Frappington Jct Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 As at some point I'm going to need a motor bogie for my railmotor in the near future - and that it's probably going to be a Black Beetle - I was hoping that some one on this site could advise me on how to mount one of these into a Hornby Railroad Gresley Brake Third (the basis of the project.) Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRman Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 I haven't done one in a Gresley coach (Horby or otherwise!) but the general principle will apply: 1. The Black Beetle tends to be a little taller than the floor level, so you will need to cut a rectangular hole in the floor the length of the Black Beetle and the width to the inside of the solebars (to allow for maximum swing). The centre of the hole should correspond with the pivot point you require (which may or may not coincide with the original Hornby bogie pivot point, depending on your requirements). 2. Cut some 60 or 80 thou plasticard to form a rectangle that covers the hole you cut, but longer than the hole so that there is room to mount it. 3. Drill some holes to allow some 8BA or 10BA bolts to go through both the plasticard and the coach floor - I would use four bolts (near each corner of the plasticard) but two along the centre line would suffice. You may also wish to glue the plasticard to the floor, but do not do this yet.4. Drill a hole in the centre of the plasticard rectangle where you want the Black Beetle to pivot. Check that the BB can swing freely and has room to pitch and yaw slightly, to allow for uneven track, changes of gradient, and so on.5. Check the ride height with the BB sitting in its hole and recess. If necessary, cut more plasticard of suitable thickness (usually 40, 60 or 80 thou, depending on the height needed to make the coach sit level) acting as packing pieces at the ends of the recess. Once happy with the height glue the packing pieces and drill them to allow the mounting screws/bolts to pass through. Make sure the packing pieces don't interfere with the BB's swing.6. Almost there! You will probably want to fill any gaps around the edges of the recess you have created, and also drill some holes to allow the wires to pass through - particularly if you wish to add extra pick ups on the trailing bogie, or use a DCC decoder.7. Once happy with all this, paint the recess, allow to dry properly, and mount the Black Beetle, using its centre fixing bolt or screw (they changed the pattern at some point in their production - I have both types of mount!).I don't have any current pics but I'll try to do a snapshot to make it all clearer over the weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
graeme3300 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 If it helps, Steam Era Models who make the Black Beetles has details of all the relevant dimensions on their website. The link needed is: http://www.steameramodels.com/documents/BBdata.pdf Hope this helps. Graeme Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwealleans Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 If you go to my workbench thread here, post 273 shows how I remotored a Sentinel railcar with a Black Beetle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frappington Jct Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 Thanks all, this is all very useful. So, just so I've got this right: I have to cut a hole the length of the bogie but wider in the floor of the coach where the bogie is going to go, then cut a piece of plasticard that's bigger than the hole. This is put at the height at which the top of the bogie will sit and bolted in place, and the bogie is attached with its locator screw. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenrithBeacon Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Blackbeetle bogies come with the info sheet mentioned above. Regards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRman Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 As promised earlier, here are two shots of the Black Beetle fitment in my DC Kits 'Tadpole' unit. This particular installation didn't require any packing pieces at all to get the right ride height. Unfortunately, this was one I did some time ago, so it is all painted and doesn't show all that clearly. In this installation, the plasticard mounting plate is only held by two bolts and plastic solvent all round. It is also half hidden by the weights I have used ... I must paint those black at some point too!Once I start putting interior detail in, I will be able to tidy and hide most of the wiring. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frappington Jct Posted June 21, 2014 Author Share Posted June 21, 2014 Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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