Dapol 'Western'

[Gwiwer]

Various different packs mostly from Bachmann though one second man is a Noch character.  All have had to be amputated severely below the waist though this doesn't show once fitted.

[D1056WesternSultan]

D1000 Western Enterprise for sale again 3rd time!  First in auction, then  'buy it now' and again in auction all by the same seller with the same photo!  What's going on?

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dapol-Class-52-Western-Enterprise-D1000-in-1961-Desert-Sand-livery-/251338340075?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item3a84eeb6eb

[Phil Bullock]

Various different packs mostly from Bachmann though one second man is a Noch character.  All have had to be amputated severely below the waist though this doesn't show once fitted.

Hee hee my modelling room floor gets littered with amputated lower bodies from the Bachmann loco crews. They do look rather good when fitted though!

 

Re fitting tension lock couplings to one end - be brave, with their deep front valances these locos are ideal for a fine wire coupling loop to be fitted. Means you can have full super detailing at both ends and as a bonus the coupling loop protects this detailing

 

Have done this with the ones to be seen on our Youtube videos

 

Kind regards

 

Phil

[D1056WesternSultan]

Just out of interest. You mention you have fitted crews to your locos. Which company did you get yours crews from.

Best wishes colin

Dart Castings do excellent driver and second man in white metal and in bulk packs of 10 so they are economical too.  I have used these successfully in both Lima and Heljan Westerns.  I am STILL waiting for my model of D1062 so don't know how they will fit in a Dapol Wizzo but if teh cab is to scale they should fit perfectly.  IMHO the drivers factory fitted to Bachmann models are too small.

[Gwiwer]

 IMHO the drivers factory fitted to Bachmann models are too small.

 

 

 

Drivers come in all shapes and sizes.  Both real and model.  I respect your opinion but respectfully disagree.  Even having a 1:87 Noch second man in one loco doesn't look unrealistic to me - he's just a skinny little chap!

[Gwiwer]

Dapol Westerns (four of them Kernow MRC commissions) dominate the scene at Ponsangwyn shed.  More views on the layout thread.

 

[Phil Bullock]

Dapol Westerns (four of them Kernow MRC commissions) dominate the scene at Ponsangwyn shed.  More views on the layout thread.

 

 

Oh dear! No room for any Bacchy 43s there

 

Phil

[Gwiwer]

I see room for the 43s I have on order and some  There's space for those and the Kernow D600s.  

[Horsetan]

Drivers come in all shapes and sizes.  Both real and model.  I respect your opinion but respectfully disagree.  Even having a 1:87 Noch second man in one loco doesn't look unrealistic to me - he's just a skinny little chap!

Just needs the right filling for his Cornish pasty....

[railroadbill]

Re fitting tension lock couplings to one end - be brave, with their deep front valances these locos are ideal for a fine wire coupling loop to be fitted. Means you can have full super detailing at both ends and as a bonus the coupling loop protects this detailing

 

Have done this with the ones to be seen on our Youtube videos

 

Kind regards

 

Phil

 

Super wizard wizzo wizz.

 

I really agree that westerns look better without tension lock couplings, maybe because of the deep valance. As an experiment I super glued  a u shaped wire loop   onto the tension lock hook on one end of a coach. This then drops onto the loco coupling hook. Also the coachs tension lock coupler still works ok when coupled to another tension lock coupling.  Bit like the slotted  bar couplings that o gauge coarse scale exley etc. coaches used to have. Cost? Nothing.

 

On freight trains I've used a van with one nem coupler removed and the loco's scale screw link coupling dropped onto the coupling hook (then tension lock fitted vehicles can be coupled to the other end of van). 

 

ps Very good Youtube video, Phil. Cracking layout.

[Phil Bullock]

That's neat !

 

Cheers Bill

[Rugd1022]

That's neat !

 

Cheers Bill

 

And the pic just shows how well the front end of the Thousand has been captured with the tooling... especially so from that low angle.

 

''Proper job!''

[Gwiwer]

Neat coupling arrangement.  The loco and coaching stock shades of maroon also match according to the camera.  With three maroon Westerns here none of them match Bachmann coaching stock maroon to my eyes.  

 

Thought I had a bit of a problem yesterday as one of the limited editions was spotted in traffic minus a nameplate  .  An hour searching the layout and floor failed to locate it and I was about to send an email off to the folk at Kernow asking if they might have a spare or otherwise could I please order a Shawplan one from them when it turned up in the storage tray!  Mode = Phew.  Mode = wiped brow.  Mode = relief

[southernelectric]

Somebody in this thread returned a faulty Dapol Western to DCC Supplies, only for it to be returned with the fault not repaired sufficiently well, so he had to return it a second time (at his own cost, natch) to be repaired. Second time round, it had been repaired.

 

That would be me! The lights were fixed but the constant derailing issue was not. DCC Supplies/Dapol kindly sent me a replacement loco. Only had time for a quick test on my non-permanent test oval but all seemed OK. 

[Gwiwer]

Constant derailing may only be apparent on one layout and not another.  It may not occur on a straight test track.  I found mine to be caused by a tiny (and I mean tiny but we are dealing with near-precision models here using tolerances of 1mm or less) amount of moulding flash on the bogie where the suspension passes beneath matching frame mouldings as the bogie rotates.  I took weeks to identify the issue as it only occurred randomly and could not be related to one spot on the track, nor one loco, nor the load hauled.

