mashie/black beetle

[rejrob]

Hi all,Maybe others have already had a similar experience but recently read and also informed that Mashima motors are to be no more,Calamity.Also a couple of days ago contacted DC kits man to order 2 black beetle motors,both to replace very old(60 years) approx ex dock shunt motor in my 2 NOL set(1820/1844) .I had found that the dock shunt is far more powerful than the B/B therefore 2 required.Told that black beetles are no more and possibly why?they use mashima motors.I bought a couple of Tenshoda,s instead.I hope they perform as well as the B/B All the best Ron

[Bufferstop]

Hi rejob have you looked at overhauling the original bogie. Armatures are available or you can have your own rewound, brushes are the same as the 03-04 types and you can get a neodymium replacement magnet. A bit of googling will turn up who's doing what ATM. The ball bearings at each end are a generic item as is the felt that the oiler pads are made of. The only bit that may elude you is the retention spring plate at each end, so treat them carefully or source them yourself from real hopeless spare or repair bogies.
My No4 Port Authority shunter on a fully renovated and rewheeled bogie is the sweetest running loco you could want. Plus with its weight and longish wheelbase gives no nonsense about point gaps.

[D605Eagle]

You can buy dock shunters for peanuts too. I bought 5 supposedly non runners of ebay for £9 + postage. All ran bar one, and that was just a broken wire to the pickup. If you fit scale wheels and tighten up the tolerances of the motor they are actually make really good power bogies.

[Mountain]

Smallbrook Studio do a body kit to convert the little dock shunters to 7mm narrow gauge locos. Since then I've noticed prices hike a tad. You did well to get them at that price. Very durable mechanisms in them though.

[D605Eagle]

Smallbrook Studio do a body kit to convert the little dock shunters to 7mm narrow gauge locos. Since then I've noticed prices hike a tad. You did well to get them at that price. Very durable mechanisms in them though.

It was some years ago. I think the general increase in prices of new locos is starting to make previously very cheap old locos now more expensive too.