Bergs (Minimodels) Sydney Electric Cars - Traction Tires

The two powered axles of the powered car were supplied with traction tires. I am not so keen on traction tires as they often don't run true (i.e. they wobble), they can wear out relatively quickly and they reduce the number of wheels used for power pickup.

When I bought the set, I bought a spare set of non-powered axles (2 axles = Spare Part No. 32) with a view to replacing the traction tires. I was expecting the spare axles to have gears fitted and that they would be a "drop-in" replacement for the original driving axles, but they did not have gears.

I used the spare wheelsets I bought to replace the end wheelsets of the non-powered motor car, as these axles had splines in the centre (for a gear) and also splines at the ends for the wheels (to prevent slippage). It was then relatively simple to remove the solid wheels from the now spare splined axles, and use these to replace the original driving wheels which had the traction tires, using the original geared axles. When I removed the wheels, I was careful to leave the plastic centre bushes on the axles, and just remove the metal wheels, to minimise the risk of introducing wheel wobble.

Overall, the operation was a success and the motor car now has 8-wheel pickup and still 4-wheel drive. Without the traction tires, it has enough tractive effort to haul the 4-car train up my grades which are around 1 in 80. It also manages without slipping on my branch line which has a section of 1 in 40 grade.

Based on other information on the web, the prototype trains has a reputation for wheelspin as each power car was only powered on two axles. (The powered axles were both on the long-wheelbase power bogie, compared to the model which is powered on one axles of each bogie.)

The design of the model bogies is a bit unusual in that they clip into a turntable which fits into a round opening in the floor. The individual bogies can rock freely fore and aft which is good for accommodating ups and downs in the track, but they have almost no rocking movement side to side. Because my layout has superelevation on the mainline curves, the power pickup is not so good at some spots, particularly at the transitions between curves and straight track where the superelevation changes from maximum to zero over approx 300 mm. At these transitions, the weight of the power car is not evenly distributed over all wheels. The bogies on the non-powered cars are identical minus gears and pickups, but the lack of transverse rocking doesn't seem to adversely affect their tracking.

Another unusual feature of the bogies is that the central mouldings are identical for all bogies, and they have two sets of axles slots to suit the short wheelbase non-powered bogies and the long-wheelbase powered bogies of the prototype.

Bergs (Minimodels) Sydney Electric Cars -Decals

As supplied, these models do not have any lettering applied although decals are supplied for various car numbers (Txxxx and Cxxxx), Non-Smoking labels, and "Waratah" emblems, together with a diagram showing the correct placement for various eras of the prototype.

I am putting off the application of decals for now, as the cars will need a spray coat of clear finish afterwards to protect the decals. Because the clear window "glass" has been glued in place, I am reluctant to attempt the decals until I confirm if the window glass can be removed without damaging it or the car body shells.

Bergs (Minimodels) Sydney Electric Cars - Weight

I have added lead weight to the 3 non-powered cars in the set. I added approx. 56 g of lead sheet which brings the total weight up to approx. 140 g per car. There is a rectangular recess on the top of the underframe, about 3 mm deep, which is part of the motor mounting in the powered car. I cut 2 thicknesses of lead sheet approx 1.3 mm thick to fit in the recess, and secured them in place with a single screw through an existing hole in the centre of the recess.

While the cars did not derail prior to adding the weight, I feel more confident now when running the set with the powered car pushing from the rear.

Another reason for adding weight is that I fitted small resistors to the wheelsets of the end bogie of the non-powered end car (Cxxxx) so that this car will actuate the track occupancy detectors which are part of my signalling system. Eventually, I will add resistors to the end wheelsets of each of the centre cars (Txxxx) as well so that the entire train is detected. The extra weight will make the detection of the non-power cars work reliably.

Bergs (Minimodels) Sydney Electric Cars - Couplers

Problem: The supplied E-Z plastic knuckle couplers are bogie mounted and have no sideways movement, so they won't uncouple with a magnetic uncoupler ramp. Also, they look toylike and create a large gap between the cars when coupled.

Solution: Fit body mounted couplers. Fortunately, the supplied couplers are easily unclipped from the bogies without damage to either. I used Kadee 30 series coupler boxes combined with "scale" size couplers from Kadee No. 58 couplers. The 30 series coupler boxes have less projection behind the mounting hole, so they don't interfere with the rotation of the bogies. I drilled (1.8 mm) and tapped a 2-56 mounting hole 10 mm back from the buffing plate on the end of the chassis. This results in close coupling with around 3 mm between the buffing plates. The chassis needs to be packed down to get the correct coupler height. Bergs supply a mounting adaptor (Spare Part No. 103) to suit, and I purchased 4 pairs of these with the cars. Based on my preferred mounting bolt position, I had to drill the Bergs adaptors about 1 mm further back from the moulded "dimple". I drilled the clearance holes (2.3 mm) from the top to avoid being guided by the dimple. With the Bergs adaptors, mounting the spring assembly of the 30 series coupler boxes on the bottom results in the correct coupler height.

Curve Radius: With body mounted couplers as described above, my cars run happily through my sharpest mainline curves which are 700 mm radius. I also tested them on a shaper curve of 550 mm radius and the were OK.

Bergs (Minimodels) Sydney Electric Cars - Bogies

Problem: The bogie sideframes on the trailer cars project slightly below rail level and foul diverging rails at points.

Solution: I narrowed down the problem to one side of each bogie. As you look at the car from the side, the near sideframe at the left end and the far sideframe on the right end have this problem. I found I could get some improvement by dismantling the affected bogies, and trimming the flash from the 2 halves of the bogie (labelled "gearbox" on the supplied instructions as the mouldings are the same as for the power bogies). Part of the trick is to get the 2 halves to fit together tightly. If they are too wide, they spread the sideframe moulding apart which bends the sides down, leading to the problem. I also trimmed a tiny amount from the inside of the sideframe moulding so it fits easily over the gearbox assembly, without forcing it to bend. Using these methods, I was able to get all 4 bogies on the 2 trailer cars to run through points OK.

Aesthetics: In my opinion, the main cause of the problem is that the moulding is such that the sideframes are approx. 2 mm too low. Look at the centre of the axlebox moulding compared to the actual centre of the wheels. Comparison with the drawings included with the instructions also confirms that there should be plenty of clearance from the bottom of the sideframe to the rails.

Bergs (Minimodels) Sydney Electric Cars

A recent aquisition has been a 4-car set of Sydney Electric Cars. These are Minimodels brand, made by Bergs in Sydney. My set is Set No. 519 Clyde "Standard" in Tuscan Red

Although these are HO scale and therefore undersize for my S scale layout, they run fine as the track gauge is 16.5 mm (Sn3 1/2). I bought this set because I have always like the Sydney suburban trains and travelled on them several times in the 1960's and 70's. As a"bonus", some of this particular style were built by the Walsh Island Dockyard in Newcastle, my hometown.

There were a few surprises when I opened the box and gave them a test run on the layout:

• The cars are not decalled. Decals are included for a variety of car numbers, non-smoking designations and the "waratah" emblems.
• The power car drives on 2 axles only, being the 2 end axles of the car. These axles have traction tires. The other axles on the bogies pick up power but are not driven.
• The 3 non-powered cars are very light, as they have plastic bodies & chassis and no additional weight.
• When running through points, the sideframes on some of the non-powered bogies actually project below rail level, and foul diverging rail.
• The plastic knuckle couplers are bogie-mounted, and have zero sideways movement. This means they won't uncouple with a magnetic uncoupler as the couplers can't swing sideways.

I am gradually working to resolve/improve these issues.