Wright writes.....

[Barclay]

27 minutes ago, melmoth said:

Apparently the Lima model makers only had side and end elevations to work from.  That made it appear that the vents were arranged in 4 rows of 3 instead of 2-1-2-1 (or thereabouts)

And why I think the HO scale 4F had a reversing rod on both sides!

[Clive Mortimore]

15 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

American 00?

For once the Merican's have done something sensible and simple, 19 mm gauge track, closer than EM at 18mm or 18.2mm

 

Then of course there is 00fine, or what ever name it has this week  at 16.2mm.

 

As for Lima steam locos, I have a Crab ready to be made wider and converted to one with poppet valves.

[Steamport Southport]

47 minutes ago, Barclay said:

And why I think the HO scale 4F had a reversing rod on both sides!

 

Funnily enough something they got right on the N and O Gauge versions!

 

 

Jason

[mozzer models]

On 18/02/2024 at 14:30, lezz01 said:

Squires also have the Stevenson Carriages range.

Regards Lez. 

& the 247 Developments Coach range

[APOLLO]

My latest work in progress / bargain project is this rake of four Aluminium (Aluminum !!!) O gauge passenger cars.

 

A poster on here mentioned that Elaines Trains had some American O gauge in stock. I spied these four extruded aluminium cars without bogies or couplings, £60 for the four - Bargain. A phone call, and they were delivered the next day - excellent service.

 

The cars are beautiful actual extruded Aluminium, plywood floors and detailed resin ends. They are unlettered but nicely glazed. The shells and ends were made by a small firm, Phoenix Models in Arizona.

 

Note the internal glazing rails, floor rails and end locators - a superb design.

 

 

 

Now many, many years ago I purchased quite cheaply half a dozen assorted tatty Lima O coaches. They have sat in the loft for well over 30 odd years !! I wondered if the bogies would fit ? The answer was yes, off the British body and onto the plywood floor of the new ones, just a washer and a screw. Temporary (perhaps permanent) inter coach bar couplings were fitted over the existing lima ones, and the coupling bars at each rake end cut & drilled to accept Kadee couplings. They might not be correct, but they work and will do.

 

Having had problems with my expensive plastic Atlas "California Zephyr" cars  on my tight reverse curves etc I attached a loco and ever so gently ran the rake around the low level line. Bang, scrape as the 22" Baggage car hit a couple of structures and became jammed in the short tunnel. A few adjustments here and there and a 5Lb lump hammer & chisel in the real sandstone tunnel, bit of swearing & bruised knuckles, sorted that.

 

What amazed me was the super smooth running of the Lima bogies, and not only that I can actually push this rake all the way around the low level line without angst.

 

No need for paint as the natural Aluminium potrays the Stainless Steel prototype quite well. In Summer I will add the  Car names and numbers along with the railroad Name (Rock Island). A good job I don't model the Chigago, Milwaukee, St Paul and Pacific !!

 

4 O gauge cars for £60 - A bargain !!!!

 

 

 

 

The short tunnel on the right needed "adjustments" for the 22" baggage car above. My layout was not designed for this length of stock. And this set is banned from the high level lines - far too much work needed.

 

 

Just to add - as many modellers state, you can always tell metal from plastic !!

 

Thank you Elaines Trains.

 

Brit15

[MJI]

3 hours ago, melmoth said:

Apparently the Lima model makers only had side and end elevations to work from.  That made it appear that the vents were arranged in 4 rows of 3 instead of 2-1-2-1 (or thereabouts)

 

It is a hedgehog box.

[CF MRC]

3 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

Funnily enough something they got right on the N and O Gauge versions!

 

 

Jason

Not on the N gauge one they didn’t! It had a planked running plate and was nearly TT in width. 
 

Tim

[1471SirFrederickBanbury]

6 hours ago, Mark Laidlay said:

Like this?  And Lima, I think I have a H0 "scale" 4F somewhere so I have hit two topics with one loco.  But maybe I just dumped it being pretty awful. 

The Trix/Marklin A3 isn’t too much better.  It is detailed thoroughly, but the whole front end is off.  Between the wrong chimney, the underscale cylinders, the flat and seemingly big smokebox, and the look of the front of the running board, it throws the whole model off.  Such a shame considering the price of it.  At least she (Flying Scotsman) has been made better in brass. 
 

Rohan

[Steamport Southport]

41 minutes ago, CF MRC said:

Not on the N gauge one they didn’t! It had a planked running plate and was nearly TT in width. 
 

Tim

 

Ah. I meant not having two reversing rods!

 

Both the N and O versions are LHD LMS versions.

 

Thankfully by the time I wanted a 4F the Airfix one was available.

 

 

Jason

[Tony Wright]

Lima has been mentioned. 

 

How about this....................?

 

 

 

 

A friend is donating several models for sale on behalf of CRUK (thanks so much, Ron).

 

They include this rather battered Lima Crab. What I find amazing is that someone has taken the trouble to remove the tender drive and fit a Mashima can motor and two-stage Comet gearbox in the loco!. Amazingly, it runs rather well. 

