hayfield Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 They are very nice kits to build, the 0-4-2 arrangement is a bit of a pain to re-rail and as there are skirts an 0-6-0 may be better. If you want coarse wheels then fit a RTR chassis to it, some don't use the Triang/Hornby but a better quality/more modern type Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 The wheel profiles work very well with Micro-engineering track standards, however they will not work with the Peco track which is course scale and developed for these kits for use with a Triang chassis. I am surprised to see these kits still about, quite right they appeared in the late 60's and I had forgotten that they were introduced by Stephan Poole. I have seen a layout of the GVT where the inspection panels on the side skirt were raised up showing the outside motion. That was many years ago, only seen it once and never again. Loconuts That's a bit of a surprise (by the way the ref should be RP25-110) I would have thought the other way round if anything. PECO code 100 O-16.5 track is used by some On30 modellers over here. On30 wheel standard is RP25-110 with max flange depth of 0.028" and max width of 0.030", minimum B to B is 0.566". Would the B to B be too large perhaps? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted November 11, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 11, 2014 The supplied Romford wheels will work fine on just about any 00 track, especially Peco. The only wheels you might have problems with would be the VERY old EXTREMELY coarse Triang wheels from the 1960s. So nothing to worry about! Cheers, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 (edited) I have my complete kit on order from Branchlines. Has anyone chipped one of these? As I have a Digitrax system I'm thinking of using a Digitrax chip such as a DH126D but I don't know if there is room for it? Edited December 12, 2014 by Jeff Smith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fettster42 Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 (edited) Dad put a Tomy tram chasis under a GVT body and there was pleanty of room. We use DZ125/DZ126 chips, limited function, but tiny. I have one under a Nonminstre Hudson Hunslet footplate with the spud and room to spare, but not much! Leigh Edited December 12, 2014 by Fettster42 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Branchlines chassis build progressing satisfactorily. I am using the supplied Mashima 16 x 26 5-pole round motor and 40:1 Romford gears. It seems like a pretty chunky motor - once I have built the body I will be able to see if there is room for a flywheel. A bit surprised that the design is live chassis with one side insulated wheels and pick ups - not built one like this before. I will test and run-in on DC then fit a chip - assuming there is room. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Jeff You could replace the un-insulated wheels for insulated ones, that will stop the chassis being live Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Jeff You could replace the un-insulated wheels for insulated ones, that will stop the chassis being live True, I could, but being on the other side of the pond makes this more of an issue. I will probably apply some thin insulation under the end skirts to guard against unwanted rail contact. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) Chassis now finished and test run - no problem on ME code 70 points. Romford wheels of course quartered automatically but I had a lot of trouble screwing the crank pins into the wheels.... Now to build the body. Looks like it will end up with the skirts about 2.5mm above the rails - this is about right, 4 inches was specified by the regulations. Edited February 3, 2015 by Jeff Smith 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohmisterporter Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Any chance of some pictures Jeff? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted February 3, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 3, 2015 Jeff You could replace the un-insulated wheels for insulated ones, that will stop the chassis being live Or can you completely insulate the body from the chassis? That would keep the body completely dead. Chassis now finished and test run - no problem on ME code 70 points. Romford wheels of course quartered automatically but I had a lot of trouble screwing the crank pins into the wheels.... What was the problem with the Romford crankpins? They should screw straight into the wheels and thats that. As other have said, got any photos we can see? Cheers, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Pictures later today. Crank pins were very tight and hard to get started - the correct tap might have helped. Still, no Locktite required.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 OK, pictures. Chassis was built basically as per the instructions but 2mm id brass tube was missing so I had to use imperial sized telescoping brass tube from my stash for the compensation beam pivot. Also had to drill out some imperial sized tube for the pony truck wheel axle. The pony truck retaining/pivot bolt has to be left loose (about half a turn) to allow the required up and down movement so I soldered a locking wire to prevent it loosening further. The instructions require a spring wire to be soldered to the chassis and dry fitted through a hole in the pony truck to control lateral movement. The supplied wire is fairly thin and may need to be replaced with a stiffer one once the weight of the body is being carried but worked fine for running the chassis on its own. Brown stain on the pony wheels is flux residue from soldering on the cab floor. I had to use shorter main bearings for the centre wheels to control sideplay and additional spacing washers to control sideplay in the fixed axle. Body parts as supplied in the PECO kit. Cutting mat is 1 inch squares. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Jeff I have built my First loco with the chassis built like yours, the one fault I have found is I believe the floor would be better attached to the body rather than the chassis so a driver and fireman can be fitted with out the risk of being knocked off when removing the chassis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 John - you may be right. Although leaving the roof loose and fixing the crew with Blu-tac may be an option (my layout is fixed). Having now soldered up the basic box, without yet attaching the rear chassis mount, I have some concern about coupling height to match the PECO 4-wheel coaches. Also whether the rear fixing will interfere with the Zamzoodled chopper couplings which require a flexible mount behind the buffer beam. