What exactly can be done ?

I have just recently ( tonight ) bought a wheen of Hornby HAA aggregate wagons. It's the railroad version in EWS livery. They come with the big tension couplings and ( I think ) plastic wheel sets.

Does any body have them. If so can you tell me if the tension couplings could be easily changed out to either smaller ones or the Kadee's without too much grief.

Also, would it be possible to change over the wheel sets to metal versions but nothing fancy. Just off the shelf Hornby or Bachmann replacements.

They come in boxes of three for £19.00 and is a cheap and easy way to build up a decent rake.

I'm also looking at the Railroad shell tankers £33.00 for 6.

Any comments appreciated.

Cheers

Toto

Hi Toto, you should be able to just whip out the wheelsets by easing the axle box on one side and pulling up the wheel, replacing them with metal wheels is just a reverse of taking the old ones out, I use Hornby wheels to replace any I take out they are fine.
Replacing the big moulded on couplings is another matter altogether I have done it myself by cutting of the originals and fitting Bachmann couplings but it is a bit of a pita to do, it may be better to put up with them until you are a bit more confident at weilding the scalpel.

laters Pete.

Hi Pete,

Fair enough. I suppose the wheels get it half way to looking that bit better. I think they are quite a reasonable model, even the wheels really. It's the couplings that bring it down a bit but I may have to live with that a while until my skills are honed a bit.

Still good value for money and I would not worry if I mucked up any in the process of carrying out some medical experiments like the couplings or weathering etc.

Cheers for now

Toto

Toto,

You can purchase the Railroad tankers cheaper than £33.00 for 6. Hattons have the three pack of Railroad Tankers (R6366)for Â£12.00 ! Now for £36.00, you could have a rake of 9 x tankers !

With the fixed Hornby tension lock couplers, you may find that they have a small rivet holding them in place. If they are like the Railroad tankers, you will need to seperate the body from the chassis and remove the wheels. Now take a file and file the rivet down, then punch out through the top of the chassis. The plastic cylindrical knob will need to be removed if you intend fitting Kadees.



I'm currently putting together a collection of pics to start a thread on weathering and mounting Kadees to these cheap and cheerful Railroad Tankers. If you wish to wait to see how I get on with this, then hopefully before the weekend is out I'll post it up.

Cheers, Gary.


 

Hi Gary,

That's just the job. My HAA's have only just been ordered. They'll take a couple of days to come I'd think then I'll know if they are the same but I think they will be.

The reason that I looked at the tankers that I did was that you were getting all six in the same basic livery. I think the one you refer to are of mixed livery. Correct me if I'm wrong and I've never seen them in packs of nine. That's a new one on me. I'll need to take a look for that.

I'll watch for your post with the piccies of course.

Cheers

Toto

You're correct, they are a mixed lot, but they could be repainted and weathered…. ;-);-) But you would still have 3 x Shell, 3 x Total and 3 x Texaco wagons. :mrgreen:

Cheers, Gary.

If you want to hone your modelling skills without worrying about wrecking something expensive why not have a go at building a plastic wagon kit? Parkside make some nice kits that are pretty easy to build the tube wagon springs to mind, and you don,t need a huge amount of tools, needle files, craft knife paint brushes solvent glue (mecpac) and paint, I know that modern models are excellent for detail etc but for me knowing that I have made that wagon/coach etc is so good that I can,t wait to start on the next one.And on the subject of kit building, it might be a good idea to build an etched brass wagon before starting on your loco, and before doing any kit building practice on some scrap brass. There are loads of good books out there on all methods of kit building I would recommend the Ian Rice books particullaly on soldering kits.
Cheers fer now Pete. 

Hi Toto

Wheels are dead easy, but it gets a bit pricey when you start re-wheeling everything.

Just spring out the old ones and drop the new ones in.

I believe R8097 are what you want for modern wagons.

I'm gradually doing everything I intend to run, as plastic wheels seem to attract dirt more than metal ones and the wagons not only look, but run better.


Ed

Thanks chaps,

Pete, I have Ian Rice's book on 4mm chassis building. Quite a heavy read but I am getting my way through bits of it . I have been looking at wagons as well especially private owner wagons but have not taken the plunge in selecting one yet. A good idea to practice the brass on an open wagon or something before attacking a loco.

Ed,

Thanks for the reference on the wheels. The fact that there is a benefit of better running takes a bit of the sting out of the additional cost in changing them over.
I'm looking forward on a " how to " that Gary is putting out shortly on the fuel wagons which shows the whole weathering, disassembly and reassembly from start to finish. It's amazing how far these wagons can be stripped down for working on.

I think between Gormo's recently started thread and the input of others, we'll have a great reference to turn to.


Cheers

Toto

G`day Toto,

If you cut off any couplings, they can be replaced with small Bachmanns or Kadees. All you have to do is find some suitable material ,of the right thickness ,to glue to the underside of the wagon, to fit your new couplings to. If the material is almost there ,but not quite, you can use small flat washers to make up the difference.

Once all is painted to match, you will never notice.

:cheers  Gormo

Hi Gormo,

Sounds like a plan. I'll have a look at them when they arrive and see what can be done. I'll post up some photo's as well.

Cheers

Toto

This video may be of interest;

Hi Dave,

Just watched the video. Really spot on.  Ideal for my purposes. I will probably have a go at changing out the buffers as well. Looks quite straight forward. The couplings are a simple affair although I don't know how he fixed them in. I'm sure I can come up with something for that though.

Thanks for pi sting the link.

Toto.

Toto, I have just added the fitting of Kadees to my weathering thread.

http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=13315&forum_id=51#p237430

Cheers, Gary.

Hi Gary,

I've viewed your link and commented on your thread . I have sent away for some coal loads and some buffer stops for the HAA wagons. Between the buffers and the couplings it will make a nice little project for me to dip my toe in the water with modifications. It certainly looks straight forward enough ……… I'll soon find out.

Cheers

Toto

[user=1505]toto[/user] wrote:

Hi Dave,

Just watched the video. Really spot on.  Ideal for my purposes. I will probably have a go at changing out the buffers as well. Looks quite straight forward. The couplings are a simple affair although I don't know how he fixed them in. I'm sure I can come up with something for that though.

Thanks for pi sting the link.

Toto.

:thumbs

Hi Toto                       Please excuse my ignorance, but what does an "H A A" wagon look like?? and what does it carry??                                                                                    all the best  Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Take a look here :

http://www.hornby.com/uk-en/wagons-coaches/freight-wagons/br-railfreight-haa-mgr-wagons-three-wagon-pack.html

Cheers, Gary.

And for Kadee's

here's a link to Victoria Road

http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=11164&forum_id=21&page=23#p249934

Paul