Front Bogie Lifting/De-Railing

[Too Tall]

Hi, Yes I know this has been covered comprehensively, but the search on here is terrible and no sticky which this issue, as many, could use.

My "Night Hawk" has the issue, I found it had the tape and removed it, but the issue still persists, I have checked and all screws are present and tight, and the bracket looks to be aligned fine.

So what would one have to do to sort this ? Sending back is a last resort, I would rather learn how to sort it myself if at all possible.

[Too Tall]

Well, I tried the front bogie on "Blink Bonnie" and all was well, so I knew the issue wasn't with it. I was comparing Blinky and Night'Awk and noticed a difference ..., so a bit of a close up picture session later I think I have found the issue:

Question is do I remove and attempt to refit the steps out further, or do I send it back to Hornby for a body swap or replacement ?

[Rallymatt]

Check the angle of the bracket that holds the front truck. If it needs adjustment, use 2 pairs of pliers/grips to make sure you adjust it on the fold not the hole where the chassis bolt goes through. Next thing I would do is rebuild the spring assembly to ensure free travel and check the gauging of the wheels, at least 10.3mm but 10.5 better

[Too Tall]

Thanks RM, I had done all of the above apart from gauging as I don't know how to adjust ... but I think I found the issue earlier - just awaiting post approval as it has a pic :)

[Rallymatt]

Great news 😁

[Peachy]

Hello TT, yes I agree about the need for a sticky for this, I posted about the steps on the A3s a while back. It took me ages to work out what the problem was.

My first Night Hawk couldn’t travel on R4!!! The steps on that one were angled in and back so I sent it back for a replacement.

When my Trigo arrived it also had a badly glued set on one side, this time I just warmed it first with a heat gun on low and bent it out/forward till it was clear of the bogie.

P.S. Search tip, try a Google search, it’s still rubbish but not as dire as the forum search

[Railbob]

Peachy, I’m having a similar issue with Trigo, do these photos show the same thing?

Railbob

[Too Tall]

Thanks Guys.

@Peachy yes I eventually saw your post last night after diagnosing the issue.

The thing is, mine don't actually look to be bent inwards too badly !

Obviously some tight clearances, I think I may try a warm and bend ,,,

[Too Tall]

heated a knife in boiling water for a couple of minutes and used it to reposition.

I used R2 track to set them with enough clearance as although my main track is R3 minimum, the loco are supposed to handle R2's. They do stick out a bit oddly but it cured the derailing !

[Railbob]

Too Tall,

I’m going to give your suggestion a try and hopefully it’ll cure Trigo.

Railbob

[Too Tall]

Fingers crossed for you Railbob slightly_smiling_face

[Peachy]

That’s how I have mine now

[My name is Bond]

On the history of these front steps Hornby LNER Flying Scotsman does not have them so no bogie derailing issues. The detailing pack may have some open ladder style ones to fit but I haven’t checked.

But Hornby BR Trigo does have these solid cast front steps fitted. LNER Trigo does not if you check prototypical images. Just curious but was this step modification something that was done during BR days?

Note that the Hornby image of Trigo has the front steps splaying out slightly. Whether this is by design to enable good R2 curve running or simply a fitting error is open to debate.

[Railbob]

Too Tall,

I’ve followed your suggestion on fixing Trigo and it has worked a treat. I’ve ran her around the tightest curves on my layout at varying speeds and not the slightest hint of her derailing 😀 I’m a very happy bunny.

Railbob

[Too Tall]

Good news Railbob blush but Peachy deserves the credit.

[happy tt]

hi too tall i was very happy when hornby announced they were going to release tt 120

has i have got a tt 120 layout . but with all the trouble to get them to run around the bends and going back three or four times to hornby for a variety of things has put me off.

i joined the tt 120 club in oct to get 15% off+points i thought great 9 mouths have gone by but i am still to buy a loco sorry, a steam loco that is. i have got two class 66s on order i would love to buy some steam locos i nearly got one but the price went up. it will cost me a lot more to buy the ones i want . extra money or going back to hornby what will it be. will i be lucky to get a good steam loco if i buy one now?

[Robc058]

Hi HT. So much depends on the region and era you wish to model. I know to my sadness it will be a long time before GWR or even Southern are available. If you are happy with the mainly LNER / BR offering dip into that. I hope reliability will not become issue for you, but it seems a risk you may need to consider. If your wish is to run diesel and / or electric then why compromise on steam? I know some correspondents here are building layouts as a priority and/or collecting compatible rolling stock.

A shame Hornby has not yet appealed to a wider cross section of modellers but they did need to launch somewhere, and Flying Scotsman / Mallard and similar locos fitted the commercial bill and chassis compatibility.