Peco Branchlines O16.5 Quarry Hunslet Chassis Kit

[Richard L]

Does anyone have experience of assembling this chassis?

• How difficult is it? I have no real metalworking skills, but can solder wires at a pinch, provided they're not too fiddly.
• I'm thinking of using this a basis for a Gn15 loco, so I would like to replace the wheels provided with larger wheels if I could. Would this be possible? Where would I get them from?

[hayfield]

I would say its not the easiest kit to build as there are a fair amount of components, the biggest issue is quartering the outside cranks.

 

Having said this its a complete kit and if you follow the instructions and fettle it a little, you will be well rewarded with a good quality chassis

[Richard L]

Thank you John. I've assembled some fairly complex kits over the years, but they've mainly been plastic. It would be very helpful if you could expand on how it's held together. Nuts and bolts and glue I can cope with. Soldering I can only manage in the context of electrics.

[hayfield]

Its designed to be soldered together, well thought through and a high level of detail as you would expect

[Jeff Smith]

I have built the other two Branchlines chassis for the Peco kits.  They are fairly straightforward but must be soldered.  You could try regular multicore solder but usually a low-melt solid solder and liquid flux is used for this type of assembly.  The kits come with wheels, if you want a different size you could try contacting Branchlines to see if they can be substituted as there's no point in paying for wheels you are not going to use - they are fairly expensive!  O-16.5 just uses regular OO wheels, nothing exotic!   Brian at Branchlines is usually amenable to tailoring orders.

 

Markits wheels are self quartering, Gibson wheels are I think cheaper but not self quartering.

Edited February 26, 2023 by Jeff Smith
Added info

[hayfield]

12 hours ago, Jeff Smith said:

I have built the other two Branchlines chassis for the Peco kits.  They are fairly straightforward but must be soldered.  You could try regular multicore solder but usually a low-melt solid solder and liquid flux is used for this type of assembly.  The kits come with wheels, if you want a different size you could try contacting Branchlines to see if they can be substituted as there's no point in paying for wheels you are not going to use - they are fairly expensive!  O-16.5 just uses regular OO wheels, nothing exotic!   Brian at Branchlines is usually amenable to tailoring orders.

 

Markits wheels are self quartering, Gibson wheels are I think cheaper but not self quartering.

 

I think a novice builder may struggle changing wheels as from memory they are on stub axles, Its the outside (push fit) outside cranks that need adjusting, exactly the same as Gibson's and the cheaper Markit version. I doubt if there is any cost savings if anything I would think they will be dearer.

 

I have always used normal temp solder with liquid flux, as there there quite a lot of etched details for the main assembly I would advise the use of normal solder. Having a 75 watt solder station for main assembly I now use Carrs 221 solder (not quite silver) simply as its safer adding extra details, but a great call using low melt for at least adding detail parts, but as you say will work also for larger joints

[Jeff Smith]

Sorry, I was not aware that the kit in question is outside frame.

[Richard L]

Thank you both Jeff and John. You've been very helpful.

[Jeff Smith]

Richard - have sent you a Branchlines cat by pm.

[hayfield]

 

Jeff

 

I should have done this before, so here are a few photos. The quality of the components are first class

 

 

There are two pages of writing, mostly building instructions, half page schematic diagram.  And half page of photos

 

 

The quality of the components are very good. Left, are the two etches,  the main chassis is of fold up design which makes building the chassis easier. Right, the rest of the components all of which are quality items

 

 

 

I have two of these kits, this is the first one under construction with the coupling rods being fettled. Left photo view from above, right photo view from below.

 

These chassis are a massive improvement on the Hornby 0-4-0 tank plastic chassis. The high quality motor and gears are so much better. Once the pistons, rods and connecting rods are installed along with the various brackets and brake gear visually its in a different world. The front drivers are on a rocking pivot ensuring all 4 wheels are in contact with the track for better electrical pickup  

 

Hope this helps you

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jeff Smith]

Thanks.  How are the cranks secured to the axles?

[hayfield]

1 hour ago, Jeff Smith said:

Thanks.  How are the cranks secured to the axles?

 

Push fit and Loctite

[Richard L]

Thank you Jeff for the catalogue and John for the photos. This chassis is certainly a very impressive piece of work.

 

Its drawback from my point of view is that I'm thinking of building something along the lines of an 18 inch gauge Manning Wardle in 11 or 12mm scale. Having come from SM32 modelling, anything smaller than around 1:25 or thereabouts seems tiny to me! The Branchlines chassis would be quite close as far as the wheelbase is concerned but a bit small as far as wheels are concerned and it would also need extending. If it were easier to assemble I would consider this, but as it isn't I'm considering my other option which would be to modify an 00 diesel shunter chassis. Wheels and wheelbase would be of more suitable dimensions for my larger scale. I started a thread on this topic when I began this one and have received the suggestion of a Lima 09 chassis from 33C. He has used this chassis for an Aberdare, so it could be suitable. Although it's six-coupled, it looks to me from photos of the chassis on the web that it's driven from one of the end axles and that the centre wheelset would be removeable.

 

Do you have any experience of this kind of modification or know of any examples in narrow gauge modelling? Do you have any ideas for other chassis I could use? I would consider another 0-6-0 chassis as I'm wanting to build something along the lines of a Manning Wardle 6 x 8" inch 0-4-0, rather than an exact model. All suggestions would be welcomed.

[ianmaccormac]

 

 

Loconstuff has chassis that might also work for you.  https://www.locosnstuff.com/

Have you seen them?

Cheers, Ian just a satisfied customer.

