Oxford Rail J27

Paul Cram
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:17 am

Oxford Rail J27

Postby Paul Cram » Mon Aug 23, 2021 1:38 pm

Has anyone tried converting this loco to P4?

DougN
Posts: 1252
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:57 am

Re: Oxford Rail J27

Postby DougN » Tue Aug 24, 2021 2:24 am

Paul, the following has a link to a Oxford J27 that has been converted to EM gauge
https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index ... nt=4482322

Dare I say it will be possible to do the conversion if we ask Colin at Alan Gibson nicely to do a conversion set of wheels for it. Personally I have a Oxford RTR on the OO layout with sound. Not terribly convincing on the sound a little too much in high pitched sounds but I have yet to play with the speaker to see what can be done. I wont be converting this loco to P4 as I already have 2 Dave Bradwell kits one completed one to complete as my P4 interests. :thumb
Doug
Still not doing enough modelling

Paul Cram
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:17 am

Re: Oxford Rail J27

Postby Paul Cram » Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:08 am

Hi Doug

I had seen that but it isn't helpful as he just regauged the existing wheels. I believe the oxford axles are 1mm.

Philip Hall
Posts: 1947
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2009 7:49 pm

Re: Oxford Rail J27

Postby Philip Hall » Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:26 am

1mm driving axles? That's little more than wire! Maybe the axles are bigger but with turned down ends? Either way, such a small size seems poor engineering to me! I gather, though, that the engine runs very well...

Philip

Daddyman
Posts: 740
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2017 1:09 pm

Re: Oxford Rail J27

Postby Daddyman » Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:34 am

Surely 2mm axles? That's what was said in the RMWeb thread.

Are you talking about re-wheeling the RTR chassis, or about replacing the chassis? If the latter, the problem will be in replacing the chassis you will lose the boiler bottom, which, in typical Hornby style, is cast as part of the chassis block.

Then there are all the issues of the model's general lack of fidelity to the prototype... A Bradwell kit is the only route to a high-fidelity J27.

Paul Cram
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:17 am

Re: Oxford Rail J27

Postby Paul Cram » Tue Aug 24, 2021 4:32 pm

Yes 2mm not 1 I have a David Bradwell kit to build but it is some way down the list. I was looking for a quick and dirty solution for the interim.

pete55
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:57 pm

Re: Oxford Rail J27

Postby pete55 » Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:57 pm

I have just re wheeled one to EM for a friend using normal Gibson 1/8th axles. With most Oxford locos, if you remove the Oxford wheels and bearing bushes, then 1/8th axles fit exactly and run well. Before anyone moans about chucking the bearings out, remember that most RTR a few years ago had their axles running directly in the Mazak chassis.

Plenty of footplate Mazak needed grinding away inside the rear cab splashers, otherwise fairly straightforward.

I would add that the fastenings holding it together are very small, and very short with remarkably little thread in contact!

As one magazine review said, it is built down to a price. In my opinion, they are not wrong.

As basically a North Eastern man myself, I would agree with "Daddyman".

Pete

davebradwell
Posts: 1174
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:48 pm

Re: Oxford Rail J27

Postby davebradwell » Tue Aug 24, 2021 8:30 pm

Although a little biased myself, I would like to know a little about the Oxford J27 which is clearly going to sell well. Some of the pre-production photos were pretty terrible and one question that remains is the size of the cab windows - can anyone lay one of my brass sides over the plastic cab and see if they have the windows the right size. In fairness many rtr models have this wrong and designers have no concept of a hole in the steel cab with a slightly smaller wooden window frame behind. The boiler mountings are poor efforts, the block chassis a hark back to the dark ages and the flat faced wheels a missed opportunity. Others may have been carried through. I think the boiler should be 23.15 dia.

Hornby did a good job on the Q6 and that's good for the railways of the North East but this J27 just seems a shame as it prevents anyone else having a go. We have umpteen rtr Terriers, though!

