No.20 Bachmann Royal Scots - taking the rough with the smooth

I have long admired the ex LMS rebuilt Royal Scots.  This little note details some improvements that I have found necessary for some of my Bachmann models.

First a couple of views of the prototype from the 1960s,

46132 at Carlisle Citadel (04/08/62)














46154 at Lime Street maybe in 1962

No surprise then that when I returned to the hobby that my first purchase was a Mainline Royal Scot.  This came from the Morpeth Model Shop in August 1980 and cost £19.00.  This was followed in November 1983 by Scots Guardsman from Kings X Models.  This came with thinner profile wheels and a semi gloss paint coat for a cost of £27.64.  However it still had a Mainline chassis, probably more than one if I remember rightly.  I have included below a scanned image of Scots Guardsman taken when new.


Fast forward now to 2008, Scots Guardsman lives on and is now fitted with a replacement Bachmann chassis.  The original Mainline Royal Scot has been replaced by the Bachmann train set of the same name.


I am generally very supportive of Bachmann products but Royal Scot was not a happy engine and when first taken out of the box it limped around the track.  However on closer inspection it soon became apparent that on one side of the engine the coupling rods were hitting the bottom of the plastic motion bracket.  This was not too difficult to remedy and I now have a lovely smooth running model.



The boxed set was purchased new from one the major UK retailers, and this was followed by a couple of ‘mint’ unboxed Royal Scot locomotives from off the ‘net’.  All three engines had the same problem and all were duly modified to produce smooth running models.



Those of you that have been following this blog will know that for the last few months I have been rather occupied by poppy seeds.  Well Christmas was spent playing trains.  More specifically time was spent examining purchases from the previous six months.  One of my most recent acquisitions was a ‘new’ Bachmann ‘The Ranger’.  Should I be surprised - but this had a distinct limp where the connecting rods were hitting the plastic motion bracket.  This was the same motion bracket as on the Royal Scots, the one on the right when viewing the locomotive upside down.



 I suspect that the hole in the metal casting for attaching the plastic motion bracket has been misplaced during production and that my engines will not be the only such afflicted.  The remedy is straight forward. Turn the engine upside down.  To make the job easier, unscrew the bottom plate and lift out the front pair of driving wheels.  This should then allow access for a craft knife to shave away some of the offending plastic motion bracket:





Whilst the plastic body was ‘off’ the engine I took the opportunity to add some  lead weights:


I hope some of you out there might have found this of interest.  Now back to playing trains:



Location: Dumfries and Galloway, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

No.123 Chocolate and Cream and BR1s – the Replica Railways Restaurant Buffet

Image
This Post describes some modifications that I have made to a Replica Railways BR Mk1 RB. Previously i have modified the Mainline Maroon RB by fitting Finecast glazing, wire handrails and Bachmann close coupling mechanisms. I promised myself that I would do the same for the chocolate and cream Replica BR(WR) RB. Success! Replica Railways BR(WR) Restaurant Buffet on BR1 Bogies First task - find a suitable coach! Replica Railways Mk1 RB from around 1992 Models are bit like London buses. When I first started looking for a BR(WR) RB there didn’t seem to be any around and eventually my coach came from Australia. Then suddenly there were lots available here in the UK. On opening the box I was surprised to discover that Replica had painted the solebars chocolate to match the lower body panels – why? Was someone confused by the blue solebars ion the blue and grey version? They should be black and they can be over painted with new transfers added from the P
Read more

No. 163 Hornby’s new A2/2 and A2/3

Image
Coming from the North East of England I couldn’t let these new Hornby models pass me by.    Thane of Fife had already disappeared from my 1960 ABC books and I never got to see Cock o’ the North.   There is a big red line through the number in my book, confirming its imminent withdrawal.   I did see the two A2/3s, Steady Aim being a York engine whilst around the beginning of the sixties Sun Castle was based at New England and then Doncaster. Thane of Fife after some adjustment to sand boxes and running plate Steady Aim after some adjustment to the speedometer bracket I hadn’t pre-ordered any of these Hornby models and was initially only interested in the two Late Crest engines.    The two Early Emblem engines were bought as an afterthought with some surprise earnings. All the models I have handled have run very well.   With some notable exceptions the models are also very impressive.   This Post summarises various issues (and fixes) that I have come across with these models.  
Read more

No. 166 A tale of two Hornby Super Detail ‘Britannias’, plus a Clan (Postscript)

Image
This Post brings a closure to my last two Posts.   Those of you who have read my accounts of rebadging a Hornby Clan and Britannia will know that there was some unfinished business.   Hornby ‘Britannia’ alias ‘Morning Star’ still needed cut outs around its lubricators.   Hornby ‘Clan McLeod’ alias ‘Clan Stewart’ needed its top lamp iron repositioning.  / A reminder, as received TMC Morning Star alias Hornby Britannia R2562 Completed – my 1959 version of 70021 Morning Star with solid rods, lubricator access, large dome, raised sand box covers, front step and rear cab supports Lubricator Cut Outs, one with (right) and R2562 without (left) In the same way that Hornby have engineered the Britannia body shell to cater for different numbers of raised sand box lids, the body moulding has also been set up to make it easy to alter from an engine without lubricator access (the early 1950s engines) to engines with an access hole in through the side of the footplate.   With a sharp bl
Read more