Bachmann Austerity Problems

[luckymucklebackit]

I have been test running some locos acquired recently and all are running well except for a Bachmann Austerity which just will not stay on the rails and seems to bind even on 3rd radius track. I checked the back to backs and they measure (from the cab) 14.30, 14.64, 14.28 and 14.64. What should they be and what is the best way to adjust?

 

Any help appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Jim

[Il Grifone]

AFAIK Bachmann use NMRA wheels, so the B2B should be 14.4mm (check the NMRA site for tolerances etc.). However the 14.64 settings are far too wide and almost certainly the cause of the problem.

A wheel press tool is really required, but finger pressure could be sufficient. Take care to not push the wheels out of alignment.

As a new locomotive, it is really a guarantee job.

[luckymucklebackit]

6 hours ago, Il Grifone said:

AFAIK Bachmann use NMRA wheels, so the B2B should be 14.4mm (check the NMRA site for tolerances etc.). However the 14.64 settings are far too wide and almost certainly the cause of the problem.

A wheel press tool is really required, but finger pressure could be sufficient. Take care to not push the wheels out of alignment.

As a new locomotive, it is really a guarantee job.

Thanks for this, I will try and adjust.  The loco was 2nd hand and looks well used so the guarantee  will be long gone.  I downloaded the NMRA chart s-4.2_2019.01.04.pdfand this confused me totally.  Unless I am reading the download pdf wrong there are two dimensions, 14.55 for H0 and 17.09 for 00.  I am assuming 14.55 is the target

 

Thanks

 

Jim

[John Tomlinson]

Worth checking the pony truck wheels as well while you're at it, and that the truck moves freely in both planes.

 

John.

[31A]

This might be a bit 'off the wall', but the second and fourth driving axles are sprung and it might be worth checking that these axles can rise and fall freely.  If stuck at the bottom of their travel, they might be causing other axles to lift off the rail?

 

I bought one second hand a little while ago; it seemed to be unused but I believe was from one of the earliest batches produced, and the grease had gone solid so the axle plungers were stuck.  In my case, it was causing current pick up to be poor and after I'd stripped out the old grease and re-lubricated it the performance was transformed.  If you dismantle it be careful not to lose the springs!

 

Apart from that, I usually reckon on a back to back measurement of 14.5mm for OO, but it's surprising how much RTR wheels can vary.

[DCB]

10 hours ago, luckymucklebackit said:

Thanks for this, I will try and adjust.  The loco was 2nd hand and looks well used so the guarantee  will be long gone.  I downloaded the NMRA chart s-4.2_2019.01.04.pdfand this confused me totally.  Unless I am reading the download pdf wrong there are two dimensions, 14.55 for H0 and 17.09 for 00.  I am assuming 14.55 is the target

 

Thanks

 

Jim

 

The Austerity runs on HO gauge track.  AFAIK American OO is  19mm   Hornby Dublo used about 14.2mm sliding fit, which is about 14.5 measured  with a digital caliper.  Don't go below 14.2 or it will bind even in code 100 points.   If you think you can adjust B to B by 0.1mm increments you are either an expert craftsman or deluded.  Don' t forget the wheels have to remain parallel to each other, its very easy to induce wobble.. Ours has B to B around 14.55, its over the 14.5 fail; end of my B to B gauge  but its fine on 3rd Radius because of the generous side play

Edited July 31, 2022 by DCB

[philsandy]

8 hours ago, 31A said:

This might be a bit 'off the wall', but the second and fourth driving axles are sprung and it might be worth checking that these axles can rise and fall freely.  If stuck at the bottom of their travel, they might be causing other axles to lift off the rail?

 

I bought one second hand a little while ago; it seemed to be unused but I believe was from one of the earliest batches produced, and the grease had gone solid so the axle plungers were stuck.  In my case, it was causing current pick up to be poor and after I'd stripped out the old grease and re-lubricated it the performance was transformed.  If you dismantle it be careful not to lose the springs!

 

Apart from that, I usually reckon on a back to back measurement of 14.5mm for OO, but it's surprising how much RTR wheels can vary.

 

Good point. I have one of these and it is a superb runner, it never stalls, why?  because it has 2 sprung axles, which ensure constant wheel/rail contact.

