All the frees...

 You know how you get dragged down a rabbit hole, especially in the early hours when there is no time limit? 

I picked up a youtube video on servicing Lima diesels; why I don't know, but it engaged me for 20 mins and had a couple of useful tips. Then I remembered the rather decrepit Class 33 that I'd been given. It was unboxed and in a bit of a state. So much so that I didn't even test it. The cruddy wheels where cleaned with a fibre brush till they gleamed and I started to deconstruct it. Keep in mind that this was already 1am. The motor was dismantled and cleaned and the tip of removing any witness mark burrs from the gears was employed.

The main worry was a crack in the frame at the front. No solvent known to man will fix this, so I resorted to using a soldering iron with an old bit, 'smearing' the surfaces together. This works fine. 

The trailing bogie had all its contacts polished and the two bogies were refitted. The weight is missing, but a bit of lead will fix this. The body (posed loose below) was dropped into washing up water and scrubbed with a toothbrush (she'll never know). Guess what? It's come up a treat and purrs along, even over the small radius points and mix of fine and bullhead Peco on Dury's Gap.

Where it will end up, I don't know, but it kind of deserves taking up a notch with a glazing and a spot of painting and renumbering. Let's face it it is probably the best part of forty years old, but how much fun is this?

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