Disassembly of the BR57

Disassembly of mass produced models can be notoriously difficult. The manufacturer's manual usually only describes how to change bulbs and at best separate the superstructure from the frame, but rarely goes beyond that point. And to convert this 0-10-0 into a 2-8-0 you have to strip it to the bare frame. So I documented this process in detail for several reasons

• for readers who might want to undertake the same.
• I need to remember the sequence of disassembly to be able to assemble it again in five, six months time!
• to remember the original construction. The manual sometimes says something like "cut off the rear end of the coupling rod". Each coupling rod comes out four part, each part has two ends. Confronted with that instruction would you be able to remember which end to cut? I wouldn't. So without photos I would stand a 7 in 8 chance of cutting the wrong end.

Most photos are self-explanatory so I will only comment on them where necessary.

A last farewell

Be extremely gentle with the bracket and the valve gear, it is delicate. Store it in a safe and separate place immediately.

Take care to save the springs of the first and fifth axle.

It soon proved it was stuck on vertical connections to the front light bulb soldered to the front of the board.

So I needed to unsolder them. No need to be very gentle with the connections as they will be discarded anyway.

The end result: a bare frame.

Which need a good soak and scrub in dish washer soap to degrease it.