 

I only diagnosed the problem by placing the loco on a flat workbench and rotating the bogies by hand.  It was then apparent that on some occasions one bogie did not rotate as fully as the other and was catching on something.  The problem went away as soon as I lifted the loco because the parts were not presented to each other at the same angle.  Having eliminated the brake rods, the side fairings, the coupler moulding and the air tank behind the valence as culprits it still took a good look with the magnifying lamp to identify the problem.

 

Once I had located that flash I rubbed it down lightly and found the bogie was then perfectly free to move and the problem has gone away.

Edited September 21, 2013 by Gwiwer

[Gwiwer]

Clips of the Kernow quartet in action here showing that they haul a respectable load, work happily in tandem with other locos and cope with slightly uneven outdoor track!

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/6296-penhayle-bay/?p=1178341

 

(Edit : new link inserted due to rehosting of videos)

Edited October 4, 2013 by Gwiwer

[railroadbill]

Really good videos. Locos look the part.  Actually the sound of the wheels of blue/grey coach train going past sounded about right.

Also - liked the vegetation on the viaduct (going to do that) and the cct on the back of the milk train (now done that on mine).

 

Having seen the vids I'd like to take a stopping train to the station and go for a walk around the area.  Hopefully there's a tea shop with a view of the viaduct.....

 

 

ps Meant to post this on this thread, put it on your layout thread instead.

[railroadbill]

 The loco and coaching stock shades of maroon also match according to the camera.  With three maroon Westerns here none of them match Bachmann coaching stock maroon to my eyes.  

 

H'mm. Thought I'd try photographing stock in daylight rather than loft under fluorescent light. Here are results.  To my eye the loco maroon looks slightly more pink and the Bachmann BSK maroon slightly browner compared to each other.  The second pic has an ex-LMS coach resprayed in Halfords Vauxhall Burgandy acrylic paint then finished in Testors Dulcote, (a truly wonderful varnish). That looks a little lighter red. 

 

Back in the loft the shades look similar again.

 

Just noticed that the loco door handles need painting silver - presumably they would have been chrome on full size?

[47137]

Just noticed that the loco door handles need painting silver - presumably they would have been chrome on full size?

I saw Western Fusilier at York in July and the door handles are polished metal. Hopefully if someone knows of a loco with body- or other-coloured handles these pics will stimulate a suitable response ;-)

 

- Richard.

 

 

[railroadbill]

Out with the paint pot then.

[southernelectric]

Constant derailing may only be apparent on one layout and not another.  It may not occur on a straight test track.  I found mine to be caused by a tiny (and I mean tiny but we are dealing with near-precision models here using tolerances of 1mm or less) amount of moulding flash on the bogie where the suspension passes beneath matching frame mouldings as the bogie rotates.  I took weeks to identify the issue as it only occurred randomly and could not be related to one spot on the track, nor one loco, nor the load hauled.

 

I only diagnosed the problem by placing the loco on a flat workbench and rotating the bogies by hand.  It was then apparent that on some occasions one bogie did not rotate as fully as the other and was catching on something.  The problem went away as soon as I lifted the loco because the parts were not presented to each other at the same angle.  Having eliminated the brake rods, the side fairings, the coupler moulding and the air tank behind the valence as culprits it still took a good look with the magnifying lamp to identify the problem.

 

Once I had located that flash I rubbed it down lightly and found the bogie was then perfectly free to move and the problem has gone away.

 

Mine was derailing on a flat straight piece of track, before it even reached the curves! No pointwork to navigate either. Your tip may come in handy when I get around to building a layout though!

Edited September 29, 2013 by southernelectric

[Stevelewis]

Mine was derailing on a flat straight piece of track, before it even reached the curves! No pointwork to navigate either. Your tip may come in handy when I get around to building a layout thou!

The only  Dapol Western  to arrive  here  didn't  actually  have  much  of  a chance  to  derail!,  It wobbled  so violently on initial test run  that  it was on its  way  back to the retailer  within  the  hour, ( it  was  also missing a  windscreen wiper,  and  part  of the  window  glazing  from   1 cab), so   we  tend to stick  with  the  Blue  boxes  these  days!

Edited September 22, 2013 by Stevelewis

[D1056WesternSultan]

I saw Western Fusilier at York in July and the door handles are polished metal. Hopefully if someone knows of a loco with body- or other-coloured handles these pics will stimulate a suitable response ;-)

 

- Richard.

 

DSCF0082_2.jpg  DSCF0082.jpg

I think it is safe to say that all handrails on wizzos are chromed.  If they were bare steel they would soon rust after a trip along the sea wall.

 

The only  Dapol Western  to arrive  here  didn't  actually  have  much  of  a chance  to  derail!,  It wobbled  so violently on initial test run  that  it was on its  way  back to the retailer  within  the  hour, ( it  was  also missing a  windscreen wiper,  and  part  of the  window  glazing  from   1 cab), so   we  tend to stick  with  the  Blue  boxes  these  days!

As the anticipated  arrival of D1062 gets nearer I get more apprehensive.

[Stevelewis]

I think it is safe to say that all handrails on wizzos are chromed.  If they were bare steel they would soon rust after a trip along the sea wall.

 

As the anticipated  arrival of D1062 gets nearer I get more apprehensive.

Just  keep  your  fingers  crossed,  after  all  faulty ones  are  a very small proportion I would hope

[47137]

Just  keep  your  fingers  crossed,  after  all  faulty ones  are  a very small proportion I would hope

I know Dapol can make a good Western, I have one. I suspect some of the wheel/bogie tolerances have less leeway than some other rtr because it derails consistently on one point on one club layout, but it runs fine on another club layout (which has 3mm gaps at rail joints in places!) and at home. I have a D1062 on order and I am looking forward to it.