DaveB

Daddyman
Posts: 740
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2017 1:09 pm

Re: Oxford Rail J27

Postby Daddyman » Wed Aug 25, 2021 7:00 am

davebradwell wrote:Although a little biased myself, I would like to know a little about the Oxford J27 which is clearly going to sell well. Some of the pre-production photos were pretty terrible and one question that remains is the size of the cab windows - can anyone lay one of my brass sides over the plastic cab and see if they have the windows the right size. In fairness many rtr models have this wrong and designers have no concept of a hole in the steel cab with a slightly smaller wooden window frame behind. The boiler mountings are poor efforts, the block chassis a hark back to the dark ages and the flat faced wheels a missed opportunity. Others may have been carried through. I think the boiler should be 23.15 dia.

Hornby did a good job on the Q6 and that's good for the railways of the North East but this J27 just seems a shame as it prevents anyone else having a go. We have umpteen rtr Terriers, though!

DaveB

Dave, I asked someone to measure the windows on RMWeb (as I may have said to you, when the pre-production artwork was out, I suspected that Oxford had followed the erroneous Railway Modeller drawing with the undersize windows - without checking my letter to RM the next month pointing out the numerous errors in the drawing; placing one of your etches over the Oxford artwork seemed to confirm this: the Oxford window beading fitted within the aperture of your window; I pointed out all this on the thread when the artwork appeared, but Oxford have "form" when it comes to ignoring errors when they are made aware of them). The answer on RMWeb was here https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index ... r/page/20/ or, if you don't want to sully your browser, the take-away was:

Oxford cab-side window apertures come out at 8mm height (very top) x 6mm width, central pillar 2.8mm, front and back 3mm.
Your window apertures are 6.6 wide with a centre pillar of 2.3.

That might not seem like much, but when you think the eye can see the difference between a 5 thou footplate (0.2mm?) and a 10 thou one (0.3mm?), the difference becomes massive. And I don't see why building down to price needs to involve making the windows too small. Oxford had experts free on tap on the RMWeb thread, so it's not a question of them saving money by cutting corners on research; they went to artwork without doing their research properly, and then seemingly wouldn't back up a bit, meaning that what they drew ended up being what they made. Having said this, the Oxford cab-side windows are better than they ever were on any whitemetal kit...

The boiler fittings suddenly looked better on the real thing after a year or so of the travesties shown on the pre-production models (or CGIs?). But they seem only to be doing one dome and chimney, which looks decidedly ground down. Porcy Mane has recently pointed out that they seem to have only cast up one boiler bottom on the chassis, meaning that the boiler bands on later boilers don't line up...

Paul Cram
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:17 am

Re: Oxford Rail J27

Postby Paul Cram » Wed Sep 01, 2021 5:57 am

Hi Dave

As requested.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

davebradwell
Posts: 1174
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:48 pm

Re: Oxford Rail J27

Postby davebradwell » Wed Sep 01, 2021 9:03 am

Yes, thank you Paul, the brass looks a bit under-etched so confirms what David A found. Encouragingly close otherwise, it makes you wonder why the windows aren't spot-on. Perhaps the glass size comes out closer.

The protruding axle end won't help the running - the review I read yesterday (in WHSmith) found lumpy running which is at odds with earlier reports.

DaveB

Paul Cram
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:17 am

Re: Oxford Rail J27

Postby Paul Cram » Wed Sep 01, 2021 9:20 pm

The axle ends aren't protruding but could do with blackeneing. Mine runs well but ickups needed tweaking.

DougN
Posts: 1252
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:57 am

Re: Oxford Rail J27

Postby DougN » Thu Sep 02, 2021 2:06 am

My loco which is a Sound fitted version (still not convinced by the sound, its too tinny) Runs quite nicely once the pickups were adjusted but I think I will have to do it again as the pickups squeal a bit at the moment.

I think the wheel centres will need to be painted as the ends of the axles are starting to annoy me. :D

Depending on what this weekend holds I think I will retry to start the J26 kit I have been building for years... Time to get it finished. What else are we to do here in lockdown Melbourne :cry: :evil:
Doug
Still not doing enough modelling


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