Any Question Answered

[Chris Higgs]

All of which means that if you have some turned down N gauge wheels, if only the flange width was reduced but the wide tread retained (as is often done with steam locomotive wheels), they are more likely to work than if the wheel fronts were also turned down.

 

Chris

 

Just to add another variable to the equation, you can have a different checkrail gap than wing rail gap. I did once cut the checkrails off a Peco point and replaced them with replacements glued on at 0.5mm gaps. But leaving the wing rails at 1mm gap (which are more difficult to replace anyway). You would be surprised at what wheels would pass through such a point. Stuff doesnt drop into the gaps on Peco points as they have a whacking great bit of plastic in the frog, whcihc you can make higher if you wish.

 

Chris

[Jan W]

Hi all

 

A question I've been contemplating recently is can you re-gauge diesel loco wheels to suit running on N gauge track once they've already been turned down and re-gauged to suit 9.42mm gauge?

 

I have several diesels sat in the stock box which don't suit the current layout I have but I'm experimenting with hand built N gauge track but with 0.85mm check gaps. My thought was that maybe the turned down wheel backs might not work properly with 1mm check gaps but having the finer 0.85mm gaps may solve this problem and give a finer appearance.

 

The issue I'm afraid of happening is the wheel sets dropping into the gap at the crossing vee and giving the locos a bumpy ride. I thought I'd ask the question before messing up wheel sets.

 

Thanks

 

Martin

Why experiment with trackwork to your own standards?

I use the nmra n gauge standards, with flangeways of 0.71mm:

https://www.nmra.org/sites/default/files/standards/sandrp/pdf/s-3.2_2010.05.08.pdf

 

But to be honest: not all modern rtr stock will run on it. Flanges are too wide on some of my stock.

I have quite some wagons with finescale wheels and they do bump a bit whem passing through the crossing vee. But it is not really a problem, no derailments so far.

Rp-25 wheels run smoother.

 

If you already have 2mm stock, why not regauge a wagon, build a crossing v and test it before changing your diesels?

 

Jan

 

Edit: forgot to add that the btb of all rtr stock has to be adjusted if you want to use it on nmra trackwork....

Edited October 10, 2018 by Jan W

[Rammstein2609]

Hi guys

 

Thanks for the replies regarding wheels.  My plan is to have a play with bits and pieces while demonstrating at the Barrow show this weekend.  The reason for 0.85mm check gaps is I've managed to purchase some roller gauges from Germany which I believe are used for FS160.  These are set to 9mm gauge but 0.85mm check gaps.

 

I've had a look back through Cav's thread and found the standards he's using so will study these.

 

If all else fails, I may just have to source original n gauge wheel sets for the locos in question.

 

Thanks

 

Martin

[Lacathedrale]

I managed to snap my pcb tie bar in half with ease (just test fitting some brass rod in the 1mm hole in the middle), and I stupidly cut the tie bar pegs on my easitrack point too short and those have come out too.

 

I think if I can find something agricultural that works, it would be awesome. Is a PCB tie bar the best choice? Piano wire actuation seems like it would be very tough so I was going to use 1mm brass rod, with an omega loop into a DPDT slide switch (to do a little control panel indicator and switch the Vee polarity).

[Argos]

Hi Lacathedrale,

 

I have had a similar problem with PCB tie bars snapping.

 

I was chatting to Keith Armes about this at one of his demo stands at an exhibition.

Keith uses the very thin PCB available from Eileen's Emporium laminated onto some brass strip for strength with a small diameter brass rod soldered to the top to increase the surface area by which the switch rail connects to the tie bar and hence increase the strength of this joint.

 

I haven't tried this myself yet, but Keith's results are impressive.

[nick_bastable]

I managed to snap my pcb tie bar in half with ease (just test fitting some brass rod in the 1mm hole in the middle), and I stupidly cut the tie bar pegs on my easitrack point too short and those have come out too.

 

I think if I can find something agricultural that works, it would be awesome. Is a PCB tie bar the best choice? Piano wire actuation seems like it would be very tough so I was going to use 1mm brass rod, with an omega loop into a DPDT slide switch (to do a little control panel indicator and switch the Vee polarity).

a pcb tie bar  ( I use point strip)  on edge with fuse wire wrapped round to solder the rail to works quite well

 

Nick

[Lacathedrale]

Frustratingly, the break was not at the blade, but literally right down the middle of the piece of PCB:

 

 

I'm going to offset my next hole away from the gap, so it's not focused on what is already a weaker area - but if there is a better solution out there I'm all ears.

