Wheels in

There are days I'm glad this loco isn't mine. That point comes when I look at the price of the Slaters wheels. Let's face it you can't exactly skimp in these - buying some and thinking you'll get the rest later isn't an option. Then I realise that the drivers are only just over half as much again as the Romfords I'd put in a OO version.

Anyway, the wheels have been slipped in the chassis in the usual manner - bearings are soldered in and reamed to allow the axle to turn with no discernible friction. Rods are made up and fitted. Hopefully everything rolls smoothly at this point. I don't have any jig axles to make this process easier so I have to spend extra time making sure the chassis and square and flat. Also that the designer has done his job accuratly and this seems to be the case.

One oddity are the bearings. Normally I see brass but these are phosphor bronze. I'm not sure what benefit this gives but they certainly soldered easily enough. A tiny bit of solder and heat from my 45W iron flashed around the edge rather better than I'd expected. Sometimes you have to resort to a small blowtorch to get enough heat in this joint !