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Bloodnok

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  1. Bloodnok
    I seem to end up with a lot of other people's broken locos while I'm looking for eBay "Bargains". This slightly sad looking Bachmann Class 44 Peak is one such loco. When I got it, it had the wheels turning in opposite directions. I shot some video of why it was doing that, what parts it needed to fix it and how to fit them, and how it runs afterwards.
     
     
  2. Bloodnok

    Hornby Class 50 ... Dead short when DCC fitted

    By Bloodnok,


    Fixing Locomotives
    A while back I acquired a Hornby Class 50. It caused a dead short on DCC. It got put on the 'Locos needing attention' shelf, and promptly ignored for a few months.

    Accurascale then announced a Class 50 -- but skipped this specific variant (TOPS pre-refurb) in their announcement. So I decided to see what was wrong with this one, and if it could be fixed...
     
    There's a lot of pointless stuff on the circuit board which is not necessary with DCC, so I went through it, worked out what it was for, what was causing the problem, and what I could safely remove. I then worked out a way to make it work in DCC -- it only needed a couple of wires adding.
     

    I still need to get a set of headcode lights for it though...
  3. Bloodnok

    CD drive powered Lima 73

    By Bloodnok,


    Fixing Locomotives
    This Lima class 73 has received a (believed 6v) motor salvaged from a CD drive, a Scalextric drive pinion, and a DCC Concepts 8 pin socket harness. Plus a drive gear with 70% more teeth which means the rear axle is actually driven now.



    It's a vastly different beast now. It picks up immediately, and runs much more quietly. This is despite the fact I still have work to do on it -- it could use a full set of pickups on the trailing bogie for a start, and it's still rolling on the original Lima wheels, too.
  4. Bloodnok

    Javenetworker

    By Bloodnok,


    RTRbashing
    My Hornby Networker came to me rather broken. I fixed it up with some needed spare parts, but it never really worked properly, needing continual assistance to get to the other end of my workbench, let alone running on an actual layout.

    I gather that's not unique to mine -- they have a reputation. Mine might be a particularly bad example, or it might be typical. The entire unit is a high-friction mess, with every single axle having both pickups and a bad quality sleeve bearing on the axle. Then the drive itself is some awful open frame motor driving a single axle.

    I was originally planning to re-work this using Black Beetle components. It made a lot of sense back when I was living in Australia. Now you can't get them any more -- nor apparently any of their competitors.

    So ... I found an alternative solution in the form of the Hornby Javelin, which matches the wheelbase and diameter close enough, and for which spares are readily available from the usual suspects. (Although I found buying entire bogies cheaper than axles for some reason. YMMV).

    I started by looking at the first problem (rolling resistance) first.

    Careful application of a 3mm drill bit to the sideframes allowed Javelin trailing axles to fit into the Networker bogie sideframes. This gives a better wheel profile running in a reasonable approximation of pinpoint bearings:



    No, your DCC Concepts Axle Reamer won't help you -- the Javelin axles are shorter than the normal length, and the centre of the bogie kinda gets in the way of the DCC Concepts tools, too. You'd need to cut the centre of the bogie away to get the tool in, and yet that part is both structural and also vital in terms of holding the bogie into the chassis.

    If you want to re-fit the weight in the centre of the bogie (I haven't done this yet) you'll need to clearance the axle slot -- otherwise you reproduce the same problem.

    My trailing car now rolls reasonably freely. Not great (my precision drilling isn't perfect), but a hell of a lot better than it was before.

    The Javelin motor bogie will also fit. It's a bit taller, so the cosmetic seating would need modification above it, but it should still sit just below the windowline, not intruding into the body too badly. The main question is how to retain it in the chassis.



    Option A would be to clearance the inside of the chassis to allow easier rotation, and construct something to use the original javelin pivot (on top of the motor bogie). Option B would be to transfer all the relevant clips and supports from the original bogie frame to the new one. I haven't decided which option I should look at yet. I do have plenty of spare sideframes should I end up ruining one or two in testing this out...
  5. Bloodnok

    Airfix Mk2D conversions

    By Bloodnok,


    RTRbashing
    Years ago I picked up a load of Airfix Mk2D coaches on the cheap.

    Being cheap, most of them were Brake Second Opens, and most of the rest were First Opens.

    Many of them were also in poor condition. One turned out to have broken/missing bogies and gangways. There's a distinct lack of stepboards, buffers, and so on.

    There are also shortcomings in the original Airfix representation -- such as the FO having 2+2 seating, but at the correct 7-bay pitch. It should be 2+1 for a proper FO...

    This makes them ideal conversion material.

    This one is my first attempt. It's an early Mk2E TSO, created from the non-brake end of two BSOs. The exterior, the glazing, and the interior have all received the cut'n'shut treatment, creating a proper 8-bay 2+2 seating layout. The roof and the bodysides have been cut at two different locations.



    Glazing is only in temporarily installed -- it'll need to come out again when this finds it's way to a paint shop.

    This is my second attempt. It's a Mk2D FK.
     

     
    It's interior has been created by cutting and shutting two Hornby Mk2 BFK interiors. The paint isn't great on this example, so I may elect to repaint it too. It'll certainly need a new number.

    Two further coaches are on the workbench. I have an FO shell in a particularly poor state of disrepair, which has been put down next to one of the brake ends of the BSO. This should be the correct pieces to make a BFK, although I've lost the cut diagram I used to have bookmarked many years ago.

    I also have two spare FO interiors, and I'm cutting out and repositioning individual seats. If I can separate enough to form an airline section in the centre, it should make a convincing 58 seat Ex-FO declassified TSO.
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