Bachmann 9F 2-10-0 An Appreciation.

[Bernard Lamb]

17 hours ago, 313201 said:

 

Hi G-BOAF

 

I completely agree, I  had a model of 92249 and she was absolutely brilliant but as time went on she developed a lot of issues.

 

1st was the spindles for the gears between driving axles 2 & 3 poking out from the chassis block and getting caught in the wheel spokes locking the wheels up.

 

Next came 1 of the axles for the gears between the motor and driving wheels poking out of the chassis block followed by the driving wheels not running in sync due to nasty wear on the coupling rods resulting in the rods being able to fall of the wheels of the 5th driving axle.

 

Worst of all and completely unexpected was that the body of the loco started coming apart and nothing I could do to repair it worked.

 

Eventually I had to take the Bachmann loco body off and was able to adapt a Hornby 9F body to fit along with a very minor adaptation of the chassis at the rear to fix the Hornby 9F body in place.

 

I did add tender pickups to my loco ( self made ) and the performance was more than excellent, loads of up to 14 or 15 mk1 coaches or up to about 45 x 4 wheel wagons + 2 brake Van's ( 1 at each end ) giving 47 all in.

 

As my railway is not dcc  I removed the dcc socket and hard wires the pickups direct to the motor and small pieces of lead ( 5 or 6 I think it was ) were fixed in where the dcc socket used to be.

 

In respect of your point about excessive wear on the chassis block, that was another major fail for the 9F but I have also noticed significant wear developing on the majority of my Bachmann steam locos including  the A1 Tornado.

 

But anyway back to the 9F, I feel that if Bachmann were to step up their improvement to their steam locks and fit bras bearings on the driving axles that the locos would last much longer in service before any major repairs would be required if at all..

I suppose I could go through your post point by point but I really  do not have the time.

We are talking about a mass produced model locomotive made down to a competitive price.

If you require a chassis to the standards of say Tony Wright or Guy Williams then you are expecting too much.

 I would expect at least 99% of customers are happy with the product. I certainly am.

I would think, going by the usual responses, that charging  at least another £50 to meet your requirements would not go down too well with a lot of people. 

Like the man who asked either Rolls or Royce, I forget which, "What size engine does it have?" 

The answer is that if you need to question the manufacturers decision then the product is not for you.

Bernard

[G-BOAF]

34 minutes ago, Bernard Lamb said:

I suppose I could go through your post point by point but I really  do not have the time.

We are talking about a mass produced model locomotive made down to a competitive price.

If you require a chassis to the standards of say Tony Wright or Guy Williams then you are expecting too much.

 I would expect at least 99% of customers are happy with the product. I certainly am.

I would think, going by the usual responses, that charging  at least another £50 to meet your requirements would not go down too well with a lot of people. 

Like the man who asked either Rolls or Royce, I forget which, "What size engine does it have?" 

The answer is that if you need to question the manufacturers decision then the product is not for you.

Bernard

I mean in the time since the 9F was tooled, Bachmann locos have had bearings fitted as standard, without a signifiant increase in cost. The best comparison to the 9F is the Hornby Britannia which has bearings and tender pickups and is certainly not £50 more than the 9F...!

[Chilly]

15 hours ago, Ribird said:

Just got my first 9F, all I can say is wow! And of course I went for the Locomotion one!  
 

I’ll be making it shiner for now, but might bring some parts back down with some matte (like the smokebox area)

My Locomotion Model arrived yesterday, on running it in it does not seem as comfortable tender first as opposed to going forward, actually squeaks a bit.

 

The tender wheels also have a lot of play side to side and perhaps rubbing on the braking underneath(possible source of squeak?), is that intentional?

 

Chilly

 

 

[Ribird]

1 minute ago, Chilly said:

My Locomotion Model arrived yesterday, on running it in it does not seem as comfortable tender first as opposed to going forward, actually squeaks a bit.

 

The tender wheels also have a lot of play side to side and perhaps rubbing on the braking underneath(possible source of squeak?), is that intentional?

 

Chilly

 

 

Sorry, I have no idea how to help there

[Chilly]

Just wondering if anybody else has the Locomotion model and found that the tender wheels have a lot of play from side to side?

[Bernard Lamb]

28 minutes ago, Chilly said:

Just wondering if anybody else has the Locomotion model and found that the tender wheels have a lot of play from side to side?

What do you mean by "a lot"?

