Delivery number 2 arrived (in two consignments) it looked something like this:
And now we can crack on. First job is to strengthen up the frames after removing material earlier in the build. For this I used a piece of 40thou" plasticard 22*12mm, with a cut out to clear the Branchlines drive shaft. This was stuck in using Zap super-runny superglue (pink label):
(there's a little more required if fitting CSBs, which I'll come to later).
The other means of strengthening the frames also supports the back of the motor. This is an idea I've use a good few times in my HO modelling to strengthen up scale bar frames, which can otherwise be pretty weak. This uses the fine tube (o.7mm id) with pins (0.65mm shaft dia) to hold the frames in registration. For this job Devcon 2-ton epoxy was the adhesive of choice:
This then gets us a set of strengthened bogie frames looking something like these pictures. They are now as stiff as they ever were, the extra fillets around the tube being pretty key to the build:
While all this was going on the (split) axles have been prepared and a start made on assembling the gearboxes. This loco uses a 2mm dia epoxy-dipped hardened steel pin to maintain the strength in the axle. Here they are after cutting to length, keying up, hardening, rubbing down and cleaning (in that order). The axles are drilled through 6BA tapping (2.3mm):
The axles are then coated in epoxy and wrapped in masking tape, the aim is to put a thin insulating later of epoxy on all the pins:
The final assembly and cutting of insulation gaps is then completed as for the axles which use a GRP pin. (See
http://www.euram-online.co.uk/tips/splitaxle/splitaxle3.htm)
Once the axles are made they can be assembled in to the gearboxes and torque arms attached:
The final assembly stage for these gearboxes is to attach the Branchlines drive shafts:
The motor/gearbox unit were built at the same time, but unfortunately I forget to photograph them...
Steph