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A more Refined Grange – Hornby Bucklebury Grange.

Silver Sidelines

Entry posted by Silver Sidelines

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It is a great feeling when things turn out well. Bucklebury Grange arrived at the beginning of summer.

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Hornby Bucklebury Grange (left) Overton Grange (right)

The first model was returned to the seller, something about the way it ran. The replacement model was an improvement, so it stayed. How many models can you send back? However at higher speeds it still seemed to roll around. I began to imagine that one or more of the driving wheels was not central on its axle. Bucklebury Grange was banished to one of the shed roads.

Now here on RMweb RonnieS has been investigating how to add some extra weight to a Hornby Grange. I would have a look at Overton Grange (one that I added lead to earlier) and at the same time, try and sort Bucklebury Grange.

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Adding lead shot to the smokebox

Adding lead is relatively straightforward. I made a cylinder out of a 65x65mm heavy duty brown paper which I pushed into the smokebox before filling with around 50gm of lead shot. A bit like a cartridge case.

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Adding lead beneath footplate and at the top of the firebox

RonnieS used some Blu-Tac to prove the space around the motor. I could add a slab of lead to the top of the firebox (26x17/14mm) and some pieces beneath the footplate (12x12mm). My lead was left over from house building work and seems to vary in thickness between 2.5 and 3mm. The piece for the firebox is trapezoidal, 17mm at the chimney end, 14mm at the cab end. The 12x12 pieces for beneath the footplate will need to be individually shaped for the particular model depending on how much glue Hornby has used to fix things in the cab. This way I added about another 20gm. As bought Bucklebury Grange weighed 225gm. Interestingly I could get Overton Grange and Derwent Grange up to nearly 295gm. For Bucklebury Grange I could only get the weight up to 285gm. I do know that there seemed to be more glue on Bucklebury Grange and that the pieces of lead beneath the cab had to be smaller. Then of course the circuit board, screws and blanking plug for DCC had been moved into the tender. As a comparison my 'new' Bachmann Hall with lead added in place of a DC chip weighs in at 280gm.

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Four into two is a squash

One unintended consequence of moving the digital chip to the tender is that the number of wires between engine and tender increases from two to four. I think that this has been overlooked by Hornby who have continued to use the original ‘casting’ from the two wire models. I had to shave some plastic off the body of Bucklebury Grange to enable it to sit comfortably without damaging these wires.

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The new vacuum pump spindle

Seemingly all the new Hornby Granges from ‘Refined’ come without vacuum pump spindles. There is a still a hole in the crosshead. I have 0.5mm twist drill bits. These are too big for the hole in the crosshead but can be used by hand to open up the hole. I then selected one of my wife’s thinnest dressmaking pins, cut the point off, trimmed it to 11mm and super glued it in place. I think a very satisfactory solution.

Now, what about the vacuum pipe? If you go back to the view at the top of this Post you will notice that there is something not quite right with the vacuum pipe. It is funny how you can miss seeing faults when examining a new locomotive.

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Vacuum pipe as received

I don’t know, was it in the manufacture or in the packaging? Either way, Butanone (MEK) is wonderful stuff and the offending pipe was cut off, carefully reassembled and then reattached and painted.

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Vacuum pipe reassembled

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Vacuum pipe repainted – I would paint Penrice Castle at the same time

How to improve the running?

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Deconstructed!

Having spent so much time and effort on the appearance I would put my hand in my pocket and purchase a new set of wheels. I am guessing that these would be ‘old stock’ and not from Refined. Having taken Bucklebury Grange apart it seems to me that all the major parts; motor, wheels, coupling rods, gears are all completely interchangeable with the earlier Sanda Kan produced models.

 

How does it run with the replacement wheels – fabulously. Definitely a win win situation.

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Hornby Bucklebury Grange – complete

I would say now – one of the best locomotives on the layout. I wonder what the Shed Code should have been?

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16 Comments

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paulprice

Brilliant, very informative maybe Hornby should employ you to show them how to "fettle" their locomotives into good runners :)

 

Have you ever considered working in N gauge I know some of my fleet could do with your attention.

