Our model has reached pretty much the state of construction on the real locomotive.
Both the bogies have been completed to the point where they can be test run on a rig with an old motor and a spring driveshaft.
I've included the slow motion sequences on the video so that you can appreciate the really tight clearances on the motion.
Himself says the key to building these Backwoods power bogies is to have a really good set of small files!
It's crucial to ensure the bearings in the frame are as flush as they can be.
You will also have to carry out surgery on the motion bracket in order to make space for the coupling rod to rotate, and some elongation of the hole into the cylinder block is needed to give the piston room to waggle about a bit.
Himself recalls that when he built the first one, for Merddin Emrys over 20 years go, the trial and error was so frustrating he got close to hurling it down the garden path.
Now on his ninth Fairlie bogie it's all become somewhat routine....
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