Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Now I find myself building self-propelled models, I felt it was time to invest in a rolling road. I had a look at the Metalsmith modular system, and felt it suited the variety of locomotives I was likely to build.
The system is modular. There is a drive module, pony wheel module, bogie module and tender module. With enough of the right modules, virtually any combination of axles can be catered for. Unpowered carrying wheels and tenders don't need to roll, but do need to pick up power if required.
The pricing seemed reasonable. I wasn't immediately clear from the web site listing which modules would best suit my needs. My initial idea was to buy the 4-6-2 set (£72.00 on the current listing) and some additional modules to allow for, say 2-8-0 and 2-10-0 - both of which would be coming across the workbench eventually. Then I thought about diesels: I have two Co-Co locos in the waiting list, plus a couple of RTR locos - though the latter don't really need running in by me. Confused, I contacted Metalsmith via the web site form.
Very quickly, the phone rang. We had a good discussion about my requirements, and settled on a decent basic set of modules. I arranged collection at the ALSRM Reading show to avoid the need for shipping costs.
I collected the rolling road yesterday (10 May 2014, for those reading this in the distant future!). This morning I set it up.
A reasonably small Jiffy bag contained the following parts: 1x Module T (tender); 1x Module B (bogie); 2x Module P (pony); 5x Module D (driver). Each bag contains sufficient parts to assemble the modules, with a label showing the contents. All you need is half an hour and a screwdriver.
I started with the tender module. You can see the basic components here. Aluminium angle, 3mm thick by 12.5 on a side (it's imperial, actually, so 1/8in by 1/2in). Predrilled clear polycarbonate spacers, and a set of M2 nuts and bolts.
There are twin sets of holes in the spacers, and you'll note the holes are drilled offset. This is to allow for adjustment to let the unit sit on Peco track and clear the chairs. For the undriven wheels, the units are assembled using the inner holes; for driven axles with the ball races, the outer holes.
The tender module complete. A little work with a large fine file was need to remove saw burrs, but otherwise this was a matter of minutes to assemble. The underside view shows the chamfered edges to the spacers, to aid with fitting over plain track.
The bogie and pony modules are constructed in the same fashion as the tender module.
A drive module ready to be assembled. The ball races are held in place by M3 bolts.
The drive module allows for varying diameters of wheel. On the left, you can see I've not only fitted the ball races for a larger diameter, but also managed to fit the spacer incorrectly! According to the assembly instructions, a pair of holes should be used for the ball races that allow the wheel to sit with the tread aligned with the top edge of the aluminium angle.
A view from above. You can see the overall assembly is simple. It's a matter of seconds to swap the ball races between holes. I have used "finger tight" on all the fastenings. I can't see any reason to tighten the bolts further. Note the spacing washer on the ball races.
By leaving the washer out, the gauge is widened sufficiently to run an S7 loco. Talking to the proprietor at Reading yesterday, to allow for S7 on the undriven modules, if it's felt necessary, it's a matter of slotting the holes in the spacers to just allow the extra millimetre of gauge.
I have to say here one of the drive modules was missing the ball race fixing bolts, just a packing issue that will be resolved very quickly after a phone call on Monday I am sure. Pictured is the typical formation for a pacific loco. Already, you can see how various wheel configurations can be made up and supported.
The current is passed through the aluminium angle to the wheels. For the drive modules, obviously, it passes through the ball races. It is important to make sure the module is seating firmly on the track, which it appears I have failed to do with this drive unit!
7752 ready to be given a good running-in session. With small locos, it's possible to adjust the modules with the loco sitting on them. With larger locos, the technique seems to be to stand the model next to the track and position the modules to fit the wheelbase.
I've posed this beastie on three drive modules, but a pony module can be used for the unpowered centre axle. This would allow drive modules to be used at the other end as well. With enough modules, even a 1Co-Co1 can be accommodated (pony, driver, pony, driver + driver, pony, driver, pony).
Undriven bogies, of course, can sit on any combination of bogie, pony or tender modules.
The basic engineering of the rolling road system is excellent. It's well thought through, with the modular system letting me add units if I come across a need at some point. I note the copyright is some 12 years old now, so the system has been around some time. The complete set of units I bought came to just under £120, and will let me run most combinations of steam and diesel loco wheelbases on my workbench quite happily. I'm off to get the pannier running now!
