DJ Models - J94 Update

[JSpencer]

Although it's not a perfect bit of video, there is a clip I took on my web site under maintenance of the removal of the smokebox door.

You gently slide it sideways not pull out and off the front as there are clearance problems.

It's tight skiding it, but much easier.

Hope this helps?

Cheers

Dave

Thanks Dave,

 

I will be doing a bit more Royal Engineer than just sound and crew, like adding working lamps too.

 

On Wilbert the upper body comes away easy enough, so there is space for adding other DCC features. But the ejector exhaust is a blocking point for Royal Engineer. I am not sure if it glued in or clipped in.

I don,t want to pull it too hard in case I rip the entire part off.

You advice on how this part is held on would be welcome.

 

Rgds John

[JSpencer]

Ok, got the body apart on Royal Engineer. The cab floor was glued to the cab side which made that area a bit hard to get apart. In the end I prised the floor off with a scalpel.

The ejector exhaust was cut from the smoke box saddle also with a scalpel.

 

Here are two pics showing her stripped down. Plenty of open real estate in the upper body so extra weight will go there.

 

 

.

 

[Brian Hawkins]

Kernow Model Centre has just posted on their Facebook page that the latest batch of DJM J94's should arrive by the end of the week.

[JSpencer]

Ok started the DCC sound conversion.

 

I have seen others posting videos once converted, but reading the youchoos conversion of the 14XX plus my own previous experience with the Well tank which was quite muffled (that I converted back to plain DC), I decided that adding a few holes for sound to escape was best.

 

Here you can see I have drilled holes in the bottom of the boiler

 

Looking from the side of the loco, these are not visible

 

Sugar cube speaker and chip fitted, ok the chip looks a mess here but before tidying up the wires, I will add a head lamp, this will by situated on the top lamp iron for 2 reasons, the first being the easiest spot to pass wires, the second being most pictures of military locos seem to show the lamp here, though normally some military round electrical lamp rather than the oil lamp I will use.

 

A slightly tidier photo showing the advantage of adding sound with the body apart. Note the sugar cube is upside down and wedged into the smokebox housing.

 

More to follow as I progress.

Edited March 7, 2017 by JSpencer

[Les1952]

Oddly enough, my four sound fitted locos (all done by Jeremy at Digitrains)  all had the chip, stay-alive and speaker inserted through the smokebox door, leaving the speaker in the smokebox producing sound from the same area as it is in the real thing......

 

Les

[Oliver Rails]

The latest models are now in stock:

 

 

DJMOOJ94-002

 

 

DJMOOJ94-003

 

 

DJMOOJ94-004

 

 

DJMOOJ94-005

 

 

ALL CURRENTLY IN STOCK AND £81.50 EACH

https://railsofsheffield.com/manufacturer/JJP0-JJM23-JJS1-JJC2.aspx#skip_to_list

[Garethp8873]

Looking forward to both LNER examples from you Rails

Edited March 11, 2017 by Garethp8873

[railroadbill]

 

 

 

Here's my LNER J94. I've run it for about an hour so far in both  directions.  Ran perfectly straight out of the box, perhaps a little gear noise that has now gone. I lubricated the loco according to Dave's instructions.

 

The finish is very good.  I'm particularly impressed with the wheels and the cab detail, and the fine handrails.  Really looks the part when running.  Apart from some real coal in the bunker and crew I think it will be left as it is.

Also good box and foam packaging, (like the BWT).

 

 

Worth waiting for. Thanks, Dave.

 

I'll be back up in the loft after lunch to see it running again...

[railroadbill]

Here's a video of the J94 hauling 17 wagons. Part of my 3 link coupling train. This is on flat track. More than it will normally pull on the layout, so that's fine.

 

 

 

Here it is running slowly light engine.

 

 

 

Good loco imho.

Edited March 11, 2017 by railroadbill

[Oliver Rails]

 

A short video showcasing the new OO Gauge Class J94 Tank Locomotives from DJ Models. Four versions currently in stock and selling fast!

 

https://www.railsofsheffield.com/manufacturer/JJP0-JJM23-JJS1-JJC2.aspx#skip_to_list

[JSpencer]

Royal Engineer progress up date.

 

Extra weights (tungsten carbide) cut and fitted to each side of the motor.

 

.

