Shortly after my last post on this topic I received a new motor and gearbox kit from IP Engineering. I opted for the full motor/gearbox assembly as I noticed that the existing motor was failing and often stalled. The new gearbox is to a different design, the components are laser etched from thick plastic sheet and are assembled using screws and nuts with brass spacers. It's a pity it is not made from black plastic instead of white which would avoid the need to paint any parts that are visible after fitting. I painted the offending parts black along with the motor after installation.

I had to reduce the length of the driving axle by 18mm so that it would fit between the frames of the railcar. It was only after cutting 9mm off of each end of the axle that I noticed the gear wheel was not central to the axle. As it had been forced on to a splined part of the axle to prevent slipping, trying to centre it did not seem to be an option. However a spare gear is provided with the gearbox and I happened to have a 1/8 inch diameter axle of the right length in stock. I was therefore able to make up a new axle and gear.

I had to cut away a substantial part of the upper section of the gearbox frame to allow me to fit the gearbox and motor under the floor of the railcar. I did not need that part of the assembly, it's there for locating a fixing pin when the unit is fitted between the frames of a loco. My motor unit is held in place by a strip of brass shaped to form a U bracket.

I have re-assembled the railcar and it runs better than it ever did with the old motor and gearbox, running smoothly in both directions. Something it only did in one direction before.

Further to my post of 26th March where I reported that the Drewry railcar had developed gearbox trouble, I have decided to fit a replacement. I have removed the motor gearbox unit, to do this I had to remove one solebar. I  screwed the solebars in place when I built the railcar in order to make removal for access easier but fittings such as the steps and battery box were guled on to them and these had to be cut off to allow dismantling of the chassis. The ill fated railcar (I dropped it last year causing a fair bit of body damage) is now dismantled awaiting delivery of the new gearbox unit and hopefully it will be back in service soon. The model railcar is following in the footsteps of its full size counterparts which were fairly unreliable and were worn out after eight years service. 

The work on the brake van has been completed, see the photo on the left. I also inverted the 3 link chain hooks on the Accucraft chopper coupling mounts.  I don't use these hooks and they tend to get in the way when coupling/uncoupling. I then inverted the hooks on the rest of the rolling stock too. I have retained them on the steam outline and live steam locos as the hooks provide a handy place to hang a bucket!

Brake van No.46 is four years old this year and it has entered the workshop for a bit of a makeover. The original on which it is modelled had disc wheels but I used the spoked variety when I built it as that was all I had to hand at the time. This vehicle is a bit light too, so fitting some solid disc wheels will add some weight as well as adding a bit more authenticity to the vehicle. While it is in the workshop I will cover the ply roof in paper to represent canvas and I will re-model the lamp top on the roof as the original one looks a bit tall and thin.
Currently the axleguards and the spoked wheels have been removed and the solid wheels are awaiting painting.

The new gearbox went in with no problems and the gears seem to mesh OK. I have been running the unit in over the last week and so far there have been no problems with the gears. The motor does occasionally stall for no reason, the power supply is OK as the headlight stays on , I don't know what the cause is yet. I will monitor the situation.