Silver Sidelines

Flushed with success after fettling Bucklebury Grange I thought I would tackle some of the other unresolved locomotive issues. Bachmann 3440 City of Truro City of Truro arrived from the National Railway Museum in January 2010. I remember being well impressed by the livery and the detail. It ran slowly and smoothly and was carefully put away – too good (expensive) for day to day use. Fast forward to January 2014 and Bachmann’s Dukedog arrives. 9017 was a superb runner, smooth and rock steady. It had me thinking because City of Truro did have a tendency to swing from side to side. I would investigate. Underside of City of Truro The driving wheels on City of Truro are geared to reduce problems with quartering. I did wonder if the driving wheels were not true on their axles. I would try some replacements. Steve at Barwell indicated that the wheels could be removed without splitting the chassis and body. Also that the outside cranks simply ‘pull off’. ...

I was asked this weekend how both my Bachmann Dukedog (9017) and my City performed on gradients. Straight out of the box, the answer is 'With difficulty'. Bachmann Dukedog (9017) on local train 9017 is a recent addition to the layout and after marvelling at the detailing and the super smooth performance I was prepared to overlook the fact that my model seemed incapable of hauling any load uphill. 9017 was relegated to shuttling between two stations on my branch line - on the level. I would investigate further. The front bogie detail Standing the locomotive on a flat surface highlights the likely problem. I haven’t counted the rivets but I am guessing that Bachmann have made a very good attempt at modelling the outside frame to the front bogie with the result that the clearance between the bogie and mainframe is really rather tight. Underside of 9017 showing the mounting for the front bogie Removing the bogie reveals the mounting boss on the unde...