Atlas class 81 and Lima MK2 musings

[298]

I've recently commenced a massive clear out, which includes eBaying my fleet of OO AC electrics and remaining stock, so took the opportunity to compare the Triang/Hornby 81 with this HO scale Atlas editions model. Apart from the blue colour used, the HO model is pretty accurate dimensionally and I'm looking at motorising it with a Lima class 67 chassis. Most of my modelling for the last 20 years has been in HO scale which compounds the issues of quality and track gauge of British OO. I got distracted yesterday when fixing a class 85 pan and removed the one from the 81 by melting the existing glued pegs with more gluqe, and will be replacing it with a spare Sommerfeldt 968 as per the OO model.

 

 

 

Next up is the ride height of the Lima HO Mk2 coaches...

[ellocoloco]

Loco looks great. I look forward to seeing it with the new pantograph.

 

Are the Lima Mk2s the correct length or were they produced to 1/100 or similar as was the fashion with HO back in the darker days? And do you need to do much with the height?

[298]

4 hours ago, ellocoloco said:

Loco looks great. I look forward to seeing it with the new pantograph.

 

Are the Lima Mk2s the correct length or were they produced to 1/100 or similar as was the fashion with HO back in the darker days? And do you need to do much with the height?

 

Before...

 

 

After...

 

 

[298]

The B4 bogies look too short and sit too high, but I was able to grind out the plastic enough and enlarge the hole so the mount would sit lower to give the correct buffer height with the Lima 11.2mm wheels that I had to hand (I could have brought slightly smaller replacements but decided to go with what was to hand). 

 

I converted another spare Lima HO continental coach into a jig by adding 3.5mm high plasticard blocks so the raised sections over the wheels sit on these and the boss is pushed through and fixed by melting the plastic with a soldering iron.