O and K JHA hoppers from Dapol

StufromEGDL · October 30, 2022, 08:29:01 PM

Hi Gang,

Had a look at taking some apart to look at how easy(or difficult) it may be to change the couplings. I'm of the thinking that it is a prospect too far for all but the most accomplished of modellers. I had the sides off and the close coupling spring, but still found them impossible to deal with. This is a problem for the company to resolve.
And....I had to re-attach 2 out of the 4 tie down attachments when I got them all back together...that was tricky enough.

I may call time on these and seek a refund!

Later,
Stu from EGVN
(Still disappointed).

Skyline2uk · October 30, 2022, 08:42:08 PM

Quote from: bluedepot on October 30, 2022, 08:26:25 PM
hi everyone

i wonder if a shim washer would fix the problem?

the bogies pull out very easily. a shim washer might just lift the body away from the wheels enough to solve the problem.

the body is metal so unless you have the tools to mill out metal i dont know what you can do really.

4 / 8 of mine are just about acceptable when pushed along in terms of free running. they do still make some strange noises running around the layout though which suggests still not right.

the other 4 have major drag issues.

one option is to send them all back and buy yeoman pta wagons instead... but tbh i prefer jhas.

cheers

tim

The washer / shim is my plan.

The chap who brought the wagons to the AGM today had already experimented with paper shims and seen a marked improvement so as soon as a I can measure mine (if needed), I will see what I can source.

Skyline2uk

portsmouth06 · October 30, 2022, 08:48:00 PM

I have ordered some very fine shim's from eBay so will see how these work when they arrive. Failing that it looks like grinding some of the floor away for clearance. I find some of the Quality Control on n gauge models alarming and that is not just Dapol.
JW

bluedepot · October 30, 2022, 09:07:07 PM

you've inspired me to not send them back to hattons just yet lol

they do look great, just its so annoying when you cant run your new trains straight out of the box without problems.

can you link me to the shims please jw?

cheers

tim

Pete @ EGLM · October 30, 2022, 11:31:27 PM

I think I'll carry on running my Ian Stoate Models Yeoman JHAs, I built around 20 years ago.......

Trainfish · October 31, 2022, 08:02:28 AM

Quote from: Skyline2uk on October 30, 2022, 08:42:08 PM

The washer / shim is my plan.

Skyline2uk

Mine too. I was going to look at this yesterday but didn't get round to it. I may get a chance today but if not it will be interesting to hear how @portsmouth06 gets on with his.

Plasticard may even be another solution.

gram · October 31, 2022, 10:42:27 AM

I've made some plastic washers from 10thou plasticard. A very noticeable improvement.

Graham

steadfast · October 31, 2022, 01:56:33 PM

Does a washer make the wagons look noticeably too tall?

Jo

gram · October 31, 2022, 02:33:41 PM

I took a picture but blowed if I can load it.

Yes you can see the difference, it's ok for me but ymmv

Graham

edit: looks like it may be attached

Trainfish · October 31, 2022, 02:39:58 PM

Here's the picture from @gram in case you have any trouble loading the pdf. My remaining 6 arrived today so I will try to have a little play with them (will check for broken couplers first) later to see what I can achieve.

Skyline2uk · October 31, 2022, 02:43:27 PM

Quote from: Trainfish on October 31, 2022, 02:39:58 PM
Here's the picture from @gram in case you have any trouble loading the pdf. My remaining 6 arrived today so I will try to have a little play with them (will check for broken couplers first) later to see what I can achieve.

Assume the wagon on the LH has had the shim added?

To my eyes it looks ok.

Skyline2uk

steadfast · October 31, 2022, 02:44:24 PM

Intriguing, thanks for that

Jo

gram · October 31, 2022, 02:48:56 PM

Yes it's the one on the left.

Not an ideal arrangement but I'll be keeping mine.

Graham

(Thanks Trainfish)

Bob G · October 31, 2022, 02:57:00 PM

Dapol had a train of these running on their display layout at TINGS on both days. I wonder how much they fettled their wagons to get them to run without any issues, or if they had a pre-production batch that didn't have this problem?

Bob

Skyline2uk · October 31, 2022, 03:19:51 PM

Quote from: Bob G on October 31, 2022, 02:57:00 PM
Dapol had a train of these running on their display layout at TINGS on both days. I wonder how much they fettled their wagons to get them to run without any issues, or if they had a pre-production batch that didn't have this problem?

Bob

I have been thinking the same.

There was 6 (?) being hauled by a Dapol 66 (not exactly known for hauling the Earth) and at one point positively rocketing around the track!

Skyline2uk