Retro-Fitting Sprung Buffers

[Kickstart]

Hi

 

With this kit I was trying to regain a bit of confidence, so avoiding much extra on the model

 

The Slaters screw link couplings are nice. I have used them on a couple of Connoisseur brass wagon kits. Gives a nice good feeling when you manage to assemble them to work.

 

All the best

 

Keith

[hartleymartin]

So instead of replacing the buffers with sprung ones, I've left the original buffer housings, filed off the original buffer heads and replaced those with brass drawing pins. Two coats of humbrol 33 matt black and they look the part! 1/2" diameter heads scale out to 21-3/4"

[hartleymartin]

I replaced the rails that I had attached the frame. The original rails were code 125 bullhead section - offcuts from a marcway point. I replaced then with Code 125 flatbottom rail - again a left over I think that it was Micro-Engineering brand. The original bullhead rails were easily knocked off. The flatbottom rails with the foot glued to the frames provides a larger glueing area and hopefully won't be so easily damaged. I coated the head of the rails (which will face the head of the running rails) with CA glue to provide insulation in case of derailment.

[hartleymartin]

At the moment I am also thinking about some changes to the drive train. I intend to replace the 40:1 gearset with a 54:1 gearset and possibly fit a smaller 1824 motor in place of the 1833 so that I can get a flywheel onto it. This would result in about a 20% reduction in torque, but would hopefully result in smoother running. I will have room for a flywheel about 10-12mm in thickness and up to 19-20mm in diameter.

 

I see that Roxey Mouldings do a 17mm flywheel. However, they don't tell you how thick it is! I imagine that I will still have to go with an 1824 motor. After seeing the hudswell clarke perform with it's flywheel drive, I am convinced that with ordinary DC control that they make all the difference in smoothness. If there is a speck of dust on the track and a momentary loss of power, the locomotive without a flywheel stutters and the whole train's worth of wagons have their buffers bashing together and the couplings snatching in a most unrealistic fashion.