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In a complex deal, involving the sale of one of my locomotives, a conversion/paint and weathering job and a bit of trading, I now own this DJM Models Austerity. It's basically unused NOS and seems to be a good one, requiring running in only.

DJM-1.jpg.c60edfbda13361bed90aa591b32df7c3.jpg

It may get a run on Charlies Yard/Watery Lane, but it is intended to be another for the not yet built loft layout. The buffers need to be replaced as they look nothing like Austerity buffers. The heads need to be larger, too. It will also receive a repaint to become an engine that was more local to me. It will either become one of the North Gawber engines, or one of the Smithywood coking plant pair.

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16 hours ago, Ruston said:

In a complex deal, involving the sale of one of my locomotives, a conversion/paint and weathering job and a bit of trading, I now own this DJM Models Austerity. It's basically unused NOS and seems to be a good one, requiring running in only.

DJM-1.jpg.bde76bc06b17f2287a0d2124c3761814.jpg

It may get a run on Charlies Yard/Watery Lane, but it is intended to be another for the not yet built loft layout. The buffers need to be replaced as they look nothing like Austerity buffers. The heads need to be larger, too. It will also receive a repaint to become an engine that was more local to me. It will either become one of the North Gawber engines, or one of the Smithywood coking plant pair.

I trust your opinion Dave.
How much better is this Austerity than the old Hornby/Dapol one.
Regards,
Chris.

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On 28/08/2021 at 11:18, Sandhole said:

I trust your opinion Dave.
How much better is this Austerity than the old Hornby/Dapol one.
Regards,
Chris.

Hi Chris. The overall appearance is not perfect but it is far better than the old Hornby/Dapol one and some of the visual details are also superior, such as the handrails, cab windows and wheels. As far as running is concerned, I won't really know until it's running and pulling trains, but I'm not convinced so far. It's been on the rollers for half an hour in each direction but still has a tight spot.

 

I know I said that it is a good one, but that's all relative with these things. I've heard of them being incredibly noisy and being very bad runners, so by those standards it's a good one, but the amount of slop in the gears, and the side play of the wheelsets makes me wonder how it even runs at all. That's not to say that I think there's anything wrong with my particular model, rather that they all seem to be wrong because the chassis was surely designed by a lunatic, let loose in a gear factory. All the wheels are driven by gears, with the rods merely going along for the ride. What ever happened to K.I.S.S?

 

I've had it on the scales and for what's meant to be a big powerful 18-inch prototype it's a very poor 149g. There's a lot of nothing under the tank, which makes me wonder if they were designed to have a cast weight in there but ended up being built down to a price, or even that the motor can't take the strain of any more weight. I can stick some lead in but it may overload the motor. It looks like something out of a Christmas cracker, with a diameter no greater than the worm on the end of it, and doesn't seem to have much power at all. Pressing down only very lightly on the loco results in it stalling.

 

Pictured with a Mashima 10/20 perched on top.

DJM-2.jpg.c0c9c73558309f4fa2241076f980f191.jpg

 

The crazy drive train gears can be seen through the holes in the bottom.

DJM-3.jpg.23d905807119ceeceed72944888e0110.jpg

 

I'll paint it, stick some lead inside and run it, but if it goes wrong I'll stick the chassis in the bin and build a new one. That tiny motor will come in handy for something!

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6 hours ago, Ruston said:

Hi Chris. The overall appearance is not perfect but it is far better than the old Hornby/Dapol one and some of the visual details are also superior, such as the handrails, cab windows and wheels. As far as running is concerned, I won't really know until it's running and pulling trains, but I'm not convinced so far. It's been on the rollers for half an hour in each direction but still has a tight spot.

 

I know I said that it is a good one, but that's all relative with these things. I've heard of them being incredibly noisy and being very bad runners, so by those standards it's a good one, but the amount of slop in the gears, and the side play of the wheelsets makes me wonder how it even runs at all. That's not to say that I think there's anything wrong with my particular model, rather that they all seem to be wrong because the chassis was surely designed by a lunatic, let loose in a gear factory. All the wheels are driven by gears, with the rods merely going along for the ride. What ever happened to K.I.S.S?

