A PROGRÈS ENGINE for Morocco

Dismantling a model that has just been bought requires a spot of preparatory work, especially when there are no instructions. It is essential to begin by carefully studying the model, to ensure it all comes together again properly.

Dismantling

The easiest bit is removing the cab, which is simply clipped to the water tanks and to the floor. Once the cab has been removed, use your fingernails to gently prise off the whistle from the roof. This is a tiny part and can be easily bent or lost.

The driving mechanism is accessible by removing the. The wheels are easily removed, but take care with the piston rod guides that are cast in one part with the cylinders. Removing the reversing link brackets is delicate, but necessary to take off the pick-up strips. This can be done gently, as these parts are only very lightly glued in place . As it is almost impossible to remove the cylinders, the suspension, the water tanks and the running plate without causing damage, it’s best to leave them alone. The buffers are removed by pulling them downwards. It’s now time to remove the boiler. Before doing this, it’s wise to take out the motor completely, without however unsoldering the wires. The motor is held from below the chassis by two screws, unlike the boiler which has just one fixing point level with the cylinders. The circuit board, to which the headlamp and the pickups are connected, is fitted inside the firebox and is easily removed . The boiler can now be extracted by pushing it backwards. To free it completely, carefully remove the pick-up strips then unsolder from the circuit board the wires that lead to the headlamp LED . The bottom half of the boiler, made of metal, acts as ballast and can be unscrewed , making it easy to remove the LED. The accessories on the body of the boiler are very easy to remove and the last job consists in cutting off the headlamp with a thin blade, simply keeping its bracket . The parts are now ready to be personnalized