New Bachmann TTE Brake Van and Open Wagon

James Day

James Day

Guano Corner Rly - Runs weekly - Guano permitting
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Dear All,

New Bachmann TTE items are arriving in shops at present. Last week the new Emily loco arrived with the SC Ruffey private owner wagon (see Emily Thread) and today I received the the Thomas series goods brake.

It is a very good looking rendition of a BR Standard Type 20T Van, although I am still mystified by the NW letters is carries. The railings are all moulded on, but picked out in white. Running boards are moulded on the chassis, as is the brake gear, but unlike most other Thomas items these are noticably not in alignment with the wheel treads.

The body and roof is a one piece moulding, with slide in glazed baulkeads. This is clipped and screwed to a one piece floor that is held to the chassis by two screws at each end. The level of detail looks good, but the windows in the duckets are moulded solid with the body.

The vehicle is yet another one with an incredibly long rigid wheelbase. The wheels are smaller than all other TTE goods items and are spoked. The look the same size as standard LGB and Playmobil wheels, so one option for lighting is to use Roller Bearing wheels instead on the Carbon pick ups that I have used on Annie/Clarabel and the Emily Coaches.

The bearings are a new design too, they are plastic journals that clip in from below, and appear much quieter that the metal trunnions used on earlier TTE stock and even the more recent versions with plastic bushes fitted.

The couplings supplied were the large D type as used on James/Emily and the Emily coaches. These are rigid, as is usual with this series. and can be fitted at two heights, although the box insert will still need carving a little if the item is to be put back in the packaging once the LGB/Playmobil height adaptors are fitted. It appears to be able to cope with 2'Radius curves, although there is lots of drag, owing to the long rigid wheelbase. I am unable to try it on reverse curves at present, but my guess is that it would not like them that much! Like the TTE coaches, it would be much better if the couplings pivotted.

Thi SC Ruffey wagon was described in the Emily thread. Both items shown have now been fitted with genuine LGB couplings.

Mine came from Gaugemaster and cost around £45, plus £5 P&P. Excellent value as all with all this range.

James
 
Hi James,

Would you mind giving me the overall width, height and length of the brake van along with the with between th chassis underneath?

Thanks
 
Sure,

These were quickly taken with an very old school ruler.

Over buffers 13"

Between axles 7 & 3/4"

Between running boards under chassis 2 3/4" (just under)

Body Lengh 8 1/4"

Body Width 3 1/2"

Body Height to Apex 3 3/4"

I hope that gives you all you need, but if there are any other dimensions you require, let me know.

James
 
I thought you might appreciate the attached image which shows some 'improvemnts' that I have been attempting on the model.

It was taken apart today and fitted with pivoting couplings, made from the coupling arm of modern Playmobil single axle bogies. The have a weighted hook, but the arms are each sprung with spring wire to present themselves centrally, for easey coupling but will swivel enough on corners to ensure positive coupling in maintained.

LGB Carbon Pick ups have been fitted to each axle and these have been modified slightly, to reduce resistance, by moving the metal cups closer together in mounting. These feed wires that run to a unit that is mounted inside the cabin that powers five diodes. Three are for the internal lighting and two are inside the tail lamps.

The bulkheads of the model were modified to allow the wires to travel under the roof of the vernada to reach the lamps. There is an LGB lighting lead connection available at each end, in case this is ever needed to power other stock.

The lamp brackets are lashed to the uprights on one end of the veranda with duct tape and the tape is used to conduit the wires to the diodes too. They show red to the rear and white at the front. I have also coloured the red and white flashes on the side of the lamps black, to make them look more British, but there have been no other modifications. The LEDs currently used are white, but I may well try yellow ones to see if they are less dazzling in the forward aspect.

The inside of the van has a nice warm yellow glow. I know that experts will tell me that both lamps shouldn't be lit at the same time, and that there should be a third lamp which should be illuminated on the balcony board, but I quite like it how it is......

It is shown in the attached image being hauled around our Christmas Tree by my electric version of the Playmobil Xmas Loco.

Best wishes,
James
 
If you you're thinking of changing the 'front lamp', Both lamps on your van would be red James, with just the rear one lit at any time, easy with the diodes ;) (usually it would be just one lamp put on the rear as appropriate as they were separate items)
White is only used as a headlight on the front of the train.
pedant mode off . . . ;)
 
Paul,

Thanks.

To explain there are only two lamps on the brake van, but each one has two lenses. One shines red, the other white. The lamps are side mounted at the rear of the van, so light from both lenses can be seen.

I like your idea of having directionally controlled lamps at both ends, but I have to confess to rarely shunting trains and never reversing them. My layout is a huge dog bone shoped continuous single track, on which trains progress in turn under block control.

Nearly all trains have tail lamps. Usually on a pick up van, either LGB, or a Playmoibl van illuminated in LGB style, with LGB kit.

At last my Bachmannn TTE goods train can look right and have a working tail lamp, or two! ALl I need now is a break in the rain to run it and my new Bachmann Emily outside!

James
 
Rule 8 applies naturally ;)
I didn't realise there was a lens on the other side as well, so they are the Euro style lamps I guess where they had a marker light on the front so the driver could see the van was still there from the front of the train in the dark.
 
