On the work bench:
I am currently building a model of England 0-4-0 Welsh Pony. This uses a Malcolm Savage kit as the basis but it will require a considerable amount of alteration to represent a large England. The chassis etch allows for the longer chassis but the choice of wheels poses a problem. I have chosen to use Markits 12.5 mm disk wheels designed for a pug. These wheels are 0.5 mm over size and the holes are not the right shape. On the up side they are self quartering and are in a different league to push fit wheels I have previously used.
If you have not used self quartering wheels before you will need to purchase a special tool to tighten the central nut. Once tightened on the axle, these wheels run true with none of the wobbles and wonky bits I have experienced with other makes, the additional cost is well worth it...
The chassis etch comes with a built in gear box but I decided to remove this and install a separate High Level Models gear box available from Finney and Smith. This has a brass screw fit final gear, but plastic intermediate gears which I have always found better on small chassis. The main problem encountered in modifying the chassis is the clearances between the crank pins and the cross heads. The crank pins required a shoulder filing off to allow them to be screwed further into the wheels. Once this was done the clearances were fine.
When the moment came to test role the chassis across a sheet of glass it did so on the first attempt; the first time I haven't had to start opening up the holes in the connecting rods!
The next job is to install the pick ups and get the chassis running reliably.....
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