Bachmann 009 Quarry Hunslet

[Roy Langridge]

1 hour ago, nightstar.train said:

 

Either a rolling road or get a circle or oval of track. Most 009 locos will happily do 9 inch radius curves, so a circle of track (18 inches wide) can easily be setup on the kitchen table. 

My 009 layout isn’t a roundy-roundy so as per nightstar’s suggestion, I have a running in track that I set up using Kato N Gauge Unitrack - perfect for the job. 
 

Roy

[No Decorum]

17 hours ago, Rob K said:

Hmmm!

I’ve got two of these on order, with DCC chips to be fitted, hopefully arriving next week.

They are part of my first return to modelling after about 30 years( indeed they are the reason I decided to get back into it )

I may not have anything to run them on for a while and even then it will just be a short straight.

Whatdo you think I should do about the locos, when they come ?

I run mine on an oval of Kato N gauge track. It’s very easy to set up and put away. The track base is solid, which protects the models from carpet. The sleepers are out of scale, of course, but it’s great to get them running.

[Rob K]

16 minutes ago, No Decorum said:

I run mine on an oval of Kato N gauge track. It’s very easy to set up and put away. The track base is solid, which protects the models from carpet. The sleepers are out of scale, of course, but it’s great to get them running.

Thanks for the tip

I've just reserved an 009set track pack from my local model shop and will pick it up next week. I also spoke to the shop I've ordered the locos and they say they will run them in and test them

It never occurred to me that the locos might not run perfectly

Rob

[Edge]

+1 on the Kato unitrack - it’s what I run my 009 stuff on and it’s perfect for the job 

[didcot]

Got my replacement Alice last week. Ran it dc for 30 minutes in both directions and it was lovely. 

DCC fitted it this morning and continued to run it on its own. All fine and dandy. Then it stopped. Constant nudging, would only turn half a wheel and stopped. Would go forwards, not backwards. You can imagine what was going through my mind. The track was clean. The wheels looked OK, but in desperation I gave them a gentle wipe with a cotton bud with a small amount of meths. What a difference! It's running beautifully. So fingers crossed it stays that way.

[happyChappy]

Reading about running issues in this thread made me very cautious in purchasing a quarry Hunslet. At the shop the first example tested was poor -  needing a finger prod to start off and then only running at high speed. A second example seemed better so it was this one I selected. Further testing and running-in on a rolling road at home revealed a pronounced rear wheel wobble, a tight spot in the mechanism so it would not run at scale speeds and a tendency to need a finger prod to start off when changing direction. I'll never be happy with it so back it goes for a refund.

 

Such a disappointment compared to the Baldwins which are such smooth performers despite their very intricate valve gear.

[LNERandBR]

I would say the Hunslets are more delicate to assemble. The Baldwin's being inside frames and having no fly cranks.

 

My pesonal experience has been for any running issues to dissapear with running in. Indeed I have a Linda which ran fine light but had a slight tight spot under load after running in. Running with a load saw this slowly dissapear and all my Hunslets, both quarry and mainline, are now completely fine.

 

They are always going to need more wheel cleaning and pickup maintenance. They rely on just 4 wheels over a short wheelbase to collect power. 

[didcot]

Alice was the first loco I have ever had to send back. Which must be some kind of record.

I've also got Charles and Linda with a tender. 

I had, back in the day, white metal kits for Charles, Prince, Quarry Hunslets, Talyllyn locos and Double Fairlies. None are up to the current rtr standards and try as I might wouldn't run that well either. 

So I am grateful for the new rtr locos. Yes some have had to be returned. But I wonder what percentage have gone back. Are we seeing a small snapshot here?

[Quarryscapes]

Oops. 

 

(apologies for poor quality phone shots, I left the proper camera at home as I hadn't intended on doing any Hunslet surgery this evening)

[Quarryscapes]

For those curious about the disassembly above:

 

Remove the chassis (4 screws). Below (or rather above) that you'll see 2 screws in the firebox, one in the smokebox and one between smokebox and tank. Tank and firebox are one piece casting. Remove all the screws. Cab is glued in to footplate, I'd already loosened it by wiggling and now with the firebox loose it finally gave way and popped off. The cab front clips into the side of the firebox/tank casting and needed some persuasion to come out. Smokebox can be separated from tank/firebox easily. Chimney is brass turning and a tight fit in the smokebox - it will come out if you're brave enough and believe that it will! The coal bunker is separate from the cab. The cab sits in recesses in the footplate top, so isnt really interchangeable with the cabless models so far. Interestingly I noticed that my Alice model has a hole in the footplate casting for the separate brake handle which Britomart doesn't. 

 

Anyway- the above mess is destined to become Wild Aster, once a new cab, steam turret, chimney and dumb buffers have been 3D printed. 

Edited January 16, 2023 by Quarryscapes

[big jim]

Thought I’d add this here….

