irishthump

Some UK outline for a change:

I picked up an old Hornby HST from Ebay a while back, it's in good condition overall but the ringfield motor was little knackered! A good service didn't improve matters much and getting a replacement was proving difficult as well as potentially expensive, then I came across this low cost alternative which uses a motor from an old CD drive. Here's the link...

http://web.onetel.net.uk/~johndent/ringfield.html

I installed the motor as described except that I had removed the old magnet which left a lot more space around the motor, which I simply filled with blobs of hot glue. Here's a pic:

I wired in a bog standard Hornby decoder and was amazed at how well it runs. Here's short video of it in action, sorry about the low quality as I took it on my phone....

I considerably increased the weight in the loco and as you can see it pulls a 5 car rake as well as a driving trailer with no problem at all.

Must be part of the 0.00001% of the male population that is immune to World Cup fever.

Makes for awkward pub chat, esp since I can't discuss the goal that zsa zsa gabor scored for Tanganika.

I feel your pain.....

Here in work they look at you like you have 10 heads when you tell them you didn't see "The Match" last night!

Regardless of the size of the stanchions, it certainly looks the part after a coat of primer...

I use Windsor and Newton acrylic artist's varnish, it comes in a spray can but I apply it with an airbrush.

I just spray some into a small paint jar and let it sit for a while to allow the aerosol gases to escape then pour it straight into the airbrush.

As far as I reecall, the MSB chips have 14 functions

Depends on which loco the chip is for. The 201 has around 18 functions, so with the Select you would be missing out on a lot of the sound effects. If I remember right the main headlight is on F11 so straight away you would not be able to turn it on.

For sound equipped locos you really need a more sophisticated controller than the Select. I had one myself at first but upgraded right after I started buying sound equipped locos.

ok, did you check the pick ups?

Good call. These can get very mucky with general dirt from the track as well lubricant from the bogies.

You could always try the IE approach; and never, EVER wash them!

Thanks mate I hope the older generation enjoy the super train liveried A Class

Brings back a few memories alright!

Bloody hell, Anto..... So realistic!

Before you look at replacing the wheels use a continuity tester or simply turn the loco upside down & apply power to each wheel in turn to check that all pick-up wipers are working and power getting through to the motor from all wheels.

 

Bachmann locos have nickel plated or blackened brass wheels the plating tends to break down due to a combination of wear and spark erosion particulary on DC or analogue control, there tends to be less spark erosion with the AC waveform used with DCC. I had a lot of trouble with poorly adjusted pick ups on new Bachmann N Gauge locos more or less direct from the factory.

 

I have not found the wear/plating break down to be a serious issue and the Bachmann wheels are less prone to pitting & picking up dirt than other more expensive brands.

 

I found the most important things were to keep the track clean and only run stock with metal wheels. I use a very fine (non-scratching) metal polishing block from Eileens Emphorium for cleaning the track & use IPA for wheel cleaning in both G & the smaller scales.

I've already checked that the loco was picking up from all 8 wheels. In fact, when I got the loco 2nd hand there seemed to be a problem with the circuit board where both axles at one end of the loco were not picking up power. I re-soldered the connections to the PCB so I know everything is ok there. I also make sure the pickups are properly adjusted every time the loco is cleaned.

I'm pretty sure the loco was ran on a DC layout so maybe that's the reason for the condition of the wheelsets.

The problem isn't so much having to clean the wheels it's the how frequently I have to clean them!

Like I said this is the only loco that gives this sort of trouble. After less than an hour of running it's starts to run erratically and needs cleaning again. I have a Heljan class 27 which gave the same problem and I noticed it had the same type of brass wheels, I changed them for a new nickel set and the problems stopped.

I use meths as my preferred spirit - try reading the reviews in here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Barrettine-Methylated-Spirit-500ml/dp/B002ATI4VG ....

 

..they're right at the bottom..

Haha! Those made me laugh....

Hi irishthump

 

The wheels on my 141's are brass, newer models seem to have a nickel coating but I can see brass coming through this finish.

