Big-Big Ruston - a clean up and new batteries

 I gave the yellow Ruston body a good scrub under the tap with soap and a toothbrush, and I'm pleased to say it cleaned up rather well. Then I tried to disassemble the chassis and footplate, but gave up as it would have involved unsoldering wires. So, rather than clean the two assemblies separately they both went under the tap together, and again cleaned up well with the running water flushing out any grit. Afterwards I gave it a quick spin under power to check the motor, no harm done and I now have a smart looking loco.

One wheel is slightly loose on its axle so I need to keep an eye on quartering.

Tri-ang designed the loco to use C cell batteries. The problem that we face now is that C cells are bigger than they used to be and trying to squeeze modern ones into the loco can damage the body, so I needed an alternative. Now, I don't want to mess with my Ruston, and although I do admire those that do modify their locos and fit remote control I like mine as it is, so I came up with a simple solution for fitting a couple of AA batteries;

All I've done is buy a battery holder and solder a couple of crocodile clips to it;

It just sits inside the body and can be removed quickly and easily. I did think about soldering the wires to the old contacts but to be frank I couldn't be bothered, not only would the old copper contacts need a very good clean but they'd also need a fair amount of heat to make a decent joint, so I took the easy way out. Sometimes I think that's the right course to take.

This loco is really a shelf queen, it works, and works well, but although I do have track (not only the proper red plastic stuff but also some Hornby tinplate) it's 130 miles away and I haven't room to set it up anyway. I do like its chunkiness, I like the fact that it's from a time when toys were built to last, and I like it's yellowness!

With thanks to James for the info on batteries.

Paul.