Back on the road...

Click on any of the pictures to enlarge!

Steam wagon built with contemporary parts

After our short break we are back on the Meccano trail again. I have lots of stuff to share with you over the next few days but let me start with my first model built from the contents of our pre-war set No.6 (See HERE). Last year I built a version of this model using a selection of more modern parts and built in our favoured colour scheme of zinc and light red. This time it seemed fitting to compliment the 1929 steam engine with parts from the same era.

The parts are all play-worn but not abused. All we have done is to clean the parts by washing them in soapy water and buffing off with a rag. The nuts and bolts with the set were very tatty and although we cleaned them up with rust remover they are still rather shabby.  As luck would have it, we had some much better examples that sue had inherited from her father that were in much better condition so we have used some of those on this model.

The pair of wagons are built identically but using parts from different eras

The two wagons look totally different even though there is no difference in the parts used. It is interesting that using the older parts gives a more uniform look to the model as all the bodywork parts are of the same colour.

Moving out...

Both wagons run well in a straight line, however the modern one struggles a bit around corners, on a smooth surface, as there is no differential on the rear drive axle and the modern tyres grip a little too well. No such problem with the contemporary model. Not only are those old rubber tyres hard and brittle at room temperature but where that have been refitted to the rims in hot water that have expanded slightly and can slip on the rims!

Building the original Steam Wagon >>>

Ralph.