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CHASSIS FEATURES

PRODUCTION CHASSIS

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Development History

In 2005, we required motorised traction for a model railway item we were in the process of producing – the Class 419 Motorised Luggage Van (MLV). There was not an ‘off the shelf’ product on the market that would meet our proposed specifications and so we explored the possibility of designing and producing a power unit ourselves. During the initial concept ideas for the power unit we decided that due to the potentially high design and development costs involved in attempting to produce a ‘bespoke’ item, a powered chassis designed specifically for the Class 419 would be cost-prohibitive.

As British Rail kept to certain standards when producing its trains many measurements were ‘generic’. We found that the wheel and bogie spacing for dozens of other vehicles were exactly the same as those for the Class 419. As some of these vehicles included carriages and driving trailers, a decision was made to impose a height restriction on the chassis design. This meant that you would be able to ‘see’ into and through the bodyshell windows.

In June 2005, a basic design was drawn up and prototypes were made (shown below) before being personally submitted along with performance specifications to our Chinese manufacturer (who also produce the BR models for Heljan).

The following year a prototype arrived with us and when tested was proven to meet all our initial requirements specifically in terms of operating speeds and pulling power. The instruction to continue was given to commit to tooling all components of chassis.

In October 2006 two chassis (one fitted with 14mm wheels, one fitted with 12mm wheels) were assembled with production components received from China. When tested we found that there were a number of ‘issues’ with the chassis. Over the next two years several amendments were made to the chassis and the components to try and solve the issues. Unfortunately, these changes were all without success.

January 2010: after investing many hours in ‘fault finding’ every single component of the chassis design, a ‘definitive’ report was sent to China highlighting each of our issues and the amendments we recommended to provide us with a chassis that matched our initial specifications. In July we received an amended sample and we are now very pleased to announce that we have finally been able to produce our bespoke item!

REPLICA RAILWAYS DIE-CAST CHASSIS (PATENT GB2485580) KEY FEATURES:

PROFILE BELOW CARRIAGE WINDOW LINE

Because we think that there is no excuse in compromising carriage space with a lump of metal: our chassis has been designed to provide the weight needed for traction but still allows for interior details to be added and seen!

Shown right are examples of our own Mk1 Vehicles both of which are mounted on a 64' 14mm Powered Chassis. At the top is a fully finished Mk1 Suburban BR WR Composite (including chassis components, bracing applied to the chassis surround and Mk1 (B1) bogie sideframes). Below the Suburban is a Mk1 Corridor BR SR First Open bodyshell shown without glazing to best illustrate the low profile of the chassis.

COMMON WHEELBASE

The 64' chassis is suitable for 8’ 6” and 8’ 9” bogies and for vehicles with 46’ 6” bogie centre to centre: the common measurement for the majority of BR 64’ Mk1 ‘based’ vehicles. The 57' chassis is for vehicles with a 40' bogie centre to centre.

CHASSIS VARIANTS

Two different wheel diameter 64’ chassis have been produced (with no change to the ride height - shown left) and are suitable to fit to the following BR Classes:

64' 12mm (scale 3' Wheel) – 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122 / 131, 124, 125, 127 & 128

64' 14mm (scale 3' 6" Wheel) – 202, 203, 204 / 206, 205, 207, 302, 303, 304, 305, 307, 308, 309, 410 / 412, 411, 413, 414, 415, 416, 419, 420 / 422, 423, 427, 430, 432 & 504

Our 57' Chassis is suitable to fit to the following BR Classes:

57' 12mm (scale 3' Wheel) – TOPS Class 100, 101, 103, 104, 105, 107, 108, 110 and 111 plus Class 129 Parcels Car, Derby Lightweights and Wickham Units.

REMOVABLE BOGIE SIDEFRAMES

The 'pull-away' design will allow you to add bogie sideframe details before re-fitting to the bogie gear towers.

This is certainly an advantage when it comes to 'weathering' your sideframes as there is less chance of accidently painting your wheels and / or your pick-ups.

REMOVABLE ACRYLIC CHASSIS BASE

Allows you, the modeller, to add the majority of your chassis details and components away from the ‘weight’ – simply remove the screws. The base has running / foot boards that stretch the entire length of the chassis: these can be 'cut down' / seperated to suit your specific vehicle. For further details see the feature "How to Remove The Chassis Surround" below.

DCC READY – as our chassis features a PCB with an 8-pin socket and is equipped to add directional and interior lighting if you require it.