[railroadbill]

Tungsten carbide?  How easy is that to cut? 

Plenty of room in the J94 due to the small diameter motor.  I've got some lead strips I've used for weights before but the J94 pulls enough wagons on my layout (which is pretty flat)  so don't think I'd need to do this. Your solution looks pretty neat imho.

 

Your loco crew look somehow familiar, sure I've seen them on my layout...   :-)

[JSpencer]

Tungsten carbide?  How easy is that to cut? 

Plenty of room in the J94 due to the small diameter motor.  I've got some lead strips I've used for weights before but the J94 pulls enough wagons on my layout (which is pretty flat)  so don't think I'd need to do this. Your solution looks pretty neat imho.

 

Your loco crew look somehow familiar, sure I've seen them on my layout...   :-)

I had to use a grinder ;-)

[JSpencer]

Tungsten carbide is cut with green git wheels & or for a good finish a industrial diamond wheel.  Your average domestic hand/angel grinder wont cope with cutting Tungsten Carbide.

Believe me it was not a hand grinder I used. Something much bigger and more solid.

[JSpencer]

White metal crew added, working head lamp fitted. We are nearly there. Starting to feel the weight of the model.

 

 

 

Edited March 17, 2017 by JSpencer

[JSpencer]

Back together now for a weight test:

 

The unmodified Wilbert at 140 grams

 

The USA tank at 190 grams

 

The modified Royal Engineer at 190 grams

 

Still a few minor details to be done on Royal Enginner but she is starting to look grand.

[Les1952]

Interesting.

 

My sound fitted Peckfield loco weighs in at 159 grammes.  The Yellow Peril has a different speaker so I was able to push the DCC gubbins backward carefully and add a roll of window frame lead to the smokebox bringing the weight up to 167 grammes.  Not  quite the 190 you have managed but the extra weight in the smokebox has helped with one dodgy turnout on No Place.

 

140 grammes for Wilbert seems a little light.  You haven't been filling the boiler with helium by any chance?

 

Les

[JSpencer]

It gave me 110 grams for a Sentinel, which the magazines state is 118.

 

The scales used is normally for weighing babies and I think it rounds down figures to the nearest 10 automatically.

[tomparryharry]

 Your average domestic hand/angel grinder wont cope with cutting Tungsten Carbide.

 

Sorry! I've only just noticed this....

 

Angel Grinder? 'Tis the devils work!

 

Ian

[JSpencer]

Royal Engineer complete.

 

 

[Thebigshot]

Hi

 

I like the J94 and would love to own the 2 that are resident at Bo'ness number 19 and 68007 at some point

 

Thanks

Alan

[Torn-on-the-platform]

Whilst I have thanked Dave directly, I thought it would be nice to thank him more publicly as well:

 

After a few happy hours running over 4 or 5 sessions, I took Wilbert to my club (Rusper), where it quickly gave up the ghost. Upon returning home, it was not working on my own layout but was still drawing power, so I emailed Dave, who was able to hypothesise a diagnosis from my description of events. The problem was resolved by replacing the blanking plug which was pleasingly easy to do. The engine then ran faultlessly.

 

Excellent service from Dave to send the spare plugs so quickly. It has taken me far longer to source spare parts from the 'big two' manufacturers.

 

On the weight issue, I found that my rejuvenated Wilbert was just about comfortable at the head of a 5 coach Maunsell set. Hardly a prototypical train for the class but it was the stock on the layout at the time! If I had plans for the loco to pull longer trains, I would certainly consider adding weight, but currently don't see the need.

[tomparryharry]

I've been waiting for the J94 models ever since they were announced. Was it worth it?

 

Well, yes it was worth the wait. I must admit to already owning 2 of the Hatton's commissions, Mech Navvies & No8, so I had a good idea what was coming. I'm a dyed in the wool Western person, so what am I doing with a North Eastern area locomotive? I originally wanted 68061 for my large shunting puzzle, but the layout has been packed away for a couple of years, as the house has taken priority.

