Pinpoint axle driller for plastic wagons

by Russ Elliott

Some Bachmann wagons are designed to accept pinpoint axle lengths other than the standard '26mm' length. If you are happy with the chassis being a rigid one, and are not bothered about buffer height accuracy, here's a quick way (and thanks to Ultrascale for the idea) of making those wagons take standard length axles.

There are some minor variations in the standard 26mm pinpoint axle (typically 26 + 0, – 0.5mm), so you might want to choose your pinpoint driller axle length to coincide with the ones on the wheels you are using.

You might need to clear (filing, scalpel work, or with burrs) some parts of the chassis moulding inside the solebar area for your wheels to revolve freely.

Depending on the state of the tips of the pinpoint axles of the wheels you are using, you may find some vertical wear developing in the cup of your plastic W-iron, but by the time that happens and you've decided to sort the thing properly, you'll never need to read this page again.


© Russ Elliott

August 2002