Childhood Fascination: 03179 in N (part 2)…

It has been a pleasant week enjoying the rather magical Network SouthEast liveried miniature marvel. This thing is truly superb and runs so beautifully slowly...

In part 1 I introduced the reason this model arrived and my initial thoughts and ideas. In the days that have passed, if you'd stopped by my workshop you'd have caught me running her backwards and forwards on a yard of Peco flex-track - but it was fitting the DG couplings and testing her properly on Paxton Road where things changed...

There was one small problem... whilst it ran very smoothly and slowly there was a slight wobble, about once a revolution, barely noticeable on Peco Code 55 but worse on Paxton Road's British Finescale Code 40 bullhead. 

I'm a nightmare - once I've seen something I can't un-see it, and rather than enjoy shunting I just kept seeing the glitch. On to the bench... I have a bit of an engineers brain, a systematic approach to trouble shooting - nothing formally noted down, but a step by step approach...

So first off I checked if it was catching on the steps (sorry, couldn't help the pun). It wasn't.

I stripped down the chassis, cleaned out the grease, checked the wheel sets and lightly oiled it. The running was even sweeter but the slight wobble, the glitch, it was still there...

Paxton Road is viewed at eye level so I watched it, one eye closed, squinting and observing closely at slow speed what was happening. It seemed to almost lift, perhaps something was tight? I checked all of the above again. Nothing obvious...

Putting on 'head gear' (my Chinese copy of the original opti-visor) I had a really close look at things. I noticed the tyre of one of the driven wheelset was slightly rough in on spot, almost like a poor casting. I polished this out carefully, but not holding much hope as its position didn’t correlate. On test, no improvement, the lift was still there.

Finally, after more observation, with the model running back and forth, and observed from both sides I noticed the model lifted more on one side than the other. I checked the tyre on that side... It looked fine but the light caught something... There was a slight deformation, or perhaps a collection of the plating material up against the flange… Aha...

I picked at it carefully with a blade. It came away and I polished up the surface.

Back on the rails and she ran absolutely beautifully. Quiet, smooth, slow to a whisper of a crawl. 

Magical and my heart sang so loudly I felt sure someone would hear!

N gauge is pretty forgiving in terms of track and wheel standards. It goes to show how good they are if I am able to work at this level - mind, I expect many would either not even have noticed or perhaps not have the tenacity, patience and skills to rectify... reinforcing how good much of what we buy from China has become these days.

In parallel with this rather lovely mindful adventure I've enjoyed reading more about the prototype's life on the Isle of Wight. The book by Richard Long has been absorbed from cover to cover and I'm kicking myself for cancelling the Revolution pre-order for the 483! The text and photos do a great job of telling the story in an entertaining and engaging way - even for a casual enthusiast of the island system I fully recommend picking up a copy. There is a chapter on 'The Diesels' and I discovered some relevant and interesting things that feel pertinent to share here before this project progresses further...

“More surprising, however, was the news that dual – braked No 03179, officially withdrawal from Ipswich in 1987 but since employed by the Engineer's Department, was coming to join the similarly numbered 03079 on the Ryde – Shanklin line to assist with the singling of the double – track section between Brading and Sandown”.  (Long, 2019, p.66)

“ At the time it was (incorrectly) reported that once the track-lifting was complete No 03079 would be withdrawn and become a source of spares for its replacement, No 03179. In reality, however, it was new arrival No 03179 that was intended to be strategic spare, kept in service at Ryde with only minimal maintenance undertaken”. (Long, 2019, p.66)

“ with all tube stock repaints now being carried out in NSE colours, Ryde had little use for Rail Blue paint and at the time of No 03179’s repaint, carried out under the pretext that it had to be painted in order to protect it, the depot staff believed that they had run out of the old colour. Subsequently a further tin of Rail Blue was discovered by one of the fitters, so the opportunity was taken to use up the old stock by repainting No 03079 in blue”. (Long, 2019, p.66)

So there may seem little use for this model on Paxton Road - even less so Penpont, Denton Road or Lochdubh - so will her delightful presence and superlative running encourage a fresh, unexpected distraction? I'm not sure... I think in the short to medium term I will look to add a few unusual Engineering wagons that called the island their home to my collection and these can be posed, shunted and enjoyed on Paxton Road... beyond, perhaps a 'shunting' layout based upon or inspired by the collection of sidings at Sandown - or a tiny depot scene based upon Ryde... whatever happens, she was and remains a wonderful balm. Until next time, more soon...

References:

Long, R. (2019). Ryde Rail. Crécy, p.66.

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