cravensdmufan

I am able to use my rake of original Mk4s in both pulling and pushing mode, though I had to bend the loco's coupling upwards to match the level of the Mk4's coupling bar. Fortunately all my Mk4 coach couplings are all nice and level, and the rake of 6+DVT run very smoothly on their replacement Hornby metal wheels, which also add that tiny bit more weight to the bogies. I'm away from home at the moment but will post some photos on my return in a few days.

I think the Hornby Railroad locos that have ex Lima tooled bodies actually have an improved motor bogie and run much smoother than the original Lima type. They no longer use pancake motors.

Yes Andy, though I was worried about attacking a one day old £200 loco! The similar treatment that I gave my Bachmann Co-Cos wasn't so critical as the it didn't matter if I "over filed" and the centre axle ended up slightly loose - the bogie was always going to be good and stable on the outer four wheels. With a Bo-Bo it's important to file across straight and not take too much off. My advice to owners of the new 91 would be: if your loco happens to run well enough over your pointwork but is just a bit noisy then leave well alone! Mine dipped quite noticeably on a few points (especially at very low speed) and actually derailed a couple of times. That's why I decided to try the modification.

Update on the Class 91: Well I checked the back to backs with my gauge block and also with the digital caliper – all the same at 14.5mm. The wheel treads and flanges are the same dimensions as other Hornby and Bachmann rolling stock wheels which don't sink deep into the turnout frog. But they do seem slimmer than on other locos – but I haven't checked that yet. So I took a Class 91 wheelset out and freewheeled it through the frog a few times – it didn't sink or derail! So I figured the problem must be the depth of the outer axle compared to the inner axle (even though they are mounted identically) the weight of the loco causing the bogie to become very slightly imbalanced. Despite thinking I may do it in the future as a last resort, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to wield a small round file to the u shaped piece that houses the brass axle holders on the outer end only of No.1 end (the worst wheels for dipping), filing a tiny bit of the plastic away. It seems to have cured the problem. The loco no longer drops right down into the frog – it still goes down very slightly but no more than some of my other locos. I didn't want to file too much away, and I had to be really careful not to let the file near the plastic cog. My heart sank after my initial attempt as the loco wobbled slightly on the move, but then I checked again and spotted I hadn't filed evenly on both sides. It's a matter of trial and error. So although I'm pleased with the result - much quieter and smoother over the points - I didn't attempt the other bogie's outer axle which wasn't so bad. I was afraid of ending up with a wobbling or leaning loco.

That's a good bit of research, thanks. I'm wondering if we have another situation similar to that of the problem with some Bachmann 6 wheeled diesel bogies a few years ago (there was a lot of discussion on that at the time here on RMw) where it was found that the centre axle wheelset sat lower than the outer two resulting in intermittent loss of rail contact and derailing on points. The cure was to file a fraction off the plastic where the brass axle holders clipped in (file down just the centre axle ones). I had to do this with a number of my 37s and 47's, just taking a tiny bit off at a time until the wheels were all level - the trick was to put the loco on a piece of glass to ensure all the flanges were touching the flat surface and the bogie didn't rock. All were cured of the problem. I'm tempted to try this eventually with my 91, but only as a last resort. In the meantime I will check all b-t-b's and swap axles around as has been suggested. Naturally surgery would invalidate the warranty, but I really love this loco. Such problems shouldn't occur on £200 products.

A further update. I fitted a decoder and decided to do a bit more investigation into the lumpy running over points. I set up a test track on my brand new ply baseboard with a couple of lengths of Peco code 100 flexi track and a medium radius electrofrog point in the middle. All brand new. You will see from this short video clip that the leading wheel on the No.1 end bogie actually dips into the frog. The inner wheels don't dip, and the outer wheel on No.2 end bogie dips only slightly. I think this is the cause of the clunking sound and occasional derailment that others have experienced. Maybe the locos run better on Code 75 turnouts with the shallower frog? Of course it shouldn't make any difference because Hornby's own track is Code 100. My loco also has a very slight intermittent grinding sound on plain track, but I haven't run it in on the rolling road yet. I have had similar sounds from other brand new Bachmann and Hornby locos and running in (as advised the manufacturers) usually cures that. Has anyone any further ideas on how to cure the wheel problem? I haven't!

Received my 91 002 this morning. Paintwork on loco is absolutely perfect. @Derails Models tests and checks models before dispatch (great customer service, thanks). Running is slightly lumpy over just one of my Peco Code 100 small radius turnouts in the fiddle yard, but over other turnouts it's fine. No wobbles. Just one very minor issue. The coupling at No. 2 end wasn't springing back to centre. On closer inspection one end of the tiny spring that links with the cam had become unhooked. Got it back on okay, but quite fiddly - took a while. Overall, I'm pleased with the loco.

