OO Works Locos

[David TylerParticipant]

Has anyone converted any of their locos?

They are, or look to be,  Romford/Markits wheels on OO axles obviously.

Is it just a case of swapping out the OO axles for EM?

I haven’t taken one apart yet (reluctant to do so on a £300 loco at the moment).

Does anyone know if the gear is a friction fit or grub-screw?

Any advice or experience gratefully received.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Hi David I’ve hesitated to respond until now as I have never looked at one of these, so my comments would naturally be somewhat general. However they look to be, essentially, kit built loco’s with a white metal body and brass chassis. Practically speaking it should be possible to fit EM Markits axles, though of course there will be a great deal of sideplay, which could perhaps be overcome with plasticard frame overlays. The big thing to check will be clearance, as Romford/Markits wheels in EM may not fit into splashers etc. It should be possible to work this out with measurements. Markits wheels come on and off very easily so careful experimentation should not cause a disaster. As to the gear wheel, you should be able to see if there is a grub screw on it – if there isn’t it will make things a lot harder unfortunately!

Why not post some pictures of the underside ? It will give us a better idea of the set up.

[David TylerParticipant]

Hi

Photos attached. Please forgive the poor quality (iPhone).

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[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Well it’s definitely a grub screw fitting on the gearwheel and there looks a goodly amount of clearance for the wheels. Might be worth getting a couple of EM axles and trying it out.

[David TylerParticipant]

I intend to now.

Funny it wasn’t until I saw the photo that I saw the grub screw clearly. I’d better get to SpecSavers!

I have the EM Romford/Markits axles on hand so I will be trying it this weekend. If successful i will order the bogie and tender wheels. I have two other OO Works locos that will hopefully be the same. Also there are a few for sale on eBay at the moment. It could be a very cost effective way to easily convert a few locos.

[Stuart FirthParticipant]

Let us know how you get on!

[Philip HallParticipant]

I’ve done two D15s, one in EM using the existing wheels, and one in P4 with replacements.

The problem with the Markits EM axles that I used was that they resulted in a back to back setting of 16.45 mm which is wrong.  I’ve had this several times so it has to be the dimensions that are supplied.  My customer required at least the correct back to back or better still 16.6 – 16.65 mm to match Ultrascale etc.  The Markits flanges are quite thick and need reducing with an increased back to back.   I mounted the wheels in the three jaw chuck by the tyres and turned off 0.1mm from the back of the wheel,  slightly reducing the flange depth and then rounding off with a fine file (in a handle).  This gave me 16.65mm and nicer, thinner, flanges.  Bear in mind that the wheels are insulated on one side only because of the American style of pickup used.

The engine brake gear is rudimentary to say the least, but I did use it, and on the tender non-existent, so I had to make all that up.

The amount of room between the tender side frames was also limited, but I got away with it, just.  In P4 I had to rebuild the whole underframe.  But then there was an awful lot more work with the engine in P4, new pickup arrangements, new brake gear etc.

The D15, being a wide splasher engine, had bags of clearance for the wheels.  In EM you should have no problem.  Both engines had a very nice little coreless motor and the gears I guess were Markits; they both ran beautifully.

Philip

• This reply was modified 1 year, 12 months ago by Philip Hall.

[David TylerParticipant]

Thank you for your information and experiences.

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