Saint Johnstoun's recent projects.

The loco that never arrived. This 8F was built by the North British Locomotive Company in December 1940 to specification for use by Turkish State Railways - air brakes and right hand drive. It was shipped from Hull in April 1941 but the SS Berhala was torpedoed near Freetown on 23rd May 1941.

The TCD 8Fs were either built for RHD or converted so the arrangement of the air compressor and air tanks was different to the normal arrangement with the compressor on the left side of the smokebox. No Vacuum brakes.

Saint Johnstoun said:

The TCD 8Fs were either built for RHD or converted so the arrangement of the air compressor and air tanks was different to the normal arrangement with the compressor on the left side of the smokebox. No Vacuum brakes. View attachment 21969

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The replacement 8Fs that were sent to compensate for those lost at sea were conversions and retained the compressor on the right hand side - also the Vacuum ejector exhaust was not removed - one of these locos is now at Bo'ness on the SRPS site.

Time to Tango!

Saint Johnstoun said:

I have a Bachmann B1 that has developed a 'wiggle'. I've swapped the chassis with an LNER liveried one I don't run on the layout and it is fine, but any suggestions as to a cure - it it just wear and tear? Would replacing the axles help?
I've also had instance of the plastic wheel centres distorting and fouling the coupling rods. That loco also got failed valve gear and was withdrawn for spares.

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The description of the problem suggests to me this might be a split chassis mechanism B1? (Simple diagnostic, won't have a DCC decoder socket or NEM coupler pockets.)

If that is the case, that's what happens with this obsolete construction, the driven wheelsets fall apart as the centre plastic muff in the wheelset construction becomes loose: can be glued or replaced by muffs sold by Peter's Spares. (You clearly have already experienced the distorting cosmetic plastic inserts in the driving wheel faces, that can produce this 'wiggle' effect too.)

But if it is the current model, then most likely to be some part of the external rods fouling, or a bent coupling rod on one crankpin of the wheelset that's 'wiggling'. Needs careful inspection, connecting rod fouling on the leading crankpin is a key first place to look because a modern motor can seriously bend a snagged coupling rod, but there's usually an audible click and you don't mention that. Can also be a little piece of foreign material concealed in the cylinder limiting the travel of the piston rod, or a wiper out of place snagging on a wheelback, or a piece of foreign material lodged on a wiper or underframe detail, doing the same. Or if the loco has had a heavy accident, a wheel in the wiggling wheelset no longer true on the axle.

On the 'projects' front I do find myself looking at the previous version of Bachmann's V2 with an eye to neverwazza developments. One of these V2's with a double Kylchap already trails a GN type coal rail 8 wheel tender off an early build A1 (by now an A3) which has in turn received a high-sided tender off 'something else': all this on the grounds that the V2 was occasionally embarrased in service by running short on water when put on a turn calling for the sustained high power output it could deliver.

Now there was an outline sketch prepared at Doncaster of how the V2 would have looked given the Bugatti streamlining; and here am I looking at the former Trix, now Bachmann, A4 bodyshell, long ago removed from a totally worn out split chassis mechanism. Just a foot out of the front of the boiler I reckon, and it will look right. This would definitely have had the high-sided non-corridor tender, which came with this particular A4. Would almost certainly have been named too, 'Straight'n'Arrow' appeals to me.

This was done using one of those A4s supplied with that magazine and a spare V2 chassis. I haven't decided about the tender yet. The original outline shows a standard 6 wheel tender.