Lowering a Bachmann Class 55

[Caledonian]

Had the usual problem with my local railway modelling shop (they really ought to put a health warning outside these places); went in just looking for a Bachmann 8 plank with coke raves and came out with a Deltic.

 

55013 Black Watch to be precise, in pretty well new condition with the bag of detailing gubbins unopened, but no instruction sheet...

 

Not to worry, very useful article on detailing a Class 55 in the current BRM, but it still leaves me with a problem. The ride height of the model is notoriously too high, but the author reckoned it was easily cured by taking a little bit off the bogie towers. The result looked splendid, but some advice would be very much appreciated on the following:

 

First, as I don't have the instruction sheet, the best way to remove the body-shell and then the bogies in such a way that they will go back together again afterwards, and;

 

Second, exactly how much needs to come off the bogie towers?

 

 

[Ben Alder]

Here's the man for you - Jon020's articles on superdetailing a Deltic - can be accessed from here - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/587-jon020s-workbench-blog/?cat=37&st=30

 

HTH

 

 

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

 Six screws to remove the bodyshell, one behind each buffer, a pair positioned by the fuel tank corners.

...Second, exactly how much needs to come off the bogie towers?

There is a dependency here: for what minimum curve radius? You can get the gap down to scale, but in OO that needs nothing smaller than 30" radius to avoid the end wheelsets fouling the bottom edge of the bodywork.

 

When you look at the top of the bogie tower, there is a circular table with raised lands either side on which a rib cast inside the chassis block rests. (If the loco has been operated round curves for some time, you may well be able to see the witness mark on the lands where the rib bears.) Cutting down these raised lands flush with the table surface is the enabler for a scale gap, but there may be a little more needs doing: remove any collar or rib moulded on the bottom of the pivot post that goes into the chassis block casting, so that the pivot post is a uniform diameter all the way down to the table.

 

The process is fully reversible, adding washers to the table will lift the body relative to the bogie tops. This means you can fine tune the gap to whatever is required for clearance on layout radii.

[Caledonian]

Thank you both, very much indeed. Now to screw my courage up.

[andyman7]

BTW the instruction leaflets are all available as PdFs to view under the customer support tab on the Bachmann website

[the penguin of doom]

Jon020 is definately your man for advice on this job.

 

Once the body is off though, it's relatively simple. Unclip all the wires leading from the bogies and unscrew the screw above the bogie tower. If memory serves, the top plastic part of the tower unclips and I then just removed the higher ridge of the lip around the top of the tower clip.

 

Here's my DP2 and D9002 with this modification, (any excuse to show off my handywork.....)

 

 

 

Both these go comfortably around 2nd radius curves.

 

If you search for Jon020's Deltic blog, I'm sure there were some detail shots within. If not, I have a spare chassis so can take some pictures for you, just let me know.

 

Cheers.

 

Sean.