Hi!

Last time I set out the stall so to speak. So I thought I'd reveal a little of the motor bogie troubles encountered along the way.

In them olden days, MTK offered a motor bogie kit as an option to add to their DMU kits. It was set of plastic and copper parts which went together to make a 4-wheeled bogie with electrical pickups. In fact it was much easier to assemble than their coach or DMU kits! Add an X04 or a Romford motor and bingo! a pile of useless junk . This unit may have been OK for some kits, but in mine, the motor armature fouled parts of the chassis which were designed to hold the pivot clip. Also, when the clip was installed, the tension it placed on the bogie effectively squeezed the motor creating friction to the point of stalling! And this was before it was anywhere near the body it was designed to power!! Many hours were spent trying to resolve this, but eventually the brittle plastic (now 25 years old) snapped and I abandoned the whole unit.

Here's the wreckage:

So now I had a spare Romford motor to fit into another loco, and a problem to solve: how to power this thing?

Much research and thinking ensued - more modern technology is available now, so several options, e.g. black beetle (expensive, does this kit warrant such a good motor?), other proprietary units. But I hit on a cunning plan - why not obtain a RTR power bogie as a spare part and just tweak the side-frames? To cut a long story short, I placed an order and waited nearly a year, then cancelled and tried another supplier, then just happened across something similar enough to do the job at a local railex. This hobby certainly needs patience .

Here's the 'new' bogie - much nicer!

Which brings us nearly up-to-date. Next - what colour should the seats be?