1938 Tube Stock

[tetsudofan]

On 27/01/2022 at 15:22, Gwiwer said:

But as I applied gentle pressure to the prongs of a power bar - in order to effect the "squeeze and ease" method of uncoupling, so the little black cover-plate in its centre popped off and sprang away.  That left the two copper strips essential for transmitting power loose (as I discovered they are not glued) and luckily visible on the layout.  

 

Having very carefully replaced those strips onto the tiny locating lugs they sit on I set about locating the cover-plate.  As many of us will know a small rectangular piece of black plastic could hide anywhere and could even be mistaken for something else.  I was lucky to find it quickly on the pale-coloured carpet rather than having to scour the layout.  It simply clips back on - there is no visible evidence of adhesive.  So fair warning, tube train owners, that these coupler bars might spring apart and the small-but-critical components are not glued together at all.  

 

The same happened to me this afternoon. Got three cars connected but when attempting to join the last car the coupling thing disintegrated. Managed to recover all the bits and pieces, got it together again but it disintegrated again. 

 

Am thinking about trying once more over the weekend and maybe try to glue it together. If that does not work back it goes back requesting a replacement package.

 

Over the last few years I've joined together many Bachmann multiple units and never experienced this problem......

 

Keith

[aureol40012]

Fitted the Roads and Rails sound package to mine tonight, though the need for two sound decoders is a bit hard to swallow at £240!

 

Have never liked sugar cube speakers so decided to delve in to my stock of Roads and Rails speakers and found this was a perfect option.  It’s pretty inconspicuous, certainly next to the whopping PLUX decoder!

 

 

[Erixtar1992]

12 minutes ago, aureol40012 said:

Fitted the Roads and Rails sound package to mine tonight, though the need for two sound decoders is a bit hard to swallow at £240!

 

Have never liked sugar cube speakers so decided to delve in to my stock of Roads and Rails speakers and found this was a perfect option.  It’s pretty inconspicuous, certainly next to the whopping PLUX decoder!

 

 

It sounds fine with the Bachmann sugarcube speakers to be honest.  The enclosure is well hidden too. Shame to lose even more interior

[PhilJ W]

My set still remains in the boxes at the moment until I get the opportunity to test them properly, after which they will have to go back into the boxes. What worries me is the reputedly fragile connectors. As the set will have to be split up after each running session is there any way to make the connectors more robust? 

[charliepetty]

We are working on our 4 car set for using on our Demo layout, hopefully we can get in there directional lights appropriate to the route and the rear reds.  Lets see how it goes.

We will do the movie as and when its done, hopefully for the Glasgow show.

 

We have fitted at the rear of the driving coach 20mm x 20mm speakers.

 

The recordings came from the Isle of Wight in October 2020, with the help of the train crews and drivers, we had a good week there, even had a Steam Ride, a Chair Lift Ride and a superb High Speed Rib ride around the needles.  The weather was also brilliant & sunny.

We even saw Sir Peter Hendy, Chairman of Network Rail !!!  If interested see:

https://www.dckits-devideos.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=253_68&product_id=1860

[Trofimow]

On 21/01/2022 at 16:47, Dublodad said:

What is really needed is a Wedgelock coupler with NEM socket forks plugged in!!!!

Who s up to produce some - 3D printed maybe????

Now there's an idea. I'll have a bash....

 

[aureol40012]

On 29/01/2022 at 22:59, charliepetty said:

We are working on our 4 car set for using on our Demo layout, hopefully we can get in there directional lights appropriate to the route and the rear reds.  Lets see how it goes.

We will do the movie as and when its done, hopefully for the Glasgow show.

 

We have fitted at the rear of the driving coach 20mm x 20mm speakers.

 

The recordings came from the Isle of Wight in October 2020, with the help of the train crews and drivers, we had a good week there, even had a Steam Ride, a Chair Lift Ride and a superb High Speed Rib ride around the needles.  The weather was also brilliant & sunny.

We even saw Sir Peter Hendy, Chairman of Network Rail !!!  If interested see:

https://www.dckits-devideos.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=253_68&product_id=1860

That’s a stunning price for a pair of Plux22 Decoders.

[Uptosteam]

On 31/01/2022 at 17:18, Trofimow said:

Now there's an idea. I'll have a bash....

 

Hi Bud,, could you give me the width and height dimensions and ill have a go myself.

[Trofimow]

1 hour ago, Uptosteam said:

Hi Bud,, could you give me the width and height dimensions and ill have a go myself.

I used 16mm x 5mm which fits the hole nicely - mind the gap!

 

A google search for " 1938 tube stock wedgelock coupler" produced some useful photos and a drawing.

[Uptosteam]

Ok so i have a produced a prototype wedgelock and combined buffer beam on the car now and its not looking too bad. Had a couple of trial runs and now printed at the best resolution at a scale width with just the hook and receiver to add. The final effort will be smoothed out somewhat but at 11mm x 6mm you don’t have much to work with !!! Let alone see it without a microscope!!

Edited February 3, 2022 by Uptosteam

[Erixtar1992]

8 minutes ago, Uptosteam said:

Ok so i have a produced a prototype wedgelock and combined buffer beam on the car now and its not looking too bad. Had a couple of trial runs and now printed at the best resolution at a scale width with just the hook and receiver to add.

Looks a good start! Remember both ends are different with the buffer plate mind :)

[PhilJ W]

I've been looking for ways to transport and 'rail' this stock as a complete unit and I came across this.

https://shop.train-safe.de/en/TRAIN-SAFE-Travel-Travelight/

Looks good but expensive, as they are made to bespoke order.