 

My plan is/was to have a brass wire actuated by a slide switch (adjustable with those wire connector blocks) and an omega loop going under the baseboard and up through the tie bar from below.

[Ian Smith]

Frustratingly, the break was not at the blade, but literally right down the middle of the piece of PCB:

 

 

 

I'm going to offset my next hole away from the gap, so it's not focused on what is already a weaker area - but if there is a better solution out there I'm all ears.

 

My plan is/was to have a brass wire actuated by a slide switch (adjustable with those wire connector blocks) and an omega loop going under the baseboard and up through the tie bar from below.

 

Although I do not use PCB tie bars (you can't with the type of track I model), personally I would be inclined to use a much thinner piece of wire going up through the tie bar, thereby requiring a much smaller hole.  

 

For info (rather than recommending you to use it), I use 0.009" guitar string soldered to the switch blades bent to pass under the stock rails with a further bend to pass down into a piece of tube attached to an under-board TOU (turnout operating unit) below the baseboard.  The bends in the piece of guitar string are all made before threading under the stock rail and soldered to the switch rail.

 

Ian

[Caley Jim]

I use a similar idea, but slightly more complicated. It provides more flexibility and so less chance of the soldered joint with the switch breaking through fatigue. It also looks more like a stretcher bar.

 

Jim

[Donw]

definitely the hole in the tie bar is too big. A diameter less than half the width of the PCB ideally 1/3rd would be better It also looks like you have removed the copper in that area which doesn't help. An isolation gap either side would enable you to leave the copper round the hole.

 

If you go for Nick's pcb on edge method you can solder a peice of tube to the side of the tiebar in the middle isolating both sides the operating wire can then fit in the tube.

 

Don

 

ps there is no universally adopted method of making tie-bars and features regularly in magazines so we all have some problems with it.

[chrisveitch]

Thank you all, it's given me some gumption to try again. I'll check out the area groups, too.

 

In the meantime, I'm aiming for a plain soldered PCB B6. I've got the sleepers and straight stock rail laid. I just wanted to be clear, that the 'Track' book recommends using scrap etch/etc. to join together the whole vee and wing rail assembly in the jig. Because I'm not using chairplates anywhere else on my turnout, that's not feasible is it - and I'll have to use the other option ('straight stock rail first').

 

Cheers!

 

 

I have to say that I'm at a very similar stage, having toyed with 2mm rather timidly for many years and now trying to make a concerted effort to get some wagons assembled and a point built. Trackbuilding was particularly daunting once it went beyond plain track and I'll admit that I put off point building for a very long time. Even now I've not finished the first one - even just reading the construction guide in Track seemed overwhelming, it is very time-consuming at first and I've found that working my way through it methodically does seems to work, although at the moment I seem to spend as much time making tools and jigs as using them. Solder balls are a revelation - I can't see me going back to soldering track with anything else now. 

Edited October 13, 2018 by chrisveitch

[Fingers]

I've just managed to bag a 14xx tank on Ebay and intend (hope) to fit finescale chassis kit from 2mm Association. I'd like to ask the assembled throng for thoughts on the best motor to use, and possible pitfalls using the 2mm chassis kit. I did come across part of a thread and recall a Farish (?) 7mm motor being mentioned. If this prevails, could I have the relevant part number - I looked at BR Lines and got confused!!

 

Cheers,

 

Paul

[Chris Higgs]

I've just managed to bag a 14xx tank on Ebay and intend (hope) to fit finescale chassis kit from 2mm Association. I'd like to ask the assembled throng for thoughts on the best motor to use, and possible pitfalls using the 2mm chassis kit. I did come across part of a thread and recall a Farish (?) 7mm motor being mentioned. If this prevails, could I have the relevant part number - I looked at BR Lines and got confused!!

 

Cheers,

 

Paul

 

I think you have to order those motors from Bachmann spares. I don't think BR Lines has them, as a stock item at least. They are the ones fitted to the latest steam locos.

 

For quite a while there were similar motors for sale on ebay from China for next to nothing, however I don't think they are available any more. Unless someone knows better.

