Entry posted by Pugsley
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Actually not that kind of resurfacing, more a stalled project bubbling back to the surface for a little more attention. this happens from time to time, and frequently they sink back again, still incomplete, but I'm hoping to actually have this one finished by the end of the year.
Yes, the 37 has made a comeback, now that the distraction of the IZA Ferrywagons is over for the time being. Actually, a fair amount has been achieved since the last update, with most of the wiring in place, the chip installed (although it can be removed for painting) and the speaker enclosure built. This is how things stand at the moment:
I never thought I'd be pushed for space in a 7mm loco, so how crowded it's starting to look in there has come as a bit of a surprise! There is a mini DIN plug to go at the number 2 end, which will transfer the power to the body for the radiator fan motor, cab lights and speaker. Unfortunately it is only a 6 way plug and socket I have, so there will be an extra connection for the cab light common feed, but that's not the end of the world, just slightly less tidy that I would have liked. The miniature connectors on each end of the chassis are for the tail/marker/head lights at each end, so again the body can still be removed completely from the chassis.
One of the reasons for the stall was that I hadn't quite worked out how I was going to secure the bogies, as well as saving up for the sound chip. The real thing uses steel rope to stop the bogies detaching, so I thought that I could possibly use the same sort of process. The first experiment was with stainless steel microbraid from Eileens, which really just is miniature steel rope. It soldered beautifully to the little tubes i bought to represent the crimped joint, but was too inflexible and would have required some form of springing mechanism inside, which wouldn't be easily hidden and seemed like bloody hard work. So came the revelation:
Elastic thread! It's a little thick in original form, but I found that one of the cotton layers came off quite easily, leaving one layer of cotton and the rubber core remaining. I figured that the remaining sheathing would be rough enough to glue nicely to the chassis, and the rubber bit remained springy. So, the final solution is as shown above, which seems to work quite well and engages the etched hooks quite nicely. When the bogies are complete, there is another metal part to be glued to the bogie, under the hook, which will stop the retainer dropping out, which it will at the moment if everything is compressed enough.
Whilst they don't retain the bogies quite in position, they stop it falling all the way out and keep it nice and level when it does drop, if the loco is lifted other than by its bogies. It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than nothing! It also doesn't look too overscale, although I think it is slightly.
A close-up of the miniature connectors for the lights. The connection to the decoder will be soldered to the Veroboard and run under the chassis and into the main body thorough the gaps where the motors should be, if the kit was built conventionally.
The plan is to have it running round the S7 test track this coming Saturday, so I need to pull my finger out, although I only really have the speaker to mount and wire in before connecting everything up to get it running. The lights etc won't be installed until the body is painted, so I have a fighting chance at least 
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