 

I'm tempted to scrap the thing, but retain the drive (which must be worth 40 quid). Any thought, please? I'm reluctant to make a replacement front buffer beam (time constraints) because I don't think that would add much value. 

 

Does anyone know the driving wheel axles' diameter, please? If the gear wheel has been altered (assuming it's not one eighth), then that will lessen any value. 

 

 

My friend has also donated this Bachmann BR Sulzer Type 2.

 

It runs beautifully, but needs cab handrails (were these separate items, because fixing holes are present?). Has anyone any idea of a price for this, please?

 

More donated models should arrive tomorrow..............

 

Returning to Lima............

 

 

Readers might remember my 'Budget Modelling' articles in BRM of late, where I turned this £20.00 loco into something 'more acceptable' (the chimney rim is now painted black). 

 

 

[AY Mod]

4 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

It runs beautifully, but needs cab handrails (were these separate items, because fixing holes are present?). Has anyone any idea of a price for this, please?

 

Bachmann do seem to have the spares available for it - https://bachmann-spares.co.uk/product/category/709/class-24--handrail-packs---cab%2bfront-door-grey-plastic--32-400/e3240-mis-01

 

I've broken enough over the years.

[Bernard Lamb]

8 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

Bachmann do seem to have the spares available for it - https://Bachmann-spares.co.uk/product/category/709/class-24--handrail-packs---cab%2bfront-door-grey-plastic--32-400/e3240-mis-01

 

I've broken enough over the years.

Brassmasters also do them, as well as a few other bits and pieces to tart these machines up a bit. Being etched brass they are probably a bit nearer to scale than the plastic Bachmann version.

Bernard

[Northmoor]

8 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

GWR 45XX being far too big over the tanks, firebox and cab to fit the motor in. I'm pretty sure the 94XX suffered from similar enlargement.

 

Also the Crab having the cab and tender the same width!

 

I'm afraid Lima did have problems with scale and seemingly reading the drawings. Still befuddled by what was going on when it came to the horse box roof....

 

 

 

Despite the livery and crude chassis it's not a bad model of a GWR horse box. Obviously superseded by the newer Hornby one.

 

 

Jason

I'd understood the 94xx to be pretty good dimensionally and the King while crude, has a "massiveness" that the contemporary Hornby model didn't quite have.  I know the Small Prairie is tall but I have great affection for mine.  It came in GWR green but I really wanted a BR black one, just not lined, so hand-painted the green bits gloss black.  Considering I was about 13 at the time it still looks quite good now, even with the late BR emblems left over from an Airfix 9F.  Last year I bought some Gibson wheels and axles to replace the very poor pony wheelsets, I've some nice sprung scale buffers and Modelmaster early BR emblems.  Just needs finishing after nearly 40 years......!

[Tony Wright]

One day I really must learn to take my own advice, even when dear friends ask me 'Can you look at this, please. It's stopped working'. 

 

Today, I was presented with a South Eastern Finecast made-up C12. Who made it, I don't know (my friend acquired it from a deceased's estate), but whoever it was had no idea how to build a loco. 'It did work, but now it's stopped' was the plaintive cry.

 

How it worked I'll never know, but all I got was a short circuit on testing it. No amount of initial investigation resulted in finding the short, so I've dismantled it. Big mistake! To get at the both the body/chassis fixing screws, I attempted to remove the bogie and pony. No good, both screws just revolved. Guess what? Both internal nuts had not been secured properly, so out with the Xurons, wrecking the screws. On attempting to then remove the body, guess what again? Both internal fixing screws had also not been secured and they just happily revolved. Again, out with the Xurons. In trying to adjust the pick-ups (which were hopeless at source), I found that they'd been fixed by a single screw passing through hole in a spacer, with insulated washers top and bottom. Except, they hadn't been fixed - the screw wouldn't tighten, or slacken. The 8BA nut had been soldered to the 8BA screw, but not to the spacer. The effing thing was loose! So, out with the piercing saw. At least that gave me access to how the motor was secured (an old X04). Evidence of glue holding it was apparent. Glue? Well, something slimy. Out came the motor, which at least wasn't the cause of the short. Off came the drivers (insulated one side), and then the bearings fell out of the frames! By this time, I'd gone through my whole dictionary of profanity, but.............. Now no short, and I'll put it all back together tomorrow reporting accordingly. 

 

The moral? Though I count myself extremely privileged to have so many wonderful friends, may I make this plea, please? Many of those friends visit this thread, so my plea to them is to never bring anything else along for me to fix. Get a spade, find a plot and do the decent thing!   

Edited February 20 by Tony Wright
tautology

[brightspark]

Hi Tony,

I am glad that you have a plan for decent pipework on the class 5.  Personally I find this the most enjoyable bit of building standards.

I also enjoyed the pictures posted. To think that at the time the spotters thought them too modern...spaceships indeed!

Anyway I am looking forward to the result.

 

[St Enodoc]

10 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

GWR 45XX being far too big over the tanks, firebox and cab to fit the motor in. I'm pretty sure the 94XX suffered from similar enlargement.

