RtR VBA Van to EM Conversion

[RobA2345]

Hi all.

I'm currently in the process of converting a Bachmann RtR VBA Van to EM Gauge. I went with the Bill Bedford sprung W-Irons, while might be a bit overkill for EM work better than the filing I attempted or even some 3D prints I designed so I'm now happy with the running. I now need to detail them and went with the Rumney Models as shown in the image. I guess a couple of questions.

Should I just apply the roller bearings or is it better to replace the leaf springs as well?

 

Also when it comes to fitting the bearings I guess I need to make sure that there is still movement for the sprung axles to work. There is a small hole at the back of the bearing but I'm not sure there is enough clearance along the y-axis to take full advantage of the springing if that makes sense, would you recommend easing the holes out a little?

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2021 by RobA2345
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[RobA2345]

Might as well post an update in case anyone wants to know what I did in case they come across the same quandary in the future.

I bore out the hole at he back of the bearing casting as much as I could so it would fit flush against the W-Iron (the bearing on the irons protrude out of the W-Iron) and the superglued into place. This makes the springing utterly redundant as there is no give at all and even if there was superglue runs and will likely foul the bearing behind the W-Iron. It looks good and I can get away with not having the springing in EM but it would have been nice to retain it.

 

If anyone knows how to get the best of both worlds I love to know. There must be a solution. Are the Rumney Models castings not the way to go? Is there something obvious I missed?

I didn't bother with the leaf spring castings, the leaf springs on the model are accurate enough in terms of detail. 

[RobA2345]

Finished example of one of the vans. 

 

[Mark Forrest]

I’ve done several of these and had no trouble getting the springing to function as intended.

What type of bearings did you use?  It’s best to use the waisted bearings as the end that protrudes through the axle guard is much smaller - even with those I tend to file the ends down a little.  In the rear of the replacement axlebox I usually drill out as much material as I dare with a 2mm drill, then elongate the hole to form a vertical slot.

I always pop the wheels out and remove the bearing carriers before gluing the axleboxes in place.

 

Hope that helps.

[RobA2345]

It does Mark thanks. So I wasn't too far off then, I can't remember if the bearings are the waisted ones I think they are, the reason I was apprehensive about filing them down as I still wanted to retain the run along the carriers. I thought about elongating the hole but was unsure of the tooling I'd need to pull it off, Dremel disc maybe?

[Southwich]

13 hours ago, RobA2345 said:

Finished example of one of the vans. 

 

Hi Rob,

 

Really nice work on the VBA - nice to see someone else springing some stock. To be honest I’d not use Bill Bedford springing units anymore now the Stenson Models ones are available from Phil/Colin. The new ones from Stenson Models go together ridiculously well and are really easy to fit - I can’t recommend them enough. I have linked the castings and the units below:

 

https://www.stensonmodels.co.uk/product/vba-10-leaf-springs-with-hood-style-axle-box-4mm-for-Bachmann-model-sm95d/

https://www.stensonmodels.co.uk/product/suspension-unit-4mm-br-w-iron-for-Bachmann-wagons-cc02s-11/

 

From recollection everything you need including bearings come in the packs, and the cast axle boxes slot really nicely over the outside of the bearing.

 

There are also some really other goodies for all sorts of wagons as well as loads of underframe parts, so well worth a look!

 

Here’s one of the VGAs I converted earlier in the year - it runs beautifully and is sprung very easily! (Needs the underframe spraying black and weathering!)

 

Hope that helps!

 

Will

Edited September 15, 2021 by Southwich

[RobA2345]

Thanks @Southwich it definitely does help. The products from these cottage industries are not easy to find at all. I do have the model you're showing above and I'm not getting satisfactory running, even though the wheels are spinning freely while holding the model they seem to be binding when on the track so I'll give these a go.

[Mark Forrest]

I'd agree with Will, if I was doing mine again, I'd use the Stenson Models bits, I like that these have a representation of the brakes which aren't there on the Bill Bedford ones.

 

To my earlier point about using waisted bearings, this work in progress OCA goes some way to showing what I mean.