 

I've had it on the scales and for what's meant to be a big powerful 18-inch prototype it's a very poor 149g. There's a lot of nothing under the tank, which makes me wonder if they were designed to have a cast weight in there but ended up being built down to a price, or even that the motor can't take the strain of any more weight. I can stick some lead in but it may overload the motor. It looks like something out of a Christmas cracker, with a diameter no greater than the worm on the end of it, and doesn't seem to have much power at all. Pressing down only very lightly on the loco results in it stalling.

 

Pictured with a Mashima 10/20 perched on top.

DJM-2.jpg.fb99ff61be15a4f547891f4d9bea3ed1.jpg

 

The crazy drive train gears can be seen through the holes in the bottom.

DJM-3.jpg.50e1442695553dccff0360b26da14fcf.jpg

 

I'll paint it, stick some lead inside and run it, but if it goes wrong I'll stick the chassis in the bin and build a new one. That tiny motor will come in handy for something!

Thanks for that Dave. I'd forgotten about the crazy all gear driven chassis. I think I'll stick with my Hornby/Dapol madels.
I know they aren't perfect, but mine run well and I've tarted them up a bit. Old school modelling courtesy of RT models, Plasticard and wire.
I wait, with interest to see what you do with yours.
Regards,
Chris.

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I've done a little more with the Fowler.

 

The frames are painted and the wheels are on. I say painted, but they were chemically blackened and overspray from a rattle can of etch primer that went on the buffer beams is also on there. I thought it look alright, so left it as it is. It's actually a lot lighter in reality.

JFI-5.jpg.a16f64c0c4160eecd59327c675de2935.jpg

 

Like every kit I can think of, there is no provision for fitting pickups. I made another stretcher out of 1mm thick brass that has a hole and 10BA threads tapped into it so the paxolin for the pickups can be screwed in place with a countersunk screw.

JFI-6.jpg.7535fca05c6ba1438ce128c95d8aa6bb.jpg

The frame holes for the jackshaft are made to take 1/8th bearings, but I have put 2mm bearings in so that I can do one this one what I did with the Hudswell Clarke, only instead of sticking the crank shaft halves into plastic tubes there will be a proper engineered solution this time. I will also be milling my own cranks because although I did it before, I think that drilling the kit's cast cranks is a bit hit and miss. Using milled ones ensures the throw is correct and the crank pin hole is drilled straight.

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I sprayed the bodywork of the Fowler with etch primer, so I left that alone and just had to tinker with the DJM Austerity.

 

Firstly, the rim of the bunker is stupidly thick, so I began to thin the edges. For a relatively new tooling it's a bit naff and not even as nice as the old Dapol/Hornby one.

DJM-6.jpg.0eb269e16329af4b0a4adfb62be488e1.jpg

 

The lining and lettering were removed from the tank and cab. That tank filler seems a bit on the small side?

DJM-7.jpg.fcdd393557b47f75e6f92dec3c37d260.jpg

 

Of a more practical nature I removed the Christmas cracker toy of a motor and substituted the motor and cradle that I removed from the red Hattons Barclay. Holding the motors and then applying the same voltage, whilst I held and stopped the worm, indicated that there is a lot more torque in the Hattons motor. I used black tak to hold it in place in order to test that the worm meshed with the Austerity's gear, which it seemed to do quite well. I've left it alone now and although it is supposed to be "5-minute" epoxy, I'll give it a full 24hours before I try it out.

DJM-8.jpg.8201e1d3a47375cf1855fe91ad3ebdc1.jpg

There should be plenty of space to get DCC gear and some extra weight under the tank.

 

The rods are really bugging me though. I had one of the crank pins out and it has an M1 or 14BA thread, which means with some replacement crank pins I could get some decent rods on there, instead of the paper thin things that are currently on it.

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I have tested it and it runs. It may just be my imagination but it seems to run more quietly than it did. There was a lot of backlash in the worm/gear before and I seem to have positioned the motor slightly lower and thus got rid of the backlash and the noise. It's certainly got more power now. I can push down on the loco without it stalling anything like as easily as it did.

