Toftwood Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 When you are the "Project Manager", "Principal Contractor" and "Client" all rolled into one you can basically do what you like, when you like and in which ever order you want! This statement is my attempt to explain the erratic nature of my progress and reporting. Also there are elements of one step forward and two steps back that arise from time to time - today being a case in point. Following a visit to a well known Danish flat pack furniture store, the "Fat Controller" (i.e. me) now has a nice compact swivel chair so I thought I would run a train or two from the new seat to celebrate. The WD and hoppers needed shunting and turning - the shunting went ok but there was no response from the WD but when the hand of God intervened, some sort of intermitant motion occurred. Said WD was removed from the track and examined. Removal of the loco body looked intricate possibly involving removal of the front pony truck and all the brake rigging, hmm. So I decided to oil what I could see, namely the valve gear, connnecting rods, etc. Out came the trusty Peco lube and the loco was replaced on the track and the normal slow and responsive movement of the loco was achieved - yippee. So off went the train which promply stalled at the single line branch junction point - grrh. Further investigation revealed that said point was not switching frog polarity reliably. Out came the trusty electro spray stuff (cant remember its exact name) to spray the offending Seep point motor and all was sorted. So, a loco and a point which were working perfectly yesterday decide to have a sulk. Anyway, all OK now! Back to the one step forward status, yeah! Anyway, digressing again, I am looking to wrap the fiddle yard enclosure with a photo backscene. The fiddle yard tracks are some 3 inches above the single line branch terminus so I wanted a high ground line. Earlier in the week I visited a location near here where the land rises up from the Thames flood plain and took a series of pics to turn into a panorama. This was the result. West Tilbury Panorama1 copy.jpg I'll do a trial print on plain paper (A4 sheets glued together) to see how it looks. Regards, Brian. Doesn't that really grip you when for example a point which worked perfectly for weeks before, just ups and fails to switch, deny electrical contact, throw said loco/train off the track. A prod here, a push there, maybe a rub with a track rubber and away it goes again like new GRRRRR lol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 (edited) When you are the "Project Manager", "Principal Contractor" and "Client" all rolled into one you can basically do what you like, when you like and in which ever order you want! This statement is my attempt to explain the erratic nature of my progress and reporting. Also there are elements of one step forward and two steps back that arise from time to time - today being a case in point. Following a visit to a well known Danish flat pack furniture store, the "Fat Controller" (i.e. me) now has a nice compact swivel chair so I thought I would run a train or two from the new seat to celebrate. The WD and hoppers needed shunting and turning - the shunting went ok but there was no response from the WD but when the hand of God intervened, some sort of intermitant motion occurred. Said WD was removed from the track and examined. Removal of the loco body looked intricate possibly involving removal of the front pony truck and all the brake rigging, hmm. So I decided to oil what I could see, namely the valve gear, connnecting rods, etc. Out came the trusty Peco lube and the loco was replaced on the track and the normal slow and responsive movement of the loco was achieved - yippee. So off went the train which promply stalled at the single line branch junction point - grrh. Further investigation revealed that said point was not switching frog polarity reliably. Out came the trusty electro spray stuff (cant remember its exact name) to spray the offending Seep point motor and all was sorted. So, a loco and a point which were working perfectly yesterday decide to have a sulk. Anyway, all OK now! Back to the one step forward status, yeah! Anyway, digressing again, I am looking to wrap the fiddle yard enclosure with a photo backscene. The fiddle yard tracks are some 3 inches above the single line branch terminus so I wanted a high ground line. Earlier in the week I visited a location near here where the land rises up from the Thames flood plain and took a series of pics to turn into a panorama. This was the result. West Tilbury Panorama1 copy.jpg I'll do a trial print on plain paper (A4 sheets glued together) to see how it looks. Regards, Brian. Some times when a model does't work first time, but did yesterday, it can be the simplest of things, glad you got it sorted mate. The Back Scene looks really good to Brian, very nice indeed. Some good forward steps now over the weekend I hope. All the best. Edited April 21, 2017 by Andrew P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tom shaw Posted April 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 21, 2017 When you are the "Project Manager", "Principal Contractor" and "Client" all rolled into one you can basically do what you like, when you like and in which ever order you want! This