Twintop

I have one code 100 insulfrog long crossing, and don't have any issues with stalling, although it is a little used section of track. it is used to go from the Down main over the Up main to run onto a bi-directional length of track to access the branch. I have two code 100 double slips and two single slips in regular use, and only have occasional issues with stalling over one of the double slips. There have been two variations on the double slip, one of which does have more plastic I think.

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.

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!

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 !

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.

A black Hornby J94 late crest 68080 for a clean and oil - I am working through all my engines, about 6 down and 50 to go ! I worked out how to get the body off and the weight above the motor. Everything held together with screws so very straightforward. I also glued on a centre step that had broken off. After I had finished I happened to look in the box and was amazed that there were superb, clear instructions with good diagrams for removing the body, where to oil and also replacing the motor ! It said of course that the motors were good for 150 hours and then replacement motors were available from Hornby Service dealers but I guess that no longer applies. I have also cleaned and oiled two BMann class 25s, a green D7645 and Blue D7667, plus I have a class green 24 ready to do as well D5011. I have oiled the axles on the 4 Tri-ang coaches I have just obtained. Three had steel wheels on already and I have changed the wheelsets on the other one. I also changed the badly damaged roof on one. Not really sure why I bought 4 more maroon MK1s as I have plenty of coaches already. I never had any when I was a boy as I went straight onto three CKD blue/greys in around 0ctober 1966, ending up with 7 blue/greys whilst I was a child. I am also looking to make one good Tri-ang R113 drop side wagon from an existing one I have with a missing side plus one I have just bought with a damaged side. I have some metal wheels to use as well. The later one has donated a buffer as well and the weight will be a useful spare. I am also bracing myself to try and spray a blue/grey buffet car side into BR Maroon as one I bought a few weeks ago has two sides that are the same ! I may experiment on a rake of three poorly painted coaches I have first. The fact that the coaches dismantle so easily will be a good advantage when painting them. So, nothing dramatic, but it is all great fun of course !

Went a bit mad on Tri-ang maroon mk1s and bought 3 composites and a brake second. Overall very good and as described save for a little damage on one roof which is fine. 4 for £43. One other had a badly cracked roof but that was as described and I bought it as I had a spare roof. 3 of the coaches had metal wheelsets. Also got an R113 drop side wagon with as described a damaged side. Happy with that as I have one missing a side so using the new buy to donate a side and a buffer for my existing one. £4. Also a spray can of BR maroon as I have three mk1s that I bought years ago cheaply, with a poor repaint so hoping I can improve them. If they are a success I will paint a blue grey buffet side as the maroon one I bought a few weeks ago had two sides the same, which I did not twig from the pictures and it was not disclosed. Only £7 so can't complain. It yielded the spare roof I used today and also had metal wheelsets. No interior though which I did not spot either!

No progress on the Tri-ang locos. I have had a failure on a PECO med radius streamline point at a crucial part of the layout, so I took it out and now there is no access to the Up relief line from the two bay platforms and the platforms 3 and 4 through lines. The bays and platform 3 can still route to the branch. So, services are much reduced, how realistic is that ! Looking at the point, it seems to have lost the spring retainer, although it is a different design to another I have so I am unsure what has happened or what bits are missing. My points are up to around 30 years old so the plastic does go brittle on them now and again. I have not mended it as I had a spare and have cleaned that up and done my modification of soldering a wire between the fixed part of the blade and the outer rail. This supplements the sprung connectors under the rails that normally transmit the current and are a constant source of failures for me. As I have analogue cab control wiring, the fact that the points do not isolate when switched does not matter. Not worth removing points just to do this, but I do when they start failing too much. I may as well do the adjacent point as well as that will be easy to remove from the layout. I have also been servicing the Hornby Class 110 3-car in green with speed whiskers. A buffer and corridor connection were missing but I had them amongst bits I collect from the layout that fall off rolling stock, but at the time never know what they are off, so they are back on. How the corridor connection fell off I do not know, but a lug is broken ! A good clean - the roofs get filthy in the loft - and oil and the unit is ready for the layout again. I am amazed how well it runs as it only has pick-ups on two wheels each side. This must be around 30 years old. Still looks fine to me.

I have a Flying Scotsman that was bought through Argos and is a Railroad model, but enhanced. Possibly 10 years ago. I had a squeak from new and could not solve it for years, but then I found that there was another bearing hidden at the rear of the motor. I lubricated that and the squeaking disappeared. I am afraid I cannot recall the detail, save that I had to remove a part to even see the bearing and I did something wrong and took out some screw that was not necessary, which released a part I did not need to take off and it was a devil of a job to get the bits put back together. So - take care if you try this !

