No.48 Bachmann Blue Pullman –did you get a discount and other questions

Apparently I recorded my intention to purchase the Bachmann Blue Pullman in August 2010.  Well it finally arrived in November 2012 and has provided hours and hours of nail biting entertainment.




Get 50% off (Insurance)



My layout is DC and I thought that perhaps I would have to go inside and remove the installed DC Chips.  I did not expect that I would have to do it so soon and to have to dismantle and correct so many other bits before enjoying its running.

I cannot imagine that I am going to be alone with these matters - hence this Blog. 



Initially one of my power cars had an intermittent fault.  It would stop and start.  All the lights worked.  Sometimes if I gave it shake it would go again - then it would stop.  I am indebted to Rob who appears to have had the same problem and who pointed out that as well as the ‘four screws’ there are two hidden tabs under the Guards doors that need to be released to allow the body shell to be removed.

Hidden tab behind guard’s door.  Note blanking plate in place of DC Chip


Stiff paper or very thin card fed in between the body shell and the metal underframe makes removal of the body shell almost easy.  First removing the rear bogie is not absolutely necessary but it does make life easier.  It is then simply a case of lifting the underframe out from the corridor end of the coach.



Notes provided by Bachmann tell you which way up to fit the blanking plate - see the picture above.

How to solve the intermittent running?  To cut a long story short I discovered that squeezing the wires around the connections to the capacitors stopped and started the motor.  Closer inspection suggested a problem with one of the power leads (in this case the black lead) which gave the impression of having been soldered without first stripping the insulation.  It was very untidy – even by my standards - and there was a single loose strand of copper which might have been responsible for the providing the intermittent power.  Re-soldering this connection solved my problems with intermittent running.


Power Car Unit A



As part of the process to solve the problem I had swapped the motors between the power cars.  I was nearly confused by the Bachmann plug and sockets which are reversed on Power Car F to enable it to run backwards.  This appears to mean that one of the plugs is used with black for positive and red for negative?



Power Car Unit F



Back on track now and how does it run?  Well – disappointingly – every now and then one or other of the driving units would de-rail on the latest Peco large radius points.  In common with many other Members the ‘back to back’ distances of the driving wheels on my units were all too wide.  Inspired by RobertCarroll I went back inside the units and removed the drive bogies.



There are four screws on the metal housing above the bogie and there is the single screw to release the ‘tower’ itself.

The plastic moulding for the sides and bottom of the bogie can be removed by gently levering above the tab at the front.


A little knowledge can be dangerous and I had guessed that the wheels would squeeze up using the same approach that as I have used many times before:



Note the cardboard packing



This is where a direct line to Bachmann might have been useful.  As already mentioned by other Members (apologies because I cannot exactly remember who) the wheels are a metal to metal fit on each stub axle and the insulation is provided by the nylon gear in the centre.  In my case squeezing the wheels together only achieved a limited decrease in wheel spacing and I was left wondering whether there was too much nylon moulding (or glue) inside the centre portion of gear preventing the axles being pressed sufficiently closely together.




Close up of the Nylon gear assembly



I guess it will be down to Bachmann to detail how the axles are locked into the nylon and to come up with a more foolproof system.



Out of the box all the drive wheels on my two units measured 15.5mm top of flange to top of flange.  Most other Bachmann wheels measure 14.5mm.  After gently squeezing with my ‘G’ clamp I achieved just under 15.0mm – this seems to be acceptable on my layout with the latest Peco Code 100 points.



Good, now I can get 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