Hroth Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Well, I weakened and ordered a maroon Wickham which arrived today. Even having seen the pics of one standing alongside a Hornby Sentinel, nothing prepares you for how tiny it really is! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opelsi Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 Yellow wasp strip variety arrived from a certain retailer formerly from not so far from Anfield! What a lovely gem! Eagerly awaiting someone to find a DCC solution - would make a very useful magazine article. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 Yellow wasp strip variety arrived from a certain retailer formerly from not so far from Anfield! What a lovely gem! Eagerly awaiting someone to find a DCC solution - would make a very useful magazine article. my wasp stripe one arrived yesterday. Wow I feel like i'm modelling N gauge now. Very dainty and I have to say the ballast load doesn't jar in the flesh in same way as magazine reviews/photos - makes you realise just how zoomed in those photos are. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSG Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 My maroon version arrived yesterday. As others have said, you don't appreciate just how small it is until you actually have it on the table in front of you. Given that the model itself only occupies a small part of the standard Bachmann "small loco" box, which was then itself packed in a box about four times the size of that, the delivery from Yodel was mostly air. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopardml2341 Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 ,....... part of the standard Bachmann "small loco" box, which was then itself packed in a box about four times the size of that, the delivery from Yodel was mostly air. That's to protect it against YODEL's standard delivery mechanism. Cynical? Moi? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted December 4, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 4, 2016 Ran mine in yesterday Essentially two speeds on my gaugemaster - stop and 90mph! Looking at DCC chip options - will report back if I can make it work Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted December 4, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 4, 2016 An ideal partner for the Wickham perhaps. The latest model in the Atlas 'World of Stobart' series is a ballast undercutter. The prototype dates from around 1980 so could possibly be seen with a Wickham. It might prove possible to motorise it too but this depends on several factors. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSG Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 Mine got its first outing on the track this morning, and it runs very smoothly even on a cheap Hornby train set controller (from the Santa Express set, as it happens - guess where the Trolley got its first run!). The ballast load isn't quite as obviously plastic as it looks in some of the photos, and will probably be fine with a bit of weathering. But I think I'll probably add a tarpaulin cover to it nonetheless, just to make it a bit more individual. Adding a crew is a different issue. Certainly, when running "as is", out of the box, it's clearly crying out for one - having something so visibly open running without a crew just looks weird (a problem with half-cab locos as well, of course). But, on the other hand, if it's going to spend most of its time sitting in a siding, then having a crew in it while stationary will look equally out of place. I may, therefore, experiment with adding some side sheets to mask the need for a crew - it will hide the interior detail, but that may be a price worth paying for better overall authenticity. Anyway, I've ordered the Preiser set suggested upthread, and I'll see what looks best once I've had a chance to experiment with it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porcy Mane Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 Ran mine in yesterday Essentially two speeds on my gaugemaster - stop and 90mph! Looking at DCC chip options - will report back if I can make it work Phil One is now sat (in bits) on my bench for evaluation. Before being dismantled, I powered it from a regulated and calibrated 0 > 13 volt power source, an old AGW controller of undetermined age and a Codar controller form about 1972. The trolley worked smoothly through the full speed range but non of the controllers provide for feedback. One thing I noticed was the wheels on the non powered car tend only to rotate occasionally despite running in their own horn blocks. Looks like the wheels should pull out on their stepped axles to EM but clearance behind the steps on the non powered trolley and keeping the brake assemblies in line with the tyre treads wheel need a little thought. Electrical pick up is on all eight wheels but if the wheels are pulled out to EM, the pickups may not bend sufficiently to contact the wheel backs. My next move is out with the soldering iron,files & a 16 BA countersunk screw in an attempt to fit a DCS77z decoder but that will be later in the week. P 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ardbealach Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 One is now sat (in bits) on my bench for evaluation. Before being dismantled, I powered it from a regulated and calibrated 0 > 13 volt power source, an old AGW controller of undetermined age and a Codar controller form about 1972. The trolley worked smoothly through the full speed range but non of the controllers provide for feedback. One thing I noticed was the wheels on the non powered car tend only to rotate occasionally despite running in their own horn blocks. Looks like the wheels should pull out on their stepped axles to EM but clearance behind the steps on the non powered trolley and keeping the brake assemblies in line with the tyre treads wheel need a little thought. Electrical pick up is on all eight wheels but if the wheels are pulled out to EM, the pickups may not bend sufficiently to contact the wheel backs. My next move is out with the soldering iron,files & a 16 BA countersunk screw in an attempt to fit a DCS77z decoder but that will be later in the week. P Keep us informed - even some pictures on your EM'ing and DCC'ing of the Trolley. Very interested. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe MCMLXI Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 My Maroon Wickham arrived yesterday, so a trip to the 'shed' to give it a run...... a superb piece of engineering and it is so, so tiny! It ran very well on my layout, with no issues. Just need to fit some track workers onboard next.... i then put it next to an A4 front bogie !! joe 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hilux5972 Posted December 5, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 5, 2016 Wow that's tiny. