Ruston Hornsby narrow gauge kit
Yesterday I completed the Meridian Models MM3 kit of a Ruston Hornsby 27-32. I have not painted it yet as you can see in the photo but what a great little kit. A bit tricky in parts - soldering the roof on was tricky and getting the engine cover exactly square tested my patience! The one thing that stands out on this locomotive is the short wheelbase. It could probably go around a 10mm radius curve. The most difficult part in construction was cutting the chassis down to size and I used a cutting disk in the end.
There is a fair bit of white metal in the engine housing so I may not need to add any extra weight. I did not even contemplate putting DCC in this, not because of the diminutive size but because the Trix chassis looked to difficult to modify, though I have not actually run it yet so don't know if it even works!
I see Dave Brewer and Pete Wilson (Meridian Models) most Fridays at the Greenwich and District Narrow Gauge Railway Society meetings and will be asking then what the 27-32 in the name of the kit means exactly - could be year of design, horsepower, works design number or chest size of driver - I have no idea!
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