Nellie chassis part 1

"Take one nice Hornby chassis and hack bits off it with a saw" pretty much sums up the instructions in the kit.

It appears that the Hornby 0-4-0 chassis has changed over the years. I know people have told me that later ones run better than the early versions but it appears that the design changes extend to the fixings. This means that the Smallbrook instruction book mentions drilling for screws but the slip of extra instructions tells you the chassis will now clip in place without extra fixings.

And it does. At least it does once the couplings and cylinders have been removed with a fine saw. I used a piercing saw and finished up with a knife paring away the remnants of the soft plastic bits.

Now it fits perfectly. I'm impressed.