Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

Oh no !!!,
Sorry for bringing those memories back Pete..........
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Well I have another fixer upper project to undertake.
This one is more cosmetic than anything , however some mechanical work is required as well.
I was fortunate enough to have a win on that rather large auction site that we all would have heard of in England, Belgium, Australia and Yugoslavia.
The item I was chasing was a Lima DMU two car set and it was listed as only fair and in need of a few repairs. The motor was apparently running, At first the bids were very low, but in the end I got the set for 38 dollars Australian, which I feel is a bargain, because I am 100% confident that I can get her running well.
In good order and running properly I would expect to pay 120 to 140 dollars Australian.
So this is what I expected to receive.....the two car set in average condtion







But this is what I actually received.
The guy I bought the set from, who I have dealt with before, slipped a note into the parcel to say that he had found a third carriage to suit the set and he forwarded it with the set in case it may be of some use to me. What a champion.....much appreciated...




I think I actually prefer the two car set up, but it`s nice to have a choice.

You can see there is cosmetic work to be done.....glue stains by the look of it.




Buffer beam damage and buffers missing




The most serious issue is the curved retaining piece to hold the motor in place. This will have to be glued back in place and then possibly lined to create a smooth path for the housing to rub against. I`ll know better when I take it all apart, however the motor is running and the car actually runs very well indeed considering the motor is just hanging in there....





It goes without saying that a good clean and service will be done




The screw link couplings are OK when the power car is pulling, but not when pushing, so I will create some straight wire couplings between the cars to keep them apart. The original tension locks have been removed. I could possibly fit new tension locks, but as the cars are always just a set , I think I may as well just go down the wire route as it will possibly look better anyway.
I`ll do progress reports as we move through the repairs.
Gormo

 

Yes Richard.....the fun has already started in a clinical sort of way....
Gormo

 

Ah Yes !!!!!....Richard ,
They look really good.......I`ve got another one to do which is now on my list of things to do......it will probably be the next Gormo`s Shed.
I`ve still got to get some of that sealer that Gary put me on to.
Gormo

 

Oh well Tony,
It`s a good thing we weren`t bidding against each other then.........not to worry....there will be more opportunities in the future.
Gormo

 

Thanks Gary,
Well I guess it will be a three car set then.......might as well otherwise I`v got a spare coach sitting around.
I`ll do my best to bring the DMU`s up to scratch......I`ve got a good base to work off.....and they actually run really well, which is a bonus. Just need to clean up the wiring a bit, because it looks like it`s ready to go any old time.
Gormo

 

Right Folks,
I`ve opened up the power car as that`s the one that will give me the most grief. You can see the motor hanging out and the glue stain on the left




Down to the chassis and motor.



This is the area that needs to be glued and then patched otherwise the motor will keep dropping out.....only when it`s lifted though.....but there`s potential there for the motor bogie to get stuck in this gap......it has to be repaired.





So I glued the plastic piece back in place first, and then I`ve cut a paper strip overlay. The plastic was given a thin coat of Superglue and then the paper was pressed on top of the glue.
Then a thin coat of glue was put on top of the paper. Once the glue sets, it virtually turns the paper into plastic because it has soaked into it.





Then the same process for the bottom shelf





Then we turn the chassis upside down and insert a small piece of cereal box card into the gap, again using the same Superglue method.




And then a paper overlay on top of that




So folks, when this stuff goes off, hopefully it will be like solid plastic.
More as it happens
Gormo

 

Thanks Pete,
I`ve looked up Keen on the internet and Yes that looks like a good system. I had not been aware of the system until you mentioned it
I`ll have a think about it, because when you mentioned it in the previous post, I started thinking about Kadees as well.??
The Keen system looks better though, especially when it can draw the coaches together and ease them apart on curves....very clever indeed.!!
Thanks for the info.......I think I`m talking myself into it......
Gormo

 

Thanks Paul,
Well I hope the finished article comes up to scratch.......the bar has just been raised.
Gormo

 

Thanks Paul,
My original intention was to just show the DMU, so capturing a nostalgic scene from times gone by was a happy accident.
Gormo

 

G`day Keith,
Sounds like Platform 1 is having a DMU festival at the moment.....
Your build should give you a quite sophisticated model, which sounds really nice....
My build will be a much simpler proposition, just hoping to get it back looking something like the original model and running reliably.
I should call this "Project Lazarus".....
Gormo