Acro Bogies

[bertiedog]

Some older UK made Model railway items, some sets of LMS and GWR bogies from Arco, made in the 1950's and early 1960's. (From Ebay).

 

One piece die cast bogies, no brake shoes or tie rods, they had to be added by user, but fully sprung, with internal bearings.

 

They are superb runners, the wheels have a fine profile, and run absolutely true, and the other pair fitted to an Exley body run though the test track to perfection. They need a strip, added brake shoes, Sayer Chaplin cast coach brake shoes, and tie bars fitted, and a proper re-spray with an undercoat, which they do not have at the moment.

 

Surprisingly free running, no pin points here, plain internal bearings, but they are very smooth. Destined for some Exley GWR and LMS coaches under restoration at the moment.

 

 

 

Stephen.

[mossdp]

They do run well and were made in quite a variety of types. Are these Arco or Acro? There was also Nucro and Teaness who all seemed to be the same products. Maybe you know more and can give more details as would be interested to hear.

[bertiedog]

They do run well and were made in quite a variety of types. Are these Arco or Acro? There was also Nucro and Teaness who all seemed to be the same products. Maybe you know more and can give more details as would be interested to hear.

 

Yes Acro, and the makes were all the same, or connected. I'll go and get the boxes and the camera, fortunately they came boxed in original tissue etc. They were sometimes looked on as simple construction, but the joy was the one piece construction, true and accurate.

 

The failing was the brass spring sometimes not matching the outer frames, axles did not always line up, I guess from the range the factory picked out the wrong base to assemble sometimes, as I can't believe they went to all the trouble of a casting without matching the spring bearing plate.

 

The heavy Exley's and Hamblings coaches run very well on these, but they need the extras added like tie bars, cross brake bars, and brake shoes. Sayer Chaplin die cast coach shoes, later done by Hamblings appear designed to fit (or the other way round).

[bertiedog]

The original boxes for the Acro Teeaness Bogies.

Any body get a catalogue surviving?

Stephen.

[DCB]

I have just acquired some OO bogies with some 1950s plastic and badly warped  Coachcraft coaches, which may be Acro, it says the coaches have Acro bogies and an Acro leaflet was included in the box, and there are bogies included but the aren't at all like the ones above.

One set is in two halves probably white metal, which bolt together with 10BA (?) bolts, mine have i980s Hornby whte rim wheels.   The rest, 5 sets approx plus broken bits are Mazak and are in three pieces, two sides and a centre casting, where the two sides are held by a dowel or pin whch may have been a force fit or glued and sandwhiched between is a pivoting centre casting which lets the bogies tip fore and aft and also pivot.  Wheels are fine scale but all but 3 axles are 3 rail non insulated.   Just wondering if anyone has any ideas if these are Acro if not what are they.  Current plan as the coach bodies are beyond repair is, er,  well try to fit Jackson insulated wheels and use the 3 piece bogies  under some kit built bodies

 

Edited March 27, 2021 by DavidCBroad

[mossdp]

The one with the circular mounting that is not too heavy is probably Coachcracft. About the nicest part from these usually banana shaped coaches are the bogies. They are not too heavy. The one that is in two halves divided lengthways down the centre will be a Stewart Reidpath. Too heavy to be really useful.

 

Acro/Teaness/Nucro ones (all look the same thing) with their sprung metal plates tend to be too heavy to be used just like the Stewart Reidpath if you want to have a train of coaches with them unless you have a loco with a lot of power. I have seen somewhere, possibly on here,  where someone had cut out as much mass as possible out of Acro ones to reduce the weight to make them usable.