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Nu (Cast) Johnson 3F


AlfaZagato
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I'm an Anglophile living in the U.S.  Through an extended estate sale, I managed to scrounge a handful of locomotive and rolling stock kits.  Among them was a Nu-Cast MR Johnson 2F 0-6-0.  The kit seems easy enough, but I see no mention at all in the instructions on which motor was suitable for the kit.  This would be my first loco kit, and I know few personally who even attempt kits, so I don't know where to start.  

 

Directly, I ask in this thread what motor my Nu-Cast Johnson 2F kit needs.  Indirectly, though, I hope that others with similar questions would feel comfortable in bringing their queries here, and some enterprising gentlemen (or ladies, as the case may be,) can either answer directly, or send us in the right direction.

 

I've attached a picture of my progress, namely the chassis, if that helps anyone in answering my question.

post-18834-0-21352500-1386910602_thumb.jpg

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Really, the issue is less about which motor but which gears.

 

You might want to contact Branchlines (who trade from Westbury these days). They have massive experience in this field and some very useful data sheets with sizes of motor, recommended combinations, etc. EM Gauge Soc also has a lot of data sheets available to members with this sort of info.

 

For a 2F, you will want quite a small motor (which will rotate faster) and at least 60:1 gears (I would be tempted by 80:1 but finer gears are more difficult to mesh properly). From what I can see of the frames and body, you might want a two-stage gearbox mounted on the rear axle so as to leave the space below the boiler free.

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If you download a gearbox planner from the High Level Kits website, you can decide which gearbox suits you.

I would try and get a Mashima 1024 in the loco, which is quite powerful for its size.

A Road Runner Plus at 54:1 or Humpshunter at 60:1 would be suitable.

The Humpshunter gear needs to be fixed to the axle with Loctite, which make it a little less convenient that the Road Runner Plus which is fixed by a grubscrew.

The Loadhauler Compact would probably be too wide for the chassis, as would the Low Loader.

I would solder the screw-in spacers to to the sideframes to make a more rigid chassis.

Good building

Thane of Fife

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Similar download motor planner from Comet.

 

http://www.cometmodels.co.uk/data/PDF/Motor%20and%20gearbox%20overlay.pdf

 

You are lucky with this one as it is a later kit with separate side frames. Earlier Nucast kits came with a solid brass chassis that only took ex- Triang/Hornby style open frame motors and certain gears to fit in the narrow aperture.

 

Mike Wiltshire

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I'm pretty sure that, originally, that was from the K's range being acquired by Nu Cast later on. It has the traditional Keyser brass strip frames. Here's mine, modified to Belpaire firebox and with a modified cab style.

 

post-6861-0-49856000-1386936754.jpg

 

I'll have a look what I fitted mine with, though it will be an older Anchoridge D11 probably, with some form of etched gearbox. I do recall that there is little space in the boiler being both low and narrow.

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I would suggest you get the motor and gearbox combination selected following the suggestions above for a fit inside the external dimensions, before going much further with the loco body assembly. It is usually a lot easier 'excavating' the interior of the cast metal parts with a rotary tool to make necessary clearance of the mechanism parts this way.

 

There may be a really lazy option. Derby's 0-6-0 layout was standardised very early and then perpetuated to the end. As a result the mech. in the Bachmann Johnson 3F is right for general external appearance, and if the kit body is accurate for wheelbase (8'+8'6") then  the question becomes fit for height and width.

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If you download a gearbox planner from the High Level Kits website, you can decide which gearbox suits you.

I would try and get a Mashima 1024 in the loco, which is quite powerful for its size.

A Road Runner Plus at 54:1 or Humpshunter at 60:1 would be suitable.

The Humpshunter gear needs to be fixed to the axle with Loctite, which make it a little less convenient that the Road Runner Plus which is fixed by a grubscrew.

The Loadhauler Compact would probably be too wide for the chassis, as would the Low Loader.

I would solder the screw-in spacers to to the sideframes to make a more rigid chassis.

Good building

Thane of Fife

 

I agree, do go for a gearbox rather than a motor mount and the older coarser type Romford gears, you will have smoother and quieter running

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My mate was given one of these kits around 1979 - ish. He kept the motor, wheels and frames, but since he modelled NER he had no use for the body, so passed them on to me. I scratch built new mainframes (don't like the word chassis when referring to steam locos) used Romford wheels and initially a small K's motor. The wheels had to be 20mm to fit in the splashers. It ran reasonably well after a lot of tweeking. Within a few years I fitted Gibson wheels and used a DS10 motor and Branchlines 80/1 gearbox and it runs like a dream. I use wiper pickups on both engine and tender.

If I was building it now, I would use a Mashima motor and High Level Gears.

My layout is to EM gauge and I have tended to standardise on Mashima 2412 where possible for my kit/scratchbuild as being a powerful slow running motor (12000 revs/min) and choose the gearing to theoretically give the speed you require.

Here is a poor piccie. Good luck with your build.

Derek

post-6110-0-93156900-1387038483_thumb.jpg

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  • 6 years later...

I've finally revisited this project.    I picked up one of the N20 motors this...I think y'all say it 'parish'... have been adopting since Mashima went under.

20200706_200001.jpg.cb052ceaa415e9b5d4c49c8f6ac3b634.jpg

 

Looks like it should be an easy fit.    The gears I purchased were 3D printed items.   I think the axles I have here are outsized, though.   Even after rudimentary reaming with a 1/8" bit chucked in my power drill, the gear was uncomfortably tight.   I think I can get the motor angled nice and low, into the frames.    I think I'll try to solder some bits of the frame together at this point, too.   I feel more confident.

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  • AlfaZagato changed the title to Nu (Cast) Johnson 3F

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