Our Gelert is ready to make its debut but it was a close run thing!
The loco has needed major surgery after the prototype chassis developed a serious issue that threatened to leave it as a static exhibit.
What went wrong is that the sleeve holding the drive gear on the leading axle became loose resulting in the motion locking up going in reverse as the quartering went out of alignment.
To fix it one crank and a wheel had to come off to enable the axle to be released so the sleeve could be relocked onto the axle.
The problem is the axle has to be reassembled complete with gear, bearings and wheels before it can be returned into the chassis and there is no way of getting it back in without cutting off the little lugs on the bottom of the chassis that hold the axle and bearings in place. Having done that the axle is popped back in, but there is now nothing to hold it in the frame!
In the end the bearings were held in place by carefully applying a tiny bit of solder before refitting the crank and rods.
Thanks to Himself’s ingenuity it looks like it will indeed be in use next weekend.
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