GRS kit Midland Johnson 1F 0-6-0T

[John Candy]

Chris,

Glad my notes have helped with your rescue of a distressed 1F!
To answer your queries, the kit was not supplied with springing but was equalised.
The brake linkage is shown in the photos with this message 
http://g3forum.org.uk/index.php/topic,1222.msg7088.html#msg7088
I cannot now remember what brake parts were supplied with the kit but do remember some parts were discarded and replaced.

Regards,
John.

[Chris_P]

John,

Thanks for your help with this.  I'm sorry I'd missed those pictures when scanning through the thread.

On full dismantling I've now noticed that the builder had removed about 1mm from the lower edge of the ends of the compensation beams so all axle boxes sit at the top of the horns rendering the beams pointless.  I assume they failed to spot that the front axle horn slot is actually shallower than the rear and middle ones so when assembled as designed the front axleboxes contact the frames but the rear and middle ones have 1mm of potential upwards movement controlled by the beams.

Can I assume from the lack of posts to the contrary that the design arrangement does actually provide reliable running or would I be wise to consider rebuilding the chassis with a more sophisticated suspension?

Thanks for your help

Chris

[John Candy]

Chris,

I believe all the GRS kits (with the exception of the LNER/GCR N5 0-6-2T which is fully sprung) are supplied with compensated suspension. I have quite a few GRS locos and have not experienced any running problems. I once discussed this matter with Michael Adamson and he said that they tried out springing with the N5 but found there to be no advantage over compensation (I do have an N5 and concur with that view).
I recommend that you restore the compensation on your model. The GRS instructions for that kit are appalling (such as they are.... about one A4 page of blurb plus a few sketches and blurry photos), so perhaps the original constructor of your model may be forgiven!

Regards,
John.

[Chris_P]

John,

Thanks,  I can easily understand the problems faced by the original builder but the great beauty of the kit is that being all metal it is reasonably easy to modify and improve.  In fairness it worked and was quite capable of moving a short train when I got it but having read this thread it's easy to see ways to make improvements and having stripped the chassis to repaint it that seems the sensible way to go. Whether I then progress to correcting the various odd features of the body remains to be seen but looking back though the thread and comparing to my body it's clear that a little more attention to detail at the design stage could have made for a much better model.

Regards

Chris