[Uptosteam]

1 hour ago, Erixtar1992 said:

Looks a good start! Remember both ends are different with the buffer plate mind

Ok didn’t realise this, fitted ones printed in black medium and they look a treat to the naked eye!! Better than the square nem pocket at any rate. My print head is 0.4mm so this impacts the detail i can include.

 

 

[Erixtar1992]

1 hour ago, Uptosteam said:

Ok didn’t realise this, fitted ones printed in black medium and they look a treat to the naked eye!! Better than the square nem pocket at any rate. My print head is 0.4mm so this impacts the detail i can include.

 

 

Yeah the A and D end were slightly different, odd design lol

thats looking cool mind. Would probs be nice in resin and you could get the hook part of it on there also

[Dublodad]

The D end had a buffer above the wedgelock, the A end didn't, just a buffing plate.

[4railsman]

Anyone built or modified an oil tank or guards van as a barrier wagon to fit between this newly released  EFE tubestock and the Heljan Metropolitan Bo-Bo locos?

[PhilJ W]

7 hours ago, 4railsman said:

Anyone built or modified an oil tank or guards van as a barrier wagon to fit between this newly released  EFE tubestock and the Heljan Metropolitan Bo-Bo locos?

They were never coupled to the Metropolitan Bo-Bo's AFAIK. But for movement on the main line LT had several different types of barrier/match wagons. These were modified by the replacement of the buffers and couplings at one end with tube couplings. The first ones, dating from the 1930's were ordinary three plank wagons painted grey with white London Transport markings. There were at least two generations of such stock. Next came four ex-BR brake vans. A pair each for surface stock and tube stock. These were placed in stock c. 1970 and lasted until the late 90's. The tube stock ones (B580 and B585) were painted all over yellow, the surface stock ones (B586 and B587) were painted in LT grey with red ends. These were replaced by modified VDA vans which I think Hornby made a model of. 

Edited February 5, 2022 by PhilJ W

[I.C.L. 11]

1 hour ago, 4railsman said:

Anyone built or modified an oil tank or guards van as a barrier wagon to fit between this newly released  EFE tubestock and the Heljan Metropolitan Bo-Bo locos?

Or got an unpowered battery loco from Radley and let the tube stock push it?

 

Anyone wanting to run them purely as "hauled stock" behind a powered loco may be better off getting the original EFE Gilbow models and changing the wheels or bogies so they're free running. A set going for scrap has been created this way using old wooden open wagons as barriers. Part way down the page - http://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/model_omwb40.html

 

I must say the Bachmann paint finish on the recent EFE Rail version looks so much better to my eye than the old Gilbow releases which suffer from quite thick paint  fading the detail as well as being super glossy which doesn't help.

[Michael Hodgson]

2 hours ago, I.C.L. 11 said:

Or got an unpowered battery loco from Radley and let the tube stock push it?

 

"Batteries not included" ?

[PhilJ W]

4 hours ago, I.C.L. 11 said:

Or got an unpowered battery loco from Radley and let the tube stock push it?

 

Anyone wanting to run them purely as "hauled stock" behind a powered loco may be better off getting the original EFE Gilbow models and changing the wheels or bogies so they're free running. A set going for scrap has been created this way using old wooden open wagons as barriers. Part way down the page - http://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/model_omwb40.html

 

I must say the Bachmann paint finish on the recent EFE Rail version looks so much better to my eye than the old Gilbow releases which suffer from quite thick paint  fading the detail as well as being super glossy which doesn't help.

Excellent pics, one change that they have made on the 'scrap' stock that hasn't been mentioned is that the shoe beams have been removed as per prototype. This was always the practice when moving LT stock over BR metals, indeed the only time stock was transferred even on the LT system with the shoe beams fitted is with stock being taken in or out of service on the Great Northern and City line.

[PhilJ W]

5 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

They were never coupled to the Metropolitan Bo-Bo's AFAIK. But for movement on the main line LT had several different types of barrier/match wagons. These were modified by the replacement of the buffers and couplings at one end with tube couplings. The first ones, dating from the 1930's were ordinary three plank wagons painted grey with white London Transport markings. There were at least two generations of such stock. Next came four ex-BR brake vans. A pair each for surface stock and tube stock. These were placed in stock c. 1980 and lasted until the late 90's. The tube stock ones (B580 and B585) were painted all over yellow, the surface stock ones (B586 and B587) were painted in LT grey with red ends. These were replaced by modified VDA vans which I think Hornby made a model of. 

Bachmann even made a model of one of the brake vans used as barrier wagons on surface stock.

And here is one in the yellow livery used for tube stock.

[PhilJ W]

If you want to run a genuine train behind a Metropolitan Bo-Bo London Transport have a pair of 4-TC sets that run behind number 12 Sarah Siddons.

[Coppercap]

4 hours ago, I.C.L. 11 said:

I must say the Bachmann paint finish on the recent EFE Rail version looks so much better to my eye than the old Gilbow releases which suffer from quite thick paint  fading the detail as well as being super glossy which doesn't help.

I felt that was one of the issues with EFE die-cast buses (apart from the exaggerated panel joints) - paint far too glossy, and often too thick. It made them look more like Corgi toys, but they ended up at silly prices before they went bust...which didn't come as much of a surprise. The tube stock, while they sold extremely well, were a missed opportunity.

[PhilJ W]

A later livery for the London Transport brake vans match/barrier wagons.

All the brake vans converted to barrier wagons by LT were still fully equipped as brake vans with the guards brake release valve. 

 

[wainwright1]

15 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Bachmann even made a model of one of the brake vans used as barrier wagons on surface stock.

And here is one in the yellow livery used for tube stock.

 

I think that at least one of the grey ones is preserved and do I recall a later variation of the grey livery with an LT roundel on the ducket ?

 

All the best

Ray