Threelink - the 3MT 2-6-2 T does ride higher. On 11 March Rana answered my query on this - it seems like the original wheels were Jinty ones so were undersized. My Midland 3F 0-6-0 43775 also rides higher. That does run well though, especially as I added tender pick-ups. I can still couple up despite it being higher. The main difficulty I found was changing the centre wheelset gear to the new Romford axles. When I bought them they offered centre wheels with half depth flanges, but they are no use as there was insufficient play for on the curves, so they swapped them over to flangeless ones. They did say this might happen and were happy to change them. This was over 20 years ago ! The issue I had with the gears was that I was wary of forcing it on in case it sheared, so opened up the hole in the 3MT, but then the friction fit was not tight enough. I did araldite it on and that worked OK. On reflection, I should have put the axle in the freezer and warmed the plastic gear up and that would have been a better method I think rather than a pure press fit. The spare 2-6-2T I have has a metal gear wheel, so that would likely be better so you may have one of those earlier models. I am not sure if the Britannia rides higher, but will have a look in due course.

Threelink, many thanks for that great information. I had noticed that the crankpin was D shaped on the inside end. I will have another look, but as they are replacement Romford wheels, I doubt if there is a D shaped recess for it in the wheels - but hopefully there is ! If not it will have to be glue, but it is awkward just setting it to the right angle so the valve gear works OK. However, I did do the other side OK. Re: the Bmann Ivatt 2-6-2T, 41313 - my persistence has paid off. I had another close look and the plastic inserts on the centre driving wheels were both swollen a little. I have cut most of the spokes similar to the Bmann Std 4, and this second Ivatt is now running wobble free, so I am really pleased at that. The outer driving wheel inserts are fine. It has been on a running in turn, local passenger with 3 Tri-ang MK1s in Maroon - 2 BSK sandwiching a CK. So I now have three engines recently back from the "dead" so am very happy, but it has been many, many hours to sort them out. Tri-ang 2-6-2 T here I come !!

Good news, I have found the thick washer/collar that fell off the Tri-ang 2-6-2T on the layout. However, the reason for the screw working loose is that the crankpin can rotate in the wheel, so I need to glue it for a second time. The other side seems fine. It is disassembled and cleaned ready for the glue. I have replaced the centre axle bearing/gear on the second Ivatt 2-6-2 T but the wobbling persists so I think as plastic wheel inset is swollen that will be the problem, so will have to cut away some spokes as glueing does not seem to work. I will persist but it could be just general wear in the valve gear.

Two steps forward and one back. The Bachmann Black Std 4 4-6-0 75078 is now wobble free and running beautifully. The removal of the greater part of the plastic wheel inserts - Plan C - has done the trick and it is great to have the 25 years old plus loco back in action. Just on a short trip freight of three Dapol grain hoppers and a brake van, so nothing strenuous, but it did many cicuits without a problem. So, well worth the effort and experimentation. I just need to paint the metal wheels black now. The Tri-ang 3MT 2-6-2T in green 82004 also ran very well for a good while, although a bit noisy - it always was from new - and hesitant over some points, but overall running well pulling a 2 coach local passenger of a Tri-ang maroon Composite and a Brake Second. Then a problem, it started running poorly and the crank pin screw on one side had worked loose and dropped off. I must not have tightened it up enough. Luckily I found the screw, but no sign of the spacer as yet. Of course, this happened just at the point when I was about to come down from the loft, so little time to look for it, and also when I was thinking to myself - great - two engines back working ! I "Spoke" too soon ! I should have a spare on the non-runner, but will have a good look for the part.

Thanks for the clarification. The 3F 0-6-0 also appears too high on the Romfords. That is running fine, but no valve gear of course ! I bought 4 sets of conversions at least 20 years ago, for the 3MT, 3F and two Britannias. 3F conversion went well including pick ups on the tender wheels and still runs very well, but the 3MT did not as the centre gear slipped on the axle. It had been a tight fit, so I had opened it out a shade too much. Many years later I araldited the gear on, but then the engine would not run when re-assembled. I guess I had introduced a short as it is OK now, but that also put me off and back on the shelf it went for many years ! So, I did not convert the Britannias and £80 of Romford kits have sat there unused until now as I am on with one Britannia, just stalling at doing the centre wheels at the moment due to the potential for making a mess of it ! Some of the top hat bearings for the tender are in use on a Tri-ang class 31 with metal wheels on the trailing bogie. The kits were from The West Coast Kit Centre and were very good.

