tractor_37260

Hi Peter Health wise - "mus'nt" grumble" as they say. I've not got much done of late, other priorities and all that ! Did get some time recently to have a play around when my new 40 arrived, as you will no doubt have read all about it on here/elsewhere ! At long last, finally a 40 that looks the business. Still undecided what to do with it, but I'll certainly be looking in here, to see how you go about the possible ? under tank removal etc once you get a model ? An early (tank less) chassis assuming it will fit the new body, a possible option perhaps ? BTW Nice work also on reducing the 33 tank width cheers Ken

Hi Ken It's most interesting to hear the (first ?) results of the Bachmann "clean-out" fix, it's more or less what I expected. Well described etc , you have also found, the model once sorted, runs perfectly. Without going into the rights or wrongs of whether we should need to carry out such mods on a new loco, I hope this will be of help to some of you willing to have a go. Exactly - I totally agree. Regards Ken

Thanks for the link. I wonder if PH/shapeways could do a similar job for for the 37 nose end MU connector, the supplied Bach representation being long overdue a "retool". In the past I've used/re-worked cast Craftsman parts.

If no luck at Maplins - try here :http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171172574550?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 Nice reworks !

This just gets better and better ! - do like the ETH fittings - on my shopping list. Mr Fox is going to be upset for sure, when you advise him about his version of the 406 plates. I've found this in the past also, with some other plates - especially keeping in mind the premium price he now charges for them - wearing a mask comes to mind ! Great modelling, keep the photos coming - t'will be a beast once complete Regards Ken

Hi Clive Now that is a very good point, I had not even considered that for my own use, (wondering WHY that loco is not responding) let alone for anyone else helping out etc ! - nice one Ken

Lee - Nice to hear your happy at last with your 40 with "added pick-ups", another convert (finally) ! The 40 has a pick-up problem, there's an easy fix should one choose to use it , or just return it - it's time to move on now - nuff said Cheers Ken

Another point the above photos show, is that the lamp iron on the centre doors is lower down. I've already considered changing my model to 40 143 but it also had these "lower lamp irons" and as they are well done on the model, it's not straight forward to shift them neatly ? agh !! Just noticed Hattons' have 40 141 back up on their web-site - not presently in stock - but avail for pre order ! @ £88. According to a Rails newsletter there may ? be a price rise from Bachmann imminent ! so they are advising to pre-order now - but that could just be a marketing/sales ploy perhaps !

Some nice "Modelling" ! especially a different identity on each side, I like that - food for thought. BTW photos on flicker, would suggest ? that 140 carried a single warning flash beside the centre bodyside door, on at least one side.

What follows is a general reply to a number of previous posts, rather than individually. Firstly, it was not my intention to be “derogatory” or otherwise towards anyone, for any reason - so apologies to anyone who may have taken offence. The bottom line: one basically has two 2 choices : If you want a (useable) as against display Class 40 141 ? Then provided one feels capable and happy to do so : either sort out it’s revised pick-up problems or return it to Bachmann for fixing / a replacement (if available) or a refund. One thing is for sure, Bachmann are already committed to this revised pick-up design for the Class 40 and that’s not going to be changed or altered any time soon. Cleaning out the grease etc as suggested by Bachmann may well work in the short term, long term I have my doubts. Adding wheel wiper pick-ups will greatly improve the current collection, and thereby the running quality – especially if using DCC Sound - otherwise a “stay alive capacitor” may prove necessary. If 12 wheels are (properly) picking up current, it’s a “no brainer” that’s an improvement over 8 "iffy" ones, and they will also prove helpful running over insulfrog points/dead spots and dirt etc especially with the 40’s long wheelbase. There are also comments on a possible motor problem on some examples, but properly functioning current collection needs to be in place first, BEFORE the motor can be “fairly” assessed. On the chassis base, there are a couple of small holes to allow lubrication of the motor shafts/bearings. I’ve added very small amounts (pin head) of lube to both sides, perhaps this has also helped my example run better . In response to Lima’s running qualities, a huge difference could be made to what “came out of most boxes” some much worse than others, with a number of mods/tweaks etc , but that’s for another thread/day, not here. My own 40 141 now with (12 wheel pick-up) is finally running perfectly, as good as any Bach 37/47 I own. On DCC, with the supplied decoder re-fitted, and a few CV changes, again running and control is very good, and for a basic decoder, it’s more than acceptable. next up - I have a spare Howes 40 - V3.5 Lok +28mm/100ohm speaker that I intend to fit shortly – can’t wait to fire it up !!

