CW Pechot Bourdon

[Hugh Norwood]

I have just taken delivery of one of Chris Ward's new Pechot Bourdon locos. I think it looks great. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Hugh Norwood]

Here it is "out of the box"  Also included is the roof and two cylinder blocks

[Hugh Norwood]

Update.
No real problems - mainly finding the time to get the kitchen table. I had a small problem getting the body to stay on the chassis; spoke with Chris at NGN about it - he suggested blu-tak (other sticky stuff is available). Eventually I decided on the "short length of brass wire through the sides and under the chassis" fixing.
Bits of lead strip glued inside the body make it a useful weight.
As you can see I  haven't done anything about the couplings or bogies as yet. Also needs a whistle..

I like it.

[Alan Feldon]

What chassis is that Hugh?

[Hugh Norwood]

It's the KATO bogie chassis.

[petersmith1942]

Have you seen the pics of these locos working in the recent youtube film on the Great War that I recently posted? It is remarkable footage and the Pechot Bourdon feature strongly
Peter Smith

[Hugh Norwood]

Yes - it's a remarkable film.

[Alan Feldon]

Thanks Hugh,I was wondering the size of the body and this now gives me an idea.
You may find that it will be easier to use the Bandai chassis ,its about the same size as kato but has 8w drive .Also the bogies do not have side frames if you intend fitting valve gear.
Alan

[Graeme Dunbar]

Now that's a thought! How hard or easy is it to fit cranks to the flat surface of the wheels?



I've bought one from here, but are they available in the UK? http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10159619

(Looking at it again, it might not work as the space between the bogies looks narrower.)

[tedp]

I'll give you a short guide for fitting cranks to wheel faces which I hope will help - it's very easy. The neatest way is to use roofing felt nails which have large flat heads that you can turn down to size in a carpenters drill, using a file. The shaft of the nail should have a diameter suitable to mount a crank on, about 1.5 or 2mm.

Turn the nail head down to a smaller diameter than the wheel face, then cut off the shaft of the nail, leaving enough to fit a brass crank and leave space for a dummy frame between the crank and the back face of the nail head.

Glue the nail to the wheel using quick setting epoxy, centering the shaft stub so it won't wobble when the wheel turns. Provide the dummy outside frames with a slot that slides over the shaft stubs on the wheels. Assemble the frames, then add and quarter the cranks. The coupling rods should have elongated holes so they won't bind. The axles are gear coupled, so you don't need to transfer power through the cranks.

Here is a photo of my Lawley which has cranks made this way. On the rear wheel the slot in the frame can just be made out.



My Langley Darjeeling loco has an earlier version of this type of crank, made from styrene and using plastic bushes to create a distance from the wheel face. Despite the flimsy construction they have come off only once in 30 years.

[Alan Feldon]

And if you don't go the outside frame route,both my scratch built fairlies have the metal wheels drilled and tapped .However i don't know if bachman wheels are softer than bandai.

[Isle of Stoner]

I'd definitely go for the Bandai chassis. I've changed from the Kato in my CW Fairlie and the difference in performance is marked. 8 wheel drive etc.

John W

[Hugh Norwood]

If I recall, the overall wheelbase of the Bandai chassis is about the same as the Kato, but the individual bogies have a longer wheelbase, which means the inner wheel are closer together. This may mean they foul on the centre portion of the loco body. But I don't have a Bandai chassis to hand so I can't report on that possibility.
I was thinking about putting skirts on the bogies to disguise the lack of hardware.

[petersmith1942]

personally I wouldnt do skirts (no diversions please!) as they just shout THERES NO VALVE GEAR UNDER HERE. Most film such as referred to above have so much shadow where the tanks and cab overhang that the valve gear is not as obvious as might be thought
The pipe on the tank side is of course the "must have" Was it only on one side?
Will it be anything other than gray
Peter Smith

[tedp]

If you're unsure about the outside frame route I described, when using the Bandai chassis I would rather fit crankpins to the wheels making the bogies (incorrectly) inside framed than fit skirts. The advantage of a gear-driven chassis is that you don't have to fit coupling rods that do the work as intended. One bearing hole can be elongated to take up any inaccuracies in fitting crankpins. You can even make do with connecting rods only - a suggestion of movement often is enough on such tiny wheels.

Back to Hugh's model - as this is fitted with the Kato chassis with outside bearings, probably fitting working rods is out of the question. I'm not sure skirts were ever fitted to this type of loco but I think they would be the best answer if you have fitted a Kato chassis. I think the Chris Ward body looks good enough after the treatment Hugh gave it. Polishing the sides and fitting small detail to the basic body will result in a nice little model. I may even think of one for Nixnie....   ::)