Are the flanges of this series, locos included, finer than LGB, etc.?
 
Dan,

Just over half as deep.

A good job too, or for example this brake van would be even stiffer on curves than it is, more prone to de-rail and would squel a lot more on curves, as the wheels are so widley spaced.

James
 
Paul,

I recall having a Hornby '0' gauge "number 50 series" brake van when I was a child. This came with a small envelope containing different diecast lamps, for placing on the tinplate lamp brackets provided on the rear and sides of the van. As best I can recall the side lamps had both red and silver lenses, to serve a similar function to the continental stle lamps that LGB supply.

James
 
I figured as much. I have a set of troublsome trucks gondolas. While I have mostly wide radius curves, R3, I still had some problems with derailments. I thought it was the stiffness of the wheels in the journals. So I opened up the bottom of the cars and filed away the plastic nubs that hold the metal axel journals stiffly in place. I also loosened the screws that hold the journals in place. Now each wheel has some up and down movement, albeit small. But it seems to have made a difference.
 
Dan,

An interesting post.

I have sought exactly the same solution. I have added 1.4mm of drop to the axle journals on most of my stock, as like yourself, I originally had terrible problems with the stock just rattling off the track.

On my own outdoor line the stock all now runs beautifully, with very few derailments. Like your layout my curves are all LGB R3 and a little bit of R2. A few of the more recently acquired items of stock have not had this modification done, but mysteriously they now all seem to run just as well.

On smaller radius layouts, particularly on reverse curves, the stock is much less happy and during a day of running at a recent show, we gave up with the goods stock, to save us from getting very angry with it.

The other real issue with small radius is the squealing and binding that occurs on the longer wheelbase stock. The worst offenders here are the Emily coach and the Goods Brake Van. Emily is a squealer too.
All my TTE coaches and the goods brake van now have couplings that swivel, which reduces the throw effect, (notably enabling Annie and Clarabel to cope with 2' radius reverse curves) . I have made these from the arm assembly cut from Playmobil single axle bogies, screw and washer mounted on a plastic plate cut from the unwanted part of the bogie. I have added some spring wire to help keep them presented centrally on straight track.

On all other stock the Bachmann couplings supplied have all been replaced by genuine LGB ones, which has improved reliability and stock no longer breaks free at random.

I love this range and feel it is excellent value with a wonderful 'look', but in my opinion, some of the range is really not suited to use on small radius track, and much can only be used on small radius in very simple/restricted formations, even though this is the very track that it is sold with!
James
 
You mentioned earlier, that the flanges are indeed just over half as deep as standard LGB flanges. I'm trying to get a mental photograph of a deeper flange on these longer wheel base cars going though a curve. In you opinion, the deeper flange would be more prone to derail. I fail to see why.
 
Madman said:
You mentioned earlier, that the flanges are indeed just over half as deep as standard LGB flanges. I'm trying to get a mental photograph of a deeper flange on these longer wheel base cars going though a curve. In you opinion, the deeper flange would be more prone to derail. I fail to see why.
Click to expand...
I interpreted "just over half as deep" as being shallower than LGB ones. "Just over half as deep again" or "Just over one and a half times as deep" would mean that the flange was deeper than LGB.

James says "A good job too [that the flange is shallower], or... this brake van would be even... more prone to de-rail" because a deeper flange would increase the side pressures on the van going through curves and make it more unstable, or that's the way I understand it would work, but I may be wrong.
 
You have interpretted my sentiments correctly. I meant less deep, not deeper.

Although I was thinking more about drag resistance due to the flanges than actual derailments.

To me the rigidity of the axles appeared to be the main cause of that, although the secondary cause was the leverage on the adjacent items caused by rigid couplings, long chassis and sharp curves.

Dan's cure for the former, was similar to my own.

My coupling cure is not 100% successful, as our day of misery with trying to run the goods stock of 2' radius curcuit with reverse curves, proved!

Best wishes,
James
 
James Day said:
My coupling cure is not 100% successful, as our day of misery with trying to run the goods stock of 2' radius curcuit with reverse curves, proved!

Best wishes,
James
Click to expand...
I like the look of this goods van (and would also the milk tanker) but I run my Playmobil system on R1 curves which would clearly add to the problems. I wonder, though, if the guards van body might transfer to a Playmobil chassis with its bogies.
 
Not sure,
There is a substantial length difference. See the dimensions I gave for the brake van earlier. The model as supplied has all the lovely running board details etc, which are an important part of the look of the prototype.
My view is that the re-engineering necessary to fit PM bogies under this would be too horriffic to contemplate.
If you were to avoid reverse curves, most of the TTE stock would probably behave OK on 2' radius curves, athough longer items would drag a lot and squeal a little. Mine ran happily enough although noisily around the 2' radius cicuit under my Xmas Tree
We encountered the trouble I mentioned on the reverse curves at one of the loops on our layout at a show in early november. We had two loops - One had the reverse curves seperated by a straight, the other didn't. Result misery!
But that was before the brake van was released.........
Good luck,
james
 
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