Around 1960. I remember being fascinated (and initially quite scared) by the steam trains that used to thunder at speed through Shenfield station on the GE main line. My mother used to stop for tea in the refreshment room while waiting for the suburban train to go and see my grandmother who lived at Brentwood, just the next station along. The whole place shook when the fast trains passed by. We had no car in these days. I'd have been around 3 years old. I now realise those steam engines were Britannias and the suburban trains were Class 306. Then my dad took me to watch the trains from a lattice footbridge just up the line. We called it the "iron bridge". Used to spend hours there - then eventually I started going on my own and spent whole days there! We marvelled at the new train types. Big green diesels with "snouts" (which I now realise were Class 40s) and the "red electrics" (class 309s). Eventually I was allowed to use the box brownie camera! When I was around 5 he bought me a train set from a church jumble sale. I now realise that was a Triang Jinty and a couple of wagons and a brake van, Original Tri-ang track with grey moulded ballast. Plus a big chunky controller. Such happy days remembered with affection. The interest in trains has never left me. Thanks Mum and Dad, may you rest in peace.

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Interesting to hear the senior designer talking about the development of the Class 91. He says "the sound is terrific" - from that do we assume a TTS fitted version is coming? And hopefully the decoder will be available to retro fit these first four releases.

Just wondering - are those that have had problems with their 91s on pointwork using code 75 track? I hope Hornby haven't designed this model just to run on their own brand code 100! Now that would be like going back 40 years!

Looks absolutely brilliant. Hornby got the executive light grey spot on to my eye (which also bodes well for the forthcoming 87 in executive livery). I will order one tomorrow. Thanks for posting the pictures.

Would you be kind enough to post a few photos of your Intercity one please? Many thanks.

Lima 92 A.pdf Lima 92 B.pdf

"Experienced modellers" link doesn't seem to work. Despite successfully logging into my Google account, it says I need permission, and that "the form can only be used in the owners organisation".

"Why does he spend so much time with his trains? I'm getting bored now....."

The one thing I did to all my Lima and Hornby Mk2s which I felt improved their appearance no end was to paint the insides of the window frames matt dark grey, thus disguising the thickness of the mouldings. Then change the wheels to metal ones on the Hornby ones and a quick application of weathering powders on the bogies and underframes. If you want to spend a bit more time paint the seats and tables with matt colours to get rid of the light coloured plastic. Here's pictures albeit of a Bachmann one, but see what a difference it makes. You will have good looking carriages for very little expenditure.

Ah, that's a shame. Thanks for reporting back. Just wondering , what DCC system are you using? I have a basic NCE Powercab starter system and all my Bachmann locos used to run at a slow max speed. Then I took advice from Kevin at Coastal DCC who suggested I upgraded the layout power to 5amp using a Tam Valley booster. Well it transformed the layout! My Bachmann Class 90's whack along at a scale 110mph and it also eliminated lost memory issues in decoders. It was a fairly cheap upgrade, certainly more economic than buying NCE's own upgrade.

Have you checked what value is set in CV5 (the max speed CV) ? As it's a Howes sound decoder it's probably an ESU Loksound v4 or v5, in which case the value can be set up to 255. If yours is set to less then try increasing it.

Thanks Bob. Please do let us know how you get on with your own loco modifications.

A good way to reduce sound level on TTS is to wire in a second 8 ohm speaker in SERIES. I have done this with all my TTS decoders. I made a video how to I do it: Richard from Roads & Rails sells nice small slim bass enhanced speakers that fit in easily, and really improve sound quality. No connection with R&R, just a long time customer. Would agree with others about disabling DC running in CV29 on the older TTS decoders. This definitely cures runaways. I've got over 20 20 TTS diesels and I'm delighted with all of them. Just the CVs need tweaking to get smooth slow speed running.

On a pad Russ. I usually wrap a lint free cloth a few times round my index finger and spray a tiny bit on that. Work quite quickly because it evaporates fast. The can has a useful fold up tube attached to it.

Lighter fuel or WD40 Contact Cleaner (NOT normal WD40). Both are non polar.

I am aware that the WD40 Contact Cleaner does contain IPA, but I don't know what percentage. It doesn't say on the tin. All I know is that having used it, my rails and wheels have stayed much cleaner than when I used to use the 99% strength IPA.

I don't use IPA now having come across this video - well worth spending 20 minutes watching it. Explaining the science of oxidation. Plus, if you have a bit more time - take a look at Tony's own video showing the products and his track cleaning wagons: Having used the non polar WD40 CONTACT CLEANER - not the regular stuff I hardly ever need to clean my rails nowadays.