statement is my attempt to explain the erratic nature of my progress and reporting. Also there are elements of one step forward and two steps back that arise from time to time - today being a case in point. Following a visit to a well known Danish flat pack furniture store, the "Fat Controller" (i.e. me) now has a nice compact swivel chair so I thought I would run a train or two from the new seat to celebrate. The WD and hoppers needed shunting and turning - the shunting went ok but there was no response from the WD but when the hand of God intervened, some sort of intermitant motion occurred. Said WD was removed from the track and examined. Removal of the loco body looked intricate possibly involving removal of the front pony truck and all the brake rigging, hmm. So I decided to oil what I could see, namely the valve gear, connnecting rods, etc. Out came the trusty Peco lube and the loco was replaced on the track and the normal slow and responsive movement of the loco was achieved - yippee. So off went the train which promply stalled at the single line branch junction point - grrh. Further investigation revealed that said point was not switching frog polarity reliably. Out came the trusty electro spray stuff (cant remember its exact name) to spray the offending Seep point motor and all was sorted. So, a loco and a point which were working perfectly yesterday decide to have a sulk. Anyway, all OK now! Back to the one step forward status, yeah! Anyway, digressing again, I am looking to wrap the fiddle yard enclosure with a photo backscene. The fiddle yard tracks are some 3 inches above the single line branch terminus so I wanted a high ground line. Earlier in the week I visited a location near here where the land rises up from the Thames flood plain and took a series of pics to turn into a panorama. This was the result. West Tilbury Panorama1 copy.jpg I'll do a trial print on plain paper (A4 sheets glued together) to see how it looks. Regards, Brian. Little Easington-on-Thames ! Regards Tom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Little Easington-on-Thames ! Regards Tom Thanks Tom, your post deserved more than that "funny" icon reply - that made me smile hugely and chuckle out loud (not to be confused with lol). Yes indeed but this may well be a temporary fix photo pic wise until the next time I can get up to the Land of the Prince Bishops :) Best Regards, Brian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted April 22, 2017 Author Share Posted April 22, 2017 Well, despite my oiling of the valve gear etc, the WD failed again today - little or no response to the controller so the WD was removed to the workshop for further examination. Meanwhile, one of them new fangled diesels was forced to deputise. Seen here arriving... ...and departing. I have perused the WD's exploded diagram (there is no service info provided by Bachmann in this 2004 version of the loco) which really sheds little light on which screws you have to remove to get the chassis seperated from the body. All very frustrating. Regards, Brian. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukebox Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Does this help, Brian? I actually had it sitting in front of my keyboard, as I'd chipped one of my WD's last month for trials, and not packed the box away... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danstercivicman Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 A mini project has been completed. For some time the goods facilities have lacked a yard crane and an appropriate platform or base for it. So the usual high tech drawing was prepared... 20170419_142347.jpg ...materials assembled... 20170419_142358.jpg ...and work substantially completed... 20170419_171318.jpg ...the piece was posed on the layout in its intended position. 20170419_171644.jpg Some more painting, weathering, detailing and bedding into its place on the baseboard is necessary but I'm reasonably pleased with the outcome. Regards, Brian. Looks good! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted April 23, 2017 Author Share Posted April 23, 2017 Does this help, Brian? I actually had it sitting in front of my keyboard, as I'd chipped one of my WD's last month for trials, and not packed the box away... WD.jpg That's great mate, just what I needed. Thanks. Best Regards, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted April 23, 2017 Author Share Posted April 23, 2017 (edited) I've been doing a bit of research around a potential D11 to D20 conversion project. I have in my possession a Bachmann D11 and a DJH D20 kit. Now, the D20 is definitely a North East loco and the D11 plainly isn't! I have a Railway Modeller drawing of the D20 and the Drawn & Described book containing the D11 drawing. The driving wheel diameters/spacing are 6 ft 9 in and 10 ft for the D11 and 6 ft 10 in and 9 ft 6 in for the D20 - and the number of spokes are identical. Good enough for me. So, I need to do a bit more checking such as removing the D11 loco and tender bodies and examining the interiors and the D20 body and tender parts to see if there could be a "marriage of convenience". The spare D11 tender body would fly straight across to my modified Hornby RailRoad D49 "Westmorland" - bonus! Food for thought. Regards, Brian. PS Just to also add that my loco building skills and experience are non-existant(existent?) hence the plan above. But I have successfully mated a Lima J50 body to a Bachy Pannier chassis though...and then Hornby released the J50. Am I tempting fate? Edited April 23, 2017 by Brian D 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two_sugars Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Go to it. . . . .you can't do owt till you try. