Dixie Modifications
By Jim Arthur (with minor editing and addition)
As the old Maxitrak News
was lacking articles, I decided to list the numerous mods I made to my Dixie,
in the hope that they may be useful to owners. Some are cosmetic, some are
necessary:
1) Safety chains fitted to coupling pins
2)
Reworked smoke-box door clamps
3) Made & fitted lamp iron and disk to
smoke-box
4) Reworked the tank to smoke-box brackets
5) Screwed tank down inside tank and fitted lid
as dummy
6) Fitted 3 layers of fire blanket insulation
under tank
7)
Repositioned the hand pump in the off-side bunker
8) Fitted water gauge to rear of water tank
9) Made & fitted crosshead driven cylinder
oil pump
10) Fitted non-return valves to
valve chest covers
11) Threaded valve rods and
fitted threaded collars/lock nuts
12) Fitted tube spacers to slide
valves
13) Drilled oil holes in coupling
& connecting rods
14) Removed exhaust drain &
fitted cylinder drain cocks
15) Fitted removable coupling to
steam pipe under smoke-box
16) Lowered reach rod to workable
position
17) Reworked reversing lever
& latch to realistic shape
18) Made & fitted screw hand
brake and brake gear
19) Made & fitted flange to
pressure gauge, mounted gauge on the spectacle plate
20) Made & fitted working
whistle under foot plate (original as dummy)
21) Made safety valve cover &
extensions
22) Reworked cab roof edges to
curve downwards
23) Clipped outside blower pipe
inside boiler bands at offset clamp position
24) Fitted sliding shute to
near-side bunker
25) Modified hand pump to work
vertically
26) Fitted scale maker plates to
sides
27) Replaced valve gear pins with
longer stainless steel pins to take washers
28) Milled valve chest covers to
represent castings
29) Lagged steam pipe with
'Modroc' and painted
30) Made and fitted steam feed
pump
I hope these will give owners some food for thought.