7mm US model dabblings
- Thread starter Jordan
- Start date
JasonD
Western Thunderer
Unlike the old clothes we(?) leave in untraceable bags out side the charity shop, how about leaving the good books with the public library and just tear out any good pics from the rest and blu-tack 'em up the stairs.
Jason
mickoo
Western Thunderer
Given the cost of gas, I find tearing them up and burning them more profitable
Stephen
Western Thunderer
Plenty of Heritage Railways would also take them, they may only make a few quid each, but every penny counts. Second hand book (and model railway) sales have been crucial to help fund some of the smaller wagon restoration projects at Midsomer Norton when, working capital can not be invested.
cheers,
Stephen
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
Received my batch today - many thanks Rob.
Time for a quick comparison test -
Quick lick with a file at either end to miss the plastic axle bushes, there's a teeny weeny gap between the two halves, BUT I think that would disappear altogether if they are clamped together while the superglue set, I didn't have one to hand, & held it with finger pressure alone, & let go a bit too soon.
Even so, I think a lick of paint will also help disguise the join. Have painted this one (Tamiya Flat Brown) which is now drying - slowly in the cold loft!!
Well pleased - one axle done, about 119 to go....
Rob R
Western Thunderer
Try a wooden clothes peg.....Received my batch today - many thanks Rob.
Time for a quick comparison test -
View attachment 179319
Quick lick with a file at either end to miss the plastic axle bushes, there's a teeny weeny gap between the two halves, BUT I think that would disappear altogether if they are clamped together while the superglue set, I didn't have one to hand, & held it with finger pressure alone, & let go a bit too soon.
Even so, I think a lick of paint will also help disguise the join. Have painted this one (Tamiya Flat Brown) which is now drying - slowly in the cold loft!!
Well pleased - one axle done, about 119 to go....
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
I may be permanent resident at the Back of the Class, but I do have some proper clamps!!
They're up the shed, that's all....
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Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
The supplementary axle covers/halves certainly look the part and improve the spindly Atlas axles no end.
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
The paint has done a pretty good job. Fitted the other axle today, there was still a gap even with a clamp, but the axles are pretty well 'buried' under the car, so it's the profile improvement that really counts, most noticable on the outer axles, again some comparison pics....
The "before" end -
The "after" end -
The "before" end -
The "after" end -
Rob R
Western Thunderer
Hmm.
I wonder what size your axles are.
They seemed to clamp down ok around a 3/32" S scale axle.
How about using a smear of epoxy so it fills the gap or to you want me to have another bash at them with a slightly larger axle size?
I could of course go out and buy an Atlas Boxcar and fit them to that but I suspect that would be a very slippery slope.................
Boxcar (or 2) plus GE 44Tonner (or 2) = Concord and Claremont.
No, no, no.
Resist.
Concentrate Rayner.
Frisco in S..
Possibly.......
I wonder what size your axles are.
They seemed to clamp down ok around a 3/32" S scale axle.
How about using a smear of epoxy so it fills the gap or to you want me to have another bash at them with a slightly larger axle size?
I could of course go out and buy an Atlas Boxcar and fit them to that but I suspect that would be a very slippery slope.................
Boxcar (or 2) plus GE 44Tonner (or 2) = Concord and Claremont.
No, no, no.
Resist.
Concentrate Rayner.
Frisco in S..
Possibly.......
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
Yes if it shows up noticably I'll use a bit of filler. No need to have another lot made. Do these printings shrink slightly as they cool down? They are snug to the existing axle, so I don't think they have shrunk, they just don't quite meet each other exactly!
Still prefer the two halves method to a single piece that would require full truck & axle strip down to fit!
richard carr
Western Thunderer
They make a vast improvement if you ask me, I can't really notice a gap.
You do need some thinner wheels though
Richard
You do need some thinner wheels though
Richard
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
I glue them then paint them, but off the axles, hadn't thought of that.
Ha ha!!
Sorry, Luddite corner here....
richard carr
Western Thunderer
I need to be in Chicago next week for business meetings so I thought I would go over early and do it a bit of rail fanning first. There is no point in going to Chicago it was minus 10 degrees yesterday afternoon, so I'm in Cordele (pronounced more like Cordil). It is actually quite cold it was 2 degrees at 8am this morning but warmed up to 14 degrees this afternoon, it has been sunny all day yesterday and today.