Aha sounds promising then (with decoder fitted) , pleased to hear the "added pick-ups" made a difference Hopefully some others will at least try out this mod and post the results on here for every ones benefit, before copping-out and "throwing the baby out of the pram" are we not all supposed to be modellers after all ?, back in the old Lima days you HAD to work at getting good running - very rarely did it "came out of the box" It's a lot easier to fit extra pick-ups than to "de-grease" the existing pick-up mechanism + you now have 12 wheel pick up, a much better option on the long wheel base 40. Finally, running problems apart, this 40 really does look impressive, I'm very pleased indeed with it. A long wait - but well worth it ! Time for some ZZZzzzzzz's now ! Especially after mentioning Lima and good running in the same sentence BFN Ken

Nice one - the pick up mod is straight forward really, a lot easier that trying to sort the "grease" problem out, it's worth checking the wheel backs are clean before reassembly. I've still to run mine with the supplied decoder to see how well or not it performs. As for the Green 40's they are I believe, to be checked by Bachmann prior to release, so hopefully they may run as expected out of the box. If not you can just mod them also. Regards Ken

Stewart A Soundtrax decoder is fitted as supplied, which may well be a 557 ?. It's difficult to judge the performance of the fitted or any (other) decoder on this loco until you get it to run properly. As supplied CV3 + CV4 were set at 0 hence no inertia or braking effect. Changing these 2 CV's alone to CV3 =128 and CV4=64 made a big improvement. These are only base line trial values, experiment to get the running that suits the layout size best. HTH Ken

Morning TT If your careful there's no need to remove the whole bogie assembly, just the sideframes. These are the normal click fit, although they are rather tighter on this model, at the tank end of the bogie using a small flat screwdriver etc pry between the frame securing clip and the main bogie moulding until the frame comes loose. As this model does not have wires tying the bogie to the chassis - it may well be easier for most to just remove the complete bogie giving easier access etc, remembering that the drive shafts then have to be connected up again on reassembly. HTH Ken

Thanks to Bachmann for their quick response on this frustrating issue. As I originally suspected poor current pick-up with the new revised pick-up system, the most likely cause, resulting in poor running. However, the only way of properly cleaning inside the brass bearing bushes and the stub axle, will require removing all four driving axles, then removing each stub axle/wheel from the drive gear/or removing the wheels from the axles to allow the brass bearing to come off, thereby allowing the inside to be cleaned along with the stub axle shaft. After all that the loco may run perfectly, but for how long before grease/dirt gets back in there, and the whole process will require doing again ! And it will still only have 8 wheel pick-up, on a long wheel based 40 - not the best option Sod that for a lark - I'll stick with my 12 newly added "self cleaning" wheel wiper pick-ups, a breeze compared to all that faffing about !! I rest my case Cheers Ken

Let's hope Bachmann also comment on the apparent supply shortage problems and the so called "discontinued" myth !

Lee - keep in mind there may not be replacements available. That's running problems now with 2 different decoders then? At least try fitting extra wheel wiper pick ups to one of them first - it's only a couple of hours work, - or at the speed you seem to work at an 1hr+ ? and it's easily undo able if it has to go back. I've not done the second bogie yet, but the results so far are encouraging, it's presently running at a slowish speed on a DC powered shuttle track, and has been for 9+ hours non stop - and it's looking promising so far - it's NOT stopped or faltered yet. I just hope I'm not tempting fate posting this !! HTH Ken

NO chance at all - if it suffers with the same problems as most 40 141's - this may well be why there's a so called delay in releasing them !!

Here you go Part 1 Making up the pick-ups Cut 2 pieces approx 35mm long and shape as in the photo Shape another two pieces into "hockey sticks" by forming a 90deg bend on one end - one right handed and one left handed Clean the areas to be soldered and the wheel contact parts with a fibre glass pencil I soldered the pieces together using Cars Green Label Flux + Multicore leaded solder. Keep the long "handle" parts for now, they are very useful when lining up to solder to the original loco pick-ups - helps stop finger burns also ! That's the easy part, the tricky part is getting them soldered to the loco pick ups and keeping them in line etc ! Part 2 to follow as time permits HTH Ken PS Sadly all the pick-ups in world ain't gonna help if the motor is "Dodgy" but hey I've started so I'll finish !

These pipes were not supplied with the new 40 model - fitted or otherwise. Only rad frost shields and an optional "plug" for the boiler exhaust port came as extras. Bogie mounted steam pipes could be made up from mains T&E cable (the solid copper core part) - around 1.75/2mm should be suitable. HTH

Yep no bother - I'll do a "how to" in stages with photos etc, when I do the other bogie next week

No problem Simon - not taken as a jibe at all - Trust Botchmann - if it's NOT broken and it works - let's just fix it anyway ( ie revise it for the worse) ! More importantly, lets hope they do not roll out this revision on forthcoming models

Hi Simon The poor design of the originals resulting in intermittent pick up with the resulting flickering lights/stalling/bad slow speed running etc as many have already discovered, make this a very worthwhile mod. The standard pick-up arrangement on this model is, as far as I'm concerned a backward step, the design etc and also that it only picks up on 8 wheels, and over time will be very prone to poor contact in the vital areas, and as for cleaning "a nightmare" Yes crazy maybe. but the results speak for themselves. Cheers Ken

Are you perhaps referring to the thick bogie side mounted pipes (steam ??) that on a model help to hide the gap between the nose and bogies.

Had a couple of hours spare this afternoon, so decided to make a start on adding extra pick-ups to the new 40. It was a bit tricky to solder the PB strip and also keep it in alignment - but I got there in the end. Even with just one bogie done, it makes a big difference in running quality- no flickering lights at all, or hesitation/stalling etc. No scope now for bad pick-up using the (poor) originals + 12 new ones ! HTH Ken