Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Ugly loco - first run

 

Time to give the loco a blast on the club track. As you can see, it runs well, but slowly. The 90-yard circuit took almost exactly 5 minutes. 

Looking underneath, a little tweaking is required. 

The gear mesh isn't perfect, the one on the axle having moved slightly. Recentring it quietened the model down, and it kept running. A bit of glue to stop it sliding around should solve this. 


at

12 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:29 AM

    Phil I would say the speed is not slow, but realistic any faster would be in the triang Nelly toy speed range.
    Graham

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. James Finister11:08 AM

      If anything I think it is still a little fast

      Delete
  2. Phil Parker11:17 AM

    Let's see how a line of skips slows it down.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Paul B.1:24 PM

    I'd agree regarding speed. When I built Saltford locos one way of controlling the speed was to build a battery box from plasticard and wire the batteries through a DPDT switch(?) so the batteries could either be used in series or parallel. On that kit swapping the battery box for a single AAA one would work but only give one very slow speed. Which would suit me just fine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phil Parker5:48 PM

      I have a Saltford Simplex wired this way! It works fine, but to you need a different battery box - 2 single cells in this case, and I'm not sure there is space.

      Delete
  4. Steve2:55 PM

    Hi Phil, How do you move the gear on the axle? They are so tight I find it difficult to move them to adjust them. Using a big hammer doesn't seem a good idea :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Phil Parker5:45 PM

    Steve. Mine wasn't that tight, I was able to move it with finger pressure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steve7:49 PM

      Thanks Phil. I will try again... and maybe buy some finger strengtheners 😀

      Delete
    2. Steve8:01 PM

      Thanks Phil. Fingers to move the gears worked. I just needed to apply more pressure. (Along with a bit more courage :-) ). I now have 4WD fitted too. Thanks for the advice.

      Delete
  6. Paul B.6:26 PM

    On both my Modern Simplex and Koppel the battery box was made from plasticard with brass strip for contacts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phil Parker6:27 PM

      My Simplex one was, but after many years, it became brittle. I replaced it with a modifed moulded one. It sort of works.

      Delete
  7. Paul B.6:33 PM

    I haven't run either for nearly two decades, ever since I moved up north. They're in a Bedfordshire attic right now.

    ReplyDelete