Clever wobbly axle joy

Before I put the motor in the chassis, but after I'd extracted the switch box, it was time to fit the wheels. These are supplied but on the wrong axles. The builder has to remove the over-long versions and replace them with supplied shorter ones, this is a 32mm gauge model.

Supporting the wheels in a vice and tapping the axle with a hammer and then a hammer and the new axle, released the wheels easily enough. Assembly is very similar, although you need to make sure to thread the first wheel and axle through the chassis before putting on its companion.

Juggling the gear on as well is a little fiddly, but I've done worse in smaller scales.

The unpowered axle is unexpectedly compensated. The bearings in the frames are lozenge-shaped and there is an extra one in a central support. All this provides the axle with some vertical movement to ensure the model stays on the rails on less than perfect trackwork. This is possibly overkill for such a short wheelbase model, but I'm not complaining.

After this, the motor is fitted in its cradle, which slides (it's a very tight fit) into position in the chassis. The final step was to feed it 3v and have the model whizzing up and down on the modelling board. Very satisfying.