Bachmann Jubilee

[ScRSG]

Unfortunately, it's not a straight replacement. You need to hack some plastic out to make room for the rear drivers and provide new mounting points. Even then, the middle drivers do not match their splashers.

Alan

 

Try Using Comet!

[MikeParkin65]

Not necessarily. I don't want to reopen the yes/no capacitors debate, but my Jub. works fine with the Bachmann decoder fitted out of the box. Presumably the Back EMF settings are right for my loco, which is good because once the capacitors are removed converting back to DC is a bit more difficult...

 

Both my original DCC fitted Alberta and recently purchased Drake were poor runners with the Bachmann Chip despite adjusting the CV's. Run much better with the capacitors and resistors (?) removed - the latter will need wiring around if you are retaining the 8 pin plug. Have now fitted a Lenz Gold to both - a vast improvement on the Bachmann chip which is better suited to heavier diesels.

[ohanlonmartin]

Now, I don't have a new Jubilee, but one other Bach loco I have (think it was the Ivatt 4MT) the drawbar drooped so much, and the slot in the tender front which it goes through was so deep, that engagement on the tender peg was very poor. Brute force and ignorance solution: bend the drawbar upwards a little.

 

On quite a few locos where I want scale separation of loco and tender and Bachmann haven't provided the right positioning option (9Fs are one example) I cut off the tender peg, and just bung a short self tapper through a drawbar hole in an appropriate place on the tender underside. Quick and simple 'semi-permanent' coupling.

 

The draw bar is not staying in position as a non secured fit so the upward bend is next to be tried, I didn't remove the capacitors and no sign of any jerky running so far, thanks for the advice/replies.

[robmcg]

I sometimes think that reading this Forum is a danger to my wealth. I have a couple of Jubilees but wasn't aware that Drake was being sold for £56.

 

My Visa card is in my hand and flexing itself right at the moment.

 

Irrespective of the "age" of the model, it is superb.

 

Jeff

 

I kno how you feel! They are really nice models. I looked back through some old photos I took, showing the older tooling with Crimson Lake LMS 'Jutland' and an early BR 'Hong Kong' with the different (shorter?) firebox.

 

I would like to buy the Irwell Press 'The Book of the Jubilees' but it appears to be out of print, or very expensive.

 

I wonder if Bachmann will produce another in LMS livery ...? to match the Crab, of course!

 

Rob

 

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2012 by robmcg

[5 C]

I am in process of grafting a chunk of boiler + LFB from an old model into one of these cheapo "Drake" SFBs which is not too difficult and keeps most of the improved aspects of the newer model.

Alan

 

Alan, I (and I'm sure many others) would be very interested in some more details about this. I took the body off a Bachmann Jubilee last night and the sectional construction of the body makes it seem quite feasible. Any techniques for releasing certain parts (e.g. cab from firebox etc.) without resorting to the razor saw?

 

Thanks,

 

Andy

[benachie]

Alan, I (and I'm sure many others) would be very interested in some more details about this. I took the body off a Bachmann Jubilee last night and the sectional construction of the body makes it seem quite feasible. Any techniques for releasing certain parts (e.g. cab from firebox etc.) without resorting to the razor saw?

 

Thanks,

 

Andy

Andy,

You might as well go for the saw - I did - because the backhead is part of the boiler moulding and will need to be cut off and rejoined to the cab anyway. You will then discover that the cab is clipped to the boiler moulding by two inward-facing lugs and will slide upwards when these are pushed apart but I doubt if this can be done without damage until you have these lugs in sight.

I found the handrails impossible to remove without breaking the very fragile stanchions The front join needs to be at the boiler band that is ahead of the top feed. The rear of the replacement long firebox is a little wide but nothing that a careful squeeze can''t cure and there will need to be some cosmetic work around the middle splasher etc which is what I'm working on just now. Hopefully the metal footplate will ensure reasonable strength in the finished conversion.

Alan

Edited June 5, 2012 by benachie

[5 C]

Alan,

 

Thanks for pointing out those lugs. Once I'd separated the boiler from the running plate, the lugs were quite visible and I didn't need to resort to the saw. One lug was unfixed and the second had a thin trickle of adhesive holding it in place. Some gentle levering of the cab sheet with a jeweller's screwdriver and it too was free. It was then a simple matter of sliding the cab off the boiler as you've described, fortunately without any damage.

 

I'm not surprised about the handrails. Fortunately I've plenty of Alan Gibson scale replacements in stock!

 

Andy

[benachie]

Andy,

Great stuff!

Here is where I've got to after much pairing and filing -

 

 

And now for the gluing -

 

 

Alan

[Jamie]

Hmm, that post might have cost me a lot of money! Excellent work Alan.