Just checked an earlier model and on that I would call it average for RTR. Not as much as on a Jubilee. Much less than on the eight wheelers and they do not cause any problems in running. on my layout. 

Bernard

[Chilly]

2 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said:

What do you mean by "a lot"?

Just checked an earlier model and on that I would call it average for RTR. Not as much as on a Jubilee. Much less than on the eight wheelers and they do not cause any problems in running. on my layout. 

Bernard

From what i can see the tenders run on an axel which has the the wheels attached to a collar with a spindle inside such that the collar (and wheels) can move from side to side around 1/2 cm, is yours the same arrangement?

 

I have very lightly oiled these and it appears to have improved matters; I think it struck me as I had never had occasion to look at the set up of tender wheels apart from this one.

 

Chilly 

[down the sdjr]

Evening Star passing Stourpaine and Durweston halt with a local down stopping service.

 

Edited November 19, 2020 by down the sdjr

[Bernard Lamb]

1 hour ago, Chilly said:

From what i can see the tenders run on an axel which has the the wheels attached to a collar with a spindle inside such that the collar (and wheels) can move from side to side around 1/2 cm, is yours the same arrangement?

 

I have very lightly oiled these and it appears to have improved matters; I think it struck me as I had never had occasion to look at the set up of tender wheels apart from this one.

 

Chilly 

Difficult for me to see with the brake rods fitted, but something like that. I would say about 1 to 1.5 mm sideways movement and some vertical movement on the centre axle.  The tender on its own runs fairly freely but not as good as if it had pin point axles. I would suggest putting some packing between the wheels and the frame to limit the movement.

Bernard

[Chilly]

2 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said:

Difficult for me to see with the brake rods fitted, but something like that. I would say about 1 to 1.5 mm sideways movement and some vertical movement on the centre axle.  The tender on its own runs fairly freely but not as good as if it had pin point axles. I would suggest putting some packing between the wheels and the frame to limit the movement.

Bernard

Thanks Bernard

 

Yours seem to have slightly less play than mine. I have run it since oiling and things have improved somewhat but I will keep an eye on it.

 

I know what you mean on the pin point axles but it is a good model though and the loco runs smoothly.

 

Chilly

Edited November 19, 2020 by Chilly

[robmcg]

Further to my enjoyment of these models, I have bought a few second hand 'never used' or 'hardly used' or 'tested only' examples on Ebay and found a few of these models quite hard to find, at least in the few weeks since I started looking.

 

At first I thought the early pristine models would be scarce, 92002, 92006 and 92192,  and the Modelzone 92240 weathered limited edition would be well-nigh impossible, but three of the last mentioned appeared last week, all mint unused or little used and tested! To my surprise, these sold for around £100 or a little over. Foolish me I paid £140 for mine...

 

I found it interesting, and quite instructive, I paid well over odds for a mint 92192...  a few days after buying a mint version at well over £100 another appeared at £100.  Ack!  So I bought that too....  

 

But most enjoyable nevertheless.  I like the factory weathering, also the 'ex works' look of the pristine versions.  Some on the market seem to have a few faults,  one at the moment has what looks to me like a bent or bowed running plate (92002)  but maybe it's the camera?

 

In any even it seems the current market value of a mint 9F is £100-£120  with a little more perhaps for 'buy now'.  Great value in my opinion.

 

Here is why I spend money...

 

 

 

cheers

[Fireline]

I paid £6 for my Bachmann 9F, thanks to a lucky purchase on eBay. I think I got my money's worth! 

[robmcg]

8 hours ago, Fireline said:

I paid £6 for my Bachmann 9F, thanks to a lucky purchase on eBay. I think I got my money's worth! 

 

I saw one for UKP12.95 but I'm sure it was just a mis-print, or possibly from Eastern Europe delivery in 3 weeks.

 

As to the quality of the models, I have noticed in many photos to a greater or lesser degree the running plate has an upwards bow in the middle...  I have drawn a white line with my photo  editor to show this...

 

 

 

 

perhaps not so obvious as without the line?

 

 

It's like one those 'once seen cannot be un-seen' things...  

 

Seems common on 92002s, perhaps a few others?

 

Mind you, a bit of modest editing sorts that kind thing out, no trouble eh wot?

