Bachmann 4 CEP

Rustyrail

Bachmann 4 CEP

Postby Rustyrail » Mon Apr 12, 2010 3:31 pm

Does anyone know if there are suitable, correct diameter (and axle width) replacement P4 wheels for this excellent model? I'm not sure what diameter the prototype wheels are? Has anyone had a go at converting the 4 CEP to P4 yet? I'd like to try doing this myself, although I would imagine that removing the Bachmann gears and putting them onto new P4 axles might be difficult.

Cheers
Simon

JFS
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Re: Bachmann 4 CEP

Postby JFS » Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:41 pm

I have just finished converting the 4 CEP to P4.

Regarding the motor bogie, - I used Ultrascale coach wheels and the extended boss on the back of these (which can sometimes be a bit of a nuisance) comes in useful since it means that they can be used on the existing stub axles after the Bachman wheels have been punched off. The axle are somewhat short, but there is plenty of meat left. The new wheels are not a push fit however, and some Loctite 603 is needed to secure them. A little plastic needs to be removed from the inside of the sideframes, but the brake blocks line up alright. Shorting wires between the axle and tyres are needed if the split axle pickup is to be retained.

In fact, the motor bogie was the easiest bit - the trailer bogies require a lot more work as the Bachman arrangement is based on split axles collecting current via metal inserts in the sideframes - standard wheelsets - even Exactoscale - will not fit between the frames and would short-out the lighting system even if they did. I just reused the sideframes on MJT CCUs. The Bachman bogies also have a rather clever secondary suspension which also passes the current to the interior of the body - this can be retained on the motor bogies - and indeed, I did replicate it on the TC, but elected to use a conventional approach on the other non-motor bogies.
Just one final point, the dummy motor bogie on the DMSO "B" is 8' 9" wheelbase - the is therefore no MJT CCU to suit this.

All in all, it is by no means a case of dropping in some replacement wheels, but I hope that helps a bit.

Best Regards,

Howard.

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Rod Cameron
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Re: Bachmann 4 CEP

Postby Rod Cameron » Tue Sep 28, 2010 9:42 am

Useful comments there Howard, thanks - I need to convert 2 or 3 sets myself. Not too fussed about the lighting, but will have to give some thought over the split axle/pickup configuration.
Rod

JFS
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Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 3:47 pm

Re: Bachmann 4 CEP

Postby JFS » Tue Sep 28, 2010 9:24 pm

Perhaps the biggest challenge is getting hold of the Ultrascale wheelsets - unless you have some in stock - current delivery promise is measured in months, and in my experience, they are only rarely much better than they promise, so get an order in while you are doing the thinking!! It is a good job that they are worth the wait!

Regarding the pick-up issue, since I don't have any 00 track, I have never been able to test how the thing is supposed to work out of the box, but it seems that the pickups on the non-powered vehicles are only to feed the lighting on that vehicle and they are not connected to the jumper leads down the unit. Like you, I am not too concerned about the lighting, and in the end, I have connected the traction and lighting circuits together and arranged that each bogie picks up on one side via shorting wires twixt tyre and axle.

Just one small point in passing, although doing this conversion is a bit of a fag, it seems to me that Bachman have at least thought about the issues of conversion - in the case of the motor bogie, not only is it pretty simple to do, but it actually works much better after conversion - there is a mile of sideplay in 00 which entirely disappears in P4 - and the brake blocks line up much better!

Good Luck!,

Howard.

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Paul Willis
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Re: Bachmann 4 CEP

Postby Paul Willis » Wed Sep 29, 2010 11:06 pm

JFS wrote:Just one small point in passing, although doing this conversion is a bit of a fag, it seems to me that Bachman have at least thought about the issues of conversion - in the case of the motor bogie, not only is it pretty simple to do, but it actually works much better after conversion - there is a mile of sideplay in 00 which entirely disappears in P4 - and the brake blocks line up much better!


Is P4 becoming mainstream? Comments like this make me thing that aiming for a decent level of realism in our modelling is reaching the ears of those that make the decisions on models.

Reading your message reminded me of a comment in the September 2010 edition of the Hornby Magazine. A reader had asked, in response to a CAD image of the new Stove R "why in the 21st century do we have to put up with incorrectly positioned brake blocks?". I'll quote the reply from Hornby verbatim:

"We had a choice when it came to the brake shoe positions on the Stove R. The first option was to mount them in line with the wheels. However in terms of scale modelling this is inaccurate as the wheel spacing of "OO" gauge rolling stock is incorrect for true 4mm scale. Instead, we opted to model the brake shoes in their correct positions - as per the drawings - which means that while they are beyond the wheels, they are in fact in the correct positions.".

Is this another major step towards P4-ready-to-convert ("RTC") models from the mainstream manufacturers? If the rest of the model shows the same fidelity to the prototype as this comment suggests, then Hornby are very deserving of support through some large sales to finescale modellers.

Cheers
Paul Willis
Deputy Chairman
Beware of Trains - occasional modelling in progress!
www.5522models.co.uk

craig_whilding

Re: Bachmann 4 CEP

Postby craig_whilding » Thu Sep 30, 2010 2:12 pm

Flymo748 wrote:Reading your message reminded me of a comment in the September 2010 edition of the Hornby Magazine. A reader had asked, in response to a CAD image of the new Stove R "why in the 21st century do we have to put up with incorrectly positioned brake blocks?". I'll quote the reply from Hornby verbatim:

"We had a choice when it came to the brake shoe positions on the Stove R. The first option was to mount them in line with the wheels. However in terms of scale modelling this is inaccurate as the wheel spacing of "OO" gauge rolling stock is incorrect for true 4mm scale. Instead, we opted to model the brake shoes in their correct positions - as per the drawings - which means that while they are beyond the wheels, they are in fact in the correct positions.".

Is this another major step towards P4-ready-to-convert ("RTC") models from the mainstream manufacturers? If the rest of the model shows the same fidelity to the prototype as this comment suggests, then Hornby are very deserving of support through some large sales to finescale modellers.

Cheers Paul Willis Deputy Chairman

We are going a bit off topic now but its worth noting that is a Dapol wagon commissioned by Hornby mag. As one of the other 'innovations' is pivoting outer axles (like the type you had to glue solid on old Hornby HAAs) then the cynic in me suggests the brake blocks were moves out of the way for this and the floating centre axle instead of any attempt at scale.

As they are making a fuss about the fact it has sprung buffers I wouldn't say Dapol has caught up with the quality Hornby offered with the Southern Van C just yet..


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