[benachie]

Hmm, that post might have cost me a lot of money! Excellent work Alan.

Sorry, Jamie.

It's going to end up as 45711 "Courageous" from your neck of the woods.

Alan

[60027Merlin]

The good news is that Hattons (whose web-site always strikes me as disarmingly frank about their stock levels) have "Rodney" on offer at the absurdly low price of £56 - DCC-fitted. They also have "Baroda" (non-DCC) available at a very generous discount. (Rails were doing the much the same with their "Hong Kong" a few weeks ago).

 

The bad news?...as above really,because the clear inference must be that these are not selling at all well,and that those of us still hoping that Bachmann might eventually do a bit of re-tooling to produce a "longer firebox" example can forget it. Does anyone read it differently?

 

 

When Bachmann announced the new Jubilee model a few years ago they highlighted the fact that both long and short firebox versions would be produced. If they are disappointed with the sales then non- appearance of the long firebox version is certainly one reason for this low take up.

 

DR.

[brushman47544]

When Bachmann announced the new Jubilee model a few years ago they highlighted the fact that both long and short firebox versions would be produced. If they are disappointed with the sales then non- appearance of the long firebox version is certainly one reason for this low take up.

A classic catch-22. Assuming you're right, Bachmann may well have allowed for both short and long firebox versions in the tooling options/slides, but without actually going as far as making the long firebox tooling. Having announced both versions, some people may then have held off buying the short firebox version to await the other. But fewer sales as a result means Bachmann does not (yet?) go ahead with the long firebox tooling.

 

The new Jubillee is certainly a very nice model, but as with the retooled BR Standard 4MT (75xxx), is it sufficiently better for Joe Public to replace their older models with these new ones. It seems not...enough.

Edited June 6, 2012 by brushman47544

[Lochinvar]

Whatever the explanation for the 60% discount on Hatton's "Drake",and widespread above-average discounting by retailers on other examples ,one is heading this way. The "plan" (such as it is) was that my stud would include 2 Jubes. Both were to be LFB versions because they were more prevalent here (N of the border) in my chosen period,1956-59.. But I succumbed to a SFB example a year or so back when Rails did their "Gilbert and Ellice Islands" special. Again,that was discounted below the Rails norm. It now runs as "India",which I do remember seeing a couple of times. "Drake",too,will need a new identity (yet to be decided).

 

Despite the change of plan,no-one would be happier than me if my pessimism proves unjustified and LFB examples do eventually emerge.

 

DR

[Cleefy]

After a Herculean struggle with Hattons' website, Drake should be winging her way towards me. I can always make room for another Jubilee, especially ones at that sort of price

[Timara]

Sorry, Jamie.

It's going to end up as 45711 "Courageous" from your neck of the woods.

Alan

 

You know Alan, you've just signed the death warrant on one of my old Jub bodies...... I might just have to do a LFB one as my Crewe North model instead of it being Assam.

 

Looks a very nice clean join indeed. I shall look forward to seeing it when finished.

 

Cheers,

[benachie]

You know Alan, you've just signed the death warrant on one of my old Jub bodies...... I might just have to do a LFB one as my Crewe North model instead of it being Assam.

 

Looks a very nice clean join indeed. I shall look forward to seeing it when finished.

 

Cheers,

Thank you, Tim.

The boiler-firebox-cab joins are not too difficult but a good deal of work is needed on the bottom edges of the firebox which, remember, is not attached to the footplate. I'm currently upgrading a Fowler tender with better coal rails etc and then I'm hoping to get away without a complete repaint but that may not be possible.

Alan

[APOLLO]

Ordered Drake from Hattons Wed PM & arrived this morning.

 

Good news - Ran nicely on my Gaugemaster Q but did not like the ECM controllers on my goods lines. So - out with the chip.

 

Bad news - Loco body screw damn tight, but eventually removed the body. Took out the decoder & fitted the blank - no joy, Turned the blank around - no joy. Tried the motor with "jump leads" to the track - movement. I seemed to have disturbed one of the small coil thingys. Anyway I decided to a "Springs Branch" overhaul and removed the DCC socket, soldering the wires from the pickups to the motor - success. Insulate the joints, body back on, adjust the sanding wires and commence to run in.

 

Good news - runs smoothly, for 10 mins

 

Bad news - stalls with a bang at the most unreachable part of layout - fish it out and the connecting rod etc is hanging off - luckilly the retaining screw, etc was still there.

 

Good news - 1 minute fix, check the other side screw for tightness and she is running very well at the moment.

 

Not Bachmann or Hattons fault - my ham fistidness, Modern model locos are like modern cars - the electronics are too damm complicated for me !!

