Oxford Rail J27

[mick b]

Dave Bradwell does some excellent J27 castings including Axleboxes/springs , I have used them on many builds, highly recomended and good helpful service too.

[Woodcock29]

Thanks Mick
Andrew

[Greedy Boards]

Speaking as an avowed Smoggie and North Easterner, I am very happy with the J27 that I have received from Oxford Rail. We all have our particular wishes and aspirations, but I can see why they have elected to produce a saturated version, due to the eighty locomotives built as such, compared to the thirty-five superheated in the class of 115 locomotives. The superheated locos were sent out to traffic between 1921 - 23, so only at the very end of the NER era, before the change to the Big Four. All superheated were converted back to saturated by the end of the LNER era, so you really only have one era for a superheated locomotive, compared to the four eras with saturated locomotives. The saturated version was also the one that was most like the J26, which hopefully comes out at the end of this year. The LNER version just released of 1010 is a very good representation of the photo that you can see in Yeadon, and was one of twenty-two of the class that worked out of Newport Shed in Middlesbrough in 1939, alongside a similar number of Gresley J39s. I realise that this might not tick the box for the southern end of the LNER, BUT it is most welcome for those that model anywhere from the coalfields around Selby and Leeds; the limestone quarries of the East & North Ridings; the Cleveland Ironstone District; and the coalfields and quarries of Durham and Northumberland. The North East of England was always a mineral-rich region, and we now have one more RTR locomotive in addition to the J72 and Q6, to run on our layouts.

Regards

Greedy Boards

[Atlantic 3279]

I agree that it was the most logical choice for a single main body style for maximum sales potential, whether or not it suits my quirky requirements.

[Woodcock29]

Likewise full understand the choice. Also better looking really.
Andrew

[Hatfield Shed]

I went for the BR early crest version that's now available. Not really a fit for my KX suburban area 1955-62 period, but we have to support the home side. Good follow on from the N7, it will look really well once weathered, and running is all it should be.

So that's a RTR OO 0-6-0 for four LNER constituents, now where's that J6?

While fitting a decoder, I also set the drawbar to the optional closer position, and found that this provides a scale overall wheelbase, (assuming that the data on this site for the J27 is correct!) which correct spacing is always beneficial for appearance of tender loco models. There's a caveat, in that OR may well have made the (very satisfactorily freely) hinging fall plate scale size, so that at the closer setting, when on curves smaller than 36" radius, fouling of the fall plate on the tender front begins to be evident; and the limit appears to be 30" radius, loco and tender locked together. (A little careful work with a file on the corners of the fall plate should relieve this, mine will wait for this until its infant mortality test running is complete.)

[Chas Levin]

...infant mortality test running...

Never heard those delicate early post-purchase stages described that way - perfect!

Anyone got any figures on how the RTR Infant Mortality Rate has dropped over the years, as modern medicine / mechanical reliability has improved?

[Hatfield Shed]

...infant mortality test running...

Never heard those delicate early post-purchase stages described that way - perfect!...

That was a term in common use fifty years ago when I was on teams charged with driving up product reliability. The problem of 'failed on delivery, install or immediately after' was very costly, and the Japanese competition didn't have anything like this scale of trouble on their equivalent product...

...Anyone got any figures on how the RTR Infant Mortality Rate has dropped over the years...?

I certainly haven't: it would need manufacturer's data, to determine with any statistically valid confidence.

I have a perception derived from my purchases over the past 21 years of Chinese sourced RTR OO steam loco mechanisms; of solid cast chassis block, steel axled wheelsets, wiper pick up, can motor on multistage gear reduction, design. That perception is 'improved' in that in the first decade of purchases I had a few minor faults which caused failure, (all rectifiable) second decade to present, nada.

[Hatfield Shed]

... I also set the drawbar to the optional closer position ...There's a caveat, in that OR may well have made the (very satisfactorily freely) hinging fall plate scale size, so that at the closer setting, when on curves smaller than 36" radius, fouling of the fall plate on the tender front begins to be evident; and the limit appears to be 30" radius, loco and tender locked together. (A little careful work with a file on the corners of the fall plate should relieve this)...

Having now seen a picture of the J27 fall plate, it has concave cut outs at the rear corners, the OR representation is a convex round off. Filing in concavities does the job.

[Jades]

The chimney does look to be better but after pawing through Yeadon last night I'm wondering if the top rim should be taller.

I don't have the source to hand right now but I've read that the issue with the wind jabbers on NER chimneys was that they corroded in use and the running sheds kept filing them down to neaten them up, to the point that they often disappeared entirely. The loco would eventually be sent off for an overhaul where the wind jabber would be renewed, and the process would begin anew.

Eventually the LNER decided they were no longer worth the bother and the chimney height was then the same all the way round.

[Jades]

Here is a photo of the Oxford Rail BR Early Crest J27 I purchased from my good friends from the DLPG at the Birtley Show a couple of months ago. Meant to post it ages ago but I seem to have a critical shortage of Round Tuits at the moment. Photo was taken at the show, when the loco was pretty much straight out of the box.



