Bloodnok

This hasn't been a thing for a long, long time...

I seem to end up with a lot of other people's broken locos while I'm looking for eBay "Bargains". This slightly sad looking Bachmann Class 44 Peak is one such loco. When I got it, it had the wheels turning in opposite directions. I shot some video of why it was doing that, what parts it needed to fix it and how to fit them, and how it runs afterwards.

This Lima class 73 has received a (believed 6v) motor salvaged from a CD drive, a Scalextric drive pinion, and a DCC Concepts 8 pin socket harness. Plus a drive gear with 70% more teeth which means the rear axle is actually driven now. It's a vastly different beast now. It picks up immediately, and runs much more quietly. This is despite the fact I still have work to do on it -- it could use a full set of pickups on the trailing bogie for a start, and it's still rolling on the original Lima wheels, too.

My Hornby Networker came to me rather broken. I fixed it up with some needed spare parts, but it never really worked properly, needing continual assistance to get to the other end of my workbench, let alone running on an actual layout. I gather that's not unique to mine -- they have a reputation. Mine might be a particularly bad example, or it might be typical. The entire unit is a high-friction mess, with every single axle having both pickups and a bad quality sleeve bearing on the axle. Then the drive itself is some awful open frame motor driving a single axle. I was originally planning to re-work this using Black Beetle components. It made a lot of sense back when I was living in Australia. Now you can't get them any more -- nor apparently any of their competitors. So ... I found an alternative solution in the form of the Hornby Javelin, which matches the wheelbase and diameter close enough, and for which spares are readily available from the usual suspects. (Although I found buying entire bogies cheaper than axles for some reason. YMMV). I started by looking at the first problem (rolling resistance) first. Careful application of a 3mm drill bit to the sideframes allowed Javelin trailing axles to fit into the Networker bogie sideframes. This gives a better wheel profile running in a reasonable approximation of pinpoint bearings: No, your DCC Concepts Axle Reamer won't help you -- the Javelin axles are shorter than the normal length, and the centre of the bogie kinda gets in the way of the DCC Concepts tools, too. You'd need to cut the centre of the bogie away to get the tool in, and yet that part is both structural and also vital in terms of holding the bogie into the chassis. If you want to re-fit the weight in the centre of the bogie (I haven't done this yet) you'll need to clearance the axle slot -- otherwise you reproduce the same problem. My trailing car now rolls reasonably freely. Not great (my precision drilling isn't perfect), but a hell of a lot better than it was before. The Javelin motor bogie will also fit. It's a bit taller, so the cosmetic seating would need modification above it, but it should still sit just below the windowline, not intruding into the body too badly. The main question is how to retain it in the chassis. Option A would be to clearance the inside of the chassis to allow easier rotation, and construct something to use the original javelin pivot (on top of the motor bogie). Option B would be to transfer all the relevant clips and supports from the original bogie frame to the new one. I haven't decided which option I should look at yet. I do have plenty of spare sideframes should I end up ruining one or two in testing this out...

Years ago I picked up a load of Airfix Mk2D coaches on the cheap. Being cheap, most of them were Brake Second Opens, and most of the rest were First Opens. Many of them were also in poor condition. One turned out to have broken/missing bogies and gangways. There's a distinct lack of stepboards, buffers, and so on. There are also shortcomings in the original Airfix representation -- such as the FO having 2+2 seating, but at the correct 7-bay pitch. It should be 2+1 for a proper FO... This makes them ideal conversion material. This one is my first attempt. It's an early Mk2E TSO, created from the non-brake end of two BSOs. The exterior, the glazing, and the interior have all received the cut'n'shut treatment, creating a proper 8-bay 2+2 seating layout. The roof and the bodysides have been cut at two different locations. Glazing is only in temporarily installed -- it'll need to come out again when this finds it's way to a paint shop. This is my second attempt. It's a Mk2D FK. It's interior has been created by cutting and shutting two Hornby Mk2 BFK interiors. The paint isn't great on this example, so I may elect to repaint it too. It'll certainly need a new number. Two further coaches are on the workbench. I have an FO shell in a particularly poor state of disrepair, which has been put down next to one of the brake ends of the BSO. This should be the correct pieces to make a BFK, although I've lost the cut diagram I used to have bookmarked many years ago. I also have two spare FO interiors, and I'm cutting out and repositioning individual seats. If I can separate enough to form an airline section in the centre, it should make a convincing 58 seat Ex-FO declassified TSO.

A while back I acquired a Hornby Class 50. It caused a dead short on DCC. It got put on the 'Locos needing attention' shelf, and promptly ignored for a few months. Accurascale then announced a Class 50 -- but skipped this specific variant (TOPS pre-refurb) in their announcement. So I decided to see what was wrong with this one, and if it could be fixed... There's a lot of pointless stuff on the circuit board which is not necessary with DCC, so I went through it, worked out what it was for, what was causing the problem, and what I could safely remove. I then worked out a way to make it work in DCC -- it only needed a couple of wires adding. I still need to get a set of headcode lights for it though...

My set of bits has arrived now. The two large flywheels are attached to the motor, but the end of the U-joint is not included in this pack. If you get the fully assembled bogies plus the propshafts, there are four worms with that end of the U joint fitted. In theory, dismantling two of them would give enough U joint ends. However, you then need to mount this end into the centre of the flywheel, and there's no obvious way to do this as the motor shaft is not long enough, it ends inside the flywheel. I'm going to take my factory motor and unpowered car apart this weekend and see if I can work out what's missing here. Perhaps it's as simple as gluing it in carefully?

Did you get an answer to this? Was it a packing error? Did you need to order something else? Or can you not get this specific key part?

Tracklaying continues: This brings the curves around the corner to where the double junction crossover will be. It also marks the full extent of the four blocks across the bridge, enabling them to be properly wired.

