G`day Folks, You may remember sometime back I posted some info in regards to a successful modification on my Mainline Warship diesel. The loco was a poor runner initially and various attempts at remedying the problem were unsuccessful. The most obvious solution at first seemed to be to add extra ballast to the loco to keep it firmly planted on the track , however this was to no avail. A number of times the loco was looked at, pulled apart, adjustments made without any result and on those occasions it was put back in the too hard basket. I considered also the possibility of selling it on for parts but fortunately I resisted that solution and persevered with trying to solve the intermittent running issue. I guess there must have been a Eureka moment when I discovered that the wheels were lifting on various parts of the track and losing the power feed. Investigations revealed that the loco, by virtue of it`s design, basically had no suspension. It was shunting along in a flat plane, to the extent that if there was any slight variation in the track it would lose power due to a wheel lifting. Preliminary testing revealed that if I could employ a rather basic form of independent suspension, the problem could be fixed and the loco could run properly with it`s original compliment of ballast / weight. In other words I could keep all the wheels on the track all the time. This weeks video shows the system I used and it`s being shown now because I have had a request from one of my YouTube subscribers for more detailed information about the system. He has some Warships with exactly the same problem. I feel this method would work on other diesel locos as well, so it may be of use to other people with similar problems. Gormo
Great to see these older trains being repaired, and given a new lease of life. This is the only way I can afford to get into the hobby again. I have had a few wins repairing old locos and some loses. Phil
Yes, big fan of the renewing of older locos that others would deem dead. My warship is a Lima so have a different set of problems to you. I do have a Mainline class 45 so was very interested in your solution for the ticking gearbox. My first thought was you could make a gasket or shim if you like to allow the original motor plate to sit away from the gears but keep the dust out. Not sure if there is enough clearance below the bogie though for points etc, may have to make a slight depression in the original plate on the inside to give gear clearance. I am surprised to hear this solved the problem, and that it was not a typical mainline cracked gear that you read so much about. Will give this a shot on mine and see if it improves the ticking noise. Great analysis of the fact that the loco lifts at various points, and great solution Cheers Tony
Oh Tony, The ticking noise in my loco would drive you bananas...I tried scooping a bit out of the internal side of the cover plate but it didn`t work. Possibly I didn`t take enough out.????....can`t be sure now it`s too late and it`s history. As you probably hear in the video there is no longer any ticking so we have to rule out the usual cracked gear.......so possibly with this loco it`s a design fault or whatever......I can`t be sure really.??? The analysis took a while to arrive in the old grey matter......but thankfully it arrived eventually. My basic philosophy with things mechanical is that they are designed to work and with a certain amount of ease. Therefore if they make a noise or struggle to work properly or require quite an effort to move, then something must be wrong or in need of service. It`s like car doors.....they are designed to close with medium effort. They don`t need to be slammed shut. If they need to be slammed shut there is something wrong with the door. Gormo
Dear Gormo, this is a very clearly illustrated and discussed video , and I think you have found an excellent , simple and reliable solution to a model that is a good moulding , but , as you explained , lacking in effective engineering design , which your modification has now overcome. The other part of your solution that you illustrated , but did not elaborate on , is the fact that the use of screws in lieu of the moulded ledge , has resulted in the bogie now pivoting on a round surface instead of a ledge , and therefore enabling the bogie to rotate on the axis of the rounded side of the screw head . This is a very elegant solution , congratulations, Regards, Echidna.
Thanks Echidna, I possibly did not explain myself very well in the video because I think you have the wrong idea about the screws.? They are there only to stop the housing / bogie falling out of the chassis, if and when the loco is lifted by hand. The wire pushing down on top of the housing is holding the weight of the body at the front of the loco. Because the end of the wire has a minimal surface area and pushes down centrally on top of the housing, the bogie can move and float independent of the chassis and body. Hope that makes sense..?? Gormo