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 That's great mate, just what I needed. Thanks. Best Regards, Brian. Courtesy of "jukebox"'s data sheet I managed to remove the body from the WD's chassis and lubed the motor and worm. Having put the WD back together and on the track there has been a vast improvement in terms of response to the controller but there is the occasional clicking noise when driving the loco in reverse but it runs smoothly enough even so. I'll leave off any further tinkering for now and see how it goes. Regards, Brian. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 The latest mini project carried out over the weekend has involved my three early style Hornby Gresley coaches. It is relatively easy to separate the coach bodies from the underframe moulding so I have removed the existing big coupling Hornby bogies and replaced them with Bachmann Thomson bogies which incorporate the smaller style coupling. I've also added black paper corridor connectors. Here is the rake being hauled by D49 Westmorland. This loco, as I have already mentioned, started life as Hornby RailRoad LNER green "The Berkeley". I removed the outside steam pipes to convert it from a Hunt to a Shire and added a few other details before renaming it as Westmorland but the tender is still wrong. It is by no means a perfect model but the mechanism is so silky smooth with the motor in the loco and both loco and tender pick ups it prompted me to acquire another one which will remain a Hunt. Regards, Brian. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Well, despite my oiling of the valve gear etc, the WD failed again today - little or no response to the controller so the WD was removed to the workshop for further examination. Meanwhile, one of them new fangled diesels was forced to deputise. Seen here arriving... WD fail 1.jpg ...and departing. WD fail 2.jpg I have perused the WD's exploded diagram (there is no service info provided by Bachmann in this 2004 version of the loco) which really sheds little light on which screws you have to remove to get the chassis seperated from the body. All very frustrating. Regards, Brian. Send it back to Bachmann, £23 for them to rectify and service! I recently sent them a B1 where the rear drivers axle had come apart and jammed the motion, and a n A4 where I had inadvertently snapped off the reversing link bracket. Both returned fixed and serviced for £23 each. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukebox Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Courtesy of "jukebox"'s data sheet I managed to remove the body from the WD's chassis and lubed the motor and worm. Having put the WD back together and on the track there has been a vast improvement in terms of response to the controller but there is the occasional clicking noise when driving the loco in reverse but it runs smoothly enough even so. I'll leave off any further tinkering for now and see how it goes. Regards, Brian. Always glad to help, Brian. With regards "clicking", that sounds like something is clashing in the loco's valve gear (i.e. external to the motor) - a rolling road is the best place to try and diagnose the problem; of course if it is valve gear, it could *need* a curve or even reverse curve to generate the movement in the rods that causes the clicks. Running it at a very slow speed might help you work out at what part of the wheel's rotation the clash is occurring - the other give away can be a shiny spot on the motion where the part is scuffing. Cheers Scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 Send it back to Bachmann, £23 for them to rectify and service! I recently sent them a B1 where the rear drivers axle had come apart and jammed the motion, and a n A4 where I had inadvertently snapped off the reversing link bracket. Both returned fixed and serviced for £23 each. That is very good to know. I too have a dicky B1 with the same problem. I generally untangle the valve gear and put the two halves of the axle FIRMLY back together and that normally does the trick until the next time it happens. It's the only reason I've been monitoring Hornby B1 prices on Ebay but I will contact Bachmann as you suggest. Thanks again. Regards, Brian. