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EFE Adams O2 tank.


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I'm also getting a distant memory of the traction of some locos improving with age. Something to do with the surface of new wheels being slippery, and when that wears away grip improves. Just a thought.

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On 29/08/2021 at 13:08, Nile said:

I'm also getting a distant memory of the traction of some locos improving with age. Something to do with the surface of new wheels being slippery, and when that wears away grip improves. Just a thought.

That's certainly happened with my Dapol 43XX. It doesn't slip as much as it did when I first had it.

Strange as you would expect the opposite with usage polishing the wheel tread!

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Just come back from my local model railway supplier with two of the new 02s, the mainland one and IoW Chale.

 

The first one we opened the box on (Mainland) had one of its coupling rods flailing around with the pin missing from one end, and the pin did not appear to be loose in the box. That will be going back to Bachmann.

 

Having a chance to have a good close look with my Optivisor, I am very pleased with the livery finish on both locos, although there is definitely a strange colour contrast between the front section of the mainland loco and the bunker sides as previously noted on here. This seems to change when you look at it in daylight or artificial light. I think that I can live with it. Perhaps a little weathering will blend it in.

 

By the way, I have one of the new Gate Stock sets in Maunsell green, so would the 02 be normally coupled to this at its bunker end ? This would allow me to fit all the pipes and a scale screw link coupling on the front buffer beam without a need to the NEM coupling for a tidy appearance.

 

We had one of these new ones and one of the original DJ ones down at our club last week on our Crystal Palace High Level layout. This is modelled post 1925, so features the third rail for which we have used the PECO fittings. Neither of them worked particularly well, although I cannot vouch that the track was 100% perfectly clean. I tried to determine what the problem might be and speculated that it might be the brake rodding riding on the third rail in places. On close inspection I was amazed by the considerable side play on both the driving wheels and the bogie ones, which I thought might let the loco take up an unrealistic stance particularly when going through curves and pointwork especially where it would be running through reverse curves.

With regard to the brake rods, they did not look too close to rail height, but perhaps the joints might come into contact with the third rail especially with the amount of sideways motion of the wheels. The rods are fairly accessible and the plastic seems quite workable, so maybe a little filing might be appropriate to give some more clearance without anything being visible from above. Has anyone else with a Southern Electric layout had similar problems ?

 

I will probably give these a run next week on some of the non-electrified sidings to see if they run better on that.

 

All the best

Ray

Edited by wainwright1
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I'm very late to this model having only recently added SR operations to my plans. It was also with considerable nervousness on my part, given the history of issues reported here and for the Mark I Kernow release, coupled with my long running bad luck when buying small wheelbase locos.

 

Thanks are due to the couple of members who shared their personal experiences and opinions before I went ahead. Thanks also to everyone here who has alerted the issues to watch out for when buying. I then asked KMRC to kindly check and run my model before shipping overseas and full credit is due them as they delivered me an intact fully working model!

 

As to operation, I followed the running-in instructions in full and it proved to be a very sweet mechanism. Running  at about 1/4 full speed SWMBO walked past asking, "weren't you going to run that?" not able to hear anything much at all, nor was there!

 

Regarding pulling power, clearly the design has major limitations. Initially after running in I gave it a load of two old Hornby GWR clerestories (160g each - the added weight to improve running / stability, one has been re-wheeled in metal) and a Parkside Wagon. It would barely pull them around a curve.

 

I gave it a lighter load of a single current release coach + the wagon and just let it run at 2/3 full speed for some time. The improvement in pulling was almost visible as this run continued. This morning I back went to the two Clerestories and it pulled them with ease. I suspect that replacing the 2nd Coach's wheel set would be all that's needed to improve further. TBH I'm not that fussed about pulling power for my setting but still it was good to have the model come good.

 

One interesting thing about the EFE product is that the enclosed documentation omits some useful information for anyone interested in removing the bodywork, e.g to install sound. A check back to the Kernow site provides the answer in the form of the original Instruction sheet, downloadable including how to dismantle, should you dare.

 

 

 

 

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On 07/09/2021 at 00:24, BWsTrains said:

 It was also with considerable nervousness on my part, given the history of issues reported here and for the Mark I Kernow release, coupled with my long running bad luck when buying small wheelbase locos.

 

 

 

 

 

That made me smile - I have the same bad luck but with 2-6-4 tanks! Never had one that hasnt had a problem!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

As I am acquiring several IoW locos, I have purchsed the new book "Locomotives of the Isle of Wight Railways"  A very informative book and on P105 there is a picture of W34 in Malachite green.  The text reads - "The view shows it shunting it a Ryde PH on 17th May 1948 and shows that it had numerals (34) on the bunker back rather than a brass numberplate"  This is not replicated on theEFE mopdel which has the brass nunberplate.

 

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Well I'm very happy and pleasantly surprised.

The IOW Steam Railway replaced my wonky Calbourne.  The replacement is not wonky or with gaps between the plate and the tanks.

Additionally it's probably the best out of the box runner I've owned; smooth, quiet and super slow if needed. Really impressed.

I'm (finally) very happy! :D

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  • 11 months later...

