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.