By Brian Dominic
The Rat (numbered 25 in the MDLR Stock List because Class 25s were known as “Rats”) was one of those bonkers ideas modellers get from time to time. I bought one of these with the express intention of causing havoc on occasions at garden railway meetings and creating a diversion when things get boring at exhibitions!
The underpinnings were very simple – an IP Engineering Lister mechanism, a THREE battery box power unit (because I wanted it to be FAST (though I can substitute a 2 battery pack for running on small layouts like my own Flagg Fluorspar)………….
Once the mech was made up, it was glued to the bottom of a very crude plywood “platform”………………
…………… with the battery box Velcroed to the top (so it can be swapped if needs be) and a simple on/off switch. The other strips of Velcro……………..
…………… are to hold the rat down to the platform. Oddly enough, this was the hardest part! The self-adhesive Velcro wouldn’t stick to the velour and the adhesive gunged up the needle when I tried to sew the Velcro on. The solution? Clean the adhesive off with thinners!
All-in-all, a fun little project which will hopefully cause HAVOC! Watch out for The Rat – coming to a railway near YOU!
Brian Dominic