It's my one concession to the diesel age - DMUs were introduced when
steam was still around, if not in Big 4 livery. I'm not picky about my
periods - it's my railway and I'll run what I want.
I already have a Bachmann 9F with early BR crest. It's nice but it
doesn't like some of my 2nd radius points.
Makes a change from the axles exploding, which is what usually happens
to the ones we use.
If you haven't binned it, and the body hasn't melted, Mainly Trains do
a very nice chassis and detailing kit for the J72. Ref. number is
MT248. They also do a kit to convert the J72 into a J71 if you fancy a
challenge. Ref. for that one is MT249. Etched nickel silver. How's
your soldering? ;-)
Obviously, it's going to cost quite a bit more than just buying a
replacement or ordering the spares from Bachmann but my Dad and I have
bought several Bachmann J72s and only the most recent one works
perfectly and only one other can be termed a runner (and is a little
rough).
IMHO Assuming condition ok then youve got one of the best models of one of
the best loco's at a fair price. So who cares about anything else - esp if
you could have got it cheaper .....
Let us know how it goes.
cheers,
Simon
OK, I got my loco on Monday, only 5 days - it beat the strike.
It was, as expected, unboxed, and wrapped in copious amounts of bubble
wrap. It may have been wrapped a little too tightly, as the tender
connector was bent, which I was able to fix, but it ran unevenly due to
some binding in the valve gear. I have tried to straighten things out
but still haven't got it quite perfect. These components are very
delicate! Otherwise, the model is in excellent condition.
One question that someone may be able to answer: there is some moulded
pipework below the cab on the right side, but none on the left side,
although it looks as though something might have been broken off. Should
there be pipework on the left side of 6201 below the cab? I've tried to
find clear pictures on the net, but I'm still not sure. Some of Horby's
more recent BR models with the fixed trailing wheels appear to have
pipework, but this one has the swinging bogie.
The Railroad range A1, A4 and 3F I ordered new have been held back until
the strike is settled, so I haven't received them yet.
Yep there is, tis to do with injector. looks different to that on RHS -
simpler. Vaguely shaped as below.
With 2 pipes on left joining the 3rd on right. Dimension of 1cm by 1 cm.
| | |
| L---O
L-------|-
HTH
Simon
Must admit I hadnt noticed it before so wouldnt worry about it. however you
could make something up with bit of wire if you really wanted to.
Cheers,
Simon
I dodn't think I want to badly enough. After all, the loco has no steps,
and there's that annoying speedo cable that prevents you totally
removing the body from the chassis. It's not that easy to get rid of,
either, as it has a special fitting on the rear axle crankpin.
Well, I managed to break it (flexible plastic) so I cut it off. The upper
fitting is glued into the running board, I believe, and can be removed.
It's harder to get rid of the axle fitting, but it's not too noticeable.
I have now received the above 3 models. The A1 Flying Scotsman and A4
Falcon are excellent value for under £50, having the new chassis with
fixed trailing pony truck and wide flangeless wheels. These are not
noticeable, and also make it easier to rerail the loco.
However, the 8-wheel tenders appear to be on basically the same chassis
as the old tender-drive version. They even have a dummy ringfield motor
to add weight! In fact, I was able to swap over the (non-prototypical)
trailing pony trucks for the old ones that already had Kadees attached
to them - they still carry the same part number.
Both locos run very nicely, as does Princess Elizabeth now I have sorted
out the valve gear problem. However, after only a couple of days the A1
lost a front axle crankpin at speed, causing it to jump the track.
Luckily there was no apparent damage, and I found the pin beside the
track. I had some difficulty getting it back in; it has ridges rather
than threads, and pushes into a metal boss. If it comes loose again,
I'll e-mail the vendor about an replacement.
The 3F Jinty is a bit of a disappointment, even though it cost only £22
(Hamley's wants £35!). It's an old body lacking a lot of detail, but the
"upgraded" 0-6-0 chassis allows too little vertical and horizontal
play in the axles to negotiate track irregularities. Some of my older
Hornby turnouts have the insulated frog slightly higher than the running
rails; as the centre driver passes over the frog, it lifts the other 2
wheels on that side, breaking electrical contact and often causing a
derailment. Hornby's older 6-coupled tank loco design was much more
accommodating, with the weight on the front two axles, traction tyres on
the centre axle (which also had reduced flanges), and a floating rear
axle held in contact with the track by springs. My 1990s 2-6-4T with
this arrangement (and a 3-pole motor) runs well without hesitation or
derailment on turnouts; I have removed the traction tyres and it hauls 3
suburban coaches with no slippage.
This is a case where a "new and improved" design creates problems
that the previous design managed to avoid. My 3 Pacifics and Black 5,
with full flanges on all loco and tender wheels, negotiate turnouts and
sharp curves better than the 3F. My Bachmann J74, with its now burned
out motor, was problem-free when new. I can't quite say the same for my
Bachmann 9F with its 10-coupled wheelbase, but it does negotiate both
tracks of my main oval.
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