 

It's all been taken apart again to be degreased for painting.

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The Austerity is ready to be put back together having had a coat of paint. For now at least it will keep the existing rods and the gear drive to the wheels.

DJM-005.jpg.f2118f6dc880de29a207fd75b214a1b5.jpg

 

I went down to Digitrains and bought the DCC sound gear for it. I just wanted to see if I can remember how to drive, having not been anywhere since March of last year. The car needed a good thrashing, too, and it needed to burn off the fuel that's been sat in the tank all that time. Here we have a Zimo MX648, loaded with the Austerity sound project, plus a Loksound speaker and a Lais DCC stay alive.

DJM-007.jpg.ed2f0accb4f8f1bbdfed771176f744e9.jpg

All this should still fit despite that fact that a lot of lead sheet has been added inside the saddle tank. There's no point in fitting a more powerful motor if it doesn't have any more weight for traction...

 

I have painted the brass body parts of the Fowler. I based the two-tone scheme on one that worked at one of the BL plants, only I've added stripes on the buffer beam and the cab is also two-tone green. It was only afterwards that I realised that it looks like a damned Class 47 livery! There are no holes or dimples for the handrails and I need to make the holes before I can paint the engine casing. It will have a red stripe on the curved V at the front and along the casing sides. I'll probably make another change to the BL livery by continuing the stripe along the cab to make it less like the BR livery. As this requires masking, the handrails cannot be fitted, but I want to get the holes drilled before paint.

DJM-006.jpg.cb5ee802ba1e6e8bfa3589b6dd3bea11.jpg

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On 05/09/2021 at 15:10, Neil said:

Nice shade of blue on the Austerity, reminds me of this one at Smithywood  coking plant.

That's because it is meant to be one of the Smithywood engines. :) I'm doing No.2 (HE 3192, rebuilt HE 3888).

https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/hunslet-works-no-3192-3888-wd75141-wd-139-68006-0-6-0st/

 

It's back together now and running. I've made and fitted the couplings and it has some temporary Bachmann buffers until I get the proper ones, from LMS. I have made the water filler pipe, but can't fit it until the replacement tank filler arrives from RT Models. Some lost wax brass injectors are also coming from RT.

Other than that, all that remains are the transfers, which I have already drawn, some coal in the bunker, and weathering.

DJM-10.jpg.68b63efe4af250bc7f09e9993dbb6a5c.jpg

 

DJM-9.jpg.9cc6ae320123e08ee60c196ef59c4622.jpg

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The tank filler and injectors arrived from RT Models. Compare the new and old.

DJM-11.jpg.a23531fae7cc92350ae5872af5d3d681.jpg

 

The glazing is going in to the Fowler, plus a bit of interior detail. The Stay Alive unit can just be seen on the floor, through the right rear window. Only the wires fit through the control desk and firewall so I fitted a small two-pin plug so that the body is still completely removable from the chassis.

JFI-9.jpg.b534400334997c436638fbf3cfc3506d.jpg

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29 minutes ago, Ruston said:

The Fowler 422 is finished. I did only a light weathering job on this one. It weighs in at a respectable 138g and I still managed to fit in DCC sound. The decoder is under the engine casing, above the motor, whilst the speaker is between the frames. The speaker and its connections are wrapped in Kapton tape to prevent short circuits and it is fixed with a blob of black tack to the underside of the motor. As shown previously, the Stay Alive is in the cab but well below visible level.

JFF-008.jpg.316b62e8f844c0a0780ee95733176569.jpg

 

JFF-006.jpg.24f440c560d344a56d6e5ad1e6541dc2.jpg

 

JFF-004.jpg.f57757cf98151a9d4d867154931f150a.jpg

That decal needs a bit of touch-up with green paint at the lower edge.

 

JFFAustinMorris.jpg.5d588b02e83d7bcb6c0fe11b9276c6a3.jpg

 

 

She looks great Dave.
Love the Marina too.
Best Wishes,
Chris.

