'SDX' Class, No 2034

This model was built from a London Road Models kit just as it came out of the box and has given me problems from the time it was completed! It is fitted with an LH21 motor and conventional worm and wheel gear box. The rear axle is rigid in the frames, the centre axle is sprung and the front axle originally rocked on a central support – all my usual features – but this loco would not stay on the track no matter how I tinkered with it. Eventually I made the front axle solid and that cured the problem.

I also filled every nook and cranny with liquid lead mixed with diluted PVA glue. This combination has proved fatal as the glue reacts with the lead and the whole lot expands and, from what I have read recently in Model Railway Journal, will continue to do so. The boiler has already burst along the bottom seam and continues to expand. It's like the Incredible Hulk on wheels, but in slow motion!

Apart from all this it’s a nice model and I will be sorry when it eventually explodes!

The loco weighs 214grms and exerts a pull of 50grms. 

The 'SDX'

The other side of the 'SDX'

The chassis of the 'SDX'

The burst seam along the bottom of the boiler