I have had a major problems with my early "Mk 1" Shay. I have kept this running sweetly for years and even been able to mend the broken gear wheels and some cracked plastic pick ups OK. But at our recent exhibition, here in Norway, everthing seized up in the valve gear and the end of  the crankshaft on the piston assembly sheared off and one of the universal joints broke . I've managed to fix this with brass pins & tube but I'm still stuck with two badly damaged/broken plastic pickup housings. Does anyone have some spare ones or any of the Hillside cast ones they don't need ?  I'll pay, of course, for any post and for the spares.

Preiser used to produce some old time figures in 1:22,5. I found some for sale in a web shop just now so they may still be available.

Some years ago I bought some seated ones for a friend to put into two Bachman WP&Y coaches. I found that their legs were a bit too long, so I either had to make cushions or saw their legs off ! I decided that as they were much too nice to cut up to I had to find another solution. What I ended up doing was drilling a hole in the floor of the seat unit in the coach for the legs to go through. (Not the floor of the coach) This gave me enough room to sit them down firmly on the seats with some thick double sided tape. They look great. I used to of the standing ones in the end of the observation car as well.

I have two K-27's. I've not had any issues with the front trucks but I did notice how you could lift the truck off the track without lifting the drivers. As I have switches  that are sprung, I wanted to be able to run thought these "against the spring". I took off the trucks and made a small plastic bush to fit over the pin that is supposed to keep the truck down on the track. The limits the upward movement and now the truck will push the switches over without derailing.

I would also check the back to back to make sure the gauge is correct as well. Other than that, check all switches have a nice smooth path and the track for unevenness.

I hope you get the problem sorted. The K-27's must be one of the best models on the market so it's a shame if yours is not behaving itself .

Even though I'm an keen RGS 1.20,3  fan I just had to get the Large Scale Thomas who has now been followed by Percy and James. We ran Thomas and Percy at a local exhibition here in Norway and the kids loved them !

A suggestion from me for future items would be Toby and Henrietta. I must add that I found these these models to be very well constructed and well worth the price. They are ideal for kids and would seem to be made for running in the rain.

I need some help. My local club here in Norway has built a layout with Peco gauge 1 track with a minimum radius of about 25 inches. We have an exhibition on Saturday and to-night we found that my G scale Thomas won't run though the curves.  I have found that the track width is about 1mm less than Peco's G scale and LGB. I need to reduce the back to back on Thomas's drivers. Does anyone know how the wheels sets are made up ? Are the wheels just push fitted onto insulated axles ? I was hoping to pull the wheels apart and reduce the length of the inner axles. Anyone else done this ?

 I don't think Bachmann will have the spares if this the early hand car with a rubber band drive from the motor to the worm gear.

I needed some as well but the spares department couldn't help. However I have repaired two of the small axle gears by carefully drilling very small holes on each side of the crack and gluing in a small piece of stiff wire which I pre-bent in a "U" shape. There is just enough clearence to allow for the increase in the width of the gear.

I have repaired some Shay gears as well and have been pleased with the result.  When refitting the gears onto the axles I opened up the inside diameter of the gears a bit to avoid cracking them again when refitting onto the axles.

I found a nice colour drawing of Lyn on the Lynton & Barnstaple Railways webb page:  http://www.lynton-rail.co.uk

The wheelbase for the drivers is given as 5 feet. The wheelbase over the pony trucks is given as 17 foot 6 inches. This can help determin the scale of the first Bachman Lyn.

There are plans to build a full size Lyn from scratch. They have a cab already on display at their station at Woddy Bay. The line is well worth a vist !

Thanks for the replies ! I'll get back with how I get on.


Martin

I'm repairing my poor old G scale Gandy Dancer which finally died on me. One of the axle gears was split (again) but I've managed to fix this by using a thin wire "U" across the split but the drive belt has become dried out and is unusable. The service department doesn't have these spares any more. I want to get this running again as it is very popular at our annual exhibition. Has anyone ever found a replacement drive belt and if so do they have any reference numbers.
I measured the old belt and it's 0.7 mm in cross setion and about 16 mm internal diameter.


Martin Ellis, Norway

Looks like I was a bit quick off the mark there; I guess you have the green D&RGW version so the cab & tender will be in "before crash" style. I'd forgotten that this was one of the other options to make a pre-crash 455.
I really like the K-27 models. All in all the best locos I have.

Hello, I don't know if you have considered it, but to make a model of RGS 455 before the accident you will need a different cab and a different tender. Both were replaced after the accident when she rolled over after a runaway accident.

I have seen photos of 455 with the RGS "sunset herald" from before the crash. There is a lot of info. on the RGS on internet. I used an unlettered black  K-27 with plough and bought a decal set  to make my 455. There are probably other changes to make if you wanted to make an exact model.

RGS fan in Norway

Hi, thanks for answering.  One was left between the truck bolster and the body but this one fell out when I moved the caboose around after removing it for the box.
I they are shown on the excellent exploded view drawing for the Chassis Assembly p/n G830X #MT03. Look like there should be 2 per truck one on each side mounted on the top of the truck side. I've just used a magnifying glass and you can see them on the drawing of the assembled truck. Looks like they may be anti body-roll "springs".

The ones I found are not very "springy" any more so maybe excessive pressure under transport presses  them flat and then they will fall out.

Maybe other purchasers need to be aware of this potential problem. They are vey small and easily missed when upacking.

Martin

Hello from Norway, I've just received my Spectrum RGS caboose. What a beauty !

I have a question which I hope someone can help me with.

In the box under the caboose I found 3 small pieces of loose folded brass about 1/4 long. As the shipment has probably had a rough ride over the Atlantic I'm wondering if these have fallen out from the trucks as they look like small springs. Has anyone else found these loose and if so where should they be located ?

Martin Ellis

I 've got an unlettered K-27 which I want to letter as pre wreck RGS #455 in 1943 with the RGS Sunset Herald. Has anyone found a supplier for this type of Decal ?
I'm not having any luck with Larry Larsen E mail address.

RGS in Norway

A question for Mr Bachmann !
Like many others I have been waiting for this model for many years.
I've ordered two already, for delivery from a retailer in the UK, a 463 with the "Flying  D&RGW" and the RGS 455 version with the "sunset herald".

After studying the photos available in the gallery it looks like the RGS 455 version with the "sunset herald" with be the post 1947 rebuilt version with the odd looking cab. Whilst not being a "rivet counter" I do prefer the 1942 look of this engine and modelling this period, before the wreck, fits in with the rest of my "master plan". So , my question to Mr Bachmann is:
will it be possible to buy an alternative (normal) cab after the K27's are released ?.

Best regards from a RGS G scaler on the wet & windy western coast of Norway !