Following on from Keiths split chassis conversion I thought I'd have a go, and purchase and convert a Bachmann V2 (ex Mainline loco). The victim duly arrived, and was put on the track to test it, found the rear wheel loose but no great issue. The body was removed to check for space, and the phrase that came to mind was "not a lot". The chassis was oiled and spent a good part of the weekend running in on the rolling road, and getting well lubbed. Before the keeper plate could be removed the pickup wires for the front and rear pony trucks needed un-soldering. I'm really impressed with the pickups on all wheels, I wish Bachmann would do the same on the current loco's. Next up remove the keeper plate - 2 screws on the base and just lever the front off. The cylinders and valve gear are stuck in plkace with what appears to be contact adhesive, and can be just levered off. Now to split the chassis 5 screws, and it comes apart. The inside was cleaned up, and the 2 two springs which contact the motor were removed. I then soldered wires to the motor, and added shrink wrap over the connection. Unlike keiths conversions I've not had to add extra insulation to the motor as the motor already has insulating end caps, and nylon bushes to hold it in place. Long trailing leads have been fitted so they can reach the tender. Reassembled and looked OK, however the 3 of the insulating spacers had cracked, being a bank holiday , I was unable to source spares. But have decided to have a go at creating them on my 3D printer - about time it earned its keep. So another steep learning curve to be attempted. Paul
Hi Paul, A fine ( and brave ) job you have done so far. I can vouch for the improvement in running characteristics as I heard it " before and after " lubricating and running in. Sounds like a different loco all together. It will be interesting to see it run once you have made the parts and rebuilt it again. Toto
Don't want to put a damper on this, but my only main concern with this is the loose wheel on the rear axle. These earlier Bachmann locos have a tendency to throw wheels unexpectedly. Fingers crossed you get some good use out of this loco. Cheers, Gary.
I haven't checked, but certainly until recently, Peter's Spares had replacement plastic axle centres suitable for the Mainline/Bachmann wheel sets. It may be worth Paul having a look and buying some to ensure a long and useful life for the chassis, after having done all that work. The tags on the chassis where the pony pickups were soldered make useful soldering points for the decoder wires too. I found that on the Ivatt 2-6-2T and Lord Nelson locos when I converted them.
Are you able to create a bit more space in the loco by chopping a matching lump out of the top edge of both chassis halves to give enough room for the decoder, Paul? It's a while back now, and I sold the loco on (it was in Southern Railway livery so too early for my current setup), but I think that's what I did with a split chassis "Lord Nelson" I had previously. It does sound a bit drastic I know, but sometimes it's the better way of doing things. The only snag with fitting decoders into the tender (or speakers for that matter) is that you then have to arrange either a permanent loco to tender connection, or use a tiny 4 pin plug & socket such as the ones that John Gymer at 'Youchoos' sells. It's great to see another member doing a 'split chassis' conversion, as you're finding Paul, it's not difficult, and since many folk steer clear of these loco's due to the perceived conversion difficulty, they can be bought very reasonably, and in the main are excellent models. Keith
If they are decent runners to start with, then they can be worth converting. Both of my Lord Nelsons are still sweet runners, almost but not quite up to the latest standards - just slightly noisier than most newer designs. The Ivatt tanks are not bad either, but the pannier tank and 04 diesel gave me a little more trouble with wonky wheels/axles. For the Lord Nelsons, I fitted TCS M1 or M4 decoders which are small enough to fit into the gap ahead of the chassis block in the smoke box.
