Hornby T9 with Zimo sound and stay-alive

Kit: MX645; IceCube25X18X07-1W; 4x Tantalums 330uF

We've gutted this T9's tender somewhat, removing the original metal weights, but this means we can fit the larger sound decoder (MX645), decent IceCube 25X18X07-1W speaker and a little array of 330uF Tantalum capacitors for stay-alive. We then add some weight back in with strips of lead in the remainding space - some in the tender body, and more in the gaps on the chassis frame, taking care to insulate electrically of course.

The plastic under the coal load has some minor cutting, but then we've recreated the coal load using some crushed coal scatter.

A fairly common fault with Hornby locos from this period was that parts of the chassis suffered zinc rot. We can see it here on the motor housing, which has developed a turtle-shell effect and has become very soft and brittle. This has failed on our model to the point where it will not hold in the motor, so we've replaced it with a brass alternative (from Peter's Spares), which works a treat.

All back together and working very nicely.

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