pete55

Or if Clive referred to the OP, starting a gauge war and getting the thread locked.

Off topic I know..... But can we see more of your layout please? Looks interesting!

Hi Porcy, well you live and learn......never realised there was a rat run on Blackgill ! Pete

The idea of a line behind the scenics at the rear, that simply joins one fiddleyard to the yard at the other end, enabling trains to return unseen has a lot to recommend it....much safer than a long unwieldy cassette to move! Alternatively, make the loads in the wagons removable.......have a feeling this approach is used on Blackgill...as far as I could see, he only has the one rake of ore hoppers.....hardly surprising when you realise the work and time needed to build them.

Agree with those sentiments, ours will have 01's, 9F's, Q6's etc! and Johndon has been in touch with us! Would be interested in the fiddle yard arrangements too....is it to be end to end, or roundy roundy as it were?

Hello Tony, Agree about Branchlines mounts/gearboxes being noisy, and a certain gentleman of our mutual acquaintance has replaced the majority of them in his locos with High Level gearboxes on his big trainset, as they have worn out. The Branchlines components seem to have a fairly short life expectancy, at least with heavy scale length trains. The High Level ones appear to be coping well, as far as I am aware, no failures yet! Temping fate saying that I suppose. The DJH gearboxes are certainly well made and more than fit for purpose, I agree. Pete Hill

Hello Tony, thanks for that.....sounds about right to me!! Just need to persuade a certain person to make the wheels now....

Hello Tony, nice pictures there. Would love to know the driving wheel axle diameters of the J11 and the Dukedog!! Pete Hill

Dangerous assumption that it'll be on 2.14mm axles.......the last Bachmann loco, the L&Y 2-4-2 reverted to 3mm!!

Ok, well that was the danger of making predictions! Having got my hands on one at Warley, and persuaded the owner to let me borrow it Saturday night, I took it apart in the hotel room, and surprise, its on 3mm diameter axles running it very neat brass bearings. Wonder if this means Bachmann have returned to 3mm diameter as their future standard. Also discovered the leading and trailing wheels pick up as well as all four driving wheels. One wheel of each of the radial axles is live to its axle, one side at the front and t'other side at the rear, and passes the current to the main pick up strips in the keeper plate....a very neat arrangement. Oh, and if you decide to remove the keeper plate....beware.....the radial truck springs can fly out! Many thanks to Bob Blood for allowing me to discover this!

Hold on there!! All Bachmann steam loco releases from the 3F have 2.14mm diameter axles........Markits are not an option as they do not do the correct diameter axles. Hornby still use 3mm in their current releases from the rebuilt Merchant Navy, up to and including the recent Star....the T9 being the only odd one as you point out. If it is a loco with 3mm axles......then yes, Markits wheels are an option. Mine has not arrived yet.....but I would be surprised if it had anything but 2.14mm axles and the separate brass bushes. The Alan Gibson website has (under the "Downloads" heading) PDF guides on re wheeling several recent r-t-r locos. Pictures and notes. Hope that helps.

See post 66, Says that its the same arrangements as used on the A1/A2 trailing truck.

Panic not.....think we've all done similar things!!

I did say similar, not identical as you rightly point out the one difference. They are however, a direct swap for each other......

Yes it is a different chassis block, but the valve gear and crossheads look to be the same, or very similar. Bogie looks similar too. Yes, the castle chassis has the separate bearings.

I don't know why anyone is surprised by this........obviously Hornby's new standard. Not having the brass bushes must save on production costs, both in manufacture of the components and also in assembly. Some pre production shots elsewhere of the P2 clearly showed square chassis axle slots. To be fair to Hornby, my Stars driving axles appear a good fit.....better than the 8 coupled tanks. No waggle or slop detectable, unlike some previous chassis from another manufacturer who used to run axles directly in the chassis blocks.

Compare the price.......maybe that will help you decide!

I'll be on the Gibson stand at Warley......I've warned him to have plenty!

I know there is no Castle there yet, nor the Star. I did say these would appear in due course. If you look at the Hornby B17 sheet, there is a picture showing re wheeling of the bogie. For 00 you do not need the brass spacers. The Star bogie is just the same principle.....the axles run in holes through the casting. It is just a matter of removing one Hornby wheel on one side, pulling the axle with the other wheel still attached through the casting and discarding. Mount one Gibson wheel onto its axle, thread this axle with a wheel on one end through the axle hole in the casting, and pop the second wheel on the other end after its passed through the bogie casting. Repeat for the second bogie axle. Hope that makes it a bit clearer.

If you go to Alan Gibson homepage, http://www.alangibsonworkshop.com/ click on Downloads, and then R-T-R conversions, there are a number of down loadable PDF sheets on how to convert various Hornby locos with pictures and notes.....admittedly for EM gauge, but the principles are just the same for 00, just omit the spacing bushes, and use the shorter 00 axle supplied with the new wheels. The Hornby Star will appear there in due course!

Sorry, didn't think to put a link! http://www.alangibsonworkshop.com/

Alan Gibson do the correct 10 spoke bogie wheel, which is a direct swap, providing Hornby have maintained their standard axle diameter.

Yes the intention is to exhibit it! Sent you a PM.

Yes, the same!

For those above who seem interested, the South Pelaw blog http://southpelawem.blogspot.co.uk/ has been updated today....