The power line is tested and it works properly.
The next step is to mount the body on the base, but there are some preparations that must be made first. With the help of a wheel loader, the engine frame with the engine and the gearbox is taken away. The body and the engine frame must be assembled to a unit before the body is mounted on the base.
Finally we have got a run on the steering gear. We have run a number of times and the total mileage is between 500 and 600 m. The steering is a type of clutch/brake and it has taken time to adjust, because just as the clutch begins to release, the brake must be applied. Therefore, a lot of time and many practical tests have been required before the steering gear was properly adjusted.
In the movie below we see one of the first test runs.
After 80 years it’s time to move for its own machine. Absolutely amazing to see. Not to mention the curve technique, a great pleasure.
Then it was time to get back into the workshop, because there is still a lot to do before everything is ready.
More than 4 years have passed since we started renovating the 21-29th. We started with a complete wagon, which we were going to make ready for driving. We rolled it into the workshop
and after a few months it was mounted down and turned into a lot of loose parts packed in pallets and pink plastic bags.
Then the work began to blast and paint all loose parts. The larger parts we did not manage by ourselves so we sent them to a blasting company that had significantly better resources than we did.
When everything was blasted and painted, we started to assemble the wagon, which consisted of two main parts, body and undercarriage. The body was not so complicated, it was only doors, a tower and instrumentation that was to be mounted. The undercarrige contains of the power pack and the driving line and it was a hard jobb to get everything in correct order.
Then came the big moment when the engine and driving line were tested.
What remains is to fix the tracks and to mount the body. There is still a lot to do but now we see the beginning of the end of the renovation.
The power pack was mounted in the frame and it was time to start the engine and check if everything worked as it should. The engine started, the gears went in and out and the drive wheels were spinning.
Look, listen and enjoy!!
Then it is time to start the engine. The picture quality is not the best but the sound is magnificent.
What a fantastic end of the year.
A small film clip shows Strv m21 in action.