Essel Chattendon body removal

[Preseli Chris]

Are there any threads on the forum referring to the removal of the loco body from its chassis. Any pointers would be appreciated, before I embark on undoing all of the screws underneath it's running plate.
Thanks in advance.

[Lonsdaler]

Would it be worth giving Essel Engineering a call?
http://esselengineering.co.uk/contacts.html

[Preseli Chris]

Would it be worth giving Essel Engineering a call?
http://esselengineering.co.uk/contacts.html

That is an option . I just thought that there might be a thread on the forum describing how a sound unit was fitted or the body was removed for a repaint job etc. Its not that much of an issue , I will most likely bite the bullet and attack it with a screw driver ,what can possibly go wrong .
The reason I want to remove the body is that the rear steps on the loco have become very loose from the rest of the body So I think that a fixing inside the cab area has worked loose .
The loco itself is a very good workhorse and well worth in my opinion having as recovery loco in ones roster as it has pulled one of my live steam locos that failed due to low boiler pressure and its train of wagons out of a cutting at a recent running session.

[Preseli Chris]

I took most of the body off ,well the bonnet so far to reveal lots of gubbins. See image .What do you all think the servo motor is for ?

20240708_171041.jpg (1.81 MiB) Viewed 11340 times

[Phil.P]

The servo operates the micro switch next to it..

I would guess a crude way of triggering the horn, perhaps?

Phil.P

[philipy]

Phil's suggestion looks quite likely. Easiest way to test is switch it on and manually operate the micro switch to see what happens.

[Preseli Chris]

The servo operates the micro switch next to it..

I would guess a crude way of triggering the horn, perhaps?

Phil.P

Top marks Phil .

I took it apart yesterday and was surprised to find the horn was operated by a servo motor pushing the not so micro switch . A very Heath Robinson approach. I was wondering why the horn was not that responsive the servo is more suited for a slowmo point switch ! there are a lot of bare wires to be sorted out . the sound chip/card is quite rudimentary. though the speaker is quite large ( 6cm diameter ) I wasn't sure what to expect when I removed the bonnet . The cab is more reluctant to come apart . It looks like I will have to remove the rear buffer beam to get more access. All this just to get at the two nuts that secure the steps. Oh well the joys of buying a S/H loco . on the positive side the mechanics are fine and it runs very well .

[Old Man Aaron]

Bit of a mess there, aye.

[Preseli Chris]

Finally managed to dismantle the cab from the chassis. It was a matter of getting the right tools for the job and removing the rear buffer to get access to the one bolt that held the cab in place. One issue I noticed was the receiver antenna. Shouldn't the insulation on the black wire cover its whole length ,as is there's approx 3cm of bare wire showing .

20240713_180532.jpg (2.19 MiB) Viewed 11062 times

[Phil.P]

One issue I noticed was the receiver antenna. Shouldn't the insulation on the black wire cover its whole length ,as is there's approx 3cm of bare wire showing .

No..
The black 'wire' will be a coaxial cable. - Think like on a TV aerial.
The 'expised' bit, is the inner core (and its insulation) . - The outer black insulation, and the braided screen, have been stripped off.

Phil.P

[Preseli Chris]

Ah got it. thanks Phil.