 

Don't use wet n dry or emery paper to clean them, this makes them pick up more dirt, only use a scratch pen. If its the first time with the scratch pen give them a really good going over to get the surface smooth again.

 

If they still pick up dirt you will need to look at the track

 

murrayec

I only use IPA and cotton buds to clean my loco wheels with, as you say, a fibreglass pen for stubborn dirt. Guess I'll need to try and give them a good polish. I don't think the track is much of an issue, I clean it very regularly and none of my other locos collect much dirt even after weeks of running.

Lads,

I bought a secondhand 141 from Ebay a while back which has been suffering from the intermittent running. The wheels seem to need cleaning very often and I compared the wheels to those on my other 141s and they seem to be brass rather than nickel steel. Maybe the previous owner switched them?

Anyway, where would I get spare wheelsets? Are they standard sized Bachmann wheels? Should I contact Bachmann's spares dept?

Sorry for your loss, HF.

Lovely project David, the scenic work is particularly fine.

I'm partial to American HO myself, although I'm not a steam afficianado! Could you give some details on how you tweaked the decoder in the Shay? I have a couple of Bachmann locos with factory fitted sound which needed a bit of playing around with to get good slow running.

Lovely job, Rebelred.

Looking at your work there is no way you could be called a "novice"!

I got the times myself a while back of the tara's from someone who works in the freight side of Irish Rail.

So are those times set for the time being? Or are they likely to be changed at any time?

Another great vid...

I particularly liked the SuperTrain liveried ladybird at the start!

Here's the schedule for the IWT liners taken from one of the IRRS journals. From what I have seen from videos on Youtube the IWT liners don't head straight down Alexandra Road on arrival at North Wall. A lot of the time the loco seems to be taken off the liner and used to shunt in the yard before bringing the train into the port. I don't know the Tara mines trains timetable but I will see if can I get it for you.

8:15 Ballina-North Wall IWT Mon-Fri

09:35 North Wall-Ballina IWT Mon-Fri

11:05 Ballina-North Wall IWT Wed

14:00 North Wall-Ballina IWT Thur

Many thanks GM! The times listed for the Ballina-North Wall trains; are these the times for their departure from Ballina or arrival at North Wall?

Does anyone know what are the best times to go to Alexandra Road to see the liner and Tara mines trains go past? Going to Dublin and will be there on easter Monday and Tuesday!

I'd love to get some info on this myself! Any spotting gurus care to share their knowledge?

Cracking videos, GM!

Wonderful work, Patrick!

The backdrop is the icing on the cake! It adds a terrific sense of depth, finishes the scene off beautifully.

Can a mod sticky the above post. I think he's Tim Shackleton - (same enamel colours etc.) Great tips.

Whoops! Better come clean before a plagiarism suit gets filed against me!

Yes, most of the techniques are from Tim Shackelton's book "Weathering Locomotives" which I would recommend to anyone. Also, credit to Georgeconna for his "wash on, wash off" technique for the loco's sides!

Lovely work Thump. Care to share the technique? Acrylic/enamel? really tidy , top of the range.

Very simple techniques really....

The only paints I used for weathering are Humbrol Enamels. The various shades are all a mixture of just two colours, Matt Black 33 and Matt leather 62.

First I airbrush a layer of 50:50 black and leather over the whole loco, I let this dry a little then take most of it off again with cotton buds soaked in thinners (I use white spirit) working in downward strokes to mimic streaking on the loco sides and making sure to leave paint in the recesses.

The roof gets a coat of the same mix, as well as the bogies. Neat black is used for exhaust stains as well as around the fuel tank and wheel bearings. Light patches of neat matt leather are airbrushed onto parts of the bogies to mimic brake dust and I also dust a very light coat over the whole loco which helps tie all the colours together.

I find very light application of paint at high pressure gives a lovely, dusty finish.

The exhaust on 210 was done with Humbrol matt rust 113, silver 11 and matt black 33 and touched up with some rust coloured weathering powders.

Lastly the buffers faces are touched with some Metalcote Gunmetal. I use a an old tin that has almost dried out, it gives a great representation of the thick grease used on the buffers!