Cordele has 3 lines running through it, a north south CSX line from Atlanta via Manchester to Waycross, which is the busiest line. This is crossed by the Norfolk Southern line from Albany GA to Macon (rhymes with bacon) running from South west to North. From Macon it heads to Atlanta too.
Both these lines are crossed by the HOG, the Heart of Georgia Railway, a short line that runs from Midville GA to Preston GA ie the middle of nowhere to the middle of nowhere, it's owned by Genesis and Wyoming. It interchanges with CSX in Cordele. It didn't run on Friday and doesn't run at weekends.
There is a railway park with a viewing platform by the diamonds, there are nice clean loo's and Virtual Railcam has camera there so you can watch on YouTube if you want to, thats how I discovered it. Altogether about 30 trains a day pass through.
The first train after I arrived was a north bound CSX stack train, this was the first video of the day.
The next train was a south bound loaded oil/ethanol train headed by a CP loco and a BNSF loco, quite an unusual sight for Cordele on the CSX line.
Unfortunately the video didn't record sound for some reason, a real disappointment as there was a lot of sound as it had to slow for the crossing and then accelerated away up the incline.
At the very back it also had a pusher an ES44AC number 8889.
Next up was a south bound manifest freight
and here's a video of it, a bit of handful doing both with 2 cameras.
Cordele has 3 lines running through it, a north south CSX line from Atlanta via Manchester to Waycross, which is the busiest line. This is crossed by the Norfolk Southern line from Albany GA to Macon (rhymes with bacon) running from South west to North. From Macon it heads to Atlanta too.
Both these lines are crossed by the HOG, the Heart of Georgia Railway, a short line that runs from Midville GA to Preston GA ie the middle of nowhere to the middle of nowhere, it's owned by Genesis and Wyoming. It interchanges with CSX in Cordele. It didn't run on Friday and doesn't run at weekends.
There is a railway park with a viewing platform by the diamonds, there are nice clean loo's and Virtual Railcam has camera there so you can watch on YouTube if you want to, thats how I discovered it. Altogether about 30 trains a day pass through.
The first train after I arrived was a north bound CSX stack train, this was the first video of the day.
The next train was a south bound loaded oil/ethanol train headed by a CP loco and a BNSF loco, quite an unusual sight for Cordele on the CSX line.
Unfortunately the video didn't record sound for some reason, a real disappointment as there was a lot of sound as it had to slow for the crossing and then accelerated away up the incline.
At the very back it also had a pusher an ES44AC number 8889.
Next up was a south bound manifest freight
and here's a video of it, a bit of handful doing both with 2 cameras.
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
These any better for you??...
North West Short Line wheelsets that came in the Atlas/Roco F9 I got recently.I think they are tthe thinnest tread width available (.115" ?) as they're thinner than the other set I have. Tests are ongoing whether they can negotiate my track or not.
richard carr
Western Thunderer
Hi Jordan
Yes those look the part. The thickness is the same as P48 wheels, but I would expect your back to back to be 30.25mm.
Let's hope they work.
Richard
Yes those look the part. The thickness is the same as P48 wheels, but I would expect your back to back to be 30.25mm.
Let's hope they work.
Richard
JasonD
Western Thunderer
I'll add my vote to Richard's hope they work, tell us why if they don't! I have some P48 33" and 36" sets that noone seems to want over here, so out with the hammer and pliers(!).
The current .145" thickness was introduced as a compromise by ... er, Precision Scale(?), roughly halfway between the then O-scale favoured thickness of .172(?) and .115, the latter exact scale and too taxing for a lot of O-scalers. For comparison, I think UK manufacturers use .125" for fine scale.
Jason
The current .145" thickness was introduced as a compromise by ... er, Precision Scale(?), roughly halfway between the then O-scale favoured thickness of .172(?) and .115, the latter exact scale and too taxing for a lot of O-scalers. For comparison, I think UK manufacturers use .125" for fine scale.
Jason
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
Likely because my trackwork isn't exactly to gauge all of the time, and especially with the 'bad' track using Code 100 rail, some tolerance is needed to overcome the deficiencies, in this case the tolerance is in the wider treads.
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