David Malton’s Simplex:
David Malton has spent some time re-creating in 7mm scale the Abbey Light Railway from Leeds and produced a 3d printed body that he subsequently put on his Shapeways shop. This was designed for the Locos n Stuff etched universal power bogie kit and both were duly purchased. I am very pleased with this loco, particularly as it was the first O14 loco that I actually finished! In September 2018 I got a chance to run my version of David Malton’s 3-d printed Simplex alongside his at the Small & Delightful Group’s show at Compton Dundon.
This uses a Phoenix figure for the driver but modified to a more suitable pose by sawing between his legs, then cutting part through the legs so they could be bent into the desired shape before filling all the gaps with low melt solder. The original 3d print came with the inside of the bonnet area as a solid part of the print. I drilled this out a bit and filled it with lead to increase the weight a bit. Despite this and even with the whitemetal driver and a few metal oil cans at the other end of the loco it is still a bit too light for my trackwork and I need to work out how to get a bit more weight into it. David subsequently redesigned the print so that the inside of the bonnet was hollow but I can’t decide if I should get a new body.
Roy C Link’s Simplex:
I have a number of Roy C Link/Wrightlines Motor Rail body kits and have been thinking about how to make chassis for them when David Jane (KB Scale) introduced a chassis kit designed for the etched channel framed Motor Rail body. I got a couple but it was quite some time before I finally found the opportunity to start them.
KB Scale Motor Rail chassis
KB Scale Motor Rail chassis contents
This one will go under an original Roy C Link channel framed Simplex that I bought in 1985.
Initial construction of the KB Scale Motor Rail chassis
Underside view of the KB Scale Motor Rail chassis
The ‘wings’ at either end bolt on and I think that the chassis would fit the Wrightlines plate framed Simplex if they were left off. The body kit would need extensive carving to allow the motor to fit under the bonnet as I think it is filled with the engine and bonnet support.
When I came to test the chassis it became apparent that I had damaged the wheels so the chassis wobbled alarmingly. I had previous good experience with Ultrascale wheels so I sourced some replacement ones from them. The only problem was the 6-month wait for their manufacture. These new wheels fitted easily and accurately and the chassis runs much better.
Now I need to clean up the Simplex body that I started all those years ago and finish it! In January 2020 I thought “this is getting ridiculous, just how much is left to do on the body?” and when I checked I found that I had done all of the soldering and all that it needed was to fix on the various castings, paint and find a suitable figure. So finally after all this time it is almost finished. It still needs weathering and the driver and brake hand wheel are not fixed yet and I need to paint the wheel rims. The loco feels quite heavy but there is space for a bit more weight under the bonnet and I may add some if I think it would improve the running on my rather iffy track. The KB Scale chassis isn’t as high as the original chassis or the Tenshodo SPUD, so I have added the bottom header to the radiator. Unfortunately, I had already built up the cross channel section with the cut-out for the chassis although I may try to fill this in at some point. I think I need some junk on the footplate areas either side of the radiator to hide the wheels and the pick-ups a bit.
Here is a video of it being run in on the M5-M50 NGM Group test track in January 2020:
They say there is a fine margin between genius and insanity! I will leave it to you to decide which I am after this latest madcap exercise. It was at a show in Bristol in January 2020 that I struck up a conversation with a visitor who was looking at my Nigel Lawton Simplex replacement Locos n Stuff chassis. Like me, he thought it had a better speed range as it was not so highly geared and he innocently asked if I thought it would fit in one of the Roy C Link/Wrightlines channel framed Simplex bodies. That got me thinking!!!
The Locos n Stuff Simplex chassis is off-set slightly due to the drive belts being external to the wheels. It wasn’t noticeable on my Nigel Lawton Simplex and I could arrange things so that the drive belts were towards the back of the layout. I don’t turn anything around and I have the added advantage that no one can get up close to my locos on Tony’s Forest so I can get away with quite a lot!
I only thought of using this chassis after the conversation when we saw that the overall width of both locos was the same. This chassis is too wide to fit the Leighton Buzzard style of Simpĺex kit from Wrightlines. For those I guess that the etched brass power bogie from Locos n stuff is probably the best option.
The answer to will this chassis fit is yes, after a fashion and it is not a conversion for the faint hearted. I have to admit that I was very impressed with Roy’s model in NG&IRM Review issue 100 but I knew that something like that was well beyond my competence. The Locos n Stuff chassis seems to be a good compromise although it is the wrong wheelbase and too wide. A chat with Mark resulted in a tweaked version, slightly shorter and to the correct wheelbase.
Turning to the body, the first thing I did was cut off the axlebox mounting side plates from the frames. These are moved outwards towards the outer channel frame sections and the underside plate needs to be trimmed to allow them to fit. I was half way through doing this when I realised I needed to increase the magnification of my Optivisor, so it is a bit of a mess but fortunately it doesn’t show. The outer frames were soldered in their correct place and the inner frames spaced 2mm apart using scraps of wood. The bottom plate was soldered in place, checking that everything was square. Then one of the centre sections of the inner frame was cut out – this is needed to clear the overhang of the motor. Clearances are very tight but everything fitted in (just). The section cut off the frame was cleaned up and soldered to the inside surface of the outer channel as there was no room for the gearbox casting. Trial fitting of the bonnet identified where I needed to trim the parts to clear the drive bands.
Nigel Lawton’s Simplex:
Christmas 2014 saw a Nigel Lawton Simplex not only unwrapped from under the tree but also built over the holiday period. I ran it on Rowland Binns layout at Shepton that February (2015). Shortly after, it failed and I thought I had somehow burnt out the motor. One replacement motor later and I realised that I had the pick-ups shorting to the frame! I had tried to be too clever with the wheels so these were replaced and new pick-ups added. However it has not been a very reliable performer despite (or maybe because of) my continual tweaking with both chassis and pick-ups. As an alternative, I have tried a Locos n Stuff replacement chassis and this saw some operation at Yate in February 2020. I felt that it still needed some adjustment and smaller blobs of Blue Tack to hold the chassis but it was performing much better than my own effort. Running trials were terminated when the driver (which was still loose) was dropped and lost an arm.
