Rails to Black Rock

Having tested the chassis using the white metal parts with Romford pinpoint bearings, the tender rolled like a boat in a storm! So the white metal parts were removed and the alternative etched axle components used. In fairness they look much better than the white metal parts.

 The tender now runs with minimal wobble. The wheels were place in a mini drill and burnished with a fibre glass pen. A piece of copper clad strip has been used to make the pick up assembly. The pick ups are made from phosphor bronze wire. I have used this in all my previous chassis as it has good springing qualities and produces minimum friction on the wheels. The pick up assembly is held in place by a brass bolt which allows very fine adjustment and easy future repair.

Welsh Pony compared to Palmerston... The longer cab and larger tender are apparent. The wheels are 0.5 mm larger in diameter on Welsh Pony but there is no noticeable difference in the height they sit on the track. This means that a new chassis for Palmerston using the Markits wheels can be built in the future. One real dilemma is whether to model the loco with the battered dome cover it carried through much of its later life!

The finished chassis. The motor is much larger than the one supplied with the original kit and there is plenty of room for a fly wheel to be installed in the next few weeks.  The wires will be routed down through the rear of the chassis to connect up permanently with the additional pick up wires from the tender. 

Having tested it with a temporary connection, the chassis and tender run incredibly reliably over point work. This will be an absolute essential to make the layout work as intended. As on Dulas, locos will have to perform complicated shunting manoeuvres over a limited track plan with no 'hands on' help. On Dulas eighteen separate shunts were required to run trains around at the Aberlleffeni terminus and we could often achieve this for several hours without a nudge from a hand. Shunting is a long way off however but time spent achieving reliability now should pay dividends later on.

Shades of things to come. How the station throat may look once the fisherman's cottages are completed. These will be the first buildings to be completed once Welsh Pony is finished.

Another comparison of the original white metal chassis and the larger scratch built body. The brake gear still needs modifying before fitting.