You'll also need the wiring harness at least (or make your own with fine wire and a 3rd party DCC socket).

I made a video about the construction of the bridge:

BTW, is there a known source of the tiny springs that Bachmann used in Mk1 coaches? I ... need a few spares. Some of the coaches I purchased second hand don't have them.

I had some coaches out today, sorting couplers out and planning rakes. (Ignore the station building in the back - that's been put there temporarily until I can get it to the layout it's actually intended for). The front four of these rakes are fully close coupled now. I was hoping to do a full conversion to Keen Systems replacement resin drawbars and Roco couplings, but I'm disappointed that the pocket on the Keen Systems resin drawbars ... isn't a pocket at all, because it doesn't have a bottom. The couplings keep dropping out unless I bite the bullet and glue them in. So I've mostly stuck with the factory pocket and the Bachmann fixed bar pipe coupler, only using the Keen Systems stuff where it was necessary (generally to jump between vehicles with different pocket heights).

Not a 395, the bottom of the wipers would be in the image if it was. Definitely IET.

That was ... a challenge. Four days on and off going over and back over many of the same chairs with MEK did eventually get them all to stick. I did lose a few in the process, but 99% of them are still there and still holding the rail in place. This is the state of play when the day job started back up again: Track is cut, bridge lifts out again. I need to finish two bits of remedial work, and then I can continue with wiring and tracklaying. The line following the trackbed in the top right of the third picture will be the next bit to go in. The plan is to have this up to where the first visible junction goes in soon™. Then I have to figure out how to join flat bottom rail to bullhead rail, and mount my first visible points...

What's the second coach back? Looks interesting...

That ... worked. Not sure if the key was using about six times as much MEK as I did previously, using a clamp rather than a weight, the length of time it was on, or possibly the speed of getting the clamp on (I wasn't paying attention to positional accuracy this time, just seeing if they would stick). But it does appear to be working.

Tried this -- I painted a short section with MEK, then applied at least four times as much as I was using previously to each baseplate, going all the way round. That section is now clamped between a couple of bits of wood. I'll give it 10 to 15 minutes and see if anything has stuck.

Does not stay smooth. Wouldn't call what's on the underside a clear fingerprint, but it's a 5mm by 3mm piece of plastic with a 2mm square hole in the middle, kinda difficult to draw much conclusion of exactly what's on it. Definitely not smooth any more though and certainly felt tacky.

The MEK has unexpectedly arrived much earlier than scheduled, so naturally I'm trying it out today. Learning how to apply it isn't going anything like I thought it would. I've read many descriptions of using this across the web, which all go something like: * Position chair on sleeper at appropriate place using track gauge tool. * Apply Butanone/MEK to edge of chair with fine brush, which will wick underneath the chair. * Apply gentle pressure for a few seconds to fix chair in place. * Move on to next chair. I've got Pandrol baseplates rather than chairs, because this is flat-bottom not bullhead. And the sleeper strip is 90 degrees out from expectation because I'm laying baulks. But that shouldn't change things too much ... right? I made sure to rough up the surface of the baulks with sandpaper before laying the track so they wouldn't be too smooth. Nevertheless, this is not even trying to hold. I did a batch of about 12 (six on either rail), left it for 15 minutes with a heavy weight pressing it down, and when I lifted the weight off, the baseplates just slid around. Not even a hint of wanting to stay put, let alone being stuck well enough to hold the rail in place. I've also tried lifting the rail and brushing directly onto the bottom of the baseplate before putting it down. Same thing. What am I doing wrong?

Two approach tracks glued, two gluing: All lines across the bridge: Thanks for the recommendation for MEK Andy, I've now ordered some. It might take a while to get here though. Four tracks on the north side now too: Next up, catching the wiring up with the new track.

Is that Methyl Ethyl Keytone (also known as Butanone), or Slaters Mek-Pak (which doesn't actually contain any Methyl Ethyl Keytone, but instead uses something else)?

First thing this morning: Fix this track (there was a kink in it). The outer one isn't particularly smooth where that converter track is either, but I know if I pull that up, it's going to fall apart, and I haven't got another one. I've pushed some coaches over it, and it appears fine at the moment. I may revisit this later with a new converter track. There's now two tracks on the north side: And five of eight track sections are on the bridge: ... Still not glued. Not sure which glue would be best here, thinking CA is probably the best bet (plastic chair to wood baulk). CA glue is something to do carefully, once, and not mess up. I'll sit down to that when I'm not going to be fielding quite so many interruptions as today.

More progress. Two lines have approached the bridge. Track under here is Exactoscale FastTrack Concrete Sleeper with Code 83 rail to represent post-1960 mainline practice. Over the bridge itself I'm laying baulk road with Peco individulay pandrol clips. This hasn't been glued yet -- that's a tomorrow job, with different glue than I've been using so far. And one line has reached the north side of the room, too: Three lengths down, five more to go.

This was the progress on the 23rd. I got up on the morning of the 24th, all eager to continue ... only to find I was fresh out of Code 75 insulating rail joiners. Out of all the four options, that was the only one I had none spare of. After calling every model shop in my county who were open on Christmas Eve, and finding no-one had any in stock ... things screeched to a dramatic halt. Yesterday evening, I was invited to a not-quite-local model railway club ... and someone gave me some. So I haven't had to rush around today to different model shops (that weren't open on Christmas Eve) who ... might ... or might not ... have had some. Instead, we have the last of the FB C75 gluing, under all this stuff: And I'm prepping for tracklaying on the removable bridge, too. Copperclad sleepers are being glued either side of the join both sides for every track. This was after a little bit of remedial work making sure it all sat right and didn't bind on anything, as it's been out for at least 6 months.