Nigel Lawton Bow Framed Motor Rail in grey primer
Running is still leaves a lot to be desired despite the replacement chassis. I think it is partly due to lack of weight and partly to the 3d printed pulleys which are not quite true and cause a bit of “hunting” between the axles.ve adjusted them so they are a true as possible but I think the motor is also a bit variable. The motor/gearbox assembly is not designed for model railway use and is probably fit for purpose for its original intended use.
Henrik Laurell’s “Nitro Nobel” Simplex:
I have been very impressed with Mark’s products and ingenuity and have one of his belt driven chassis under a Henrik Laurell ‘Nitro Nobel’ 3d printed Motor Rail body.
For some reason I was able to finish this loco quite quickly which was just as well as I was running out of time before the first exhibition.
Wrightlines WDLR Simplex:
With the introduction of Mark’s etched SPUD replacement chassis, I experimented with fitting one in a Wrightlines WDLR 40hp Motor Rail.
Then Mark introduced the replacement chassis for the Nigel Lawton Motor Rail and I thought that one could be adjusted to suit the Wrightlines kit. Mark obligingly supplied me with a scrap chassis block to play around with and then used it to make a proper chassis block.
Well, I have finally got around to progressing with the kit and I decided to use the the etched chassis. Yes, I did need to cut down the top plate which makes it a bit more like a SPUD. Stability was one of the reasons for me keeping the top plate on the bogie as big as possible until I realised that it got in the way of quite a bit of the beautiful details included in the kit.
I have to admit that I did not find this the easiest of kits as the parts are designed to adapt to a number of variations and the instructions a quite complex (for me anyway).
Attaching the sides went smoothly after a few trial fits and I was pleased to find that the ends fit (they are not fixed until much later in the construction sequence).
The instructions have a few sketches of some of the details but I found I was struggling to work out how some of the bits fitted together. Luckily I was able to get some fairly detailed photos of two of these at Apedale in 2013. I had been invited to exhibit and I stayed on site which enabled me to wander around (with their permission) outside of normal hours.
I found the radiator pipes a bit fiddly for me but got there in the end. The instructions tell you to mount the vertical strip much further away from the radiator but I thought it looked better mounted inboard of the brake block bracket and more like my prototype photo.
It is a bit fuzzy as the camera wouldn’t focus on the engine cover but this was modified to represent the early version where to top part of the end cowl is cut away to accommodate the top cover. It looked harder than it actually turned out.
Despite the apparent complexity of the instructions, I really enjoying this kit. It is very well thought out and went together very well. The level of detail is impressive but it really does pay to read all the way through the instructions first and I resorted to highlighting the parts that applied to my kit.
It is not quite as I wanted as I really struggled to get the buffer beams to fit after the separate parts were painted and the end panels didn’t go quite to plan, but I think I will get away with it as it is so hard to see anything up close on Tony’s Forest.
It is also a bit high but again I think I will get away with that. What is more noticeable is the noise from the motor bogie as the body acts like a sound box!
Oh well, you can’t have everything!
Wrightlines Plate Framed Simplex:
I have a couple of the KB Scale Simplex chassis kits and had been contemplating using one under a Wrightlines plate framed Simplex body. I realised this would need some major modification to fit the vertical motor. I have to admit that the work required was more challenging than I had anticipated!
The original motor is 12 mm wide from front to back of the chassis and would only just have fitted, requiring the removal of more material than even I was comfortable with. A 10mm round motor sounded a better option. Even at that, it still requires a lot of material to be removed, primarily from casting No 2. I felt that a bit of shaped brass sheet might help strengthen the casting.
The indents in the brass are to take the pick-up wires for the motor.
The plate was soldered in place. It ended up a bit crooked but that didn’t matter.
The motor casting (part No 5) needed cutting back to clear the motor.
I managed to skew the motor casting when I soldered it on. I should have realised that warning bells were ringing with this build!
The bracket for the bonnet halves needed cutting back and I removed as much as I dared before soldering on the bonnets. However, I managed to damage them when I attacked the remaining material which needed grinding back to clear the motor. Far more material needed removing than I had anticipated and the whole assembly was very delicate.
It’s not pretty from underneath. The mods required are extensive and leave the bonnet very vulnerable. I have soldered the bonnet in place to stabilise it and I need to work out the best way to hold the chassis in place. I will probably use Blu-tack initially and see how I get on.
Work in progress and I am not happy with the finish yet or the weathering. I hope to have it running later on 2026.
FK3d Motor Rail Simplex – Caravan:
One reason for holding the KB Scale chassis in with Blu-tack is that it allows me to switch the chassis around. In particular with this delightful 3d print of the Simplex “Caravan” in use of the Leighton Buzzard Railway.
The wheelbase of the KB Scale chassis is 24.5mm while Caravan is 26mm. I think I can get away with the difference, especially when it is running on the layout.
The body needed a hole drilling in the base for the vertical motor and the 3d printed engine casing won’t fit anymore. However, that does allow for some lead sheet to be fitted which will support the top of the engine casing which I have cut to suit.
Work in progress and I am not happy with the finish yet. The roof isn’t fixed or the exhaust and it is a little back-heavy. There doesn’t look to be any room to add weight at the front so I may need to grind away at some of the 3d print underneath to make room for some lead. It would be nice to have this running in time for TaD-Rail in September 2026 as it is near to the Leighton Buzzard Railway.