Locomotion Models announce 'Hardwicke' Improved Precedent Class

[Norton961]

Attached a couple of photos of the tender pick up arrangements for Hardwick. There seems to be enough room (after some judicious filling to fit P4 wheels. Pete Hill has a sheet detailing how to convert the Bachmann Dukedog (on the Alan Gibson website as a download and turns the pick ups through 90 degrees t press on the back of the replacement tender wheels.

 

David

[ikks]

Picked up mine today.......what a cracker!!, it was posted in the UK on December 23rd. and arrived at my  PO box in country South Oz on December 30th, that must be some sort of record for me, especially at this time of year!! BUT very dangerous, if I hadn't checked the tracker today I wouldn't have known it was there(wasn't due until the 5th.) and there was every possibility that SWMBO could have discovered it. I will leave you to imagine the consequences!!. Anyway many thanks to the NRM folks and Bachy for coming up with this one.

Rgds.....Mike

[Guardian]

Hi All

 

my Hardwicke arrived last week. On the test runs, I noticed a poor electric pickup. My first thought was "stay-alive" and "change the wheelset with the traction tire". But after a few investigations, I realised that the complete loco did not contribute to the electric pickup, i.e. the model was relying on the tender pickups only.

 

After having disassembled the loco body from the loco chassis, I found that the electical connection from chassis to loco (and through that and the tender plug-in to the decoder) was mechanically interrupted: one of the small electrical connectors did not have contact to the contact in the loco body. bent it a little up, tested successfully and re-assembled the whole model, it proved to be a good runner with sufficient electrical pickup.

 

pickups of the loco chassis, connecting to the loco body by the two small bent hooks  

 

 

contacts in the loco body, instead of soldering the wires directly.

 

 

However, I additionally mounted a 1 mF stay-alive.

 

So, if you are considering to change the wheelset with the traction tires due to bad electrical pickup, please chick first if the loco wheelsets are properly connected and contribute to the electrical pickup of the model at all.

 

Btw, from a mechanical point of view, Bachmann should have used also the leading axle as electrical pickup (which they did not for whatever purpose). This is the wheelset with the most weight above it and being spring-loaded, thus, the potentially safest electrical pickup of the model. 

 

Btw, pretty cool thing:

L & NWR no. 790 "Hardwicke", Improved Precedent class, in the autumn sun. Locomotion/Bachmann ba 35-160NRM

 

 

happy monday,

Mark

 

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by Guardian