What's it all about?

This project was born out of a desire to have a mid-19th century loco and it was the lack of commercially available alternatives that forced me down this path.
FR 20 was built in 1863, is a rare survivor from that era and is currently the oldest standard gauge loco still steaming in the UK.
I'm not a skilled or experienced railway modeller but have found the desire to have a go at this project irresistible. So you are welcome to join me and follow my triumphs and disasters as I tackle this precarious journey.

Wednesday, 1 February 2012

The cutting begins

The tank loco is quite old and it turns out the ends of the more recent Y9’s axles are smaller. So a straightforward swap of the wheels is not possible. However, the main axles are the same diameter on both engines and as long as I use the whole assembly from the older loco, they will fit into the Y9’s bearing.
The bigger wheels do foul the Y9 chassis in a couple of places, though, most notably the brake blocks. But with a bit of work with a modeling knife they are dispensed with and the wheels fit snuggly up against the chassis.






I also plan to reuse the platform as it comes with several benefits. Cast in metal it’s solid and heavy which will aid traction. Plus it comes with some nice detail like the springs that are in the right place for FR 20. But when added to the chassis with its new wheels they foul. Fortunately, the interference is very small and hopefully a little grinding should create the necessary clearance.



Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)