrosion products). Working on 2 or 3 locos simultaneously allows time spent waiting for paint or solvent to dry on one project to be spent usefully in moving forward another project. When loco number 100 is finished I shall have a small (ok, large) celebration before embarking on a marathon painting session - the locos 86 to 97 are as yet unpainted. Then I can start on the next hundred, but I think I shall need to up the budget to maybe £11.00 per loco - even rubbish is getting expensive.

[wapples]

Plenty of work. It never stops. HA Ha could not resist. Faller Double viaduct kit almost finished now some 12 Peco points that need turning into the real deal

[81F]

In the process of repainting a Hornby sleeping car to make an additional vehicle for my Hornby Royal train.

Whle doing this I noticed that the sleeper when fitted with replacement B4 bogies (older type with a central boss) that it sat higher than the two Mk3 which in turn sat higher than the Mk2 brake. Havinbg sprayed the bogies Halford's grey primer I swapped them for the one on the Mk2 brake (which do not have the boss). This raised the Mk2 and lowered the sleeprer so they now match the Mk3.

I am now waiting for some suitable lining transfers to complete before varnishing.

I am now looking for another coach I can convert to make up a five or six car set tpo depict a Royal train circa 1977.