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Silver Sidelines

Thank you Paul - 05:30  won't ask!  I stuck with 00 because that is what I had.  I am full of admiration for those of you with the patience to work at the smaller scale.  My 'fingers and thumbs' might become a real issue.

 

Regards

 

Ray

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MikeOxon

That last photo looks superb!  Makes me think that all these new-fangled 20th-century engines have a fair bit of character after all.

 

I agree with your comments about N gauge.  My eyesight is a problem too.  I don't think ageing and N-gauge go together very well  :)

 

Mike

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Silver Sidelines

Thanks Mike, I guess even the 1950s are far too modern for your 'new' approach. Yes - I didn't mention eyesight. Mine has recently changed and not for the better. Our brains are very clever and compensate for what we cannot see. I did wonder if this is one reason why I didn't spot the damage to the vacuum pipe. My brain just compensated and I saw what I wanted to see. It was only when I was studying the pictures that I thought - something wrong there. (It is a clever camera!)

 

Speak again

 

Ray

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  • RMweb Gold
Captain Kernow
  • RMweb Gold

Very interesting and informative, many thanks for posting this. It also serves to underline what a lovely model this is.

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Silver Sidelines

Thank you Captain - it shares the the same motor as the Britannia which is also an excellent model.  Both left over from the Golden Era?

 

Regards

 

Ray

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Richard Mawer

I think I am going to have to get a big box and send you all my locos for an overhaul and refit!!!

 

Brilliant work as ever.

 

Cheers

 

Rich

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Silver Sidelines

Thank you Richard.

 

Good, glad you like it.  I have to say it is quite sobering how much time I can spend fettling these engines.  If I was to use the charge out rate for my professional services it would work out quite costly.   It might even be cheaper to just buy afresh and sell the duff one on eBay.  I have a lot of admiration for the little ladies in China. especially as I guess they will have a target to reach.

 

Regards Ray

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Silver Sidelines

Excellent, you pointed me on the right track with the Blu-tac - thanks.

 

I could perhaps have continued the Post with some comments on the wiring of Derwent Grange which uses the metal chassis block as one of the wires from the pickups.  It is another 'clever design' which relies on rather too many oil free compressed copper contacts..

 

All good fun

 

Regards

 

Ray

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sequen_ra

Congrats for your excellent work. But looking at this, I always ask why we must pay a hundred pounds for stuff that must be overhauled to such an extent to have a decent running engine?

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John Tomlinson

Just to add a bit of extra experience with the Hornby Grange, I recently acquired "Overton Grange" off Ebay, which was one of the original issues. For a very reasonable price, the loco appeared not to have run before and was without blemish to body or tender. However it did have a crabbing action at slow speed. 

 

Having dismantled the thing, checked for blemishes on the rods, wheels and crankpins, and also checked the quartering, the fault appears to have been with the vacuum pump spindle that you have illustrated so clearly above. The pin attaching the slide bars to the chassis was not fully in, and so the slide bars were further outboard than they should have been, causing the spindle to rub and grip the vacuum pump casing on the running plate. This rubbing increased as the crankpin moved towards 9 o'clock causing the crabbing. The problem was cured just by pressing the pin home so the slide bars sat properly. 

 

A cautionary tale of how all this lovely detail can cause problems if not fitted just so!

 

John.

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Silver Sidelines

Thanks John

 

An interesting experience and a good outcome.

.....A cautionary tale of how all this lovely detail can cause problems if not fitted just so!.

Hornby engines can be very detailed but it is not a lot of use if they don't run properly.  In addition to the WR vacuum spindle I would suggest that the LMR/BR speedo cable can also cause running problems - particularly with Bachmann products where the cable is more rigid.

 

These details must be a nightmare for dealers who have to removed the loco body to repair / fit digital chips without actually breaking anything!  You were fortunate to find a good example of Overton Grange.  I have had two models off eBay both of which needed fettling. I see that  'Locomotion' at Shildon have given up trying to sell Bucklebury Grange at its Recommended Price and it seems to be continually 'on offer'.  I wonder what they do with the ones that buyers return?

 

Speak agian

 

Regards

 

Ray

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