Philip Jackson Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 Hi all. Is the Hornby railroad class 47 chassis suitable to fit a Lima body shell to? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tim123 Posted December 6, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 6, 2021 Yes, though I think you may need to make a slight alteration to the glazing - been a while since I did mine. Just remember to pull the buffers out before unclipping the body. 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted December 6, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 6, 2021 The Lima glazing does foul the bigger Hornby motor bogie, but, when I did mine, I just swapped the glazing over between the two bodies. It just unclipped. The body from the mega-discounted ex-train pack Hornby "Blue Pullman" loco then went onto the Lima chassis for eventual disposal. John 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatloaf Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 Yes fits fine. Glazing may need altering but may depend on the bodyshell being used. I had to alter it on a green lima body but on a blue one it was fine. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffnut Thorston Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 We have fitted the Hornby TTS fitted chassis from both Class 47 and Class 37 locos to the Lima 47 and 37 bodies with no real problems. Our slightly modified Lima 47 body on the Hornby TTS fitted chassis… 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold adb968008 Posted December 7, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 7, 2021 (edited) Ive fitted c20 chassis to Lima 47’s. Its a straight swap. Its easier to cut out the engine room glazing and glue it to the body. A cheaper route to it, is buy a class 66 motor bogie. (c£12 from Lendons of Cardiff), remove the 66 bogie, cut the 47 bogie to fit, and build a cradle/arch over the frame with a 5mm hole in the centre and push fit it the motor, re-solder the wires and job done. You’ll even get c£15 for the old Lima motor on ebay and a couple of quid for the 66 bogie frame. Edited December 7, 2021 by adb968008 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted December 7, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 7, 2021 (edited) I'd agree cutting the glazing is no more difficult, but swapping the glazing units meant the loco made up from the leftovers was "complete", which improved my chances of being able to sell it on. John Edited December 7, 2021 by Dunsignalling 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scouse889 Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 2 hours ago, Dunsignalling said: I'd agree cutting the glazing is no more difficult, but swapping the glazing units meant the loco made up from the leftovers was "complete", which improved my chances of being able to sell it on. Agreed. I too have quite a large fleet of 47s comprising Lima bodies sitting on a Hornby Railroad chassis. It is easy enough to take the glazing out of both bodies and swap them around (as others have commented, the Hornby version is slightly modified from the Lima original, and has a cut-out section to fit round the modified motor bogie casing on the underframe). I remember when a Sheffield-based supplier was selling off brand new, sound-removed R3393 Railfreight Distribution locos for £35-40 each and I bought a load and upgraded my Lima locos. I then sold most of the Lima chassis for around £30 and the bodyshells for about £15, so it really didn't cost me anything. Those were the days!! I also replaced the traction-tyre fitted wheels on these locos with non-tyre fitted wheels to genuinely give all 12 wheel pick up, and although you do get a reduction in haulage capacity they can still handle reasonably long trains. Admittedly I don't have any gradients at all on my layout (and I can see even a slight gradient being a problem), but I have mine handling a Hornby Mk2E/F cross country rake and a Hornby sleeper rake (4 Mk3 sleepers + 3 Mk2e's), for instance, with no issues. I also have a 12 wagon Bachmann VDA train with the ballast weights removed that these locos can pull without wheel slip, so there is definitely enough scope. Performance far better than the Lima original too - smoother and quieter. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scouse889 Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 Happened to be looking for other things - second hand 47 for £50, not a bad price if you only want it for the chassis and are not bothered what bodyshell it has... https://clarkrailworks.com/collections/oo-gauge/products/Hornby-oo-r3758-ews-class-47-prince-henry-no-47800 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railroadbill Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 (edited) 14 hours ago, adb968008 said: Ive fitted c20 chassis to Lima 47’s. Its a straight swap. Its easier to cut out the engine room glazing and glue it to the body. A cheaper route to it, is buy a class 66 motor bogie. (c£12 from Lendons of Cardiff), remove the 66 bogie, cut the 47 bogie to fit, and build a cradle/arch over the