My Tri-ang R59S 3MT 2-6-2T 82004 in green - is reassembled, bench tested and runs fine after some tricky times getting the new spring pick ups to be aligned correctly. I have also run it up and down a metre length of track and it seems OK. The X03/04 from the non-runner I got from Hattons is fine. The 3MT does sit very high on the Romford wheels, and it is possible I was supplied with incorrect wheels. The 3F 0-6-0 43775 I converted to Romfords also sits too high. I assume the wheels are correct and the originals were too small ? I have a question though. The non-runner has a metal gear on the centre axle, and the body has a double line orange lining on the tank and cab sides. My 3MT has a plastic gear and only a single line orange lining. Would I be right in saying that this non-runner is an older version. It did come in a pure Tri-ang box with no inset, but I am not sure if the box is correct, and my 3MT came with a yellow plastic tray and a much longer box. It was bought for me in December 1969. I am hoping I can find the parts for the smoke unit, but I am not certain I have them. The non-runner box was an R59S but the loco did not have the hoped for smoke unit ! I took out the smoke unit in my 3MT when I was a child as the engines ran faster without - oh how silly that move was !! The Bmann STD 4 4-6-0 is further on. I have removed the driving wheels and cut away most of the spokes on the plastic inserts, leaving just the part around where the coupling rods fasten on, the centre boss, the spokes leading to the balance weights and the weights themselves. This is the final plan C to try and stop the wobbling as if the cause was the swollen plastic inserts, they are no longer there !! At the moment, one side of the valve gear is off as I am glueing on a plastic part that became detached. I am leaving the parts clamped by crocodile clips a few days to allow the araldite to cure properly. I am hoping I can stop the wobbling this time !

Nothing for me loco wise as no late crest models.

Peco do an "electrolube" which is supposed to conduct - no idea how. I use it on split chassis locos where oil does stop the current collection. On models with wiper pick to the wheels I guess oil is OK on the bearings.

The Bachman std 4 - 4-6-0 75078 in black is still wobbling after I cut a few of the plastic spokes in the wheels and araldited the wheel inserts onto the metal wheel. It looks fine running looking at it sideways on, but not when running towards you. I will have to give it a further look, and plan C - total removal of the plastic inserts apart from the balancing "weights" and painting the metal spokes black may have to be used. One of the Ivatt 2-6-2 tanks 41313 is now running nicely going forwards, but still wobbles in reverse. I sill have the centre plastic axle/gear to replace, so will see if that works. The other Ivatt 2-6-2 tank 41202 was wobbling badly with swollen wheel centres and had valve gear that had fallen apart. I put it all together last week and it ran 3 inches then the valve gear fell off - I had not press fitted the pin on a centre driving wheel well enough. However, I put it all back together again, and on testing today, it runs like a dream, no wobbling, so very happy that I have (eventually) had success with that as I really like the Ivatts. However, it has been confined to running up and down a long bay platform in case the valve gear falls off, as otherwise the vital bits could be lost anywhere around the circuit and they are not steel. Both the Ivatts have had the rear steps, vacuum pipes, crew and cab glazing fitted, but I have lost one of the cab windows, which I had put on years ago. The Tri-ang 2-6-2 tank 82004 in green is still awaiting further testing, and no further progress on the Britannia.

What a great database - many thanks. I have two Ivatt 2-6-2 Tanks and could never remember which one my Mother had bought me save that it was the second one. The database has helped as one was produced in 1992 and the other 1996, so very likely to have been the 1996 one.

I bought a DC Fitted Britannia, 70045 Lord Rowallon maybe 10 years ago, in full knowledge that the Decoder was faulty. It ran well for many years on DC, but about a year ago it started playing up and when messing with it managed to fry the decoder. I was planning to bypass it, but on mentioning the issue to my local model shop, they fished out a blanking plate, one that they had removed from a DCC ready engine that they had fitted a decoder to. A simple fit, no soldering, so that is most definitely the best answer - a blanking plate. Plus, you keep the decoder and have not messed with the wiring.

