Barry Ten's Blog

Hi Al,

 

I've come back to this post as I'm facing a similar problem with an old Hornby 48xx. Although one of the better versions in many regards (2008 vintage) it still suffers from less than perfect wipers.

 

Step 1 I've replaced the driving axle + their traction tyres with one + plain wheels from an Airfix. That went well and performance on a Rolling Road now is 100% but when you get to track, the side to side motion highlights the wipers' weaknesses.

Step 2; I have some PB wire on its way and thought your design would be good. Easy to apply from beneath whereas wipers from above would have to avoid shorting all the metal weighting materials.

 

My question relates to maintaining tension against the wheel rims on your Pug when there's side to side movement. Is there enough tension there for the wipers to follow the wheels sideways since the tip sections are (mostly) not parallel to the axle.Any helpful guidance will be appreciated.

 

There's probably enough space in my model to take wires up from beneath. If I did that do you think wires along the tires would be better than the edge wiping you're using?

 

Best wishes,

 

Colin 

Hi Colin

 

I always make sure there's enough springiness to follow any sideways motion of the wheels, although it can sometimes take a bit of adjustment to get there.

 

To set up the wipers, I aim to follow the Tony Wright guidelines, which is two bends in the wire. I try to get the first bend about in line with the axle, and the second

bend about half way between the axle and the wheel-rim - but it can vary depending on the model. In the case of the Pug, I've ended up with three bends, but with a 

bit more alteration of the keeper plate, I could probably have kept it to two. Ideally, I like the point of contact with the wheel rim to be at a relatively shallow angle, 

whereas those on the Pug area bit sharper than ideal. A shallow angle helps with maintaining contact as the wheel moves sideways. However, the arrangement

on the Pug does work. One thing I find is that, the first time you form the bends, they don't have quite enough tension to be reliable, so it can take a few adjustments

to get them bearing reliably. However, once adjusted, I find that they work forever without any further tweaking. The sign of a good pickup is that wheels stop getting dirty

due to micro-arcing: a loco can run quite well with bad pickups but the wheels will pick up dirt much more quickly, until the running degrades. I can only speak

for myself but I've only ever had great success with edge wipers.

 

Tony prefers 0,45mm wire, whereas I've used 0.33mm here. I wouldn't say there's much in it, except that the 0,33 mm stuff is slightly thinner if space is an issue. I

prefer it for coach lighting as it imparts a bit less drag, but for locos in general I stick to 0.45mm most of the time. Some people swear by Phosphor bronze, I've found

that it works well but so does Gibson brass wire.

 

Hope this is helpful - and good luck with the 48XX!

 

Al (Barry Ten)

Thanks Al,

 

Most helpful, I've seen so many different arrangements that this guide will be my go-to reference point.

 

As to wire I'm rather limited by what was on offer at Wizard, viz 0.33mm and it's a long wait until I'm back in the UK.

 

Colin

 

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by BWsTrains

Excellent rundown, very helpful - cheers! I bought a chassis kit a while ago from High Level Kits to improve my Pug - I wish I'd read this first, it would've saved me a bit of cash. However, I think I might use the old chassis for a kitbash project, so I'll use these tips to improve what I have to work with. Thanks again

 

Great to see the number 19 on the side as well. That loco feels like an old friend at this point, having visited it so many times over the years as a static exhibit at the Ribble Steam Railway. I ordered some custom etched plates from Narrow Planet that arrived recently, so I'm looking forward to getting the rest of the upgrades finished so I can add the plates and get the model looking as close as possible to how I remember the prototype before she went off to East Lancs Railway.

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by JamFjord

It does run well now, but I'd imagine it would be even better with a High Level kit. However, I got it out for a trundle the other day, and was still pleased with the improvement, so for me it was a "win" given the difference before and after and the relatively low investment of time and money!