 

Chris

[John57sharp]

I've just managed to bag a 14xx tank on Ebay and intend (hope) to fit finescale chassis kit from 2mm Association. I'd like to ask the assembled throng for thoughts on the best motor to use, and possible pitfalls using the 2mm chassis kit. I did come across part of a thread and recall a Farish (?) 7mm motor being mentioned. If this prevails, could I have the relevant part number - I looked at BR Lines and got confused!!

 

Cheers,

 

Paul

Haha I was almost bidding against you! Hope it goes well for you.

 

John

[Jan W]

.....I don't think they are available any more. Unless someone knows better.

Tramfabriek will have 7 and 8mm 12V coreless motors with two shafts available soon.

I ordered some and expect to pick them up at Eurospoor (Netherlands) on november 10.

https://tramfabriek.nl/12v2.html

 

Not cheap but there is nothing similar on the market I think.

 

Jan

[Izzy]

 

The associations small flat can is decent and reasonably priced (£10), basically a double-shafted version of the small Farish flat can used in the 03/04/08 etc. There are also the 8x16’s Nigel Lawton sells (£8.50) which are good. Sadly those 7x16’s that were on eBay aren’t any more, or rather only a few at now high prices, similar to tramfabriek and what Bachmann want for their coreless motors ( around £20).

 

Izzy

[queensquare]

Thankfully I bought a small supply if the 7/16s front ebay when they were going cheep. The Nigel Lawton 8/16 motor I rate very highly and have used it in several locos.

 

Jerry

[TomE]

Thankfully I bought a small supply if the 7/16s front ebay when they were going cheep. The Nigel Lawton 8/16 motor I rate very highly and have used it in several locos.

 

Jerry

 

I may have to pick up a 8/16 to evaluate the possibility of swapping out the huge Dapol block in the Schools. I'd like to squeeze a speaker & sound chip in without ending up with a Mount Everest of coal on top to hide the decoder! 

 

Tom.  

[DavidLong]

I may have to pick up a 8/16 to evaluate the possibility of swapping out the huge Dapol block in the Schools. I'd like to squeeze a speaker & sound chip in without ending up with a Mount Everest of coal on top to hide the decoder! 

 

Tom.  

 

Hi Tom,

 

May be worth looking at this:

 

https://tramfabriek.nl/Dapol-a4.html

 

It's for a Dapol A4 but may fit in the Schools tender as well.

 

David

[2mm Andy]

The associations small flat can is decent and reasonably priced (£10), basically a double-shafted version of the small Farish flat can used in the 03/04/08 etc. There are also the 8x16’s Nigel Lawton sells (£8.50) which are good. Sadly those 7x16’s that were on eBay aren’t any more, or rather only a few at now high prices, similar to tramfabriek and what Bachmann want for their coreless motors ( around £20).

 

Izzy

 

I have found another source motors on Ebay that potentially look to be useful (I've only tested one on the bench using one of the 'Medvend' battery controllers, and have not yet fitted it to a model).

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-12V-17800RPM-High-Speed-Dual-Shaft-N20-Micro-Motor-For-Toy-Car-Boat-Model-DIY/263925273187?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

Andy

Edited October 26, 2018 by 2mm Andy

[TomE]

Hi Tom,

 

May be worth looking at this:

 

https://tramfabriek.nl/Dapol-a4.html

 

It's for a Dapol A4 but may fit in the Schools tender as well.

 

David

Many thanks for that link David. The Dapol motor clip looks like it’s standard across their tender drives, so that looks like it could save me some hassle!

 

Tom.

[CF MRC]

I find that when a Dapol engine starts, the lights dim.

 

Tim

[Kylestrome]

I find that when a Dapol engine starts, the lights dim.

 

Tim

 

... in the whole street!

[TomE]

Many thanks for that link David. The Dapol motor clip looks like it’s standard across their tender drives, so that looks like it could save me some hassle!

 

Tom.

 

 

Out of interest I ordered one of the motors linked to by David and it arrived today. I've swapped out the original Dapol motor in the Schools class and the difference in performance is just incredible. I think there might also be space now to squeeze in a sound chip and speaker without having to make any modifications to the tender at all, but I need to look at that a bit closer. Suffice to say, I can heartily recommend this if you simply want to make a direct swap from Dapol motor to coreless. 

 

 

Thanks for the heads up on this one David!

 

Tom. 

[Coal Tank]

I wonder whether anyone can help as I am looking for the LNWR wagon etches that were available a while ago.I am particularly looking for the Diag 33 covered wagon and the Diag16 brake van but if any one has the whole set that they would like to sell I would be very grateful

John