Mainline Class 4MT 4-6-0 Pipe Repair

See that black 'pipe'. Well, I forget how many times I have knocked it off and glued it back on. It came off yet again and is now lost. Looking at photos of other models it seems to be a common occurrence. Check it is there if you buy one.

I decided to fabricate a replacement and started by searching out a photo of the prototype.

Now that is a surprise. The Mainline model representation is quite different, being partly flat, too far forward and angles omitted!

Using the prototype as a guide I used two gauges of copper wire (0.8mm and 0.5mm) to make the replacement. 

Whilst it is black on the prototype I decided to leave it copper coloured so I can admire my effort. There is a lot of other pipework and a speedo cable on the prototype. Can't see a simple and effective way to fit a speedo cable so I will leave those details off.

The fixing of the pipe was easy. A 0.7mm diameter hole was drilled in the cabin bulkhead to accept the fixing spigot (shown arrowed below) and the upper part of the pipe superglued beneath the running plate.

With hindsight I feel it should be a little more inboard. There is room.

Have you ever lost coupling hooks?

That is, the hooks from traditional UK closed bar couplings. Mysteriously two came free and were lost causing coaches in a train to break loose.

It was the Bachmann variety. A search of the usual stockists did not reveal any but there were Hornby variants available. They were quite cheap but would they fit the Bachmann frame? I was not going to try.

All I could find of the Bachmann were packets of complete coupling assemblies. Needing only two hooks it would have cost about £12 the pair, a bit expensive for two small hooks. Maybe I could make a replacement. 

I had some spare brass sheet about the same thickness as a Bachmann hook so set about carving two out using a Bachmann as a template. Brass is ideal as it holds its form well when working with small parts. The most difficult part was making the clip end so it did not fall off the bar that it swivels around.

Photo shows the Bachmann and two brass fabrications. The clip (left side of hook) in the bottom one is not formed well enough. This was overcome by bending its end to close the circle a little, another advantage of making it in pliable brass rather than brittle plastic.

Locomotive Motor & Gear Troubles

Locos failing left right and centre. 

First it was my Lima Class 33 that needed a motor transplant (motor obtained from www.strathpefferjunction.com). Then it was my Hornby Class 700 that needed a motor replacement (obtained from Peters Spares; discovered later I could disassemble the original motor and repair it.). Now, My Hornby Bulleid Merchant Navy Class exhibited gear slipping.

There is the culprit - the gear on the right in the photo is split causing the axle on which it fits to spin freely in it.

On the left is the gear assembly comprising a large (white) gear and a replacement for the one in question. This assembly has the number X8849 and whilst spares are listed by several suppliers all had no stock available last week!

What to do?

The faulty gear has 21 teeth and is about 11.5 mm in diameter. I searched eBay for 'hornby 21 teeth gear' and one popped up. It was also identified as 11.5mm diameter but, listed for Hornby Britannia. Taking a hunch that the manufacturer would have applied economies of scale and assigned it to other locomotives I bought it and to my delight found it is a direct replacement for the Merchant Navy gear :-)