 

Also the Crab having the cab and tender the same width!

 

I'm afraid Lima did have problems with scale and seemingly reading the drawings. Still befuddled by what was going on when it came to the horse box roof....

 

 

 

Despite the livery and crude chassis it's not a bad model of a GWR horse box. Obviously superseded by the newer Hornby one.

 

 

Jason

I did say "some"! The 94xx body was a couple of mm too long but otherwise well proportioned.

[Barry Ten]

Seen before, but my 6006 is a much-loved Lima King on a Comet chassis.

 

 

The bogie is the original Lima one with (I think) Gibson wheels as Comet didn't offer a suitable part.

[St Enodoc]

8 minutes ago, Barry Ten said:

Seen before, but my 6006 is a much-loved Lima King on a Comet chassis.

 

 

The bogie is the original Lima one with (I think) Gibson wheels as Comet didn't offer a suitable part.

The best livery too, especially with a train of crimson-and-cream coaches.

 

Edited February 20 by St Enodoc
added photo

[uax6]

11 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Lima has been mentioned. 

 

How about this....................?

 

 

 

 

A friend is donating several models for sale on behalf of CRUK (thanks so much, Ron).

 

They include this rather battered Lima Crab. What I find amazing is that someone has taken the trouble to remove the tender drive and fit a Mashima can motor and two-stage Comet gearbox in the loco!. Amazingly, it runs rather well. 

 

I'm tempted to scrap the thing, but retain the drive (which must be worth 40 quid). Any thought, please? I'm reluctant to make a replacement front buffer beam (time constraints) because I don't think that would add much value. 

 

Does anyone know the driving wheel axles' diameter, please? If the gear wheel has been altered (assuming it's not one eighth), then that will lessen any value. 

 

 

The driving axles on the Lima Crab are not 1/8th, as you have to open out the slots in the weird plastic to accept 1/8th axles when you fit romfords to them (I've done that, but have now moved over to Wills crabs!). Does seem an odd thing to do to keep the Lima pizza cutters. 

If you do scrap it, can I have the cylinders and valve gear please, as I use it on the wills ones..... (And yes I did hear the scream from here!).

 

Andy G

Edited February 21 by uax6

[Barry O]

7 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

The best livery too, especially with a train of crimson-and-cream coaches.

 

Still looks good despite launching itself into the loco turntable pit on Leeds Victoria( an old layout built by members of the Leeds MRS).

 

Baz

[Tony Wright]

48 minutes ago, uax6 said:

 

The driving axles on the Lima Crab are not 1/8th, as you have to open out the slots in the weird plastic to accept 1/8th axles when you fit romfords to them (I've done that, but have now moved over to Wills crabs!). Does seem an odd thing to do to keep the Lima pizza cutters. 

If you do scrap it, can I have the cylinders and valve gear please, as I use it on the wills ones..... (And yes I did hear the scream from here!).

 

Andy G

Good morning Andy,

 

I'll investigate further, though I'm in a bit undecided what to do. The options are.......

 

1. Make a replacement buffer beam, add buffers and then sell it complete. It is a good runner after all. Value? £25.00? Everything going to CRUK

 

2. Sell it as it is for; £20.00?

 

3. Dismantle it, throw the plastic bits away and release the motor gearbox. The problem might be, having ruined it as a runner, that the gear wheel has been permanently altered to accommodate the Lima axles. If it's just a sleeve, then that won't be a problem, but I can't see well enough without taking off the drivers (which are friction-fit). 

 

4. If 3 is successful, buy the motor/gearbox for future use in something more-worthy (the drive is worth more than the complete loco!) and sell you the motion for a modest donation to CRUK. 

 

5. If 3 is unsuccessful (which I won't know until the process is done), chuck the plastic bits but retain the motor and see if a replacement (final) gear can be obtained. Then sell the motion to you for a modest donation to CRUK. 

 

Anyone, any thoughts, please? 

[thegreenhowards]

If you were being commercial it would be (2) every time. It’s just not worth the time to do anything else. Anything more is for love and I can’t see you putting much love into a Lima loco, so it’s still (2)!

[APOLLO]

The best thing to do with your Lima Crabs !!

 

 

And your Replica B1's also. A nice place to sit in the Wigan sun and scoff your pies !!!!!

 

 

Central Wagon, Ince, Wigan Mid 60's, Photos care of Wigan World.

 

Brit15

[Tony Wright]

58 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

If you were being commercial it would be (2) every time. It’s just not worth the time to do anything else. Anything more is for love and I can’t see you putting much love into a Lima loco, so it’s still (2)!

Thanks, and agree!

[cctransuk]

1 minute ago, APOLLO said:

The best thing to do with your Lima Crabs !!

 

 

And your Replica B1's also. A nice place to sit in the Wigan sun and scoff your pies !!!!!

 

 

Central Wagon, Ince, Wigan Mid 60's, Photos care of Wigan World.

 

Brit15

 

Whoa!

 

Look at that asbestos blanket flapping in the breeze!

 

CJI.