Bmann std 4 4_6_0 is assembled and test run in the foam cradle. I hope I have cured the wobbly wheel issue as I really like the engine. Also assembled the triang 2_6_2T 82004. The motor runs fine but the valve gear is an issue. The piece the valve gear screw fastens into moves and so jams the valve gear. I have glued it in so leaving it a few days before trying to run it. If it goes OK I will add the smoke unit back in. It has a Romford conversion I did years ago, but has never run well. The issue was the main gear wheel slipped on the shift. I dare not force in on so tried opening it out a little but it was then too loose. I would like to get it going again. I did do a Tri-ang 3f 0-6-0 first a few years back and I did that OK and it runs well. More progress on the BRITTANIA as have done the tender wheels and the front bogie ones. Rear pony seems a challenge though. Not dared to tackle the swapping of the main gear onto the main axle yet after the 2-6-2tank issues I had. After that the body needs repairing as the front buffer beam and a bii more is snapped off. It fits together so I should be able to glue it. Then change the identity to 70004 as I bought nameplates for it years ago. Smoke unit wants putting back in. I have another brittania and another Romford kit, so will do that as well if I succeed on the current project. Just wish I had SOTS ability!!!

Ivatt 2-6-2 T. Reassembly of one side of the valve gear after previously glueing a swollen driving wheel insert. Needs running to check if the wobble has been cured. Found rear steps and vacuum pipes in the box, so glued them on. Bman std 4 4-6-0 Plan B, cut into the swollen driving wheel insrts and tried glueing again. First attempt without the cuts did not work. Plan will be to just glue on the balance weights and paint the wheels black if Plan B fails. Tri-ang buffet cars. Took the metal wheels and sides off the maroon one and added to the blue grey underframe and roof. However I have 2 of the same sides, so not ideal, as the seating does not marry up. Triang brittania. Dug out a Romford conversion kit I bought myself 20 years ago. Stated the work, but the plan to replace just the non geared wheels will not work. I was trying to avoid the risk of transferring the main drive gear after having issues with a 3MT many years ago. However the old wheels are much thicker so the coupling rod does not fit correctly. Triang 3MT, swapped the X04 motor out of the chassis Reassembled the valve gear bench tested. Motor from the broken non runner is fine. Issue with the valve gear though, so have had to glue in the part the gear screws into, so I hope that works. Dapol grain wagon. Glued on a coupling. So busy day but no locos fully mended yet.

A couple of Tri-ang buffet cars, a blue grey and a maroon. I knew the maroon had a damaged underframe so bought the blue/grey so I could make one decent one out of the two as I wanted a maroon one. They cost £8 and £7 so I cannot complain, but the maroon one, whilst having two excellent sides, both are the same handed !! So - not very good really - and this was not mentioned in the description, and I would not have been savvy enough to spot the difference on the pictures. It has no interior and has an incorrect roof. My question is, was this perhaps how the coach was originally - i.e. two of the same body sides and no interior ? Plus was the roof originally the same as other coaches, i.e. not specific to the buffet ? It does have metal wheels, so I will put the maroon sides and the wheels on to the blue/grey and have to live with one side not being correct. The blue/grey body can be a grounded coach in the loco depot.

The order I made yesterday arrived today - so very quick, with the Tri-ang 3MT, Blue/Grey and Maroon buffets. Overall happy with the "gamble" on these cheap items, but a couple of niggles. The non-runner 3MT was boxed as R59S but has had the smoke unit removed, but the motor does run, the main reason for getting it. The box and body is also very good, with the lining far better than on mine. It has a late emblem on one side only - mine has no emblems at all ? The Blue/Grey is fine, but I bought it to make up a good maroon one and the maroon one has two of the same sides to it, an incorrect roof and no interior, but the sides are in excellent condition. I should be able to make up a good maroon one albeit with one side incorrect, Can't complain at £15 for the pair.

Have ordered the following: Tri-ang R424 Buffet Car - BR - Maroon - 1 * Tri-ang R729A B.R Buffet Car 1825 1 * Tri-ang R59S Class 3MT 2-6-2T 82004 in BR green All need work, I am hoping to make one good maroon buffet car out of the two as the faults on one look OK on the other. I started off in 1966 with Tri-ang blue/greys - CKD examples (as they were cheaper) of composite, brake 2nd and buffet as they were the modern livery to go with my class 31, 37 and 35 diesels. In recent years I have been buying maroon Tri-ang Mk1s and the restaurant car will help to make up a decent rake. The 3MT is for spares - mine is from Dec 1969 and a non runner with a blown motor at the moment, so hopefully I can get my original up and running.