I do a lot of conversions of the Bachmann split Chassis the ones with the springs to transfer the power to the motor from the Chassis sides are the main ones that need some of the metal removing for motor wiring a lot can just have the tabs adjusted and heat shrink added to make sure no short possibly. For great prices on heat shrink I get it from Hobbyking just remember to select your country at the top This place has super thin heat shrink in Australia it usually next day delivery. https://hobbyking.com/en_us/catalogsearch/result/?q=Heat+shrink As far as fitting a decoder I use blue tack to find the space that has the most room within the loco body and if it needs some material removing then you know how much to take out in that one spot, you don't want to remove too much weight from the loco or cut big sections out as it may also unbalance the Chassis. If the chassis doesn't have any places to connect the wires I cut a slot to the most convient Chassis joining plug and screw, for the wire conection I solder up a loop of wire like a washer and mount to the screw, then on the plastic plug side I cut one corner off the square that lines up with the slot cut earlier so as not to pinch the the wire when it is pulled in as you do it up when joining the two halfs again. Kapton tape is used to insulate the motor this type of tape is silicone based so is a very good insulation material, it is thin enough that it won't make getting the two parts sitting Neatly around the motor or being too tight to get it back together. You can often find it on a auction site a a bargain price it's a amber/gold colour it's also great for securing wiring to the Chassis to keep to neet for your install no pintched wires. Link to a Australian seller for the tape http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/High-temperature-heat-resistant-polyimide-Kapton-tape-20mm-x-33m-100ft-/221815371140?hash=item33a539f584:g:a14AAOSwcUBYS03v Best of model engineering Paul in the conversion. http://www.click
Thanks Guys for all the tips. I have checked peters spares, and currently they are out of stock of the insulated spacers, and have no ETA for the next batch So as its only a few screws to remove the chassis I'll worry about that one later. However the insulating screw bushes, are another matter. I measured up the existing bushes A 4.3mm square base with 3.3 dia x 8.1 high tube, with a 1.3 dia hole through the tube section. I created the model in Autocad 123D Design - the free version. Saved the file, then loaded it into ReplicatorG - duplicated the file 12 times, then exported it to the printer. I've printed it in PLA, but may need to print it in ABS for better results - we'll see. Printing two rows of 6, with a raft, and no heating on the bed. 15 mins later The missing one is in the loco The one on the left is the original, the one on the right below the motor is my one, and was a perfect fit . Now just need to print the washers/spacers 7.0 mm dia, with a 3.4 mm hole and 1.0 mm thick. Paul
It would pay back quicker if its owner had some idea of how to drive it So far for me PLA filament isn't smooth enough - but there are things I can do to improve that it just takes time and a methodical approach - both of which may be a challenge for me . I do have some ABS filament that can be smoothed to a gloss finish with Acetone vapour, but have yet to try the ABS filament, as that opens another can of worms for setting - extrusion temp, heated bed temp, flow rates etc etc Ah well another learning curve to be tackled. I'm pleased with the spacers, although I did have to open out the holes with a 1.5mm drill to get the screw to take. I have been running in the assembled chassis (without the wheels fitted) from the two motor wires, with the two halves of the split chassis sorted out to each other proving the motor is isolated from the chassis. Looking at the axel spacers I believe the outer axels would be easy enough to make with the 3d printer, the center axel with the built in gear would be harder. Interestingly tho', I reckon once it worked, it wouldn't be difficult to extend the shafts, the location pegs made earlier, and the central insulating frame spacers, to make an easy EM gauge conversion. Just waiting for the decoders to arrive. And of course, I have to fit the wheels and valve motion Paul
and chassis assembled ready for more running in Still have the pony truck pick up wires to solder in place, but the chassis works Paul
The decoders have arrived, the stay alive's are supplied as separate items, that gives twice the length While I've been waiting, and with the success of the spacers I decided to have a go at 3d printing a back to back gauge. Looked on line and got settings for 14.4, 14.5 & 14.8 mm, the official setting should be 14.5 - according to the tinternet, so who can argue with that. So I created in 123D design a 40mm dia disc 14.5 mm thick with a 6 mm slot cut in and produced the following Measuring the thickness gives 14.47 to 14.53, It'll do for me Paul
I was impressed with the accuracy, so will have a go at making a smaller version for quick checks and a one for O gauge as well. Paul
