Honestly, I don’t know how America ever became great in the first place, having invented the Phillips head screw! The things strip too easily, and even when they’re not stripped, they don’t hold onto your screwdriver and you have to press down to make them work. The reassembly of 622 had to wait until I replaced the screws holding the bottom onto the gearbox with hex-head bolts, and those had to wait until I had a nut driver to install them.
Still, I’m happy to report that the short circuit was solved without too much hackery applied to the frame. It turned out to be an invisible something stuck in the drawbar.
So, here is the video showing the chassis actually running for the first time (or at least within the first fifteen minutes). There is absolutely no weight in this engine – what you see is what there is, and there is still a slight hesitancy, which I’m hoping some fancy back-EMF electronics might smooth out, but which I will resolve otherwise if I have to.
Pembroke:87 
Video is marked as private.
Craig
Oops. Thanks Craig. Apparently not much of a Youtuber!
It Lives!!!!
Congrats Rene!
Thanks Mark!
The Phillips head is the worst example of patent lawyers foisting garbage on society ever. I’m delighted to see it running!
Thanks Stephan.
I always thought it was about patents too, but this appeared in my YouTube suggestions while I was posting the video here, and he tells a far more interesting story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-mDqKtivuI
Congratulations, Rene!
This is a great milestone to achieve, well done. Hopefully, the trials of the past few months will disappear as 622 continues to emerge from your creativity.
Cheers John.
I’m sure there are more surprises ahead!
Congratulations on this milestone Rene’. First operating session can’t be too far off now.
Marc
Oh, I think #10 took two years after this point. But thanks, Marc!
For those complaining about the Phillips fastener, let us not forget the abomination that is the slotted fastener. There are different flavors of Phillips fasteners, and using the right driver with the right fastener is helpful. It’s easy to confuse a Reed and Prince driver with a Phillips, but the sharper flute angle of the R+P won’t hold a Phillips fastener well.
Clearly an afficianado! The YouTube clip I referenced above is well worth watching if you’re interested in this sort of thing.
René, don’t rely on back-EMF to smooth things out. Get it running smoothly first.
Key is to check that all tolerances/clearances are the same: if there is .002” play fore and aft in one horn block, you need to have that much in all of them, and in the coupling rod holes, etc.
Thanks Simon. I so wish I had someone local who had built many locomotives to look at the thing with an experienced eye.