 

Brit15

[Lochinvar]

Mine arrived today,too. The only problems identified so far have been:

 

(a) the length of the sand-pipes (which I've have had to trim back to prevent trailing along the railhead)

 

(B) the drawbar,which doesn't engage with the pin on the tender. (As recommended earlier,that should be cured by some judicious drawbar bending)

 

© jerky running at slow speed,even after 2hrs running on the test-track. It looks as if the CVs might need tweaking and/or the capacitors snipped.

 

But all in all,well satisfied with my £56 investment. (Hattons are still saying that they have "more than 10 " in stock,btw).

 

As for re-naming,it will become "Rodney" - so that really was a Freudian slip in my initial posting!

 

DR

 

 

DR

[northendboy]

I decided that I couldn't resist either, and Drake arrived today. Mine runs a little Jerkily as weel, and would appreciate anybody's definitive CV settings, as nothing that I do seems to work.

[farren]

Andy,

Great stuff!

Here is where I've got to after much pairing and filing -

 

 

And now for the gluing -

 

 

Alan

i like how you have decided to build a long fire box jubilee i had a idea about doing the same thing a couple of years back but was put of when i was told about the smoke box saddle was different to the short version along with the bogie being 3 inch shorter and the frames where different under the foot plate and was wondering how you plan to get round this if indeed you are. i look forward to you finishing the convert which from the pics looks likely to be a fine model when completed and as made me rethink about following you idea as £56 for a jubilee is very good deal and am sure the Mr's would not notice another one

[benachie]

farren,

Thank you.

1. As far as I can see, all post-war Jubilees had smoke box saddles in the "Drake" style.

2. I'm quite happy to ignore the 1mm difference in the bogie wheelbase - I'm not even sure which length Bachmann have gone with.

3. I don't think the frame difference is visible. The old Mainline/Bachmann coupled wheelbase was wrong which is one reason you can't just stick an old body on the new chassis.

 

I have encountered a few minor problems besides the extensive fettling needed to get the revised boiler/firebox to marry up with the footplate e.g. the handrail knobs on the grafted-in firebox need to be realigned slightly downwards which then shows up the grossly over-reprsented horizontal join on the firebox just above the handrail.

The conversion is awaiting painting. In the meantime, I am working on another SFB to LFB in a slightly different way. The piece that was cut out of "Drake" can be slotted in to another "Drake", replacing the section ahead of the middle firebox band. This makes everything much easier to line up since the cross sections now match, at the expense of having to re-do the washout plugs and add mudhole covers. We shall see!

Alan

 

 

.

[Removed a/c]

Just received mine yesterday. What a smart little loco, my first steam engine and I am very pleased with it. Seemed a bit jerky at first and the tender kept uncoupling but I just pushed the bar up ever so slightly and that cured the problem. After about a hours running in each way the jerkiness seems to have disappeared also.

 

 

[5 C]

farren,

 

Bachmann have gone with the 6'6" wheelbase bogie. Using the excellent Wild Swan "LMS Jubilees" by Essery and Toms as reference it states that "The 'Patriot' wheelbase and the centrally-pivoted 6ft 3in wheelbase 'Patriot' bogie were utilised on Nos. 5552-6 and 5607-54, the first 53 Stanier 4-6-0s built at Crewe."

 

Jubilees are something of a minefield when it comes to their various combinations of wheelbases, bogies, boilers, fireboxes, domes, top feeds, tenders etc. etc. which is what makes them so interesting as a class for the detailer. I shan't say how many variants I intend to produce, but Hattons have done rather well out of me recently! As always, a reference book such as the above (others are available) and a prototype photograph are essential if intending to reproduce a specific loco at a specific time.

 

In terms of the smokebox saddle, yes there were two types but as Benachie says they were all eventually replaced by the later type. On the Bachmann model, the saddle is a separate casting to the running plate casting and is held in place by an easily removed screw (possibly intended to produce an early saddle variant?). Subject to finding a suitable drawing, I intend to produce at least one example with a representation of this early saddle. Plasticard is probably the extent of my skills but maybe there's an opportunity for one of the detailing companies to produce an etch or casting which could be dropped in?

 

Andy

[benachie]

Just to clarify my post #46, here are the bits

 

 

and placed together

 

 

Of course, if you don't have the piece out of "Drake" from fitting a donor LFB, then you could possibly just move the appropriate section 3mm or so forward and fill in the gap at the firebox somehow(!). (Should be 1ft = 4mm but 3mm seems to fit better with the Bachmann moulding.)

Alan

[Guest dubdee1000]

I decided that I couldn't resist either, and Drake arrived today. Mine runs a little Jerkily as weel, and would appreciate anybody's definitive CV settings, as nothing that I do seems to work.

 

cv 54 = 9 and cv 55 = 60 cured the jerky slow speed running in mine