Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
Hi, Tony. Unfortunately, I don't live near any clubs, nor even a decent hobby shop. So I decided to try doing this myself! I decided that for the mere $36 I paid for my Hartland Mack, I could afford to break it! Would you like to see if you can guide me through this process online? I can call up, order your parts, and we'll see whether I succeed at this. Since I felt entirely helpless at first, and have no mechanical-electrical skill or experience at all, I think this may help the many others like me take a stab at it themselves, too. I know that I, for one, would be thrilled to stumble across this thread if it indeed turns out to hold the key to getting involved in battery/remote control (R/C) Large Scale (LS) trains for under $200 total expense including the locomotive. So shall we see if we can figure this out together? Below let me explain what I've accomplished so far. 1a. Here's a link to photos of the Hartland Mighty Mack Switcher, so people can know what we're referring to in this discussion: [url] http://www.h-l-w.com/products/locos2.html [/url] [ This is a 1:24 scale engine based on a 1920's-designed (?) small gas-powered switcher. With just a little modification (removing the ladders and handrails; raising the cab's roof) it can pass for 1:22 or 1:24. Notice that it has two gasoline engine hoods, facing in opposite directions. It looks somewhat toylike because it's so shiny, but that can be solved easily with a little "weathering" technique. It pulls nicely. I purchased it from wholesaletrains.com for under $40, which is hard to believe. ] 1. I turned the Switcher over, unscrewed 4 phillips screws, and popped the plastic cover off the bottom. Each set of wheels is on an axle with a gear on it; these wheel/axle/gear assemblages simply fell out of the train when I popped the plastic cover off. 2. Looking inside, I could -- really easily and immediately -- see that the the electricity runs from the track, up through the wheel/axle assemblages, and into what I understand are called "loco track pickups" which are simply tiny copper metal contact wires that are in physical contact with the axles. The front axle makes contact with front left & right "pickups" that pass the electricity onto the train's motor via delicate, thin, black plastic-coated wires. The back axle makes contact with rear left & right "pickups" that pass the electricity along to thin black wires that run up to the locomotive's headlights. (the locomotive has a forward-facing and a reverse-facing headlight). 3. I could also see that I could probably fairly easily tug those "pickups" out of their sockets, or just snip 'em if necessary. 4. I put the wheel/axle assemblages back into place and screwed the plastic cover back on. I'll call the entire enclosed wheel/axle assemblage the loco's "chassis" (forgive me if I'm misusing the term). 5. I noticed that there was significant "free" space all around the chassis. There's an empty compartment about 4" X 2" X 2.5" deep in front of the front axle, and another one in back of the rear axle. Is this enough space to mount the wireless receiver and what you call the "motor driver"? 6. I began to look for more space up higher on the loco. This is a two-direction switcher. It has a superficial plastic engine facing forward and an identical one facing backward. (Take another look at the photo) I pried off one of the two plastic engines off, and in doing so created a fairly sizeable amount of free space "on deck". Would this space be enough to house a battery pack, disguised as some kind of wooden crate full of cargo? If the spaces I've described seem sufficient, then it should be very easy to drill a tiny hole and run the wires from the "battery crate" down into the undercarriage area where the motor driver and wireless receiver are located. And then...no battery car required! I'll be interested to know what you think. Take a look at the loco picture link, and see if you think the space is sufficient. If it's workable, I bet you could get a lot of newbies like me into the hobby by offering a conversion kit for this particular loco. It'd offer a nearly-zero financial risk beginner's conversion project. I have other specific questions such as whether rechargeable AA batteries can be used, how to wire the lights, and so forth. But I'll wait for responses to this first entry before asking them. -- F8
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag