brian777999 Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I have been thinking about EM gauge lately and I was wondering if there are any limits to converting locomotives. Coaches and wagons should not be a problem but I doubt that a Hornby Dean single or a Bachmann City of Truro could be converted to EM gauge. There does not seem to be enough room ? Has anybody had any experience converting these types of locomotives ? What percentage of modellers work in EM gauge ? Has anybody compiled any figures. It seems to be increasingly popular. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jim s-w Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Hi Brian Everything is convertable to em or p4. Not everything is convertable in a just swap the wheels way though, is that what you are asking? Cheers Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian777999 Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 Hi Brian Everything is convertable to em or p4. Not everything is convertable in a just swap the wheels way though, is that what you are asking? Cheers Jim I know converting such locomotives would not be a straight swap but I was curious as to how much work would be neeeded to do it. It looks like you would just about have to rebuild the whole chassis as there does not seem to be enough room otherwise. I think it gets to the point where you would be considering building your own complete model from a kit rather than try to fit "square pegs into round holes" by modifying RTR locos. I am only guessing here as I have never built anything more complicated than a few coaches and a lot of wagons in O and OO gauge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jim s-w Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Hi Brian Certainly in P4 more and more steam modellers are doing straight wheel swaps to get things running. However as you say the other end of the spectrum is a complete new chassis. I am unlikely to be able to help you any futher but if you could measure the clearance you have available it might be helpful to someone withmore of a clue than I Cheers Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Have a word with Tim - he's converted a large proportion of his locos recently so maybe able to advise on some of the practical aspects. In the current MRJ there's an article about converting a Hornby M7 and the techniques will be transferrable to all sorts of models. There was also an article recently in MRJ 200 on converting an 8F to EM and going further back Tim Shackleton 'finescaled' a number of RTR locos. He converted them to P4 but there's no reason why you can't use the same techniques for EM! Hope that helps Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike morley Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 As you might expect, some conversions are easier than others. The easiest conversion I've done was a Collett 0-4-2T. The most difficult, by a considerable distance, was the Dean Goods. In fact, I would go as far as saying as its about as close as you're likely to get to being impossible to "convert" - although it is certainly more than possible to turn it into an entirely acceptable EM loco. What I did with mine was junk the original tender drive and loco chassis (Which are so dire they deserve throwing away even if you model in 00) and replaced them with better alternatives. Mine started off with Gibson wheels and compensated Perseverance chassis beneath both loco and tender. It now has Markits wheels and sprung Comet chassis. At the moment its in umpteen pieces yet again as I convert it to the American pick-up system (It picks up from one rail via the tender chassis and from the other rail through the loco chassis) and experiment with weight distribution in an effort to improve its haulage capabilities. If you join the EM Gauge Society you will be provided with "The Manual", which includes - amongst an awful lot else - instructions in how to convert the majority of RTR models - and I refuse to believe its just coincidence that the Dean Goods isnt included. The high initial cost of joining the EMGS put me off for years (and no doubt has done the same for others) because I didnt realise it covered the cost of proving new members with The Manual. It wasnt until I'd parted with my hard earned cash and received my Manual that I released just what a bargain I'd got! Take the plunge. You won't regret it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penrhos1920 Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I have been thinking about EM gauge...... but I doubt that a Hornby Dean single or a Bachmann City of Truro could be converted to EM gauge. There does not seem to be enough room ? Has anybody had any experience converting these types of locomotives ? Outside frame locos are the hardest to convert. Manufacturers often make the frames thicker than scale so there is less space between them than necessary. Ideally you need about 22mm minimum to get the wheels in. If that is ok then there is always the splashers which need a similar clearance. What percentage of modellers work in EM gauge ? Has anybody compiled any figures. It seems to be increasingly popular. It was mentioned in an MRJ interview article a couple of years ago. I seem to remember someone like Alan Gibson was interviewed and off the top of my head it was OO - 90%, EM - 9% & P4 1%. But i could be totally wrong. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 The non split chassis type of chassis is the easiest to convert. I have rebuilt a couple of K's kit built locos, which like the earlier Hornby locos is a nice plain chassis. Markits sell the correct diameter wheels to re-wheel Hornby chassis or 1 other company sells brass bushes which convert the axleholes to standard 1/8". On one chassis I just spaced out the chassis with brass axle washers. The other I covered each chassis side in turn with 40 thou plasticard, and drilled out the holes in turn. This was the better of the 2 methods. I have just brought off Ebay a Hornby M7(old style) which has been converted to EM, I had to replace the pickups but it works fine, its just Markits EM wheels and their EM Hornby replacement axles. If doing this method dont forget to order 1 Knarld axle to fit the gear onto Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jol Wilkinson Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 What percentage of modellers work in EM gauge ? Has anybody compiled any figures. It seems to be increasingly popular. Brian, it depends on how you define modellers. Those who "model" in OO but only use RTR products will automatically be excluded from EM. Those who build from modify RTR, build kits, etc. will include OO, EM and P4. In that case I think that the leaning to EM and P4 will be much greater than Alan Gibson's estimate, although still in the minority. As a member of both the EMGS and the S4Society, I think EM provides a good compromise in achieving a more realistic model than in OO through the appearance of the track. However, it's the modeller's overall approach to accuracy and realism that makes the real difference. There are some super OO layouts, but they have usually had the same amount of work put into them as a good EM or P4 layout, including handbuilt track. Jol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaneofFife Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 just touching on this topic slightly, do most RTR diesels needs new wheelsets for EM conversion or can the wheels be drawn out to the correct back to back? Is it not that straightforward? I am thinking of moving from 00 to EM later this year just very nervous about what I might be getting myself into. The same goes for the latest RTR coaches and wagons - do I need to rewheel all of these Bachmann items ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 just touching on this topic slightly, do most RTR diesels needs new wheelsets for EM conversion or can the wheels be drawn out to the correct back to back? Is it not that straightforward? I am thinking of moving from 00 to EM later this year just very nervous about what I might be getting myself into. The same goes for the latest RTR coaches and wagons - do I need to rewheel all of these Bachmann items ? I think it depends on the model itself, but in general diesels are supposed to be relatively straightforward to convert. in any case, you may find that with some items where the wheels are prominent, it simply looks better to replace the wheels. I would recommend joining the EMGS. the manual you get when joining has tons of information. it only costs the price of a good railway book, and it's much better than most of those! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 outside cylinder locos also require consideration I have just rebuilt a loco, etched nickel Judith edge LMS kitson, after I decided to replace the wheels from Gibsons to Markits, markits being slightly thicker and the crankpin would now touch the slidebars. the whole cylinder assembly was designed to be part of the chassis, so the only way to get it off was to chop the cylinders off with a cutting disc, I fabricated new mounting pieces for the existing cylinder assembly so that they could be mounted slightly further out, then reattached the cylinders, but because the cylinders where now sticking out too far, I cut through the outside of the cylinder again with the cutting disc and reprofiled it, put a new wrapper on, with the result now that the slidebars and crossheads are further away to clear the front wheels and crankpins, but the overall look of the cylinder doesnt stick out. ive learned from this for future builds. plastic cylinders on rtr locos may need to have the same thought in case they need to be trimmed at the back or moved out to clear wheels. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John M Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 just touching on this topic slightly, do most RTR diesels needs new wheelsets for EM conversion or can the wheels be drawn out to the correct back to back? Is it not that straightforward? I am thinking of moving from 00 to EM later this year just very nervous about what I might be getting myself into. The same goes for the latest RTR coaches and wagons - do I need to rewheel all of these Bachmann items ? Personally I dont think there is a need to replace the Bachmann wheels, I once converted a Class 25 in less than an hour, for coaches and wagons it simply a matter of pulling the wheels out to the correct back to back, for diesel and electrick locos you normally need to replace the axles, alternatively Ultrascale supply conversion packs for most diesels. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted March 16, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 16, 2013 I have been thinking about EM gauge lately and I was wondering if there are any limits to converting locomotives. Coaches and wagons should not be a problem but I doubt that a Hornby Dean single or a Bachmann City of Truro could be converted to EM gauge. There does not seem to be enough room ? Has anybody had any experience converting these types of locomotives ? What percentage of modellers work in EM gauge ? Has anybody compiled any figures. It seems to be increasingly popular. NO. In Melbourne, someone once brought an expensive brass HO steam locomotive along to a finescale modellers meeting - could have been an X or C Class 2-8-0) . The owner had recently purchased it with the intention of converting it to EM gauge. (EM in 3.5mm scale for 5' 3" gauge is almost exactly the 18.2 track gauge of EM). The assembled membership (consisting of a number of EM & P4 modellers) all decided that it certainly wasn't a practical exercise for this model given its price and that the best solution was to on sell it & scratch build one. The strange thing about this, is that several Victorian Railways prototypes were built as convertibles for if/when the V.R. changes from broad gauge to standard - they still have only done the mainlines linking interstate, 60 years later. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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