 

What have we got, then? Well, we all know the standard of the box & packaging, which is very good. Mine also came with a thin tissue wrapping. a lot of quality boxed products from China come with a tissue wrapper nowadays, as it further protects the outer box from rubbing against it's travelling companions. With the lid off, the first thing to see is the 'please stop!' & business card. The business card is intriguing; it states that David Jones has examined & tested this particular locomotive. I find that a bit hard to believe. I can understand the desire to deliver a 100% 'right first time' product, but I can't imagine one man personally doing it all. If I'm wrong on this, then I'm sure DJ will put me right.

 

Nice foam insert, with the locomotive cocooned within. A cut out in the foam has a small bag, containing tension lock couplings, vacuum pipes, and an insert to resemble the valve gear. Underneath the insert is an A4 sheet, which when folded out, carries the instructions..

 

So, to the locomotive. First impressions are good. I'm directly drawn to the wheels. Like a Bulleid, these are very distinctive, and quite unlike the normal locomotive driving wheel. Full marks to DJ for getting the wheels to look good. In real life, austerities/J94's have 2 styles of driving wheel. The leading & trailing wheels are SiC A, The centre pair are SiC B. Although they look similar, they are quite different, and DJ have captured this well. Some of the later locomotives (Bagnall?) have more conventional locomotive wheels, but are outside this review. There's a very good level of detail on the model, even down to the drain cock linkage underneath the reversing shaft. Hinge bolts on the cab rear, as these cab lights hinge upward in real life. Not sure about that beading around the bunker top..... The rear shelf in the cab looks a bit narrow, but you'd need to wear my anorak to notice it fully. Tank balance pipe, along with the motion & main journal oil pots. Nice touches. Sprung buffers? Some people like them, others not. I don't mind either way, as the loco will eventually sport a set of Kadee 18's.  My particular model is pristine finish, so it will get dumbed down sometime. I've got my dark glasses on for the injectors & overflow pipes, wow, they're loud! All in all, DJ have managed to capture the image very well. 

 

Weight? a bit light, but I only expect it to haul a maximum of 24 wagons. If it can't manage that, then I'll add some extra lead. I'd guess there is a trade off somewhere to allow for sound, and a speaker.  I'm not on DCC, so all that room to spare.

 

How does it run? I've had my models on a H&M rolling road, with a Gaugemaster 'Combi' for control. After oiling the journals, off we went. The locomotive has a lot of sideplay, and was a bit notchy. After a while, the notchiness subsided, and the loco settled down. Reversing the loco, and it needed another 20 minutes to settle down. However, it runs a lot better now. The sideplay reminds me of the same characteristics of the Heljan D95xx class, which was all over the place.  I will try to install some e-clips on the leading & trailing axles, to counter the play. A bit more oil into the gears, and I'll give it another session on the rolling road.

 

Do I like it? Yes, I do. There's some fine detail on the model which is all too easy to overlook. Having worked on real life 18" austerities, the expectation to look for normal everyday detail is met quite well. There are some compromises, such as the holes in the bufferbeam, but I can get around most of it.

 

Worth the wait? Yes. Worth the cost? Yes again. Seeing as the current benchmark for any model of this quality is around £100, to come in below this is very good.

 

I'll try to get some photos up later on, with the locomotive on the rolling road.

 

Ian

Edited April 16, 2017 by tomparryharry

[Les1952]

If you read into Dave's posts somewhere-

 

ALL locos are checked personally by Dave- IN CHINA after completion and before boxing up.  I've not seen any update to say that has changed.

 

That still allows for faults to develop in transit.  Both ships and aircraft do transmit a good deal of vibration to their cargoes which can undo any bolt or screw that isn't fully tightened if it happens to be at the right frequency for long enough.  In addition boxes are not handled gently while being loaded and unloaded- and the word "fragile" on the outside sometimes guarantees a boot is used if nobody is looking.....

 

Les

Edited April 16, 2017 by Les1952

[tomparryharry]

If you read into Dave's posts somewhere-

 

ALL locos are checked personally by Dave- IN CHINA after completion and before boxing up.  I've not seen any update to say that has changed.

 

That still allows for faults to develop in transit.  Both ships and aircraft do transmit a good deal of vibration to their cargoes which can undo any bolt or screw that isn't fully tightened if it happens to be at the right frequency for long enough.  In addition boxes are not handled gently while being loaded and unloaded- and the word "fragile" on the outside sometimes guarantees a boot is used if nobody is looking.....

 

Les

Thanks Les,

 

I must have missed that somewhere....

 

Ian