Bashing a GNOMY

[ttrigg]

I've got one of these little buggers.  It sits just off the PICO gazeboo in "downtown" Rosebud Falls, along with its two cars. 

GNOMY®/EPL 125th Anniversary Loco

I began thinking about bashing it.  Pulling out the little friction flywheel motor that allows you to push it across the floor a couple of feet and then it will "drive" itself for about another 8~10 foot.  I was thinking about salvaging the drive system from an HO unit?  but then what kind of HO track could I use in the garden, and not have it rust away in a few months?

I would greatly appreciate some words of advice from those of you who do this kind of thing regularly.  Since it is an "Anniversary Limited Production" should I keep it out of the garden entirely as it might grow in value?

Gots to finish the barn that have been in a holding patter, between my pneumonia and the wifes reaction to chemo, not been much time to do much.

[altterrain]

Look for On30 track that is outdoor ready (Peco, MicroEngineering
?). Same gauge as HO just the tie spacing will be wider.

-Brian 

[FJ and G]

no HO track will rust outside; recommend embedding wood ties in concrete with ballast embeded in concrete (see my snap track post). Otherwise, ballast will foul the flanges (both wheel flanges and turnout).

 

The bash should be great; also, you will set a first for HO outdoors; can't wait! 

[vsmith]

There is track On30 that is designed for outdoor use, Peco comes to mind, and use any HO 0-4-0 drive mechanism for the brick. Seen these converted on Carl Arendts website, I want to convert a Gnony trolley for a micro layout idea I have but I dont have room for that right now.

[trainboy414]

If you run out side make sure you use nickelsilver track and don't use steel or brass they both tarnish easily.  Most track doesn't have uv inhibiters in the ties. So you would need to paint the ties. For a wiring use feeders spaced about 3 feet apart. for a good running chasie get a mantua 0-4-0 from e bay and make sure you get one with a bunker on back not one with a tender. Also make sure you solder all your rail joints.

[SandyR]

Tom, I've had this in mind for a long time, too. The spacing of the drivers on an HO Dockside loco is just right, but the motor absolutely will not fit. I looked at NWSL drives; their drivers are much smaller than the Gnomy wheels, but they have one drive called the PDT 2000 that looks like it would fit. When you take the Gnomy engine apart, you'll see that there is hardly any space for a motor. But if you do manage the conversion, please let us know! My plan was/is to run the little thing around a very large flowerpot, for an indoor garden railroad!

SandyR

[ttrigg]

My plan was to have it run around in a small circle in the city park at Rosebud Falls.  If you have seen the two videos I posted to YouTube, you can just see the top half (or so) of the engine and a bit of the cars, with the soda salesman just behind near the gazebo.  Installing a simple delay circuit so it would make a couple of laps than stop for a couple of minutes.  I've raided the HO footlocker where all the HO suff has been stored for the last 25+ years and found nothing that even looked like it would begin to fit, and the wheel spacing is way too far off.

[SandyR]

Tom, the NWSL drive that I mentioned (PDT 2000) would be a perfect fit in the tiny space available. The only trouble is that the wheels are a much smaller diameter than the Gnomy wheels. However, the old HO Dockside that I have has drivers of exactly the right diameter. I'm wondering if it might be possible to substitute them for the little drivers on the PDT? That would give the perfect spud drive for the Gnomy. Don't forget that you'll have to change the wheels on the cars, too. They're off-gauge for HO, and their treads are too narrow.

SandyR