Bachmann 'James' locomotive

Tim Brien

Registered
Apparently inside cylinder mogul locomotives were not particularly common on the British mainland, thus 'James' is an oddball choice. That aside, when released I purchased a few examples with the intention of making a 2-6-0 Mogul plantation/export locomotive. Lack of inertia/enthusiasm dulled my project until today.

I had some Aristo-Craft Porter cylinders and decided to fit them. As they say, alls well that ends well, however, the perils of the journey can certainly get one a little annoyed. Why would an assembly line worker superglue the drive rod retention screws into the wheel boss? At some point disassembly would have to be a consideration. This point obviously was overlooked on the production line. Fortunately, one screw was able to be coaxed out intact but alas a little roadkill on the way when one screw sheared off its head while attempting removal. I simply cannot understand the use of superglue to retain a screw, especially one that one day WILL need to be removed.

Well, idiots aside, the project proceeded. I was able to drill out the broken screw and fortunately coaxed a new thread with a bit of perseverence. Some time ago, I purchased a bag of Lionel largescale drive rod mount screws. These are the same thread pitch as the stock Bachmann machine screw and allowed a 'standoff' mounting for the centre axle to mount a connecting rod.

The cylinders needed a little alteration to fit and piston stroke is the same as the Bachmann wheel so no alteration was needed to the connecting rod. Clearance with the front axle requires the lateral movement of the axle to be limited to avoid contact with the crosshead slidebars. Ideally, the pilot truck mount arm will need lengthening to allow more axle swing for tighter radii track.

Eventually I may paint the loco black, but for the moment I need to cool off my temperment over those superglued machine screws. This does dampen any further mods as I am not inclined to tempt fate and remove any more screws.
 
This is what I had in mind. Ideally, the pilot truck needs lengthening (maybe one day).

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Another mod I intend is getting rid of the anaemic steam dome. While maybe a feature of James, it does look too small for a locomotive this size.

A suitable replacement is the sand dome from a Bachmann 'Big Hauler/Anniversary' locomotive. The dome was removed from the host body and then sanded using a typical 375 gm spray paint can. Final trimming was then done to get a good fit. The dome will fit straight over the existing James dome, however, the stock dome requires about 0.25" removed from the top to allow the new dome to sit neatly on the boiler.

I need to purchase some brass spray paint before fitting the new dome. I know that I am getting away from a stock James look, but eventually (maybe) I will respray the entire loco after replacing the smokebox door and adding some cab details. All well into the future (maybe).

Edit: I carried out a further mod by making a new pilot truck. I wanted to extend the pilot axle forward by 1 cm. Initially, I intended modifying the stock truck but soon realised it would be less trouble to make a new one. The new truck was made from the aluminium curtain track used for vertical drapes. The forward wheel position now looks far better in relation to the cylinder location.
 
Paul,
GRS has quite a few goodies that would interest me. A modeller convinced them to assemble a pack to modify Emily to look more like a really useful engine. Perhaps a similar pack could be organised for James as well. Alas, I think the pack works out around $100 each.

I am going for a more budget look. I am ransacking my spares box (much depleted these days) for donor parts. Once I repaint the loco (some day?), the dome will tone in with the locomotive. If I wanted a polished look the GRS item would be perfect.
 
New side profile. The dome still needs to be painted brass in colour and then once satisfied the original James dome will be cutdown and the new dome fitted (I want to be happy before cutting up the stock body). The new dome is not typically British, however, my final intention is that the locomotive will be an export loco sent to a tropical plantation.

The pilot truck repositions the pilot wheels 1 cm forward for a better side profile. Cylinders require a little paint touching up once inservice. The pilot truck is a simple affair cut from aluminium extrusion used on vertical curtain drapes track rod.

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Forget the wheels, when you going to surgically remove that pasty tumor on the smokebox and replace it with a proper smokebox door???
 
Project is long term as the cost of purchasing additional detail parts and paint could be a couple of hundred dollars (the spares cupboard is completely empty). I need to convince myself the end item is worth the financial outlay. Right now it is just a slightly modified toy (and may remain so).
 
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