HELJAN 1361 class Saddle Tank conversion to EM

[Ray BydeParticipant]

Has anybody any experience of converting the Heljan1361 saddle tank locomotive to EM gauge?
It looks as though there is a keeper plate to which the brake shoes and possibly the pick-ups are attached. Does this also retain the wheels in slots, or do they run in actual bearings?
Also the axles appear to be less than the normal 1/8 in diameter
Any definite information from ‘somebody in the know’ would be greatly appreciated

[Peter HillParticipant]

I have not had one of these Heljan locos to fiddle with, but a previous Heljan loco, the 02 2-8-0, did have a keeper plate that retains the wheels/axles in slots, not bearings of any kind, and axle diameters were 2.5 mm…..
The way forward was Gibson conversion wheel sets made specifically for the type of loco.

I have no idea if Colin of Alan Gibson has any thoughts about doing these.

Pete Hill

[Phillip NanceParticipant]

I pondered this one a while ago as I had an old DJH whitemetal kit of the 1366 class I wanted to run as EM. The closest I could get to the correct drivers was the SECR P class which is the right diameter (scale 3′ 8″) but the throw is only 8″ instead of 10″. A small difference in 4mm unless you really want it exact. I would hope that with saddle and pannier versions on the market Alan Gibson or Ultrascale would consider filling the gap with conversion packs……..

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