Class 504 Revisted

[Savoyard]

Here is a longer video of the arcing on my Class 504 (I have deleted the original video on YouTube),

 

I have changed the LED to a smaller brighter one and used the firebox flicker option on the Loksound v3.5 decoder instead of the strobe option on the original, and combined with setting the function to momentary you can get a variable length of arcing as seen on the video below. I will post a picture of the underside of the bogie later.

 

 

Peter

[Savoyard]

Hi Ryan,

 

Here is a picture of the the light unit under the bogie, I hope it helps.

 

 

Peter

[Savoyard]

I started working on a second unit tonight, which will also be in green but with yellow warining panels. I hope to have it ready for Holcombe Brook & Tottington appearing at Hornby Magazine Live at Hartlepool on 7th & 8th July.

 

Peter

[Mucky Duck]

Hi Ryan,

 

Here is a picture of the the light unit under the bogie, I hope it helps.

Peter

A really nice idea Peter and the pic does help, thanks. Also looking forward to updates on your second unit which will have the same livery as mine… when I eventually return to work on it!

[Savoyard]

Here a few pictures taken on Tottington viaduct on the layout today at the club room.

 

 

 

And some of the Driver Trailer.

 

 

 

I am thinking of repainting the roof cream as the book about railways around Bury it says that they had a cream roof when delievered, then the next yellow panel version will have a grey roof.

 

Peter

[Savoyard]

I have just looked and it is over three years since I last posted on here. I have done bits and pieces on the 504 but nothing drastic, it has mainly been sorting out the front windows which I have never been happy with. Last night I thought of using some thin metal, in this case Printers Electro Plate aluminum which is nice and thin and easy to cut and file. I had successfully used it on my Push Pull unit.

 

The original DC Kit front it wrong as the windows should be square and not tapered, I have tried filing but the plastic is very soft and it is quite easy to file too much and make it worse. Last night I had been working on a new front on for the cab of my L&Y radial tank using the aluminum and it looked quite effective, so I thought I could apply the same method to solving the 504 cab windows, so this morning I made a prototype using a spare front and it seems to work well and looks a lot better than the original plastic. Being very thin the aluminum can be easily filed and blended with the plastic so it doesn't look like it has been stuck on. I will be now trying it on the original 504 and the one currently in build.

 

 

I filed out the original windows to be their maximum so that I could easily place some glazing behind to give the impression of near flush glazing.

 

I will be using the 504 on my layout Holcombe Brook & Tottington at the Blackburn Exhibition on 5/6th September.

 

 

[muddys-blues]

Hi Peter, I had a little chuckle to myself looking at your pictures, I was born in that area, and lived there till about 15 years ago, it brings back many memories of cross country runs from my old school Tottington "Secondary" then High School, running up and down the old railway lines when it was just a disused lifted line ... "now it is a country walk a posher version of when we used to run it".

 

And I threw many a stone probably" old ballast of the viaduct into "Island Lodge" as it is know locally.

 

Best regards

Craig.

[Savoyard]

I have been doing some more work on rebuilding the cab Windows and it now looking a lot better and I think more like the real thing. I've glazed it temporarily to see the effect but there is still some work to do.

 

 

 

[mark axlecounter]

Hi buddy sorry for the mass of likes but only just found this thread.

About time you built a L&Y one ha ha !!

 

Mark

[Savoyard]

I have working and re working the Class 504 front, I have found some plans in a old BR DMU/EMU book and did some comparisons with resized photos to try and correct measurements for the cab windows etc. So after a couple of weeks the trailer is nearing completion. The windows have been redone (several times) and today I corrected the destination box and I put some thin plastic strip around the middle window to represent that windows beading. Unfortunately as the plastic has been hacked a lot of times I will have to make some compromises especially as I will have to get the motor brake ready for the Blackburn Exhibition on 5/6th September. I have done a quick paint to highlight any errors before completing it.

 

 

[FPH 603]

I'm considering making my own DC kits class 504 unit. I may do similar things to what you did but I may not do it all. Also chances are that I'll make mine rail blue, with either a small yellow panel on the fronts or maybe full wrap around yellow ends.

Edited November 5, 2017 by DoubleDeckInterurban

[FPH 603]

I'm considering making my own DC kits class 504 unit. I may do similar things to what you did but I may not do it all. Also chances are that I'll make mine rail blue, with either a small yellow panel on the fronts or maybe full wrap around yellow ends.

image.jpeg

I've received word from DC Kits that the 504 is not in stock, so chances this won't be happening anytime soon. But if they ever do go back in stock I'll be sure to try buy one and make it Rail Blue with Small Yellow Warning Panels.

[bigal10]

Hi Peter,

 

As you can see from my location, I live in Bury, and I regularly cycle and walk the route of the old railway line from Greenmount to Bury, including the viaduct over the fishing lodges.

