Oooops, I did it again.
I let common sense slip away, and I overbid on a brass engine. NJ Custom Brass Western Maryland H8 Consolidation Rebuilt. Ok, I overbid my limit on the engine, but I didn't bid as high as the were on Worthpoint, and I have seen them higher on fleabay. Just a little higher than I projected. So I got it home today, and it ran great. At least the motor did. The coupling between the motor and the gearbox was a mass of melted goo. So tonight was filled with de-gooing that area, (with strong solvents) removing the motor from the torque arm, and creating a new driveshaft from silicone fuel line. Tomorrow night will be spent disassembling the gearbox, cleaning out the semi hard grease and lubing up the axles and running gear. I did reassemble the motor, and did a brief test. She does run, but VERY slow. Mainly because of the dried up chassis and gearbox. Once I clear that up, she should run just fine. Then it will be off to the paint shop, with 6 of her siblings. We will no longer have locos running around here "nekkid"!
Some of you will think I've lost my mind, some of you know I have. I just love the detail, the fidelity and accuracy of brass. I blame it on my 40 year friendship with Howard Zane. You can't get this feeling from a Bachmann 2-8-0, even though I have 4 of them too. They are nice locos, along with the 2-10-0s from Bachmann. Both come right out of the box ready. Brass, not so much. I realise that these locos, many of which are 25+ years old may need some tinkering, but that gives me a huge satisfaction when I see them run.
I will only have tomorrow night to tinker after work. Wednesday evening will be spent packing so we can leave late Thursday or early Friday for an extended weekend in Clayton NC with the little people (grandkids).
BTW, anyone know of a good train store south of Raleigh? Jerome maybe??