Back to Basics with Blink Bonny!

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up, Mick

That's what I tend to use, TBH. But dampening the paper slightly does make it more transparent.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

Bloody typical!

Just discovered - no more HMRS transfers.

*deep sigh

[Saint Johnstoun]

I use a magnifying eyepiece to get the Pressfix decals into the right place. I also use cotton buds to dampen and dry off the transfers - you use one end soaked in warm water to apply and the other end to slide off the backing and soak up the excess water.

[Blink Bonny]

And now:

The successor to the Mainline chassis - the Bachmann split chassis.

These have come in for a fair bit of stick, not all of it warranted. I will accept that the split chassis isn't as good as the modern chassis, to come in a future instalment, but, with some care lavished upon it, it CAN be made to run well. Here's how:

As you can see, here I return to the paths of righteousness. Yes, I know the boiler isn't right but it ain't bad really.

And this is what lies beneath the "bonnet" as it were. Very similar to the Mainline chassis but redesigned to take a can motor. Servicing is a cinch. A tiny drop of oil on the motor spindles front and rear (a Gaugemaster Precision Oiler needle just about squeezes down between the chassis halves) and a reasonable dowsing on the large brass worm gear. Now, turn upside down.....

.... and push each axle to one side to expose the axle journal. A drop of oil on each journal will keep the bearing picking current quite happily. You can also see the "sump" under the gears which provides a useful reservoir of oil for the main gears.

If this does not work, then you'll need to remove the baseplate and clean both axle bearings and journals with IPA or similar and reassemble. However, the motors do not last forever but replacement is a simple, if long and tedious, job requiring no soldering. Carbon brushes, as on all modern locos, are not available as spares. If these fail then the motor should be replaced as a unit.

Next up - "Pancake" motors.

Have fun....

[strang steel]

Thanks for that BB. Most useful, as I have a few old Bachmann locos that I don't really want to seize up on me just yet.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up, SS!

TBH, I find that the steps outlined for the Mainline 4MT even keep them running acceptably, if not sweetly.

[Blink Bonny]

Ah yes.

Now we are heading for the darkened corners of our model cupboards. What is this wizened thing here? A Hornby class 29 Diesel? A couple of TD 28xx? A very early 9F? An Airfix 4F? And good lord, no - a Lima 40?

Pancake motors divide modellers. Myself, I don't like them because a powered vehicle behaves differently to an unpowered one and that's my main objection. They also tend to be noisy and don't like running slowly. The exception to this latter objection is found in the tender of either a 4F or 2P. The Airfix TD seems to be the best of the bunch. Followed by Hornby then Lima. Main problem with Lima is their attitude towards quality control. What control? Some of theirs are not bad at all, some are dreadful, such was their variable quality. However, let's get busy.

This is the 1st British outline TD and, are you surprised it is 92220? Hey, it's me!

OK - both sides of the motor bogie and the underside. This mechanism is the daddy of the all. It is closely related to the fleischmann mechanisms of the period. Carbon brushes are held in by brass spring caps and all 6 wheels are driven. On this early 9F, all wheels are fitted with traction tyres so loco and tender are permanently coupled.

Oiling is a cinch. A tiny, tiny drop on the end of the shaft where it comes through the faceplate, on the main drive pinion at the rear and a touch on the plastic gear teeth, wheel face and bearing. This dates from about 1972 and still runs beautifully. Later on, the American pickup system was adopted with one side of the tender collecting current leading to the tender being separate and easier to put on the track. Underneath you will notice three tiny holes cast into the baseplate. These are for oiling the axles. Not too much in case it gets on the tyres.

[Blink Bonny]

Part the 2nd.

This is the type produced for the majority of Margate production and versions of it are found in most locomotives produced at this time. It isn't as refined as the early type and is a rather better engineered version of the Lima motor, ahich we shall meet later. This is from a Class 29 Diesel.

The chassis

The bodies on these are a simple clip fit and this shows how the "American" system of pickups works. The brown wire to the left collects current from the trailing bogie. However, there is no need to remove the body. Insert a flat blade screwdriver up the rear of the bogie frame and the power bogie drops out. There is no need even to remove the pickup wire.....

..... but I did for these pictures. Notable are the fold-over brush retainers. Oiling is easy. A drop on the centre bearing in the faceplate, the brass wheel at the back then on the teeth and pivots of the plastic gears. A tiny drop down the back of the wheels to lubricate their bearings and all will be well.

[Blink Bonny]

Now for Tender drives.

