Fahrenheit451
New Member
As the subject title suggests, I'm repairing some of my fleet no, erm I mean hoard of railcars and diesels and a few kit-built vehicles that use bogies. Thankfully, my steam locos don't have bogies but knowing the law according to Sod (or Murphy)...
Anyway, the split gear issue seems to be limited to my Grafar stock so, 85 (yes, eighty-five) tested so far out of a couple of hundred Grafar = two bogies per vehicle, 2-4 gears per bogie (not including occasional 25 tooth), that's an eye-wateringly prohibitive sum when only receiving a few gears per pack even if P&P is charged only once!
Having bought two packs of 12 toothed and two packs of 16 toothed gears from a UK online supplier, I've barely made a dent in the 'to do' list and I've discovered that I'll even need a few of those 25-toothed ones that crown the bogies. Those four packs were eaten up by just two railcars, a HST 125 and one Western Class 52. One of those railcars still requires a 25 tooth too so, 'only' another hundred-odd (four drawers) of locos to go (Yikes)! Plus of course a couple dozen gears (of each size) for future needs over the next few years.
Gear specs -
Internal (axle/spindle) diameter is a constant 1.5mm over the splined centre part. Other axles I've started dismantling have no splines but a swollen section in the same place. To provide a spot of grip, internal gear diameter could be 1.45mm and then reamed if necessary.
Question: Does anyone have the actual specs of those Poole era gears - the 'modulus' in particular? My Bachman-made ones will probably have a few casualties too but, I'll deal with those later if gears aren't compatible.
There are hundreds of manufacturers visible online and these gears are doubtless available all around the planet at a fraction of what we're charged locally. I've read on other forums mention of Polish sources 'made to order' etc but, the supplier details weren't stated. Specs including the mod for those gears will make the search lightning quick.
Thanks in advance to those with the details.
Anyway, the split gear issue seems to be limited to my Grafar stock so, 85 (yes, eighty-five) tested so far out of a couple of hundred Grafar = two bogies per vehicle, 2-4 gears per bogie (not including occasional 25 tooth), that's an eye-wateringly prohibitive sum when only receiving a few gears per pack even if P&P is charged only once!
Having bought two packs of 12 toothed and two packs of 16 toothed gears from a UK online supplier, I've barely made a dent in the 'to do' list and I've discovered that I'll even need a few of those 25-toothed ones that crown the bogies. Those four packs were eaten up by just two railcars, a HST 125 and one Western Class 52. One of those railcars still requires a 25 tooth too so, 'only' another hundred-odd (four drawers) of locos to go (Yikes)! Plus of course a couple dozen gears (of each size) for future needs over the next few years.
Gear specs -
Internal (axle/spindle) diameter is a constant 1.5mm over the splined centre part. Other axles I've started dismantling have no splines but a swollen section in the same place. To provide a spot of grip, internal gear diameter could be 1.45mm and then reamed if necessary.
Question: Does anyone have the actual specs of those Poole era gears - the 'modulus' in particular? My Bachman-made ones will probably have a few casualties too but, I'll deal with those later if gears aren't compatible.
There are hundreds of manufacturers visible online and these gears are doubtless available all around the planet at a fraction of what we're charged locally. I've read on other forums mention of Polish sources 'made to order' etc but, the supplier details weren't stated. Specs including the mod for those gears will make the search lightning quick.
Thanks in advance to those with the details.