 

here’s a picture of me in about 1993 at Boston lodge during the first steaming of Alice after the new boiler was fitted, for those who don’t know Alice was owned by my dad and restored in the garage by our house near Bala before being moved it Boston lodge for final commissioning etc before moving to Leighton buzzard

 

 note she hasn’t got any rods fitted so wasn’t going anywhere but this was a key moment for my dad in its restoration and it wasn’t long before she was able to move under her own steam

 

 

Thought it might be of interest (and to see I was actually quite a slim jim back then! 
 

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by big jim

[didcot]

I was only reading about the restoration online the other day. Must have been exciting times.

[Quarryscapes]

More crummy phone pics but shows work in porgress on getting the new cab created. It's very hard to accurately measure the one that came off accurately, so it's going to take a few iterations. As a first draft, this is not bad at all. 

 

I also shortened the chimney in the Unimat, held the original spigot in a collet, put a live centre in the top to keep it straight and used a parting tool to cut the new spigot, then chopped the excess off with a dremel. 

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Quarryscapes

[Rob K]

I heard today that my two have had the chips fitted and have been run in successfully. 

[Roy Langridge]

46 minutes ago, Rob K said:

I heard today that my two have had the chips fitted and have been run in successfully. 

Do you know what chip has been used? I am struggling to get anything small enough. 
 

Thanks,

 

Roy

[NHY 581]

The decoder needed is this; 

 

It's a Zimo decoder. 

 

https://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/72404/36-571-Bachmann-6-Pin-Micro-DCC-Loco-Decoder

 

 

However, they seem to be in extremely short supply. 

 

Rob. 

[Roy Langridge]

1 minute ago, NHY 581 said:

The decoder needed is this; 

 

It's a Zimo decoder. 

 

https://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/72404/36-571-Bachmann-6-Pin-Micro-DCC-Loco-Decoder

 

 

However, they seem to be in extremely short supply. 

 

Rob. 

Yep, that is the one that I have been try to find. None seem to be available anywhere 😐

 

Roy

[NHY 581]

As an update on my own quarry Humslet, Nesta, I was originally looking to return to Bachmann. 

I decided against this and have instead returned it to the retailer where it was exchanged for a different loco. 

 

Sadly, it looks that my momentary dabble with 009 will remain just that. 

 

 

Rob. 

[No Decorum]

24 minutes ago, NHY 581 said:

As an update on my own quarry Humslet, Nesta, I was originally looking to return to Bachmann. 

I decided against this and have instead returned it to the retailer where it was exchanged for a different loco. 

 

Sadly, it looks that my momentary dabble with 009 will remain just that. 

 

 

Rob. 

Both the Quarry and Mainline Hunslets seem to be troublesome. My Alice went back to Bachmann via the retailer and hasn’t reappeared yet. Heljan’s attempts were dreadful. Don’t be put off 009, though. Bachmann’s other models are a joy – especially the Fairlies.

[NHY 581]

1 minute ago, No Decorum said:

Both the Quarry and Mainline Hunslets seem to be troublesome. My Alice went back to Bachmann via the retailer and hasn’t reappeared yet. Heljan’s attempts were dreadful. Don’t be put off 009, though. Bachmann’s other models are a joy – especially the Fairlies.

 

I'm actually not that committed to 009. However I'd always fancied the quarry Hunslet from when it was announced. Sadly, in my case, the wait wasn't worth it as the running didn't match it's undeniably good looks.

 

 No, I'll stick to standard gauge projects from now on.

 

Rob. 

 

[nightstar.train]

19 hours ago, Roy Langridge said:

Yep, that is the one that I have been try to find. None seem to be available anywhere 😐

 

Roy

I think it’s a knock on effect of the world wide chip shortage. I was trying to buy some DCC decoders over the weekend, and they all seem to be in short supply. Tried loads of different stores and most were out of stock of Zimo and Lenz. Ended up with Rails Connect decoders so we’ll see how they go. They’re keenly priced so hopefully they’ll make a good standard decoder for most of my fleet. 

[didcot]

I did manage to get a decoder from Derails last week.

[Rob K]

On 28/01/2023 at 20:31, Roy Langridge said:

Do you know what chip has been used? I am struggling to get anything small enough. 
 

Thanks,

 

Roy

Sorry . No. I’ve ordered them from the model shop in Droitwich ( MPB ??)

I am sure they will tell you.

This is my first time back and first time with DCC and I am really in the dark!

[didcot]

Have quick search for Bachmann 6 pin micro decoder. If you read the description it will say for quarry hunslets etc. Part number is 36-571 I believe. 

[Roy Langridge]

On 30/01/2023 at 14:33, didcot said:

Have quick search for Bachmann 6 pin micro decoder. If you read the description it will say for quarry hunslets etc. Part number is 36-571 I believe. 

Yes, I was aware if that, but as they are as rare as the proverbial rocking horse poo, I wondered if an alternative was being used. 
 

Roy