frame with a 5mm hole in the centre and push fit it the motor, re-solder the wires and job done. You’ll even get c£15 for the old Lima motor on ebay and a couple of quid for the 66 bogie frame. I've just got a couple of 66 motor bogies, also from Lendons of Cardiff, with class 37 frames. The motor bogie clips out of the 66 frame and clips straight into the 37 frame. My plan is to fit it into a vintage but detailed long ago Hornby 37, replacing the ringfield motor unit which of course has incorrect class 47 frames. I suspect all the co co Railroad power bogies are actually the same. The next project will be to fit another 66 power unit with 37 frame to a GBL Deltic body, as the 37 and Deltic bogies are similar. Also got 37 trailing bogie frames from Lendons which were nice and cheap. (They also have bo bo power bogies, I got a 121 framed one for a Lima dmu). Good point able just making a plasticard arch to mount the bogie, I was thinking about getting a railroad 37 chassis frame, but not actually necessary to do that. Edited December 7, 2021 by railroadbill 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold adb968008 Posted December 7, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 7, 2021 (edited) 10 minutes ago, railroadbill said: I've just got a couple of 66 motor bogies, also from Lendons of Cardiff, with class 37 frames. The motor bogie clips out of the 66 frame and clips straight into the 37 frame. My plan is to fit it into a vintage but detailed long ago Hornby 37, replacing the ringfield motor unit which of course has incorrect class 47 frames. I suspect all the co co Railroad power bogies are actually the same. The next project will be to fit another 66 power unit with 37 frame to a GBL Deltic body, as the 37 and Deltic bogies are similar. Also got 37 trailing bogie frames from Lendons which were nice and cheap. (They also have bo bo power bogies, I got a 121 framed one for a Lima dmu). Yes they are the same, you can unclip / swap between Hornby railroad co-cos (55 excepted), though I was being really cheap and re- using the Lima bogie :-) I did avail to new dummy bogie wheels too, to replace Limas deep flange brass wheels, which collect dirt.. they are a straight swap. i keep hoping for Class 153 / 156 bogies, with frame as I have eyes on doing a 507 and a 315, but they seem perpetually out of stock, though I may end up using a second hand 156 / 466 (R2001 seems a bad one that might be useful for spares) or even an old version Bachmann 158 as I need interiors and enough dummy bogies for a 3/4 car set. Edited December 7, 2021 by adb968008 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railroadbill Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 These are a good price, I did think of repowering a Lima 47, and this may well fit a Lima 40, however both those locos actually run well with the Lima motor. The bo bo one seems to be common to 121, 73 and perhaps the railroad HST that came out not so long ago. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold adb968008 Posted December 7, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 7, 2021 (edited) 4 minutes ago, railroadbill said: The bo bo one seems to be common to 121, 73 and perhaps the railroad HST that came out not so long ago. Pretty certain its used on the 2bil and and 5bel as well. I dont know the 40 (i went to Bachmann), but originally the 40 was designed to use the class 20 motor and gearbox, but ultimately came out with a pod, if you look at the dummy bogie you can see that legacy. Edited December 7, 2021 by adb968008 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railroadbill Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 (edited) Sounds likely. What the effective life of these (seems a sealed unit) is compared to the old Hornby and Lima ringfield ones remains to be seen. I'm guessing that the railroad deltic power bogie must have the same dimensions as the old under scale Lima one. Just thinking it might fit under an Electrotren MZ diesel I've got (that's an obscure model, but has an awful power unit, but the dimensions probably the same. The Lima version of the MZ (Ho) has a bogie the same size as the underscale (oo) Deltic). Lot of swapping around here.... Edited December 7, 2021 by railroadbill 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold adb968008 Posted December 7, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 7, 2021 (edited) 1 minute ago, railroadbill said: Sounds likely. What the effective life of these (seems a sealed unit) is compared to the old Hornby and Lima ringfield ones remains to be seen. I'm guessing that the railroad deltic power bogie must have the same dimensions as the old under scale Lima one. Just thinking it might fit under an Electrotren MZ diesel I've got (that's an obscure model, but has an awful power unit). Lot of swapping around here.... You can buy the motors that go inside these units too. They can be opened, but theres not much difference in price. Edited December 7, 2021 by adb968008 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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