K27 counterweights

[grayfitz]

 Mr BACH man, Ive today received my new K27  G scale and have read that the red outer wrap end has an indication marking that the counterweights are of the modified type. This one has a small red dot sticker under the loco description ?? Could you explain this so I will know whether to order or not the modified parts.. GRAHAM (AUSTRALIA)

[Tony Walsham]

Graham.
Just have a look at the tender trucks.   If they DO NOT have wiper contacts on the tender wheels, they are the latest version and do not need new counterweights.

[the Bach-man]

Dear Graham,
The red dot means that your loco has the new counterweights.
Enjoy it!
the Bach-man

[grayfitz]

  Thanks Tony and Mr Bach man,,Quick replies mean happy people,,,,Graham..

[az2rail]

So I recently received a K-27 also. There is no red dot on the box, and my tender does not have wipers. Does this mean that my engine will not have the counterweight problem, and the shims have been installed?

And how much play is there in the wheels? Mine has what seems to be a lot of side play. Thanks.

Bruce

[Jon D. Miller]

Bruce,
I think the above responses answer your question regarding the counterweights.  There never were any shims used except that some of us used them as a stop-gap measure when the K-27 was first introduced.  Once Bachmann supplied replacement counterweights the shims some of us had installed were no longer required.



The K-27 has significant side to side movement of the drivers.  The picture shows how much a driver can move to one side or the other.  Note the centering spring around the axle.  This side to side movement is necessary due to the locomotive's wheel base and because it has all drivers flanged.

One of the "Enthusiastic Children"

JD

[Kevin Strong]

The disadvantage of having that much play on all the drivers is that the loco has a ton of lateral movement, which plays havoc with rocks, bridges, buildings, etc. It's a wide loco as it is.

I installed spacers on the #1 and #4 axles to essentially eliminate the lateral movement on those two driver sets. That keeps the loco centered over the rails where it should be, while still allowing the center two sets of drivers to swing back and forth around curves as need be. It works just fine around my 5' radius curves with that set up.

For spacers, I just cut slices off of a Bic pen around 1/8" or so thick, pulled the counterweights and bearing, removed the "centering" spring, then replaced the bearing and counterweight. Dave Goodson (aka TOC) devised this fix, and I believe it's illustrated either on his web site or on Garden Railways', which you can get to from the K-27 review he wrote for them.

Later,

K

[az2rail]

Thanks. I fugured as much, buy wanted to make sure. I guess the lateral movement could be called somewhat prototypical, as they where call mud-hens because they waddled.

Bruce

[StanAmes]

I installed spacers on the #1 and #4 axles to essentially eliminate the lateral movement on those two driver sets. That keeps the loco centered over the rails where it should be, while still allowing the center two sets of drivers to swing back and forth around curves as need be. It works just fine around my 5' radius curves with that set up.

K

Kevin
If you want to install spacers I recommend the 2nd and 4th and not the 1st and 4th.  The reason is that in a prototype locomotive the pilot actually guides the locomotive around curves.  In the model the pilot does not have enough locomotive weight and lateral force to accomplish this task.  The side to side springs in the main drivers will perform the same role. Locking the 2nd rather than the first will still allows the 1st driver to perform this guiding role.  The first K I got I performed this mode, the other three I left as they came from the factory.

Stan

[grayfitz]

Hi Mr BACH MAN,The begining of this topic I asked you about whether my new and second K27 had the mod counterweights. Today is the first chance due to moving house that I have had  to  inspect my loco upside down.The dot on the box is not an indicator as I was surprised to see the old type counterweights on with a lot of slop.I did replace the weights on my first k27 so I did know what to look for. I hope the service spare part dept still has replacements, Should I send an email requesting a set, if so which is the quickest way to order, GRAHAM (Australia)

[Tony Walsham]

Graham.
Did you look to see if the other evidence determines which version the loco is?
The best indicator is the way the track power is picked up by the tender trucks.  No wipers indicates a modified loco.

There should be virtually no slop between the counterweights on either side of the axle.  It is normal that there is a lot of slop between the wheels and the counterweights.

[grayfitz]

Thanks TONY, There are wipers on the tender axels. I have compared the old weights I took off the first K27 to the ones on this loco ,they are the same,ie the width of the spacer  on the back of the weight is the most noticable difference,I think to be sure I should get a new set. regards GRAHAM.