The system is modular. There is a drive module, pony wheel module, bogie module and tender module. With enough of the right modules, virtually any combination of axles can be catered for. Unpowered carrying wheels and tenders don't need to roll, but do need to pick up power if required.
The pricing seemed reasonable. I wasn't immediately clear from the web site listing which modules would best suit my needs. My initial idea was to buy the 4-6-2 set (£72.00 on the current listing) and some additional modules to allow for, say 2-8-0 and 2-10-0 - both of which would be coming across the workbench eventually. Then I thought about diesels: I have two Co-Co locos in the waiting list, plus a couple of RTR locos - though the latter don't really need running in by me. Confused, I contacted Metalsmith via the web site form.
Very quickly, the phone rang. We had a good discussion about my requirements, and settled on a decent basic set of modules. I arranged collection at the ALSRM Reading show to avoid the need for shipping costs.
I collected the rolling road yesterday (10 May 2014, for those reading this in the distant future!). This morning I set it up.
A reasonably small Jiffy bag contained the following parts: 1x Module T (tender); 1x Module B (bogie); 2x Module P (pony); 5x Module D (driver). Each bag contains sufficient parts to assemble the modules, with a label showing the contents. All you need is half an hour and a screwdriver.
I started with the tender module. You can see the basic components here. Aluminium angle, 3mm thick by 12.5 on a side (it's imperial, actually, so 1/8in by 1/2in). Predrilled clear polycarbonate spacers, and a set of M2 nuts and bolts.
There are twin sets of holes in the spacers, and you'll note the holes are drilled offset. This is to allow for adjustment to let the unit sit on Peco track and clear the chairs. For the undriven wheels, the units are assembled using the inner holes; for driven axles with the ball races, the outer holes.
The tender module complete. A little work with a large fine file was need to remove saw burrs, but otherwise this was a matter of minutes to assemble. The underside view shows the chamfered edges to the spacers, to aid with fitting over plain track.
The bogie and pony modules are constructed in the same fashion as the tender module.
A drive module ready to be assembled. The ball races are held in place by M3 bolts.
The drive module allows for varying diameters of wheel. On the left, you can see I've not only fitted the ball races for a larger diameter, but also managed to fit the spacer incorrectly! According to the assembly instructions, a pair of holes should be used for the ball races that allow the wheel to sit with the tread aligned with the top edge of the aluminium angle.
A view from above. You can see the overall assembly is simple. It's a matter of seconds to swap the ball races between holes. I have used "finger tight" on all the fastenings. I can't see any reason to tighten the bolts further. Note the spacing washer on the ball races.
By leaving the washer out, the gauge is widened sufficiently to run an S7 loco. Talking to the proprietor at Reading yesterday, to allow for S7 on the undriven modules, if it's felt necessary, it's a matter of slotting the holes in the spacers to just allow the extra millimetre of gauge.
I have to say here one of the drive modules was missing the ball race fixing bolts, just a packing issue that will be resolved very quickly after a phone call on Monday I am sure. Pictured is the typical formation for a pacific loco. Already, you can see how various wheel configurations can be made up and supported.
The current is passed through the aluminium angle to the wheels. For the drive modules, obviously, it passes through the ball races. It is important to make sure the module is seating firmly on the track, which it appears I have failed to do with this drive unit!
7752 ready to be given a good running-in session. With small locos, it's possible to adjust the modules with the loco sitting on them. With larger locos, the technique seems to be to stand the model next to the track and position the modules to fit the wheelbase.
I've posed this beastie on three drive modules, but a pony module can be used for the unpowered centre axle. This would allow drive modules to be used at the other end as well. With enough modules, even a 1Co-Co1 can be accommodated (pony, driver, pony, driver + driver, pony, driver, pony).
Undriven bogies, of course, can sit on any combination of bogie, pony or tender modules.
The basic engineering of the rolling road system is excellent. It's well thought through, with the modular system letting me add units if I come across a need at some point. I note the copyright is some 12 years old now, so the system has been around some time. The complete set of units I bought came to just under £120, and will let me run most combinations of steam and diesel loco wheelbases on my workbench quite happily. I'm off to get the pannier running now!
