New model has arrived.

Looks to be a clever quasi radial truck design.

John

Santa was very kind to Granby this year……courtesy of Hattons and Canada Post……… two splendid but very different locos arrived on the very last Post on Christmas Eve………an LMS 2-4-2T and a GWR Star 4-6-0    (I will write up the latter in the Hornby section)

Here is the LMS version of the Lanky Tank that Terry has.

Lots of nostalgia for me……they were shedded at both Bankhall and Southport so I must have seen them as a boy hauling the two coach Southport-London through train.  This summer, over 60 years later, my wife photographed me next to the preserved L&Y loco in the NRM




Lots to like……crisp lettering………..shed code, manufacters plate etc





I think Bachmann have done a brilliant job with their recent issues of work horse LMS locos… the 3F, 4F and now this Class 5 all reek of authenticity…….I am no expert but this model has met with universal acclaim.  I particularly like the delicacy of the wheels




Excellent cab detail……they even have planking on the floor






Rivets on the bunker

This shot shows the one gripe I have so far…….the NEM pocket holder is set too low so that when you fit Kadee couplers as above  they are maybe 3mm below standard…….this may not seem much but based on my own experience  I know this will be outside the operating tolerances. Later today I will research the Kadee site to see if different shank heights are available……to the best of my knowledge the NEM compatible couplers only vary in overall length not height.

If the worst comes to the worst I will just have to modify a pocket and glue it direct……not ideal particularly on a new model


Finally a posed and, from a historical viewpoint, highly questionable black and white shot




Posed………………because the Train room has been out of bounds the last few days…….I was only given licence to go down and take these shots……………so today I hope to complete the DC running in and fit a decoder……..I will try and take some internal shots and post them later

Historically Inaccurate…….I am stretching modellers licence a bit……an ex LYR loco pulling a rake of ex Midland Suburbans on the Joint LNWR GWR line from Birkenhead!

But I do rather like it! 

Hi John,

Very nice indeed. They certainly  look the part.

Good old Santa

Cheers

Toto

:)Splendid photo,s John.

I have always liked those L&Y 2-4-2 T loco,s both long and short bunkered versions.

Excellent local work horses.

Happy New Year,

Derek.
PS:

The LNWR and L&Y amalgamated into a joint company in 1921 before the big grouping.

So its not beyond the bounds to see a Lanky on LNWR lines!

[user=1235]60019Bittern[/user] wrote:

Saw a couple in the local Antics this morning. Just trying to think up a reason to get one. It looks really nice. I suppose I could justify it in that the line has become a preserved line.

Talked myself into it. I bought one this morning. Now where did I put those Dapol suburban coaches. Trevennan has now become a Preserved line and the L&Y tank is a guest loco. It's such a nice looking loco I couldn't help it. If it performs as good as it looks I shall be more than happy.

Someone asked earlier where the decoder goes and the answer is it fit very neatly under the bunker leaving the detailed cab free for crew fitting. To fit it you remove two (very) small screws from the rear and one slightly larger one from the front. All in all 5 minutes tops. It's also worthwhile fitting the crew at the same time because the cab floor forms part of the footplate! Performance is excellent on DC or DCC. I didn't even bother with my usual 1 hour running-in before chipping!

As a matter of interest these are the allocations for the BR liveried models:

50795 (Flush-rivetted smoke box)         20F Skipton          Listed as being at Skipton from 01/01/1948 until withdrawal on         11/1959. It did in fact spend the last few weeks of it's working life at 20E Manningham and withdrawn from there.

50636 (Round-head rivetted smokebox)          20E Manningham from 01/01/1948 to withdrawal on 07.1957.

50636 can also be renumbered to 50762 - 25F Low Moor 01/01/1948, 25D Mirfield 06/10/51, 25F Low Moor 12/07/52, withdrawn 12/1953. Alternatively to 50764 - 25A Wakefield 01/01/1948, 24B Rose Grove 17/07/1951, 24C Lostock Hall 19/04/1952, 25F Low Moor 21/03/1953, withdrawn 07/1956.

Of course there are other alternatives but the above examples are the ones I found useful for my West Yorkshire base layout! I hope this helps!

Regards

Bill

Bill is right about the decoder fitting…….its a breeze………..probably the quickest and easiest install I have done




The screws underneath the Coupler pockets are indeed small but like the larger centre screw they are easily accessible





Bob (Novice) was asking about space for a sound decoder……I dont know anything about sound chips but there doesnt appear to be a lot of space……I wonder if that is why they switched from a 21 pin ?

The boiler has a weight inside….I guess you might be able to shave a bit off although the loco wasnt over comfortable running without the body (and boiler weight)……I get the sense a little more weight over the rear bogie wouldnt come amiss 




Extract the blanking plate then insert the decoder……job done

This loco was a gift and came with a Lenz Mini Gold. I am not sure to  what extent that contribuited to the performance but the video below  shows it operating with basically out of the box settings  except for Cv  2 that I changed from the default of 1  to 2.

Before setting up the loco for RR&Co I will fiddle with CV 5 and 6  because I doubt if the loco will ever operate beyond a scale 25 mph yet. RR&Co takes care of acceleration and momentum.

As it is the loco runs well …..it negotiates my dodgy points and uneven track  ok……it didnt like my insulfrog double slips too much and is very  very picky about dirt however miniscule on the track…….but overall l  am impressed.

This isnt a great video by any means…..definitely warts and all….but does show it in action 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZmNpacSE-Y



PS As you can see I was over critical about the NEM pocket  height……they are lower than the norm but work ok with RTR  stock……I need to change the couplings on my Ratio Midland coaches!

Great little video John. :thumbs

I always wonder about running qualities with these small locos - certainly my pannier struggles on both insulfrogs and double slips.

The additional pick-ups on the bogies must help a great deal and that clip proved the slow running was impressive enough.  From my own experience, I'd agree that DCC does require very clean track and wheels - imagine what it's like with sound in there too ………:shock::shock::shock:

Having said that, I'm still determined to add sound to as many as I can - I'm sold on it. :doublethumb