Hornby GWR County "1000" class replacement chassis

[GWR-fan]

I had a brilliant idea,  get rid of my much disliked Hornby ringfield loco drive County chassis and replace with the far superior Railroad can motor drive.  I purchased three Railroad models and set about replacing the drives in my earlier Hornby ringfield County models.  I thought simple enough, a screw in the front and rear and lift out the old drive.  What becomes immediately apparent is the reason for the old Hornby loco being so heavy.  There is a large cast weight in the boiler and unfortunately I believe it may be glued in position as even after applying considerable force it remains intact.  The can drive cannot be fitted until at least half of the weight is removed.  I could I suppose source a rotary tool and grind the metal away ensuring that no heat was transferred to the body,  but for the moment the drives were refitted to their respective models.   I now have three "surplus" Railroad County models additional to the roster.  It would be nice to retro fit them as they are chalk and cheese when compared to the noisy, sluggish ringfield drive.

 

I am curious if anyone has successfully removed the large cast weight in the ringfield County boiler.

[hallmodelspares]

Just to clear up the loco is it the 4-6-0 county or the 4-4-0 county by Hornby?

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

So the bonding location is essentially both inaccessible and quite likely covers a significant area of the body interior.

 

If the adhesive is brittle then shock may work.

 

Mechanical shocking. Is any part of the body strong enough to land on without (much/irrepairable) damage when dropped from a height? Dropping down a tube as a guide so it lands on the chosen target area is a good plan. Or firing an airgun pellet at the block with the body solidly fixed (guessing it is in a tapering section so that needs the smokebox door removed) obviously eye protection, absorbent blanket surround to stop the rebounding pellet, and any other precautions you consider wise.

 

Thermal shocking. With your least good loco body see what temperature water it can stand without damage of the 'permanent deformation' sort (70 - 80C is usually as high as you can go without risk.) If the weight hasn't started to loosen with this treatment allow the body to thoroughly dry, then into the freezer for several hours. Once well frozen, put it into a bucketful of your previously determined temperature water.

 

No guarantees with this: may not work at all, may only cause damage. These are 'removal is the sole priority' methods.

[melmerby]

1 hour ago, hallmodelspares said:

Just to clear up the loco is it the 4-6-0 county or the 4-4-0 county by Hornby?

It does say 1000 class ........

Has the 4-4-0 ever had a ringfield loco drive?

[hallmodelspares]

My mistake then, lot of people put just Hornby county not mentioning the wheel arrangement of loco. In your case the 1000 at the header I overlooked I'm sorry. Anyway to remove if it is wedged in with glue best try the heat method It worked when I had to remove side weights slotted in a Hornby loco shell which were 'glued' with a black tacky like substance