Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

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BRIDGEMAN
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Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby BRIDGEMAN » Tue May 28, 2019 12:35 pm

Has anybody P4'd a Heljan 128 or a Dapol 122. What manufacturers wheels have you used or would you recommend,and is there any pit falls to watch out for? Many thanks. Ray.

Jeremy Good
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Re: Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby Jeremy Good » Tue May 28, 2019 1:57 pm

Ray

Both are pretty straightforward conversions.

If you look in the "Trains: Model and Prototype" part of the Forum in the Railmotors, Railcar and Multiple Units section you'll find a conversion I did for a Dapol 121 using Branchlines wheel sets, a version of the conversion pack they sell for the Bachmann DMUs. I did also do a second version doing away with the split axles by drilling through the gears and using 2mm axles but this then requires fabrication of pick-ups.

The Heljan 128 is more straightforward and follows the same lines as all their locos. I used Branchlines 12mm wheels and simply remover the Heljan drive gear, fitted it on the new axle with some washers within the gear tower frame to reduce side play, fixed the wheels, adjusted the pick-ups and it's done. I have found Branchless wheels good for this (and other Heljan conversions) as they are solid metal and therefore the positioning of the pick up strips isn't too crucial as long as they touch the backs of the wheels.

Hope that helps.

Jeremy

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kelly
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Re: Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby kelly » Tue May 28, 2019 4:30 pm

As Jeremy mentions, the Branchlines 12mm and 14mm wheels are perfect for most diesels/EMUs/DMUs and work well ime (apart from Heljan Co-Co locos were a penbits suspension unit is very much needed).
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jim s-w
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Re: Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby jim s-w » Tue May 28, 2019 5:35 pm

kelly wrote:(apart from Heljan Co-Co locos were a penbits suspension unit is very much needed).


Not even remotely the case. Not my experience at all.
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kelly
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Re: Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby kelly » Tue May 28, 2019 5:42 pm

jim s-w wrote:
kelly wrote:(apart from Heljan Co-Co locos were a penbits suspension unit is very much needed).


Not even remotely the case. Not my experience at all.


The centre axle on the Heljan 47 I have just flops around and so is impossible to run (there was no gear like the other axles) I found. Perhaps unique to the 47 I have??
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jim s-w
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Re: Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby jim s-w » Tue May 28, 2019 5:45 pm

It’s really easy to add a simple spring. Simon Steven wrote it up for update years ago.
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kelly
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Re: Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby kelly » Tue May 28, 2019 5:52 pm

jim s-w wrote:It’s really easy to add a simple spring. Simon Steven wrote it up for update years ago.


Not something I'd considered. I'll have a look through the index to see if I can find Simon's article.
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jim s-w
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Re: Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby jim s-w » Tue May 28, 2019 5:54 pm

I think it was before the updates I did. (Not that I can remember what numbers they were anyway) :?
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kelly
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Re: Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby kelly » Tue May 28, 2019 5:56 pm

jim s-w wrote:I think it was before the updates I did. (Not that I can remember what numbers they were anyway) :?


A quick look on the index shows it was issue 28, so almost 20 years ago now.
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Jeremy Good
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Re: Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby Jeremy Good » Tue May 28, 2019 9:37 pm

Or, on the Heljan 47, you can just use plenty of spacing washers inside the gear tower which helps to limit the movement on the middle axle. The one I've done like this stays on the track well.

The other one, a PenBits version is a bit more refined though...!

Jeremy

BRIDGEMAN
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Re: Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby BRIDGEMAN » Wed May 29, 2019 8:37 am

Thanks very much Jeremy for your reply. I found your post in Trains Model & Prototype on the Dapol121, it is just knowing where to look. I shall go for the split axle method as you described. There was also a post by Captain Kernow with a link to RM Web showing his conversion of the Heljan 128.
Once again many thanks to all, Ray.

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jim s-w
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Re: Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby jim s-w » Thu May 30, 2019 2:04 pm

I’ll have my p4ed cobo with me on Brettell Road at the DEMU show this weekend if anyone wants a look.

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Captain Kernow
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Re: Rewheeling a Heljan 128 & Dapol 122

Postby Captain Kernow » Sat Jun 01, 2019 7:02 pm

BRIDGEMAN wrote:Has anybody P4'd a Heljan 128 or a Dapol 122. What manufacturers wheels have you used or would you recommend,and is there any pit falls to watch out for? Many thanks. Ray.

Here's my blog on RMWeb from a few years ago, covering the Heljan 128 - https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index ... nit-to-p4/
Tim M
Member of the Devon Riviera Area Group.


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