Replacement crossheads

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that the GWR Railcar project had stalled as I wasn't happy with the whitemetal crossheads. Well, the good news is that at York, I was able to pick up some nice lost-wax cast replacements from Comet Models. LS8 if you are interested.

They aren't perfect of course, the days of a major show offering dozens of varieties of bits like this are long gone. Even at a show like York with the focus on kitbuilding, my options were London Road Models (nothing suitable) or Wizard Models (who oen Comet Models). To be honest I forgot Alan Gibson as I'd already bought the Comet ones by the time I was digging through the wheels on their stand.

Anyway, with a fit of fettling, these crossheads fit the railcar. There's a challenge getting the fat conrod end in the back and I'm still to attach the link on the front but I think I know how these can be overcome.

Pedants will point out that I've opened out the slide bars by just under a millimetre and that the piston rod is a bit fat. I don't care. If this works, that's all that matters, especially if it keeps working without falling apart!