Model Forum / General / Railroads / November 2009

Yep there is, tis to do with injector. looks different to that on RHS -
simpler. Vaguely shaped as below.
With 2 pipes on left joining the 3rd on right. Dimension of 1cm by 1 cm.

   |    |       |
   |    L---O
   L-------|-

HTH
Simon

I have now received the above 3 models. The A1 Flying Scotsman and A4
Falcon are excellent value for under £50, having the new chassis with
fixed trailing pony truck and wide flangeless wheels. These are not
noticeable, and also make it easier to rerail the loco.

However, the 8-wheel tenders appear to be on basically the same chassis
as the old tender-drive version. They even have a dummy ringfield motor
to add weight! In fact, I was able to swap over the (non-prototypical)
trailing pony trucks for the old ones that already had Kadees attached
to them - they still carry the same part number.  

Both locos run very nicely, as does Princess Elizabeth now I have sorted
out the valve gear problem. However, after only a couple of days the A1
lost a front axle crankpin at speed, causing it to jump the track.
Luckily there was no apparent damage, and I found the pin beside the
track. I had some difficulty getting it back in; it has ridges rather
than threads, and pushes into a metal boss. If it comes loose again,
I'll e-mail the vendor about an replacement.

The 3F Jinty is a bit of a disappointment, even though it cost only £22
(Hamley's wants £35!). It's an old body lacking a lot of detail, but the
"upgraded" 0-6-0 chassis allows too little vertical and horizontal
play in the axles to negotiate track irregularities. Some of my older
Hornby turnouts have the insulated frog slightly higher than the running
rails; as the centre driver passes over the frog, it lifts the other 2
wheels on that side, breaking electrical contact and often causing a
derailment. Hornby's older 6-coupled tank loco design was much more
accommodating, with the weight on the front two axles, traction tyres on
the centre axle (which also had reduced flanges), and a floating rear
axle held in contact with the track by springs. My 1990s 2-6-4T with
this arrangement (and a 3-pole motor) runs well without hesitation or
derailment on turnouts; I have removed the traction tyres and it hauls 3
suburban coaches with no slippage.  

This is a case where a "new and improved" design creates problems
that the previous design managed to avoid. My 3 Pacifics and Black 5,
with full flanges on all loco and tender wheels, negotiate turnouts and
sharp curves better than the 3F. My Bachmann J74, with its now burned
out motor, was problem-free when new. I can't quite say the same for my
Bachmann 9F with its 10-coupled wheelbase, but it does negotiate both
tracks of my main oval.