[hayfield]

17 hours ago, Richard L said:

Thank you Jeff for the catalogue and John for the photos. This chassis is certainly a very impressive piece of work.

 

Its drawback from my point of view is that I'm thinking of building something along the lines of an 18 inch gauge Manning Wardle in 11 or 12mm scale. Having come from SM32 modelling, anything smaller than around 1:25 or thereabouts seems tiny to me! The Branchlines chassis would be quite close as far as the wheelbase is concerned but a bit small as far as wheels are concerned and it would also need extending. If it were easier to assemble I would consider this, but as it isn't I'm considering my other option which would be to modify an 00 diesel shunter chassis. Wheels and wheelbase would be of more suitable dimensions for my larger scale. I started a thread on this topic when I began this one and have received the suggestion of a Lima 09 chassis from 33C. He has used this chassis for an Aberdare, so it could be suitable. Although it's six-coupled, it looks to me from photos of the chassis on the web that it's driven from one of the end axles and that the centre wheelset would be removeable.

 

Do you have any experience of this kind of modification or know of any examples in narrow gauge modelling? Do you have any ideas for other chassis I could use? I would consider another 0-6-0 chassis as I'm wanting to build something along the lines of a Manning Wardle 6 x 8" inch 0-4-0, rather than an exact model. All suggestions would be welcomed.

 

 

I assume then you are looking at an 18mm gauge track with the wheels and wheelbase being just under twice the size of 7mm scale but in narrow gauge. Given the Branchlines chassis wheels are 14.5 mm at 12mm scale they would be 25mm appx . How about using 7mm scale 3'6" wheels ? then make up a simple brass chassis using 7mm hornblocks and a decent set of milled coupling rods from Premier, but then I may be thinking of a larger wheel and wheelbase than is required 

[Richard L]

Thank you. I had wondered about using O gauge wheels. Would they be compatible with Peco O16.5 track? I've built an SM32 chassis in plasticard, but couldn't manage brass. Do you think I could get the required strength and accuracy in plasticard in 12mm scale?

[hayfield]

32 minutes ago, Richard L said:

Thank you. I had wondered about using O gauge wheels. Would they be compatible with Peco O16.5 track? I've built an SM32 chassis in plasticard, but couldn't manage brass. Do you think I could get the required strength and accuracy in plasticard in 12mm scale?

 

Scale 7 would probably fit, but the axles would not, you would have to go for Gibson 4mm drivers and cut out every other spoke, or cut discs. )-16.5 uses code 100 but the timbers/sleepers would be totally wrong, I would use  either Peco's code 125 system of plastic timbers and chairs, or C&L or even Exactoscale 7mm scale items, but I would scale up the timbers/sleepers to 12mm scale

 

In 16.5 I tried using code 75 rail and chairs, it looked wrong, code 100 looked right to me, you might get away with code 124 bull head with 7mm chairs but gauge 1 timbers. Or code 143 flatbottom rail and spikes

 

Narrow gauge quite often used cut down standard gauge sized sleepers or timbers but lighter rail, using 4mm parts would look all wrong. My own experiments showed code 100 on 10" scale timbers looked best

[Richard L]

I've wondered about discs to cover 4mm wheels in the past.Cutting discs sounds difficult.

[Richard L]

Thank you Ian for your suggestion and apologies for not having acknowledged it earlier. I'm afraid I've only just noticed it. I've had a look at the Locosnstuff pages, but none of the chassis that Mark Clark makes would be suitable for my purposes. I'm thinking of modelling 18 inch gauge on 16.5 mm track in 11mm. Mark Clark does makes a chassis for Henrik Laurell 3D printed bodies for 18 inch gauge locos , but in 7mm scale, which would be far too small.

[hayfield]

Richard

 

Have you a plan you can share with what you are trying to achieve. example, length of mainframes, wheelbase and size of drivers. I take it you will be using code 100 rail 

[Richard L]

John

 

Thank you for your continuing interest. The loco I have in mind is a Manning Wardle 6 x 8 inch 18 inch gauge saddle tank of the kind built for Woolwich Arsenal and Chatham Dockyard (very similar to an 'Alice' class Quarry Hunslet) in 11mm scale on 16.5mm track in code 100 track. Length of main frames would be 140 mm (12'8"), wheelbase 35.75mm (3'3"), wheel diameter 19.25mm (1'8").

 

Richard

[hayfield]

Richard

 

As you are scratch building the body of the loco, it is not much more effort to build a chassis.

 

The easiest scenario may be to revert to the old favourite id 1/8" brass bar, with Romford screw spacers

Or going for brass sheet mainframes with either top hat bearings or hornblocks

 

20mm Romford wheels are easy to use, either removing half the spokes or making then solid disc wheels

 

Coupling rods may look better scratch built as thel need to be bigger and thicker than 4mm ones but perhaps a tad smaller than 7mm scale, though you ate modelling in 11mm scale so 7mm etch may be just the job

 

Use one of the modern can motors with a commercial gearbox (High Level. Branchlines, Markit, Comet etc)

[Richard L]

Thank you John. You've given me a lot to think about.

[John Besley]

I am in the process of building a chassis for my Exhill Works layout useing a Smallbrook studio Tinkerbell as a bassis, this will be a 10.1/4" loco not 7.1/4" as I work in 7/8ths - I've modified the chassis slightly by cutting off the rear section and useing a spare HLK road runner gearbox and motor as Ive used these before.

 

Curently at the point of fitting side rods etc... and have a tight spot, how much slack should there be on the side rods to allow for this.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2023 by John Besley
Correction