HE Express modifications

[rogruth]

What type of set was it intended for? Toy? Scale? A nice representation?

[Roy]

For O gauge, the Brits have been using 7mm to the foot, which works out to 1:43.543.

[chuck]

Roger asked:

What type of set was it intended for? Toy? Scale? A nice representation?

Ready to run set. It's not meant to be scale per se as that would preclude running on tighter radius curves. Cars are about 1 1/2" too short. Loco is close to scale. I find some irony in the US that the train heads are split over it not being scale AND not able to run on O-31 (let alone O-27) track. When the set was first released there was some chatter that the loco was actually intended for some other project and then converted to the HE. This may be why there are inconsistencies. There was an earlier edition of the train in the UK for tourist/fan rides to promote the printing of the fourth book in the series that Chris Columbus refused to use in the first film because he thought the engine was too modern.

I like it, I am "enjoying" reworking the cars to provide interiors. I added a sound board for the tender as the air whistle was really lame. New LionChief sets have better sound and can be run from the dedicated controller or a BlueTooth phone.

[webenda]

I find some irony in the US that the train heads are split over it not being scale AND not able to run on O-31 (let alone O-27) track.

[rogruth]

Wayne,
That seems to work a lot these days,

[Roy]

There was an earlier edition of the train in the UK for tourist/fan rides to promote the printing of the fourth book in the series that Chris Columbus refused to use in the first film because he though the engine was too modern.

I remember reading something about why the engine is, or isn't, a "castle" class.



Larger image: http://www.greatwestern.org.uk/drawings/loco/loco241.jpg

They were built around the same time as the "hall" class (the movie engine is the Olton Hall), but note the unusual cylinder placement. Could this have been considered to be too modern?

[chuck]

The locomotive Chris Columbus chose not to use was a 4-6-2 Pacific



Link to Wikipedia article

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR_West_Country_class_21C127_Taw_Valley

The hall/castle naming came up because of an "in joke" regarding the movies. The filming company decided to name the engine "Hogwarts Castle" after they had selected the locomotive Oltan Hall to play the part. They were unaware (and probably didn't care) that there already was a locomotive class "Castle" and/or that the naming of the engines included the class designation. The film makers were mainly referring to the "castle" that was the school, not the GWRR class of locomotives.

The Castle class were express passenger loco's with four cylinders while the Hall class were mixed passenger/freight with two cylinders. The Castle drivers were also 8" larger in diameter. The discrepancies with the model/prototype lie elsewhere.

[MartyE]

I always liked the engine that came with Hogwarts. The engine seemed well made and had some heft to it.

[chuck]

Marty said:

I always liked the engine that came with Hogwarts. The engine seemed well made and had some heft to it.

I agree. It's a nice loco and a nice set for the price point. The Shakespeare Express set was almost identical other than the paint scheme and the fact that the cars came with die cast trucks. It also was about $100 cheaper (much lower licensing fees )

The diecast passenger trucks are available but list at $16 each.

[chuck]

This is a tool I "made" from a section of 1x2.



I need to make 36 luggage racks (3 cars, 12 racks per car). The model prototype was done with brass wire/rod and soldered. It took a long time. The new ones are made of .025 piano wire. I used a 1/32 drill bit in a drill press to drill a hole that's depth matches the long side of the rack. The hole is offset from the side of the 1x2 to match the length of the short side of the rack.

Piano wire is very stiff. I get the first bend "notched" with the wood and make it 90 degrees with a pair of jewelry pliers. The now "L" shaped piece of wire goes back in the jig and the second bend is notched on the edge of the 1x2. Note the arrow and the small notch in the wood. I remove the wire and finish off the ninety degree bend with the jewelry pliers. I use the pliers to make the third and final bend "free hand". The wire is cut at the final corner. You can see the first six just above the 1x2. These (plus the "test" one) took less time to make that the one soldered brass one. These will get crazy glued to the window screen material and the 1/2 inch staples with one leg cut off will make brackets.

While picking up the piano wire I came across this stuff in one of the K&S racks



This is significantly easier to cut than the stainless I have been using and will be used for the under the upholstery plates AND the end roof pieces. I'll see if I can use it on the corridors for standing/running figures (assuming I can find some )

[Big Jim]

Chuck,
In regard to your placing the magnet in the butt of your figures, have you thought of using another magnet in the seat to make them more secure?

[chuck]

Big Jim asked:

Chuck,
In regard to your placing the magnet in the butt of your figures, have you thought of using another magnet in the seat to make them more secure?

These are rare earth magnets, very strong. The figures stick even when they are inverted. The real problem with these disk magnets is getting the polarity to match. You can just as easily get them mixed up and then they repel instead of sticking. I did try to use these for the 1/720 scale aircraft carrier model for the elevators to make them positionable. I had to use multiple magnets. It wasn't easy to get them to line up. I finally gave up.

[Roy]

I was reading about Mark 1 coaches here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Railways_Mark_1. Although most cars are 63' 6" or 64' 6", Some were built to 57' or 58'.

[chuck]

That's a nice concise article. That site is how I first noted the missing passenger compartment on the Lionel cars. It should have been a door, three large window bays, another door, four large window bays, a final door, and then the bathrooms. Nice photo's of some of the interiors. There are a lot of variations on the MK-1.

[Big Jim]

Big Jim asked:

Chuck,
In regard to your placing the magnet in the butt of your figures, have you thought of using another magnet in the seat to make them more secure?

These are rare earth magnets, very strong. The figures stick even when they are inverted.
If they are touching the metal, for sure. However, if you can't get the metal very close, as in a seat cushion, then it's another matter. Another attracting magnetic field might help.

The real problem with these disk magnets is getting the polarity to match. You can just as easily get them mixed up and then they repel instead of sticking.
That's where simple color-coding comes to play.

I did try to use these for the 1/720 scale aircraft carrier model for the elevators to make them positionable. I had to use multiple magnets. It wasn't easy to get them to line up. I finally gave up.
I have used them to hold car hoods in place and you do have to get things in the "Tractor-Beam"...so to speak.