R283 Co-Co

"king shaun" wrote

fast.Against

I think this is one of the Joueff class 40 models. Some really rated them, personally I thought they were grossly inferior to the Lima model which is generally regarded as dire. The Joueff mechanism is at best no better than ok, at worst pretty awful.

A good starting point would be the stip the mechanism completely and thoroughly clean everything before re-assembling. If it's still no better, then the WPB should receive it gratefully.

John.

Hornby 58034 "Bassetlaw", I suspect

-- Regards,

Steve Jones, Shropshire, England

Big Trains:

"Steve Jones" wrote

Ooops, the brain's finally deceased. I read it as D283 and not R283 - very sorry!

John.

fast.Against

If it is a class 58, which I don't doubt, then don't expect a fast top-speed due to the gearing...the pulling-power shouldn't be too bad though. You could always fit another power unit in the other end and add extra pick-ups. Just a shame Hornby are dragging their heels with the upgrade of their modern loco' models. Given time, they may improve on the class 50 faults.

Colin.

I have 58034. Pulling power is pretty weak, but ok for my needs. Trouble is wheelspin - the centre axle seems to not 'float' enough to allow the driving wheels to stay in good contact with the rails, on all but the very best laid peco track (and even then, its still a bit hairy!)

ISTR a friend had 58050, which had a modified version of the motor bogie, which was much better.

Any known cures for the traction problem, apart from get the newer motor bogie?

sb

Wheelspin or tyre-slip....?? If the tyres are slipping on the wheels you may find that it's due to oil/grease or just general sloppyness due to wear and tear.

Check wheels and tyres for fitting and accuracy...buckled wheels or bent axles.

The later version was/is better....try the new version with the latest pick-ups, one at each end is an excellent working idea if you have any heavy loads to haul.

Colin.

Wheelspin - its been like that since new - its because, over pointwork, the centre axle bears the weight and acts as a pivot, preventing the other wheels from gripping the rails enough(althought they still maintain good enough elelctrical contact). I find that roughing up the tyres a little with abrasive paper does give an improvement for about half a day. Not something I'm keen to do tho - don't want to keep replacing tyres.

All seems OK - as I said, its always been like this, and it's not had a rough time, so I'd be 99% certain no damage has been caused by myself and dad. I'll check again tho.

Dragging the 58 with my Lima 33 works well too! Staying within my means, and all that. ;-)

thanks,

sb

Any retailer nearby who could try it out for you.....do you know another modeller with a layout and who has class 58(s).....?? I have many class 58's from the earliest to the latest version but haven't had any problems and I've even fitted drive units at each end with the extra pick-ups.

checked the level of the wheels...?? Try a steel rule along the wheels each side.... This should show-up any undue wear discrepancy in the wheels...

Have you checked the drive-gears for looseness or wear.....??

Colin.