My Kernow IOW has given good service but has now expired with a dead motor. I was surprised how small the motor is and Kernow and EFE don't have spares. There's a 1001 different motors available on the net has anybody got the spec for it? I'm certainly not going to buy another one if there aren't spares as the motor looks pretty feeble for the job.

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14 hours ago, Geoff P said:

My Kernow IOW has given good service but has now expired with a dead motor. I was surprised how small the motor is and Kernow and EFE don't have spares. There's a 1001 different motors available on the net has anybody got the spec for it? I'm certainly not going to buy another one if there aren't spares as the motor looks pretty feeble for the job.

 

Sorry to hear that most disappointing news.

 

Could you supply a photo of the loco and motor please? I have one but not yet ventured inside so some pics would be of interest. Given the rest of the model beyond the motor is a decent piece of work it could be worth finding a suitable replacement. Will follow with interest.

 

Regards

 

Colin

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When the DJ locos first arrived I’m sure I remember the comments about the small size of the motor because it was a 7x16 coreless, the same size used by myself and others in 2mm. Fine for that scale, but perhaps unfair on the motors for larger ones.

 

Many working in 2mm use motors obtained here. There are a few different size/spec combinations to choose from and they are well regarded. I understand the larger 10mm dia ones have been used as replacements for failed ones in the Oxford Rail N7’s with success.

 

http://tramfabriek.nl/motors.html

 

Bob

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17 hours ago, Izzy said:

When the DJ locos first arrived I’m sure I remember the comments about the small size of the motor because it was a 7x16 coreless, the same size used by myself and others in 2mm. Fine for that scale, but perhaps unfair on the motors for larger ones.

 

Many working in 2mm use motors obtained here. There are a few different size/spec combinations to choose from and they are well regarded. I understand the larger 10mm dia ones have been used as replacements for failed ones in the Oxford Rail N7’s with success.

 

http://tramfabriek.nl/motors.html

 

Bob

 

The 1020 size on the link site is promoted as suitable to replace the now unobtainable Mashima 1020 and that would (IMO) make it perfectly fine. I'm giving serious thought to replacing a couple of my small loco motors where poor quality of the original is showing up thru reports of motor shorts or failures.

 

The last thing I need is an unexpected motor defect destroying some rather expensive DCC Sound kit on me. That's already happened once to me with the 2nd generation OR Dean Goods (not due to motor failure but bad QC). Fortunately I got that DCC replaced as manufacturer's responsibility.

 

So thx for the Heads Up regarding this potential source.

 

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  • 6 months later...

Regarding the O2 tank. I have a Southern one, numbered 182. My loco does not pick up any current from the front drive wheels on one side. If you look at the model head on, its the right hand side. Is this normal or has mine got a fault? 
 

i have cleaned all wheels, wheel backs and added a very slight ammount of ‘electro-lube’ to the bearings but these wheels pick absolutely nothing up what so ever. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

GeoffBird, in answer to your comments on W34 'Newport' , she wasn't actually painted in Malachite, but a lighter shade. The only IOW loco to be painted this colour. A few IOW books are containing colour photos now and there is certainly evidence that she was lighter - even referred to in the text of one of the books.  

 

For authenticity I would change her name and numbers to one of the other O2s that were actually painted Malachite. I would think that this will be a simple task. The nameplates are ready available and so to the number transfers. I assume the existing decals will come off easily with something.

 

Pete

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On 02/05/2023 at 11:38, vectispete said:

GeoffBird, in answer to your comments on W34 'Newport' , she wasn't actually painted in Malachite, but a lighter shade. The only IOW loco to be painted this colour. A few IOW books are containing colour photos now and there is certainly evidence that she was lighter - even referred to in the text of one of the books.  

 

For authenticity I would change her name and numbers to one of the other O2s that were actually painted Malachite. I would think that this will be a simple task. The nameplates are ready available and so to the number transfers. I assume the existing decals will come off easily with something.

 

Pete

Also worth noting that, unlike the model, the real W34 never carried a numberplate on the bunker either.

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On 02/05/2023 at 11:38, vectispete said:

GeoffBird, in answer to your comments on W34 'Newport' , she wasn't actually painted in Malachite, but a lighter shade. The only IOW loco to be painted this colour. A few IOW books are containing colour photos now and there is certainly evidence that she was lighter - even referred to in the text of one of the books.  

I believe Eastleigh used the remnants of the paint applied to 563 for the LSWR centenary.  After nationalisation Ryde works repainted the tank and bunker sides in malachite in order to substitute "British Railways" lettering (they didn't have any of the original colour) so it ended up looking a bit piebald.

 

Keith

Alton.

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Spot on Keith. I only have a colour photo from 1947 of Newport but have read that the tank sides were painted malachite.

 

My period of modelling (1950) only had 2 types of locomotive put 5 different loco liveries and 2 coach liveries.

 

Pete

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1 hour ago, vectispete said:

My period of modelling (1950) only had 2 types of locomotive put 5 different loco liveries and 2 coach liveries.

Plus a few lining variations if I remember correctly...

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