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 Always glad to help, Brian. With regards "clicking", that sounds like something is clashing in the loco's valve gear (i.e. external to the motor) - a rolling road is the best place to try and diagnose the problem; of course if it is valve gear, it could *need* a curve or even reverse curve to generate the movement in the rods that causes the clicks. Running it at a very slow speed might help you work out at what part of the wheel's rotation the clash is occurring - the other give away can be a shiny spot on the motion where the part is scuffing. Cheers Scott Excellent advice Scott. I'll try monitoring the loco on curves, or else return to Bachmann. I've been looking at rolling roads but have always found them expensive to purchase, especially as they generally need another power source. Regards, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 Go to it. . . . .you can't do owt till you try. John Thanks John - I'm giving it careful consideration and have as a start perused the various exploded views and compared them. Firstly the D11... ...which as far as the DJH loco body swap is concerned... ...looks entirely feasible. However, the tender swap... ...appears much less so as the tender sides and chassis sides are one casting requiring a bit of surgery (or maybe a Q6 tender top might fit - more food for thought). Regards, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukebox Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Excellent advice Scott. I'll try monitoring the loco on curves, or else return to Bachmann. I've been looking at rolling roads but have always found them expensive to purchase, especially as they generally need another power source. Regards, Brian. They aren't cheap, Brian, that's for sure. I got mine from Canada when the exchange rates were a lot more favourable, but to be honest, it's seen very little use. It was - and will be - handy when building loco kits - to be able to run it at my workbench and assess the chassis as I built it up. But for everyday stuff - even programming new DCC Decoders, I just use a short length of straight track loose on my work surface. As Stockrington is a roundy - and now has an actual circuit of track (!) - I'd rather have a loco running in doing laps up there, than grinding away on the rolling road. Scott 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 They aren't cheap, Brian, that's for sure. I got mine from Canada when the exchange rates were a lot more favourable, but to be honest, it's seen very little use. It was - and will be - handy when building loco kits - to be able to run it at my workbench and assess the chassis as I built it up. But for everyday stuff - even programming new DCC Decoders, I just use a short length of straight track loose on my work surface. As Stockrington is a roundy - and now has an actual circuit of track (!) - I'd rather have a loco running in doing laps up there, than grinding away on the rolling road. Scott My thoughts too, Scott. BTW, it's nearly 4.00pm here in the UK - judging your location, you must be on the night shift Best regards, Brian. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 That is very good to know. I too have a dicky B1 with the same problem. I generally untangle the valve gear and put the two halves of the axle FIRMLY back together and that normally does the trick until the next time it happens. It's the only reason I've been monitoring Hornby B1 prices on Ebay but I will contact Bachmann as you suggest. Thanks again. Regards, Brian. I have a Hornby B1 as well, its much better. The Bachy B1 was great in its not so distant day and is still a smooth runner but the Hornby one is better and far easier to remove the body and fit a DCC chip into. My Bachy one is currently up for sale on Ebay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Excellent advice Scott. I'll try monitoring the loco on curves, or else return to Bachmann. I've been looking at rolling roads but have always found them expensive to purchase, especially as they generally need another power source. Regards, Brian. I have been looking for a Hornby rolling road on ebay for a while. I have bid on a few but they have gone for silly prices, over £100 on some. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukebox Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 This is where I got mine - Bachrus - direct from the manufacturer: https://www.bachrus.com/runningstands.php These days Richard (DCC Concepts) also does one: https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/rolling-road-multi-gauge-6-axle/ I would expect these are available from Hattons, or his Settle store, for a similar price. And now I do need to get to bed! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted April 26, 2017 Author Share Posted April 26, 2017 Not much to report because not much has been done as family stuff keeps intruding. But I had an hour or two in the shed just now preparing the deck of the single line viaduct for track laying (filling a few holes) and experimenting with the positioning of small mirrors to help with turntable in/out track alignment (all currently done by eye). However, there was time to play run a service or two. First though a couple of pics, one of the fiddle yard... ...well "steamed up" and the main station... ...which certainly isn't . But the EE type 3 diesel and brake tender has been replaced on the coal hoppers by a K1, here seen leaving. Regards, Brian. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 Hi Brian, I'm loving the pics mate, that K1 looks superb, more of the same please any time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted April 28, 2017 Author Share Posted April 28, 2017 Hi Brian, I'm loving the pics mate, that K1 looks superb, more of the same please any time. Thanks, Andy. By special request...see my next post Regards, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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