This is from an early 28xx 2-8-0. This also uses the "American" pickup system and the lack of wires is notable. This type re-introduced a proper axle for the middle wheels. Many Hornby "Pancake" locos use loose wheels on the middle axle.

Same oiling points as before.

For comparison, here is a TD unit from a later, Chinese made 2-8-0. Note the extra wiring. When a DCC socket was added to the Patriot, the wiring harness looked like a rats' nest!

These picked up from all 8 driving wheels plus the tender wheels, even though 4 of them have traction tyres!

On both of these later TD units, not that the brush holders are held in place with small, crosshead screws.

[Blink Bonny]

Now for the Lima!

This shows the faceplate. Note the brush holders are sprung.

The gear side. Differences to note are that the gears are retained on small brass hexagon head screws rather than a clip and that the main pinion is inside the motor casing. So - careful with the oil. Also note that on this later model, all wheels pick up. On earlier models, the American system was used - one side of each bogie.

[Blink Bonny]

And finally......

Airfix.

These are the pick of the bunch. The 4F I have used to illustrate this is one I happily take to exhibition. It isn't as smooth or quiet as the Bachmann 3F but then what do you expect? It is controllable at slow speeds and also quiet, the whine of the pancake only becoming apparent at scale speeds above 40mph.

However....

To access the mechanism, remove the front crosshead screw and lift off the tender body.

This also shows the final gears and the axle pivots which need a drop of oil.

The faceplate and its access hole - just a trace of oil on the front bearing. As for the rear.....

This is it with the weight removed. Note that the 1st stage gearing is entirely enclosed. A drop of oil on the exposed bearing ends is all that's needed. Oil from the main gears will work through the main gear train to lubricate the teeth.

Now a word about spares. All types of armature are available but note that they are not interchangeable. So, if your Hornby loco has a 3-pole drive, to get a 5-pole drive you will need to replace the whole unit. Also Hornby armatures will not fit Lima locos, nor Airfix/Dapol ones. However, the carbon brushes and springs for all types ARE compatible, as are traction tyres for all except the Hornby LNER pacifics which use a much larger diameter wheel. However, tyres for these are now being remanufactured.

We are now coming to an end of types of chassis - just 3 more articles to come. Modern Bachmann steam, modern Hornby steam and modern diesel chassis.

Now - anything anyone out there would like me to cover?

[strang steel]

This is excellent BB; now to dig out my Lima J50s and give them a try.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

Thanks for that, SS! I'd forgotten them. Lima J50 next......

[Blink Bonny]

Right - the Lima J50

As you can see, the front screw holds the chassis in place. If you get the wrong one, it doesn't matter. The body screw is three times the length of the others!

Not immediately clear is the fact that the middle axle is not connected to the side rod but is free running. The front two axles need to be kept scrupulously clean because these are the only pickups. The rear axle has traction tyres so no pickups.

The pickups are visible in this photo - the brass contacts need no cleaning or adjustments. They are nice and robust - possibly the best feature of these Lima chassis. Also visible are the 2 screws securing the faceplate and the spring contacts for the brushes. The tiniest drop of oil on the end of the motor spindle will keep things running smoothly.

A drop of oil on the centre bearing and the gear train. A drop on the axle bearings and crank pins and all is well.

Now - the diesels.

Bachmann diesels are real Chinese Puzzles to get into. This loco was secured by no fewer than 8 screws! However, once you get into them you will find that the motor is completely enclosed by the die-cast chassis! However, it needs no maintenance, unlike their steam locos. Basically once the motor fails, you fit a new one. A long and involved process and the alignment of the bogie driveshafts is tedious.

One more point before I move on. Bachmann diesels seem to be more sensitive to tarnish on their pickup strips. You can clean and re-set them but the best way to keep them running is to, err, run them!

[Blink Bonny]

Now for Helijan.

In the main, Helijan bodies clip on so no excess of screws to undo. Their Clayton is a double dipped villain to get into. The cab simply unclips to give access to the DCC socket but the motor bearings are hidden. To get to them, you need to remove the buffers and some screws to ease the body off. And yes, Helijan motors do need oil from time to time. Anyway, Kestrel models.....

As you can see, the light cables attach the body to the chassis so be careful! At least the bogies are easily accessible for lubrication. The motor hides under the circuit board.

This, on the class 47 chassis at least, is held in place by two rubber clips. Ease the circuit board out......

..... and the motor lurks beneath. A drop of oil on the spindles occasionally. You'll be glad to hear that this loco has run a fair bit and has not needed lubrication since purchase.