Number 65837 was historically shedded at Percy Main at the time and is shown here at Dalefoot (Bridge Road), which is a notional sub-shed of Darlington. One of our ongoing themes in Durham Modellers is that the majority of Dad's fictitious layouts are set in the Yorkshire and Durham Dales and where possible the locomotive stock comes from Teesside sheds.

By now there has been a load of discussion, here and elsewhere, on the fine detail merits of the model and whether certain rivets should be there. What I will say is this. When Dad and I started out on our journey in exhibition modelling, back in 1998, this would've been considered to be an exquisite level of detail and we would've bought it without question simply because it was in-region.

As for now I have no complaints. It's a nice model and managed well around the fairly challenging track setup on the layout. I may at some point get round to looking at tweaking it a bit but I have a whole host of other projects to sort out before that.

In a couple of week's time we're taking our Thorpe Thewles layout to a show being put on by the Thorpe Thewles Local History Society. We usually run the layout as the LNER period 1924-1939, starting where possible with the early livery of LNER and number on tender through to the more well known post-1928 treatment of number on cab and lot more engines in black. Both of the current LNER options for the Oxford Diecast J27 were shedded in Teesside.

The (very) early-period example 1214, in black with red lining and L. & N. E. R. on the tender above the number, was shedded at Middlesbrough in the period modelled. The livery's historically correct but only for a very narrow period and the Yeadon's says only four locos ever received it. WIth some very careful work on the transfers L. & N. E. R. can be removed and replaced with LNER. You're then good up until around August 1930 when it went in for repair (not sure to what extent the running sheds would get involved with getting rid of the lines and moving the transfers).

The other LNER option at the moment is 1010 in the more widely known plain black livery with LNER on the tender and number on cab. This too is a Teesside engine during most of the LNER period, being shedded at Newport until 20/05/1939 when it went for a brief reallocation to Sunderland before going to Stockton at the end of the month. It stayed there for the remainder of the LNER Era.

With the above in mind I'm going to give my BR J27 a test run on Thorpe Thewles with a view to purchasing an LNER example to run on the layout. Dad has one of the Dave Alexander J26/J27 kits to build and hasn't quite made his mind up yet what to build it as. Assuming that the Oxford Rail J27 can actually cope with the humongous trains of kit-built stock we run on 'TT' I could well see my way to buying the model of 1214 as well (Dad doesn't like lining his locos).

[Hatfield Shed]

... Assuming that the Oxford Rail J27 can actually cope with the humongous trains of kit-built stock ...

Mine is now good on level track for 60 mineral wagons, averaging 40g , 75% Bachmann, 25% various kit builds, the latter all on pinpoint axle in brass bearings; and all required to roll away from rest when placed on a true 1 in 100.

The loco alone weighs 190g, and I estimated the force available for hauling a train at 26gf by weight lift. That's just enough for the roughly 2.5kg trailing load of tender, 60 minerals, brake van, and why the loco puts in a few half turns of wheelslip when starting, as the full load is taken up.

My intention is to make up the loco weight as close as possible to 350g, for the full 5F rating capability, and I will be cutting away mazak and wedging in solid lead to this end, in order that it will reliably start the maximum load for its power rating on a 1 in 80 gradient.

[Jades]

Had a lovely time today in Thorpe Thewles at the Local History Society's event. Our model railway layout of the local station was well received and I did manage to find time to try my J27 on it.

Considering that it's brand new out of the box it managed well during the short period I had it on test. As previously shown I have the BR Early Crest one and, as we were running the layout in its normal time period of 1924-1939, I left trying it until the last half hour of the show. Some slipping at times initially, particularly when the train it was pulling was progressing round the corners at the end of the layout, but as the test went on it improved. The train I tried it on is quite heavy and has a large number of metal kit-built stock in it.

Overall I was pleased with how it performed and it could well happen that an LNER example appears on my list of presents for a certain event happening in December that I'm not allowed to mention yet.

[Jades]

On Christmas Morning Santa was kind enough to bring me a new J27, number 1214 in L. & N. E. R. lined black livery. Still think that was a slightly odd choice when the simpler LNER above the number on the tender was longer lived but there you go. The usual nominal time periods that we run on Thorpe Thewles and Magdalene Lane cover 1923 anyway.



Photo taken at the end of a session of shunting on our Magdalene Lane layout, which is permanently set up in our Study when it's not out on the road. On Thorpe Thewles it'll probably go on the full coal train.

[73082gibbers]

Evening Gents,

I'm wondering if anyone's come across this oddity with the J27.. I have 1214 in L&NER black, and was attempting to have it test ran on my local club's test track. Now this test track is DCC but can accommodate DC locos on it. On placing it on the track, it caused a short on the test track, so was moved onto a programming track, and it turned out that it was the loco at fault. This was on Dec 23rd, and now, fast forward to Jan 15th, I took the engine back to Kernow Guildford, where they put it on their DC layout, and it ran fine. I then proceeded to try and chip the loco but thought, as I had a Bachmann EZ DCC controller, which has a number reserved for DC locos, I'd try the engine out on that. It proceeded to just splutter along, with no power applied on the dial, with all of the controller leds flickering. Should I try taking it back to Kernow again, or is there a common problem inside the loco body that could be causing a short on DCC?

cheers,
Nathan