Can’t find the thread, this is my first post. Regarding the bridge kit, mine was a mess of warped plastic, oversized[dia.] pins and gear box shafts. I had to place the glued up cross girder-main girder assembly in a straighting jig, then heat it with a hair drier to “stress relieve” it. That produced a very straight assembly. I also had to make a new gear box main shaft. Read all instructions carefully, several times. I made a mistake at one point because I read too fast, caused me several hours to fix. The kit is worth the effort, just be careful and patient. Unfortunately, the main shaft drive gear spun on the shaft after several cycles, so I now have a static model. Has anyone tried to scratch build a replacement gear box and final drive assembly? Hope this post gets to the right place.
Welcome .to the forum, Podna! Glad to have you aboard!
Listen, if this bridge was in the mess as you describe it and you were able to fit the jumble together to where it looked . . . . . and operated . . . . . like a bascule bridge then you are deserving of accolades and let me be the first to extend my congratulations. You, Sir, are on your way to greatness in this hobby. Now, if I only knew where you lived I would come and visit and have you touch my forehead to see if some of that patience and skill will rub off.
You’d’ve loved some of the experiences I’ve gone through with kits: I have purchased kits with the wrong instructions in the box; I have purchased kits only to discover that the instructions and parts were completely different from what it was supposed tp be; I once purchased a (wooden) kit in which the contents were one half boxcar and one half gondola; I once purchased a building kit with no instructions and I got another kit one time . . . . . a Heljan I believe. . . . . with the instructions in Italian. My model of Windsor Castle turned out to be the outhous
barbender,
I am about 3 weeks ahead of you, and I have encountered every one of the issues that you mentioned. Here is the link that I started in early February about building the bascule bridge. It is posted on the Layouts and Layout Building Forum.
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/186830.aspx
I believe that you can make the bridge operational without scratchbuilding a new gear and shaft system if you can disassemble the gear boxes without breaking them. Because the space is so confining with the machine shed on the A-frame, your best bet is to essentially disassemble most of the A-frame and re-do the gear and shaft assembly.
What I wound up doing was to apply 2-part epoxy on either side of the large gear where it touches the shaft. This secured the gear in place without spinning on the shaft. I did the same thing to the smaller gear on each end of that long shaft.
Come on over to my thread and read through it. Let me know if I can answer any of your questions or help you in some way.
Rich