 

I have just revisited this blog as I was looking for something similar to model, like the Class 504, but on the basis that,

 

a) Charlie Petty has stopped making the 504 kit,

 

and, more importantly,

b) I was just blown away by your finished model, running with flashing LED for the sparking pickup shoe,

 

I think I’ll just quietly put away my modelling tools and try airbrushing some track, or something!

 

Just a point, and I always think about this when cycling or walking the modified ‘lines’ as the route is known round here, do you think anyone ever got a massive 1200volt shock from the 3rd rail?

I can’t imagine some small inquisitive fingers haven’t had a feel under the wooden cover?

 

And another point, a very small one, so please don’t take offence, the video of the units in motion, with the sparking pickup shoe, looks a bit odd without a 3rd rail. I know the video was shot on a guest layout, but did you ever build a section of track with the pickup rail?

 

Brilliant job!

 

Regards,

Alan.

[cheesysmith]

DC kits have 504 body only kits in stock.

[bigal10]

Does anyone know what soundfile Peter used on the Class 504, in his excellent 'Sparking Clogs' video on UTube?

 

I assume that he used LokSound 4, so possibly the sounds were from Charlie / Legoman, but would it have been a standard EMU of the period?

 

On the basis that the 504's haven't actually run since 1992, (except into a shed at ELR) would there have been any sounds specific to the Bury lines, / 504?

 

Regards,

 

Alan.

[bigal10]

It's me again, with another question....

 

If one was to purchase a Replica Railways motorised chassis, and graft Charlie's 504 body kit onto that, what would one use as a chassis for the trailer unit, again using the second body from Charlie's 504 kit?

 

Or...

 

Would it be easier to buy a complete Bachmann 2EPB, and do what Peter has done above.?

 

The Replica chassis has all the running gear below the window line, so would be more pleasing to the viewer, whereas the Bachmann, in common with a couple of their DMU's i have, has a massive black lump at the motor / Decoder end.

 

Decisions, decisions.....

 

Regards,

 

Alan.

[mark axlecounter]

I can ask him later if he get some info on here if not I will try to put it on

[Savoyard]

Hi Alan,

 

Apologies for not replying sooner, I don't come on RMWeb that often these days so just catching up.

 

I would now only recommend using a 2EPB as the basis of a Class 504 for a number of reasons:-

 

1. It will work out cheaper, by the time you've paid for two replica coaches and their motorised chassis I reckon you could pick up a Bachmann 2EPB for less.

 

2. From memory I think the Replica body is a form of resin and was not as easy to work with than using the 2EPB when trying to hide the join.

 

3. The 2EPB has a full interior and lights as well, though I have had problems with lights failing which I intended to investigate.

 

4. I wasn't impressed with the Replica chassis and it broke fairly easily and you can't have normal seating, so not as pleasing on the eye from my point of view.

 

5. Shawplan do excellent replacement glazing for the 2EPB.

 

 

I haven't done any serious modelling for a couple of years or more due to lots of reasons but I moved recently and I have now got a new shed which once I have got in a reasonable state I can start getting back in to some modelling.

 

I want to revisit the Class 504 as the one above got damaged and I want to rebuild it, I also want to convert a couple more so I will post the progress on here when I eventually start.

 

I have a new idea on how to do the cab front which if successful I will share on here.

 

 

With regards to the sound it was one I created using a generic DC EMU sound file and adding Class 504 sounds like horns and bells from various recordings I found on videos.

 

The video above was shot on a layout we use to have in the club rooms and so no 3rd rail but Holcombe Brook and Tottington has 3rd rail and I will find some shots of it.

[SRman]

It's me again, with another question....

 

If one was to purchase a Replica Railways motorised chassis, and graft Charlie's 504 body kit onto that, what would one use as a chassis for the trailer unit, again using the second body from Charlie's 504 kit?

 

Or...

 

Would it be easier to buy a complete Bachmann 2EPB, and do what Peter has done above.?

 

The Replica chassis has all the running gear below the window line, so would be more pleasing to the viewer, whereas the Bachmann, in common with a couple of their DMU's i have, has a massive black lump at the motor / Decoder end.

 

Decisions, decisions.....

 

Regards,

 

Alan.

 

If you go down the Replica motorised chassis route, you could also use one of their BR suburban mark 1 chassis for the trailer.

[adb968008]

Railscene videos have a lot of class 504 footage, look for the quarterly videos around 1991. They also did a cab ride video of the Bury line.

 

The 504’s had some unique sounds, the shoe scraping the sides of the contacts, rather than the top of them used to give a distinctive pop sound when disconnected from a section, as was the grinding sound of when they started to move.

 

though werent too dissimilar to 304/5/8’s for things like compressors. They had bells for driver guard communication I recall. A class 455 isnt that far away from sounding similar.

 

i may have some cassette recordings I made when I rode them a few times, though I no longer have a cassette player !

 

however this video Of class 304’s from 2mins in gives you 90% what they sounded like... your just missing the 3rd rail shoes popping at the section breaks.

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2019 by adb968008