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’. ...

It is a great feeling when things turn out well. Bucklebury Grange arrived at the beginning of summer. Hornby Bucklebury Grange (left) Overton Grange (right) The first model was returned to the seller, something about the way it ran. The replacement model was an improvement, so it stayed. How many models can you send back? However at higher speeds it still seemed to roll around. I began to imagine that one or more of the driving wheels was not central on its axle. Bucklebury Grange was banished to one of the shed roads. Now on RMweb RonnieS has been investigating how to add some extra weight to a Hornby Grange. I would have a look at Overton Grange (one that I added lead to earlier) and at the same time, try and sort Bucklebury Grange. Adding lead shot to the smokebox Adding lead is relatively straightforward. I made a cylinder out of a 65x65mm heavy duty brown paper which I pushed into the smokebox before filling with around 50gm of lead shot. A bit like a cartr...

I recently added my two-pennies-worth to an RMweb question about motorising Peco points. As a consequence and after some thirty years of playing with model trains I have now installed a couple of Capacitor Discharge Units (CDUs). What do I think? Well I have mixed feelings.  First some pictures (scanned images) going back in time to earlier layouts. Control panels with push buttons Bracken Ridge This was the Bracken Ridge layout from the early 1980s. I cannot remember but I don’t think model railways had heard of CDUs in the early 80s. Certainly I didn’t use a CDU and the Peco solenoids attached to my points were operated by momentary contact switches wired in parallel directly from the 16v auxiliary AC supply from my Hammant and Morgan controllers. Control panel Park View NB Hi-tech wire connectors to controller By the 1990s we had moved house and all the track, point motors and switches were reused in the new Park View layout. Again it never occurred to me...

The recent appearance in the shops of some Hornby super detail Pullman Cars at half the recommended price had me thinking. When I used to go ‘Train Spotting’ to Darlington I might be lucky and get there in time to see the ‘up’ Tees-Tyne Pullman when it called at Darlington just after 10:00am.   Queen of Scots and Tees-Tyne Pullman Times 1961/62 However I seem to have clearer memories of the down Queen of Scots creeping in from the south towards five o’clock in the evening. The best of the day would be over and the train of elderly Pullmam cars would be headed by an equally old and probably dowdy A3. I would model the Queen of Scots Pullman. Queen of Scots c1961 (Hornby Super Detail Pullman Cars fitted with Roco 40270 couplers and hauled (in the shadows) by Hornby A3 Coronach.) Previously I had used a pair of Hornby Brakes to top and tail my Bachmann Mk1 Pullmans to recreate a Deltic hauled Tees Tyne Pullman. One I made earlier ...

I grew up in Middlesbrough and for a couple of years around 1960 I used to go ‘train spotting’, mostly to Darlington but occasionally up to Newcastle and even sometimes across to Carlisle (age about 12ish!). When it was announced that Bachmann would be producing a green whiskered Metro-Cammell DMU destinations Newcastle/Middlesbrough I would have to buy one. Bachmann Class 101 with whiskers My DMU has arrived and I am delighted. Bachmann Class 101 arrived I might even have travelled on the Prototype. Metro-Cammel DMUs resting at Darlington c 1961 Bachmann Class 101 in the north east Out of the box I would have preferred the units to be coupled together more closely. Using the Bachmann Class 101 drawbar However Alun Hughes (RMweb) suggested that I replace the Class 101 coupling bar with a Class 150 bar (Bachmann part number 36-062) – thank you Alun. Using the Bachmann Class 150 drawbar The improvement is immediate – and yes the DMU...