Improve Troublesome Tankers

[Rallymatt]

12T tank wagons look great but do not always run anywhere near as well as other Hornby TT:120 stock. The Mk1 coaches and the BR Vent Vans will run away on their own with only the tiniest gradient, but hook 14 of the 12t tankers behind an A3 and it will sit spinning its wheels going nowhere. My Toad E brake van wasn’t great either. Fear not as the wagon works have been busy and there are a few areas that a little attention to should have your stock rolling vastly better. Some photos are to follow when approved by one of our long suffering mods 😁

1/ Check the brakes are not binding on the wheels, I had a couple where slightly misplaced brake rigging meant a block would just catch a wheel in one direction. It can be re-glued or a tiny amount taken from the brake block.

2/ Excess material on the inside of the chassis side frame. The moulding in many of these seems to have more lumps and bumps than other models, scraping it flat with a craft knife will clean this up. I re-gauge my wheels to 10.5mm to eliminate shorting across the Peco points so this uneven moulding becomes more of an issue as the wheel is closer to the inner of the side frame.

3/ This is probably the main culprit of ‘dragging tankers’ remove the wheel set, where the tank straps are glued into the chassis, there is a large blob of glue/plastic. Scrape it away with a craft knife and test the wheel in both directions. In some cases you can see the witness marks from the wheel flanges rubbing on this blob.

4/Optional is to use a tiny amount of lube in the axle box prior to re-fitting the wheels, I use a v light machine oil/sewing machine oil, put some in a container and use a needle to collect some and just touch the inside of the axle box, it’s a tiny amount.

Doing this has transformed running on these great models 😁

[Rallymatt]

[BritInVanCA]

Thanks. I also found that these were not free running at all. I'll work my way through your suggestions.

[GMD]

Thanks RM. Appreciate the quick response. Look forward to the photos when approved. 👍

[Rallymatt]

Hopefully the photos will show the areas to look at 😁

[Peachy]

Excellent.

all of mine are cracking models but awful runners. I’ll be working through your list.

[Rallymatt]

Well worth a few minutes of time invested in with a craft knife 😁, I know in a perfect world it shouldn’t be needed but modelling has never been perfect… just like the real world

[TTiimm]

I have two Mobil, two Carless and one Fissons. The Mobils do bunny hops going through the Hornby points. The Carless and Fissons don't do them at all. I wonder were the Mobils the first production batch? Will have a look at them tomorrow and see if I can sort them out. Thanks for this.

[Moccasin]

Interestingly, the Mobil tankers are out of stock. I wonder if they’ve been withdrawn from sale due to a manufacturing fault? Or is it just coincidence that of the tankers, the Mobil version is the only one out of stock?

[Rallymatt]

I think the Mobil tankers are just more popular.

[Moccasin]

I think the Mobil tankers are just more popular.

 

 

Quite possibly, but the “out of stock” label sounds very final. The straight track and the train sets have gone in and out of stock but are allowing pre-orders - if so popular you’d think they’d commission a new batch.

Genuinely not trying to start a conspiracy theory, am just intrigued by the “Out of Stock” status on those tankers and the straight platform sections.

[Rallymatt]

Try not to overthink things Peter 😁, model railway rolling stock is usually made in batches these days and in cycles, once it’s sold out, that’s it until sometime down the line a new batch is produced (that can take years) The next ones usually with a different running number or livery. Some items like track or platforms will always get a new batch produced but the old days of Tri-ang churning out the exact same model year after year are long gone. With TT:120 being a new venture for Hornby and more limited range at moment, it’s possible they could do a second batch more quickly but not guaranteed.

[Too Tall]

Thanks RM.

I don't know how mine run yet, but with the amount I have I am sure there will be some that need a tinker grinning

[Moccasin]

Try not to overthink things Peter 😁, model railway rolling stock is usually made in batches these days and in cycles, once it’s sold out, that’s it until sometime down the line a new batch is produced (that can take years) The next ones usually with a different running number or livery. Some items like track or platforms will always get a new batch produced but the old days of Tri-ang churning out the exact same model year after year are long gone. With TT:120 being a new venture for Hornby and more limited range at moment, it’s possible they could do a second batch more quickly but not guaranteed.

 

 

Overthink? Me? Never happens! grinning

[Rallymatt]

@Peter, glad to hear it 🤣

[GMD]

Thanks again RM. Tried your techniques on Carless tanker last night, which was dreadful in one direction. Definitely helped. Also felt that the frames themselves are quite tight and seemed to be pressing on the axles quite tightly. A gentle prising apart seemed to help too.

[Rallymatt]

GMD, if frames feel tight on the axles, squeeze them together on axle boxes and rotate the wheels, it can help open up the running surface in the moulded axle box 👍

[Too Tall]

I meant to say .. the other day I unboxed all my rolling stock and put it on the layout, one of the Carless Tankers was completely missing one set of wheels.

As luck had it, I had bought some Tillig wheels for other projects, and they happened to be the right size sunglasses

They were a snug fit, but I opened the hole out a little with a bradawl and the above pinch and rotate, a drop of inox and now its fine.

[Rallymatt]

Sounds like that should have been called a Care Less wagon!

[Skelton Junction]

I’ve attempted the fixes outlined in the OP with limited success and a lot of user alteration to the original product. The tankers are pretty much redundant in a siding and a couple of the Brakes only freewheel in one direction. The 08 will pull max 3 of them up 2% without assistance or spinning and then recapturing traction. Probably needs to be a bit heavier. Hoping that the 50s and 66s will render the elevated section usable by longer trains.

[Rallymatt]

Al, I would consider removing any catching brake parts, if they don’t run they are effectively an ornament. Some of those details are so tiny you can’t really see them. For me good running is paramount. I’m going to look against them because there is no reason why they can’t be made to run as well as the vent vans and the Mk1 coaches, that are superb

[Skelton Junction]

Agree about MK1s and vent vans. I’ve attempted deconstruction on the tankers to no avail. The Brake vans will be next. Definition of madness isn’t it, to repeat a failure in the hope of success?

[Rallymatt]

I am determined to find why the tank wagons are so bad!

[Skelton Junction]

Having removed any bit of plastic that look anywhere near close to a rotating axle and/or wheel including scraping the areas around the aforementioned witness marks on the chassis base itself (usually hidden from view when axle is in place), can there be a misalignment of axle boxes which would be pretty much irreparable?

[Rallymatt]

That could be well worth looking into 👍