 

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2020 by robmcg

[w124bob]

Here is my attempt at Evening Star on the Pines(via Dewsbury Midland!)with etched head board, mismatched head lights a headcode board made from plasticard and digits from the decal bits box. Real coal and a light weathering just as it appeared in many of Ivo Peter's photographs. Sadly since taking this image I've got a valve gear issue on one side, the rivet holding the joint together for the reverse linkage has come apart.

 

[robmcg]

At the other end of the modelling spectrum here is an Ebay purchase of 9F 92189 factory-weathered and in a rare moment for me it is actually un-edited!  No actual modelling beyond removing from box and placing on the track. 

 

What impressive models these are, I'm very pleased, it cost UKP130 and runs perfectly on my short test track at least.

 

 

confession, I edited the lubricator to straighten it a little

 

Edited December 6, 2020 by robmcg
correction to pic

[robmcg]

I couldn't resist it, Your Honour.... 

 

 

Some details edited a tad, and I doubt if in its short working if this 1958 Swindon-built 9F spent much time at Annesley, being a true Doncaster engine.  But who am I to doubt the veracity of a photo? 

Withdrawn in mid-1965 I think.

 

Cheers

Edited December 8, 2020 by robmcg
added comment

[robmcg]

The contrast between pristine and weathered...

 

 

92192 32-851 ex-factory , above.

Double chimney, small front steps, BR1F tender Eastern Region engine  built May 1958 withdrawn Feb 1965  approx

 

 

 

92077 32-857 weathered by TMC, above.

Single chimney, large front step, BR1C tender, Midland Region engine, built in 3/1956 and one of the last on BR books withdrawn 6/1968.

 

Superb either way, methinks. 

 

As far as I can tell the main difference between TMC weathering and typical factory weathering is that TMC apply a bit more colour around specific areas, cylinders, smokebox in particular, but both are excellent, the prototypes varied so much .

 

Having purchased a few of these beauties in the last wee while I can now bore readers with photos! 

 

Edited December 18, 2020 by robmcg
added comment and pic

[43078shildoncountydurham]

Is it possible to Em gauge these with the Bachmann wheels?

 

Many thanks as always 

 

Craig

[robmcg]

20 hours ago, 43078shildoncountydurham said:

Is it possible to Em gauge these with the Bachmann wheels?

 

Many thanks as always 

 

Craig

 

No idea but I suspect it would be tricky given the fit of the brakes.

 

That said, someone has probably done it.

 

Perhaps ask the question in modelling help and hints or somewhere?

 

Best,

[robmcg]

another angle on our superb TMC-weathered 92077...

 

[robmcg]

It may not be a 9F but it was designed by Riddles....    and it's a Bachmann model too.

 

The rustic charm of the countryside. 90305 withdrawn from Doncaster in 3/1966.

 

[robmcg]

No collection of 9Fs by Bachmann is complete without a pristine version of each, as well as each of the weathered versions.

 

With this in mind here is our 92077 ex-shops...   

 

[92912]

2 of mine that have been weathered, got another one waiting in the "roundtoit" pile

[EHertsGER]

On 18/12/2020 at 19:44, 43078shildoncountydurham said:

Is it possible to Em gauge these with the Bachmann wheels?

 

Many thanks as always 

 

Craig

I had planned to but I just sat and looked at it as it was and couldn’t bring myself to tear up that chassis, so the current plan is to start again with the Comet chassis set. I know Dave Bradwell also produces one, but experience of his products has me shy of the (perhaps unnecessary) complications, whereas a similar conversion of a Coronation left me very happy with the Comet solution. Now I have a P4 and original chassis, an approach I intend for my 9f too.

 

Anyone else built a new chassis - stories of the Bradwell one especially? If theres a separate chat on this subject, please pack me off in that direction!

 

best,

Marcus

[43078shildoncountydurham]

17 hours ago, EHertsGER said:

I had planned to but I just sat and looked at it as it was and couldn’t bring myself to tear up that chassis, so the current plan is to start again with the Comet chassis set. I know Dave Bradwell also produces one, but experience of his products has me shy of the (perhaps unnecessary) complications, whereas a similar conversion of a Coronation left me very happy with the Comet solution. Now I have a P4 and original chassis, an approach I intend for my 9f too.

 

Anyone else built a new chassis - stories of the Bradwell one especially? If theres a separate chat on this subject, please pack me off in that direction!

 

best,

Marcus

Marcus,

 

Have a look at Worseter about page 15ish Bradwell, wheels etc outstanding, hope this helps.

Craig