OO gauge J94 Austerity Tank locomotive

[streak7]

Well the loco is now working!

I followed Dave's guide to disassembly and after a struggle I got it apart.

Mechanically it was fine but smoke appeared from a small square component on the DCC blanking plug when I applied power.

Les1952 had already told me that this plug could be the issue so I temporarily removed it from the loco and soldered the motor leads to the pickup wires and it worked.

Black from the pickups needs to go to red from the motor and vice versa otherwise it runs the wrong way but it is now sorted.

Thanks to you all for the assistance and hopefully this may help someone else.

 

Mark

 

PS the small size of the motor is amazing

[rope runner]

Has anyone else had repainted theirs yet? Apologies for the poor quality photo.  

 

 

I've changed the hand rail knobs and wire for the Gibson alternatives. It also has the previously mentioned Rtmodels injectors.

Other detailing parts are from Lanarkshire modelling supplies, Narrow Planet, Ambis and Roxey.  

 

My chosen prototype is HE3850/58 JUNO. 

 

Paul A. 

[Rising Standards]

I've had my Wilbert apart tonight, and wanted to share my findings in case they're of benefit to anyone.

 

Its performance upon arrival, was, it had to be said, not in line with other reports of this model's excellent performance. On DC it was very lumpy at low speed, seeming to have several tight spots which could be seen at roughly 120 degree intervals of each wheel rotation, and there was a distinct cogging effect. The suggestion of fitting a DCC decoder to improve matters only made a small difference to these issues. At higher speeds it wasn't so bad anyway, but the top speed seemed relatively slow and the loco was also quite noisy (though fortunately still not to the extent of the Hornby version's racket!). The most problematic thing though was that the loco was exhibiting the kind of effect you get with a loco with wiper pickups that don't always make contact with the back of the wheels; it stops, you nudge it sideways and off it goes again.

 

I thought about sending it back, but I returned the first I had to Owen Hayward due to it arriving with the tank front handrail missing and wasn't keen to trouble him with a second replacement, so off came the body. The number of screws and their positions are well thought out, though the amount of force required to twist the cab's tabs past wherever they locate against makes removing it a fairly terrifying experience! Curiously enough without the body the performance was fine; nice and smooth, quieter, and capable of reaching the kind of speed that would give the crew on a real Austerity a pretty uncomfortable ride.

 

The cab fits over the top of a curved lug on the end of the saddle tank, so when you secure the cab down it locks the tank down. The top of the saddle tank fits onto a lower section representing the underside and bottom half of the boiler, on top of which is a bracket that secures the motor (which is perched on top of the split chassis itself) in place. It turns out that the tightness of this bracket is crucial to how the loco runs. By just putting the tank on without the cab and pressing down gently as the loco moved, I was able to establish that the issues stemmed from the pressure exerted by the tank and cab when fitted being transmitted to the motor via the retention bracket, so it was meshing too tightly. By easing off the screws on the bracket I was able to get it to run sweetly even when pressing down again. It's back in one piece now and has only trundled backwards and forwards a bit on a short length of track, but its performance appears to be completely transformed now and matches its looks. Now I just need to work out how to set up a sound decoder to get the chuffs synchronised.

[JSpencer]

I've had my Wilbert apart tonight, and wanted to share my findings in case they're of benefit to anyone.

 

Its performance upon arrival, was, it had to be said, not in line with other reports of this model's excellent performance. On DC it was very lumpy at low speed, seeming to have several tight spots which could be seen at roughly 120 degree intervals of each wheel rotation, and there was a distinct cogging effect. The suggestion of fitting a DCC decoder to improve matters only made a small difference to these issues.

 

.

 

Thanks for the insights. The only thing I would say is this. I do not know who suggested adding a DCC decoder to smooth out running however rule number 1 of DCC control is "Make sure your loco runs perfectly ok before fitting a chip."

 

There are people who tried to fix a bad runner with a chip only to find that they finished by burning out the chip as well!

 

If any of my chipped locos develop an issue, the chip always comes out first. It quickly takes one element out of the equation to finding and fixing the problem.

[No Decorum]

Thanks for the insights. The only thing I would say is this. I do not know who suggested adding a DCC decoder to smooth out running however rule number 1 of DCC control is "Make sure your loco runs perfectly ok before fitting a chip."

 

There are people who tried to fix a bad runner with a chip only to find that they finished by burning out the chip as well!

 

If any of my chipped locos develop an issue, the chip always comes out first. It quickly takes one element out of the equation to finding and fixing the problem.

Guilty. My reasoning was that if the locomotive is incompatible with a controller, fitting a decoder could make it compatible. If the decoder burns out, I shall mention it.

[Les1952]

Thanks for the insights. The only thing I would say is this. I do not know who suggested adding a DCC decoder to smooth out running however rule number 1 of DCC control is "Make sure your loco runs perfectly ok before fitting a chip."

 

There are people who tried to fix a bad runner with a chip only to find that they finished by burning out the chip as well!

 

If any of my chipped locos develop an issue, the chip always comes out first. It quickly takes one element out of the equation to finding and fixing the problem.

 

Oddly enough, when the fault is smoke coming from a blanking plug, fitting a decoder is the cure  (as in our club chairmaan's one).

 

Diagnosis of the faulty plug did include putting the plug into one of my good J94s and watching the smoke......

 

Les

[JSpencer]

Oddly enough, when the fault is smoke coming from a blanking plug, fitting a decoder is the cure  (as in our club chairmaan's one).

 

Diagnosis of the faulty plug did include putting the plug into one of my good J94s and watching the smoke......

 

Les

 

A new kind of smoke generator you have. Free exclusive with your model it be.

[Rising Standards]

Yes, in hindsight risking a decoder was not one of my better decisions. It came about from a mixture of my lazy, late night desire for a quick fix (it seemed much easier to remove the smokebox door and plug in a decoder than remove the body) and the recent discussion over the motor's suitability for DC control, which I probably shouldn't have doubted my Gaugemaster E for anyway. Fortunately I think I got away with it this time!

[SDJR7F88]

A quick sound edit, featuring the all new RMweb Exclusive - Limited Edition DJModels Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST, in dazzling NCB Yellow Livery.

Here we see see No.65 Storming past, with a rake of 14 mixed Mineral Wagons, plus Toad Brake Van.

The sound used is from WPR Austerity 0-6-0ST, No.15 'Earl David', hauling a mixed goods train during the Avon Valley Railway 'End of Season Gala' 2014.

Hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-ivXsO_CSU

 

[Gilloverland]

Any news on when the rest of these are likely to arrive?