At the end of Part 1, Dave posed the following questions: Will it ever stop raining (snowing for N Wales)? Will politicians ever tell the truth? Will pigs fly? So what decision did he make, and was it the right one?

Tune in to this edition to find out the answers to these questions and many other things – maybe not! Well the answer to some of the above questions, as most people know, is 42, but the chassis needed more than that.

The wheels are split axle Alan Harris wheels. They are held together with taper pins. The decision was taken to use Slater’s insulated horn blocks to mount the wheels in the chassis. Chassis modification was therefore needed.

The Photos above show the process. Dismantle chassis; clean up the frames; solder sides together; use chassis jig with coupling rods to get correct positions for new horn blocks (file the frames where necessary for the horn guides to fit); assemble the wheels and see if runs smoothly.

Next fit the con rods and check for smooth running again. Once that is sorted, try the chassis with the motor installed and temporary leads to make it run. What Dave found was that the motor was shorting across the split axle. The motor had brass bearings and needed precise location on the axle to avoid the short. Dave thought it easier to modify the motor with one of the bushes insulated – problem solved.

Jigs were made to assist with drilling holes in the springs and chassis.

The chassis was checked again using scissors crossover and it ran well.

Now the valve gear could be mounted onto the chassis. These were two sub assemblies. As said before, tolerances on BB are very tight. Much fettling was required to get BB running smoothly across the crossover.

With the chassis working well, it was time to look at the body. The body needed some work to dodgy body/chassis attachments. The grain of wheat bulb in the head light was replaced with a LED. The light’s switch was relocated to the cab. The light is lit by batteries located in the firebox. The batteries should last for quite a while with the LED fitted.

In the meantime, Dave has returned BB to its very happy owner at Easter so he could run it. BB will be wending its way back to me via the canal cruise crew in a few weeks time when Dave will fit modified brake gear and return it to John in July when he visits for a friend’s wedding.

Will there be a (short) Part 3?