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 (edited) Progress - or not, as the case may be..... Have now virtually completed the body and mated to chassis. Also added a decoder. Am now frustrated as the weight of the body tends to tip to one side at the cab end lifting the opposite fixed driver off the track. On an 18" curve it often de-rails. My suspicion is that the pick-up wire is too strong against the rim of the rear compensated driver. This is only on one side as it is live-chassis on the other. Tonight I will attempt to fit a thinner less springy pick-up. I have not had experience of live chassis before - previous chassis have been insulated both sides so pick-ups tended to centre the compensated wheels. I also believe that the weight distribution is all wrong - not enough on the front fixed driver, but this maybe just perception.... Anyone else had a similar experience with this type of set up? Edited May 28, 2015 by Jeff Smith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Have just fitted a thinner flat phosphor-bronze (I think) pickup in place of the round brass wire one. One-piece soldered in the centre and reaching across to the fixed wheel and the compensated wheel - standard arrangement. There is not so much side pressure on the compensated wheel. Performance is slightly improved, ie less de-railing. Interestingly it stays on the track better cab-first, the 'trailing' wheels seem to guide it better through pointwork and curves. This is no bad thing as it will generally be travelling cab-first per BOT requirements for the GVT. Although it is a white metal kit I still think the chimney end over the fixed axle is a bit light, so next test will be with added weight to get the centre of gravity 'forward' of the compensated driver axle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted January 10, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10, 2016 Any further progress on this loco to report, or finished photos to show? Many thanks, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) Here's a few of it on my 0n30 layout. I have the nameplates but haven't got round to fitting them yet. The stock is a mixture of Peco, kitbashed and scratchbuilt. I have been running it in to improve the running qualities - it still runs better cab first. Edited January 11, 2016 by Jeff Smith 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 it still runs better cab first. As it should do. It's reminding you that the cab end is the front, and you need to turn it at the end of each journey! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) Yes, I have a Kitwood Hill Models 90mm turntable to assemble - this is really an 009 product but will represent a GVT 12' diameter turntable. I ordered with code 100 16.5 rails installed to match the Peco O-16.5 track. In an earlier post I expressed concern that the chimney end was not heavy enough to keep the uncompensated fixed axle on the track. Experiments with added weight on top of the body were inconclusive so no action was taken. I'll see how it performs once I get the GVT track laid. Edited January 13, 2016 by Jeff Smith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ELTEL Posted September 27, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 27, 2016 The supplied Romford wheels will work fine on just about any 00 track, especially Peco. The only wheels you might have problems with would be the VERY old EXTREMELY coarse Triang wheels from the 1960s. So nothing to worry about! Cheers, Dave. Hi Dave I have a PECO GVT running on a old Hornby 0 6 0 chassis not built by me but bought at 7mm event some years back. It is fitted with what I think are Romford wheels using a standard Hornby XO4 motor The problem is the gear wheel is not a tight fit on the middle axle and is the type with no collar and grub screw so I can not tighten it up. Where can I get a replacement gear wheel with or without a collar? Regards Terry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted September 27, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 27, 2016 Hi Dave I have a PECO GVT running on a old Hornby 0 6 0 chassis not built by me but bought at 7mm event some years back. It is fitted with what I think are Romford wheels using a standard Hornby XO4 motor The problem is the gear wheel is not a tight fit on the middle axle and is the type with no collar and grub screw so I can not tighten it up. Where can I get a replacement gear wheel with or without a collar? Regards Terry Hi Terry, Hmm, difficult to comment without seeing it, particularly on the type of chassis. Is it possible to replace the gears with a Romford set? And possibly the motor as well? You could try Branchlines for motors and particularly gears, I think they sock Romford type. However, if its the old solid diecast chassiswith just a slot in the middle for the gearwheel, that might be different. I think some of the older ones relied on a knurled section in the middle of the axle to provide a tight fit for the gearwheel. Not sure if this helps! Cheers, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted September 27, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 27, 2016 When using the Branchlines chassis, I might be tempted to do away with the Pony Truck altogether, shorten the chassis at the cab end and move the whole chassis so that the driving wheels are nearer the centre of the body. That would solve the unbalanced weight issues at a stroke, although it might introduce other problems. The pony truck on a model of a tramway loco serves little purpose; you can't see it, so it can be more of a liability than anything else. I built a tramway loco that was supposedly a 2-4-2 arrangement, but the skirts hid a solid 0-6-0 chassis. Having said that though, the Branchlines chassis are very good. Cheers, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ELTEL Posted September 27, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 27, 2016 Hi Terry, Hmm, difficult to comment without seeing it, particularly on the type of chassis. Is it possible to replace the gears with a Romford set? And possibly the motor as well? You could try Branchlines for motors and particularly gears, I think they sock Romford type. However, if its the old solid diecast chassiswith just a slot in the middle for the gearwheel, that might be different. I think some of the older ones relied on a knurled section in the middle of the axle to provide a tight fit for the gearwheel. Not sure if this helps! Cheers, Dave. Hi Dave Apparently after chatting down at the clubroom tonight it seems there should be a shim that fits on the axle making the gear a tight fit. I will check the tray with all the bits I took off to clean and refurbish the chassis. If not I will either adapt another 060 or 040 chassis and mount the chassis in the centre of the body or purchase a branchline kit. Terry 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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