Taylor Precision Models Commonwealth Bogies

There are three sections to the baseboard section and, for ease of navigation, a link to each of the three pages is listed below:-

To build a 4-CEP, one of the things I'll need is new bogies - specifically Commonwealth bogies at the trailer ends.

Luckily, Taylor Precision Models supply these, either with coupler, spring and wheels or without. I planned on using the wheels, spring and coupler from the donor Mk 1s I was using so ordered 3 sets of the ones without.

The pack comes with 2 sprues, each of which has the parts for one bogie. Before starting the bogie, I removed the old one from the coach I was converting. This is simply a matter of lifting the pin that holds the bogie in place and the bogie will then lift off. I then pried out the 2 wheels. The coupler needs to be twisted through 90 degrees and then lifts out. The spring is now free and lifts out as well. I then put all these pieces to one side as I would need them later on.

Each sprue has 6 parts. 2 bogie side frames, a new coupler pocket, a pin to hold the bogie in place, a pivot adaptor should the bogies be fitted to an Ultima or Fleetline kit (I'm not so don't need this part) and the frame that it all fits to. I carefully cut out the parts with a scalpel and then filed them down - again taking care not to file too vigorously as I tend to go at models a bit like a bull in a china shop!

Once they were filed down, I took one of the side frames and attached it to the frame. I had to take care as there are 2 ways to assemble the bogie - short or long. As I was intending to use these on an EMU, I did them as a short coupling. After this I put the wheels in place (there's a hole for them to slot into). Finally, I took the other bogie and attached that, making sure that the wheels slotted into the hole on this sideframe too. I then left them for 30-40 minutes to dry and set.

Then came the coupler pockets! This proved to be fun as the spring sometimes sprung out and launch itself into the carpet leaving me scrabbling around looking for the spring. Once the spring was in place, I fitted the coupler and then glued it to the frame. Care needs to be taken when doing this so that glue doesn't flow into the coupler and glue it to the frame or pocket. I was careful to make sure that I didn't use too much glue and also wiggled the coupler while the coupler pocket set just in case.

Once the coupler pocket had set, the bogie was simply fitted in place and secured using the old securing pin (the new one on the sprue didn't fit properly on my coaches so I simply used the old one which was perfect for the job). Now my coaches sport some rather fine TPM Commonwealth bogies and very nice they look too! I still need to remove the buffers as the bogies will foul on these if I don't (and only the 2 cab ends had buffers on a 4-CEP so they need removing regardless.

Below are 4 thumbnail images of the new bogies. Simply click on the picture to load a larger image in a new window.

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