So, if you are like us and have owned one of Charlie Petty’s (d.c.kits) Class 128 kits for about eight years and its still in its box just gathering dust or if you fancy perhaps powering the centre car of your kit-built 3H or updating your Lima 117 to a smoother, quieter mulitple unit – our die-cast chassis may be the solution for you! UPDATE: our Class 128 kit has now been completed! >>

Presenting Our 64' and 57' Die Cast Powered Chassis

Three Powered Chassis variants have been produced: the 64' with 12mm diameter wheels and 64' with 14mm diameter wheels; the 57' variant is available with 12mm wheels.

Each chassis is supplied boxed and with a comprehensive instruction sheet.

RPC6412
(12mm)

£59.95

RPC6414
(14mm)

£59.95

RPC5712
(12mm)

£54.95

POSTAL CHARGES - MAINLAND U.K.
We dispatch all 'mail order' powered chassis using the Royal Mail Special Delivery service. For each individual shipment: one powered chassis will be charged £7.25; two or three chassis will be charged £8.55.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

POWERED CHASSIS SUITABLE FOR ‘OO’ GAUGE MODEL RAILWAY KIT & BESPOKE APPLICATIONS

12 Volt Analogue & Digital Operation
Die Cast Metal Chassis
Removable Acrylic Chassis Surround
Acrylic Bogie Towers, Brass Wheels & Worms
Brass Pick-Ups
Removable Acrylic Bogie Side Frames
Acrylic Accessories (includes NEM couplings)
Motors in Rubber Housings
DCC ‘Ready’ Printed Circuit Board

NOT SUITABLE FOR TRACK RADIUS LESS THAN 438mm (‘SECOND’ RADIUS)

Weight 230g (64') / 205g (57')
Current Draw 0.8A – 1.5A
Combined Motor Stall 3A

N.B: IT IS UNLIKELY THAT A STALL WILL OCCUR ON BOTH MOTORS AT ONCE OWING TO THE INDEPENDENT MOTOR ARRANGEMENT AND 18:1 MOTOR-TO-WHEEL GEAR RATIO

Replica Railways 12mm & 14mm 64' Powered Chassis

HOW TO REMOVE THE CHASSIS SURROUND

- Turn the chassis upside down and rest it on the two cab back walls.
- Use a suitable screwdriver to remove the six screws from the centre of the chassis between the two gear towers.
- Keep these screws separate and then remove the eight screws from below the two cabs – you will need to turn the bogies in order to gain
access. N.B: do not ‘mix’ these screw types – the cab screws have a different thread and a larger head.
- The two cabs and chassis surround should now separate from the die cast.
- Slide the surround to one end and then (one end at a time) draw it away from the die cast and over the bogie towers.

- Once you have added your chassis details, (and ensured that you have removed the bogie
sideframes and NEM couplings) move the chassis surround over one bogie tower, slide to one
end and then over the second bogie tower.

- If you find that the chassis footsteps and body appear too high: you can add thin spacers
between the chassis surround and die cast to ‘lower’ the ride height before re-attaching the two
parts.

- If your vehicle has one cab, you can remove the 'back wall' of the cab area and re-attach only
the base to the die cast and chassis surround - cab and cab with back wall removed shown right.

CHASSIS DETAILS / BOGIE SIDEFRAMES: LOADING GAUGE & THIRD RAIL MEASUREMENTS

In addition to the chassis surround, the chassis bogie ‘side frames’ can also be removed to allow you to add manufactured type specific or your own bespoke bogie details. To remove the side frames from the bogie towers: place a screwdriver between the side frame and bogie tower and gently apply pressure against both the frame and 'body' of the tower.

Each type or style of bogie side frame will be significantly different in terms of the depth / thickness of its body and detail. We have produced a 1:1 PDF template to allow you to accurately assemble your side frames within the confines of a scale ‘loading gauge’. LOADING GAUGE PDF .

Class 128 Bogie Sideframe - 12mm Chassis

Suburban Mk1 (B1) Bogie Sideframe - 14mm Chassis

If you wish to add bogie side frames with a third rail pickup, you can use our template to line up against either the ‘Peco’ third rail measurement (5.33mm from inside of ‘OO’ spaced running rail to middle of third rail) OR to the ‘1:76’ third rail measurement (5.33mm from inside of 18.84mm spaced running rail to middle of third rail).

If you have any questions concerning the contents on this page please e-mail us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.