Yes the new Dick Kerr has worked splendidly around an extensive (8 year old got involved!), temporary test track around the living room floor in true train set fashion. It coped with four of the quite weighty Wrightlines class D and E bogie wagons. Am sure it would have pulled more but what with couplings, bogies and wheels falling off this was all I could muster at the moment. Unfortunately part two of the plan was not quite so successful. Here is a picture of what my double header set up should look like.

I would show you a picture of what it does look like but it is exactly the same - it wasn't going anywhere. As soon as I put the now stripped out dummy loco on the tracks a dead short always occurred. I went through all the obvious things off the track and all seemed fine until it went back on. In the end I traced the problem to the sprung axles which, presumably, without the weight of motor, gearbox and axle were slopping around so much that the wheels were shorting on the body and or chassis. All is not completely lost however as am going to replace the chassis with one made up from the first set of frames I made. These were for roller bearings but they left no room for a gearbox. As It is to be a dummy there is no need for gearboxes so all should be fine and hopefully shouldn't take too long to knock up. As it is to be permanently coupled to the other Dick Kerr there should be no problem with it running away. You see, I did experiment with roller bearings on wagons but had to give up as they were so free running that if there was the slightest gradient on a siding they would just start rolling away.

Off to Stafford show tomorrow for a few more bits and pieces.