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6 minutes ago, Sandhole said:

She looks great Dave.
Love the Marina too.
Best Wishes,
Chris.

Thanks, Chris, and thanks for doing the kit exchange that made it possible.

 

34 minutes ago, AlfaZagato said:

Charming little thing.  Hopefully runs better than what I've heard of Marinas...

It runs like a dream. I'm getting quite good at this chassis building lark, even if I say so myself. :lol:

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20 hours ago, AlfaZagato said:

Charming little thing.  Hopefully runs better than what I've heard of Marinas...

Coachbogie, when he worked in advertising, had a company Ital, the 'Successor' to the Marina. !.8TC version. That was quick for it's day, problem was, it fell to bits in stages.
We covered some miles in the West in that motor, Westbury, Maidenhead/Crownline, Didcot, Reading.Taking shots, it never let us down.
Mike, me and Megan my Springer Spaniel.
For some reason only known to us, we called it the Zedshed!
Semaphores at Westbury and 56's at Merehead. 50's off the Berks and Hants at Fairwood Rd Junction.
Best wishes,
Chris.

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I thought that the Austerity was just about finished. Most of the weathering is done and it doesn't look too bad at all.

SCWP2-007.jpg.e5dcb54ae104792ad37a44df7d746c3d.jpg

 

SCWP2-003.jpg.6acee5e28d80902623e04d6fe500a1a7.jpg

And then I hooked a train behind it.


It set off out of the fiddle yard and as soon as it got to the track joint with the first scenic board, it threw itself off the track. I have to admit that it isn't the best laid track at that spot, but no other engine derails there, including the other 0-6-0s. Going around the curve it was as if the leading wheelset was slipping and out of phase with the others and by the time it got to the end of the loop it locked up. It got its gears and rods in a twist twice more in the next two feet, so I lifted it off the track. What idiot thought it would be a good idea to fill the chassis with over half a dozen gears, when rods would have worked far better? They've been working on the real thing since George Stephenson's day, so what made this idiot think he knew better? The wheels are like steamroller wheels. The original motor was a joke. There is no springing on the centre axle. There is as much as 2mm of side play in the wheelsets.

I've done with it. The body is nice, and I've done the repaint and detailing, so that will live to run another day, but that awful chassis will be hit repeatedly with a lump hammer. It's no good to man nor beast.

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8 minutes ago, Ruston said:

I thought that the Austerity was just about finished. Most of the weathering is done and it doesn't look too bad at all.

SCWP2-007.jpg.ca7445368606b9a5d9422e9dccc96d46.jpg

 

SCWP2-003.jpg.1e4b9d0413a57a3bd4b750c6fc5b9cd4.jpg

And then I hooked a train behind it.


It set off out of the fiddle yard and as soon as it got to the track joint with the first scenic board, it threw itself off the track. I have to admit that it isn't the best laid track at that spot, but no other engine derails there, including the other 0-6-0s. Going around the curve it was as if the leading wheelset was slipping and out of phase with the others and by the time it got to the end of the loop it locked up. It got its gears and rods in a twist twice more in the next two feet, so I lifted it off the track. What idiot thought it would be a good idea to fill the chassis with over half a dozen gears, when rods would have worked far better? They've been working on the real thing since George Stephenson's day, so what made this idiot think he knew better? The wheels are like steamroller wheels. The original motor was a joke. There is no springing on the centre axle. There is as much as 2mm of side play in the wheelsets.

I've done with it. The body is nice, and I've done the repaint and detailing, so that will live to run another day, but that awful chassis will be hit repeatedly with a lump hammer. It's no good to man nor beast.

According to my mate Mike, Coachbogie, This is what regularly happens The whole chassis acts against itself. All of these gear driven DJ things do it.
The onlt two chassis driven like this I have come across, were the Eggerbahn 009 chassis and the early Minitrix 0-6-0 N Gauge chassis. Those worked OK.
Then again Egger had 0-4-0 chassis and the Minitrix chassis had flangeless centre wheels.
They, also, had decent motors, not the piece of crap that was in that Austerity.
Chris.

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