Here we have a Wrenn two rail loco that was acquired for a very good price and in it's original box.
The condition was so good that I almost considered selling it on, having seen how much these were fetching in this condition on Ebay.
However I realised that I could modify this for three rail running in such a way that the process could be easily reversed and without damaging the chassis. So first job was to dismantle it:
The phosphor bronze strips on the left of the picture above are what I used to return current via the insulated wheels. One strip cut to length is twisted to shape and then, having scraped some paint away from the chassis under the plastic two rail collector, these are clamped to the body using half of the old two rail collector:
The new strips are just visible (bottom wheels)
Next to strip the motor and check the armature.
The brushes are barely worn but the commutator looked quite dull:
...So it was given the drill & fibreglass pen treatment:
The motor was then lubricated and reassembled, with the magnet being turned 180 degrees.
Now for the third rail pickup. The Westcountry chassis requires a longer screw for the third rail pickup and these aren't easy to come by. So the modification below was fabricated for me using a brass collar that was drilled and tapped to the right thread, and a piece of threaded bar cut to the appropriate length:
Some cleaned up spoons were added:
And the modified pickup was bolted to the chassis:
After reassembly, we're ready for testing around the loft:
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