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanley Melrose Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 My diddy little trolley arrived from Sheffield on Saturday and I have started to think about the possibility of conversion to P4. It's not going to be easy! The OO wheels measure a smidge under 20mm outside and the trolley itself has the stepboards pretty close to them so there is nowhere near sufficient clearance for anything like 2mm wide wheels set to 17.8mm BtB. I loaded a copy of the November 1969 Railway Modeller article into Inkscape and resized the 7mm = 1ft drawing included with it so that I had a 1mm = 1in version. This indicates that the prototype dimension over the wheelsets is 5ft 3.5in with a BtB of 4ft 5.5ins so the wheels are 5in wide. So, any enterprising supplier of a conversion pack will have to contemplate supplying wheels less than 2mm wide as 5in = 1.67mm in 4mm = 1ft scale. I wonder how skinny wheels could be that would still run over pointwork without jamming in the gaps around frogs? Even then, converters will have to consider cutting off the plastic stepboards and at least replacing the supports with very thin etched parts - and maybe the stepboards as well while at it. Then the inevitable question of whether the trolley will move without traction tyres will arise . . . Stan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted December 5, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 5, 2016 Picked my two up today. The instructions say to run in for an hour, "without load". So do I leave the men out for a bit ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill badger Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 (edited) Wow that's tiny. Anyone know when the Farish version is due out? Edited December 5, 2016 by bill badger Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porcy Mane Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Then the inevitable question of whether the trolley will move without traction tyres will arise . . . Stan I did something similar and came to the conclusion that the prototypes pressed wheels were somewhat wider that Standard Loco wheels. Looking at the models wheels It looks as though about 0.5 mm should be able to be skimmed from the rear still allowing enough meat to be left on the existing flange to re-profile it to something resembling a P4/S4 profile I've thought about turning the well sculptured but overscale trolley wheels down to accept 2mm finescale coach wheel tyres. A problem may be the 2mm finescale tyre width of 1.3mm. This pic may give some idea of what I'm babbling on about. Some alterations from standard have already been carried out to accept the DCX77z decoder. Anybody spot the alteration? For my P4 conversion I think I'll stick to the NG brass kit now that 12 volt coreless motors are available in 6mm diameter. I'm hoping that part of the traction problems is a combination of: a) Low voltage motors used with resistors causing an inrush surge when first applying power, casing the wheels to break traction and never recover. b) No suspension compliance. (Having had demonstrated to me a few times that locos with sprung suspension has greater traction abilities to those with solid chassis). c) Comparative high friction of bearings and pickups. Reduction of bearing surface area and using split frame pick up with current collection via the springs might sort this out. I have a plan but it all depends on whether I can successfully knock up some split axles to suit the kit. These are the 6mm dia. 12 volt motors at the top of the phot. They work well through the full 0 > 12 volt range without the need for resistors and are a straight swap for the 1.5 volt type fitted to the gearbox bottom left. First though it's sort out the DCC'ing P 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted December 5, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 5, 2016 Parked up at Treamble. Head to head with an 08 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe MCMLXI Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 'Track Crew' added tonight..... joe 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil gollin Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 . a) Low voltage motors used with resistors causing an inrush surge when first applying power, casing the wheels to break traction and never recover. . . AT LAST - someone has the secret as to how to model Bullied Pacific slipping. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porcy Mane Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 . AT LAST - someone has the secret as to how to model Bullied Pacific slipping. . I thought Hornby had sorted that yonks ago when they discontinued magnahesion. P Which gives me a lightbulb of an idea. If using steel rail; gluing a couple of strategically placed rare earth magnets to the trolley bottom might just improve things enough... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tetsudofan Posted December 7, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 7, 2016 Bit of a surprise this afternoon, just received an email from Hattons that my order for two dcc-fitted trolleys (one maroon, one yellow) has been processed. Just checked my card account and the amount charged by Hattons is already shown as pending. My order was placed as soon as they announced that they would be providing a dcc-fitting service. I did not hear from them when they announced that the dcc-fitting could not be done and did not call them myself just leaving the order pending just in case they figured a way of doing it ...... and now it seems they have. Maybe Hatton's friends at Olivia's told them how it could be done. Further update when the trolleys arrive...... Keith Just got an email from Hattons advising that my two dcc-fitted trolleys have finally been packed and will be yodelling their way towards the far south east with delivery scheduled for tomorrow....... Keith 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pannier Tank Man Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Mine arrived after preordering from rails of sheffield cannot believe how tiny it is will be interested to see if it is possible to chip it and how! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul 27 Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I am still trying to find photos of these in the early 60s even more impossible to find them in the north west. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnd Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 I am still trying to find photos of these in the early 60s even more impossible to find them in the north west. Have seen pics of them on the Buxton - Ashbourne Line. Could loosely be described as North West. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tetsudofan Posted December 8, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 8, 2016 Just got an email from Hattons advising that my two dcc-fitted trolleys have finally been packed and will be yodelling their way towards the far south east with delivery scheduled for tomorrow....... Keith Well, Yodel yoddled today and my dcc-fitted Wickham Trolleys arrived late this afternoon. As everybody says they are tiny!!! Have had the yellow one out of the box and onto the programming track, programmed its new address and gingerly placed it on the track and sent it off for a couple of circuits of the track before being parked up for a couple of pictures: Looking at the paperwork that came from Hattons the trolleys have been fitted with Hattons DCR 8-pin (harness) 2-function 1.1amp small and thin decoders with back EMF. The wiring is very neat and looking down on the trolley it looks like this: ...... and before anyone asks I'm not going to take the thing apart to see how Hattons have done it for fear of not being able to get it back together again . Keith 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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