
Remove the gears that were retained by axles A and B and put them to one side
for later.
Now remove axle C and its gear. Again put it and the axles to one side until later
but ensure that this gear is clearly distinguished from the other two in some way
as its teeth are of the opposite hand. It is possible to tell them apart by close
inspection but easier to keep them separate.
The drive train moulding and your fingers will by now be thoroughly lagged in
lubric ating grease. Take a piece of kitchen paper towel and clean things up, then
scrunch another clean piece of towel into the underside of the moulding to cover the
remaining gears and protect them from the dust and swarf generated by the next
operation.
Referring to the illustration above, and using your favoured combination of razor
saws and craft knives or burrs, cutting discs and grinders in a mini electric drill,
remove the pivot support towers, wire retaining lugs and bogie frame retaining clips
from the moulding. Take them right down flush to the surrounding faces of the
moulding. Exercise some care as, in spite of being somewhat 'soft' and 'soapy', the
plastic can crack in a brittle manner if overstressed. Take great care at all stages not
to damage the retaining lugs for the main axle bearings.
The drive train needs to be split
between the inner two axles, to allow
the suspension to articulate, by making
two cuts across the moulding as shown
here.
A razor saw may be used to make these
cuts. Take care that the moulding is
adequat ely supported while cutting - it's
helpful to have a solid block of material
which just fits between the sides of the moulding.
The kit is designed to allow the model to be driven on all six axles, i.e. as a C- C,
corresponding to the Co- Co arrangement of the prototype. It is, however,
possible to avoid a certain amount of complication by using the 4-wheel parts of the
drive as they are and assembling the loco as a B1-1B, in which configuration it will
Modifying the bogie drive
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04/05/2017