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stu357

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  1. Here is the final 73, my method has evolved after what I found doing the others. the brass bearings and spacers plus these things make it all easier, motors, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331908792305? these drive cogs make it hardly worth using the old lima ones, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252766689164? I have been cutting them in half, they fit better and go futher! these screws M1.6x5 for fitting the motors (sometimes they need shortening as they can lock against the armature. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361582599451? here is the trailing bogie using bearings instead of my tube. performs about the same but I was able to leave the copper contact strip/spring inside to add a little springing. these are all 12.6 Hornby wagon wheels. Here is the motor bogie, the only real pain is fitting a pick up to the drive cog side. as both wheels are insulated I cant use the original Lima pick up. With these wheels being closer to the size of real 73 wheels you have to fit the wheel then the drive cog as the cog will fall in front of the wheel flange. Just watch the clearance. this one ran the best straight off the workbench, It didn't need any setting up. I think I may go back and re wheel my 33's with this method now.
  2. I like your conversions. Maybe one day I'll go to DCC. (Do I need DCC for the stay alive?) I agree, if you have a good Lima armature and gear set, you don't need to swap. Stu.
  3. I buy them from Nairnshire Modelling Supplies, http://www.nairnshire-modelling-supplies.co.uk/bushes-bearings-spacers-c-285/slimline-2mm-bore-axle-bushes-main-frame-bearings-pack-of-24-p-1754.html they have an ebay shop as well, which seems to have better stock levels, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/24-turned-brass-2mm-locomotive-axle-bushes-3mm-wide-and-2mm-inner-diameter/111981507737? Hope that helps, Stu.
  4. here is the Plymouth with a CD motor, extra weight and Hornby wagon wheels fitted using 2.5 OD, 2.0 ID top hat bearings, shows up my dodgy track through the station more than anything.... https://youtu.be/ftJzKaqPPn8 https://youtu.be/RHg05ne92CU I elongated the axle holes in the chassis next to give it a bit of compensation. It clears the points a bit smoother now.
  5. I may have been over thinking this project! I was looking at some fine top hat bearings and realised they were readily available in a size to fit Hornby axles in the Lima chassis holes. the original Lima axle is 2.5 mm and the Hornby wagon/coach axle is 2mm. which means I can use the Hornby coach/wagon wheels on the drive bogie too. these bearings are exactly that size, and I was able to also use one to centre the drive cog when bonding it onto the wheel. As an experiment I've just re wheeled a Lima Plymouth shunter with Hornby wagon wheels! I know its not a 73 but it was something to test the theory on...... It worked pretty well really. there's one more 73 I've got so I might have another go! let me take a video of the shunter running. Stu.
  6. BTW, the Hornby/Lima trailing wheels are easy to turn down using a file and dremel to make the front face match the coach wheels.
  7. I think phosphor bronze would be a good alternative, it certainly puts less pressure on the wheel. every time I've used it I end up catching the end and bending it all out of shape though. I have tried .3 nickel silver wire which is less fragile but it did cause some issues with squeaking. Thanks though, I might try a brass attachment point with a PB or NS strip soldered to it next.
  8. And here's another video with the motors in (bodies and detailing still a work in progress.) https://youtu.be/J6mTI4Cf8A8 Stu.
  9. On to the motors, I've been collecting CD drive motors for a while, most are 5.9 volts, but you sometimes find 12v versions. (scrounge old CD drives and PCs, you'd be surprised how many people have this stuff in the loft!!) I used the 2 12v ones I had on the 33s that i did so had been hoping to find some more. That did,t happen so I decided to use some of the 5.9v ones up and see how I get on. I don't bother with any fancy locator or mounting bracket, just the screws that you sometimes find the CD motor mounted to the circuit board with (not always) an old motor case serves as a jig which I line up by eye, In the past I have used the Scalextric cogs but it turns out you don't need to, Just cut the Lima one off, Use some of this heat shrink, Shrink down with a soldering iron, leave a little extra length which shrinks smaller and allows the cog to go on easier. Put the lima cog on and trim off the excess. then screw into the housing, I did use spots of superglue to locate it and then did up the screw. this works well on the later (screw on drive wheels) type bogies and you can even use a screw top and bottom. the ones with the clip on drive wheels need the screw hole about 2 o'clock and make sure it wont catch on the other cogs. That seems to have been a success, It makes the best improvement for quietness and smoothness and wont stop me from using the lower voltage motors. OK, being 5.9V they will go at warp speed and that's when they would potentially overheat. At normal operating speeds they never get warm, you just have to be gentle to turn the controller as you depart. they also now run at the same speed and can successfully double head on DC Both these bogies had the cogs tidied up and that made them quieter, but it seems most of the Lima noise was coming from uneven commutators as they went much quieter with the motor swap.
  10. I've moved on to some Lima 73s now, I have been re-wheeling them, http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/120233-cheap-lima-73-re-wheeling/ and now I've started rearranging the fuel tanks etc. I cut up the Lima mouldings and added some air tanks which I made one of and cast more. I tried to make the compressor more round looking, but there is only so much you can do with a totally flat part! there was only one thing for it, construct a new one. I tried to think about the way I would cast it to reproduce more. so here it is with a couple more bits of wire added. and the general layout, they are destined to be GBRF 73141 and 142 as they were in 2013 when I saw 73141 at Blackfriars. I'd like to model the 3rd one as one of the newly rebuilt 73s but I cant quite work out whats under them yet! Stu.
  11. Now I have 2 73's that run really slowly over fairly dodgy track. I was feeling like Id accomplished something until i looked at it side on! I know I'm using slightly different size wheels either end but I wasn't expecting it to look that bad. so I had to move the wheels up in the trailing bogie, I filed out the slots that my brass tube sits in by .5mm and removed the boss from the top of that bogie to reduce the gap, then on the power bogie i removed the bosses where the screws go in and cut the bogie frame so it sat inside the motor side frames instead of under it, then did the usual trick to lower a Lima and filed down the pads that the chassis sits on. next to paint the front face of the wheels black to disguise them, although if I have it apart again I might try to spin the Hornby 73 wheels in the Dremel and see if I can use a file to make them look more like the others.
  12. So here is the extra pick up for the non drive side, and fitted,
  13. Just found this pic of the wheels with the traction tyre retaining lip turned off using a spare motor and file. Before I swapped the drive wheels, definitively improved running but again brass wheels get dirty quickly.
  14. Here's the chassis on another slow run with new drive wheels.(extra pickup on the non drive side of the power bogie fitted) much better and passes the points without stopping. https://youtu.be/3cu-10g-SkA I need to find a CD drive motor next!
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