[Il Grifone]

17 hours ago, luckymucklebackit said:

Thanks for this, I will try and adjust.  The loco was 2nd hand and looks well used so the guarantee  will be long gone.  I downloaded the NMRA chart s-4.2_2019.01.04.pdfand this confused me totally.  Unless I am reading the download pdf wrong there are two dimensions, 14.55 for H0 and 17.09 for 00.  I am assuming 14.55 is the target

 

Thanks

 

Jim

 

Use the H0 one, which is for 16.5mm gauge.

The 00 is for American 00 19mm gauge, which is very much a minority interest. (They don't have our size restraints.... In fact the American construction style with a central beam favours a wider than scale gauge.)

 

It should be borne in mine that these standards are intended for track to NMRA standards too. Peco and Hornby are rather less precise!  The important dimension is the check gauge (K) to ensure that wheels pass through pointwork. British flangeways tend to be on the generous side to allow the passage of heritage steamroller wheels. The British standards (BRMSB - others are available!) are 14.5mm B2B, 0.5mm flange thickness (i.e K is 15mm) and 1.25mm flangeways - no tolerances given so I assume

± 0.1mm)

The metric dimensions are converted from inches (American have a strange habit of working in thousands of an inch!) This results in highly precise metric values (the second decimal figure of millimetres can safely be rounded off. 0.1mm is about as good as I can get, even using a vernier caliper.

The 2nd and 4th axles being sprung and wide to gauge is definitely a recipe for failure. The sprung axle will tilt and the top of the wheel will then bind against the frames.

Edited August 1, 2022 by Il Grifone

[DCB]

On 30/07/2022 at 20:00, luckymucklebackit said:

 a Bachmann Austerity which just will not stay on the rails and seems to bind even on 3rd radius track.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Jim

 

Ours has a lot of side play on the axles, it moves a long way left and right even when on a 3rd radius curve, now we only actually have one 3rd radius, but it looks like it should get round 2nd radius and have a crack at 1st.  It runs very sweetly and pulls very well, 50% better than the ROD 2-8-0 of similar weight with no sprung axles

Does yours have a lot of side play on all 4 driving axles?   If not has someone altered it.   Does it have sprung axles? (up and down)  or has someone lost the springs?  Maybe someone has tweaked the pickups for better contact?  Is it DCC, has it been DCC?

[luckymucklebackit]

Hi guys, think I have been sold a lemon. Took the loco apart this morning and it is awful. One of the spring mechanisms is missing, everything is filthy and there is precious little side to side play as described above. Looks as though this one has been well used and is going to need a total rebuild. I have put it back in the box until I have more time to attend to it. Unfortunately this will have to be marked down to experience as I bought it over a year ago and this has been the first time I have tried it.

 

Thanks once again for the help and suggestions.

 

Jim

[John Tomlinson]

5 hours ago, luckymucklebackit said:

Hi guys, think I have been sold a lemon. Took the loco apart this morning and it is awful. One of the spring mechanisms is missing, everything is filthy and there is precious little side to side play as described above. Looks as though this one has been well used and is going to need a total rebuild. I have put it back in the box until I have more time to attend to it. Unfortunately this will have to be marked down to experience as I bought it over a year ago and this has been the first time I have tried it.

 

Thanks once again for the help and suggestions.

 

Jim

 

Sounds to me like it's been used a lot and over-oiled to keep it going. Add that to the original factory grease, quite probably over-applied, and you end up with a filthy mess! It is not an uncommon thing I've found from ebay purchases.

 

You will have to take it all to bits and clean it out, when you do so you'll probably find the wheels have sideplay, they're not just gummed up as now. If you have one spring it shouldn't be too difficult to find something similar for the missing one. The main thing is that the motor works, so when you've finished the whole thing should be a go-er.

 

I have three of these, I bought two originally to have one with the GW fittings and one without, then a third years later that was a real bargain on ebay - this might get a "Doncaster" boiler with the different handrail arrangements one day. As a model I think it's one of the best Bachmann have ever done.

 

John.

[luckymucklebackit]

Update: after further analysing the exploded diagram thart comes with the model I realised that the chassis has been substantially modified in the past. Two copper shims had been inserted, one on each side of the block, these had been glued to the block and instead of the axles resting on the block the shims enclosed the axles, so to remove I had to cut them away. I suspect this loco may have been set up for EM or P4 at one time, but this explains the lack of side to side play and with the shims enclosing the axles they also rigidly restrict vertical play. Unfortunately while cutting these away a pin has come out of the valve gear, which could result in more spares being ordered.

 

Jim

[luckymucklebackit]

Just a quick update to say that I sourced a replacement chassis from ebay and the old chassis has been set aside, now running perfectly.

 

Jim