3MT Renovation - Fin

Well, the bogie repair broke at the fixing ring but was soon strengthened with a slither of acetate sheet linking the ring to the body of the bogie.

Next job was to find a motor. X03 or X04? I thought either would do but when I looked deeper I discovered these early motors are a bit of a minefield. First thing to understand is that the X03 post dates the X04! Also, there are 3 pole and 5 pole variants and there are gearing variants.

Identifying which one to use was made simple by finding the Service Sheet for the 1956 R59 3MT at Hornby Railways Collectors Guide. This identified X04 as the right one with a worm thread of 6. That website is an excellent source of historical details for Triang and later ranges.

The best place to buy an X04 motor is Ebay but the prices vary enormously from a few pounds to over twenty. Those at the top end tend to have a rewound armature and NEO magnet upgrade. I monitored for several weeks before bidding and winning one at £7.50 incl. postage. This is an original, used motor that works like new.

Some Sellers don't know what they are selling because I did see X03s listed as X04s. The X04s have felt oil pads, the X03s do not and are not so good build quality (I understand from others).

To Part 1.

3MT Renovation - Part 3

Both the front bogie and pony truck, which are identical, had suffered some damage and this one shown has become brittle with surface cracking. The metal,  made from MAZAK, is prone to this if it contains impurities or incorrect proportions of metal. Mazak is an alloy of mostly zinc with some aluminium, magnesium and copper content.

The circular pivot point had fractured into 3 pieces with one part missing. The missing part was recreated using car body filler, as was part of the wheel flange that was also missing. The other grey coloured parts are tailored from plastic sprue and glued in place but these are fragile and will not take a hard knock. The additions have since been matt black painted.

I considered remaking the entire bogie using the 3D printer but as this is a vintage toy I wanted to retain as much of the original as possible whilst it is still serviceable.

The rusted weathering effect on the chassis coupling rods was removed using toothbrush and oven cleaner spray and moving parts then lightly oiled. I may paint the wheels matt black as the natural grey finish is just not right.

Now I need a motor, which might take a while to obtain.

To Final Part.

3MT Renovation - Part 2

The remnants of the original lining, number and emblem were removed by scratching them with my thumbnail. They simply cracked and fragmented.

I did not think that a DIY approach to replacement with the facilities to hand was a viable proposition so I searched Ebay for suitable transfers. It was then that I found a supplier who offered not transfers but a complete refurbishment set for R59 as sticky paper labels. That got me thinking whether or not I could design replacements in my graphics application and ink jet print onto sticky paper. (The ink I use is Epson Durabrite, which has excellent colour retention properties and is water resistant).

The design was straightforward and print quality fine. It is worth noting that sticky backed paper once peeled off the backing is thinner than normal 80gms print paper. When applied to the model its thickness is thin enough to look like a slide transfer.

The pannier tank lining was given black edging and black infill between the white and red lines. The first cut was made along the outer edge of the white line and the panel peeled off as a whole, stuck on the pannier tanks and then a second cut made along the inner edge of the red line and the white panel peeled away leaving a remarkably good quality lining.

The other panels were cut out and fitted, retaining the black inners and numbers.

The 'early' emblem is from a HMRS Pressfix transfer sheet that is years old and lost most of its adhesion. To ensure they stayed in place they were placed on top of a puddle of watery PVA glue and when dry covered with matt varnish.

To Part 3.

3MT Renovation - Part 1

Inspired by the success of the Jinty renovation project I dug out from storage my very first locomotive given to me when I was just a few years old in the 1950s. It is the Triang 3MT, catalogue number R59.

This one has a chassis but no motor. For a while in the 1970s I used it as a static, derelict locomotive. It was also my first attempt at weathering with streaks of rust and water marks applied.

I have already repaired a half broken and missing rear buffer beam with a 3D printed part I designed (shown circled in the photo) and have removed the Humbrol enamel paint weathering effects with tooth brush and oven cleaner spray.

Next job is to repair the lining, number and emblem.

To Part 2.