You have any for sale?
No, not at this time, I plan to add Stephenson style rods this winter. Eventually I will add something similar to the valverods I added to an early Big Hauler;
Have fun with your trains
What? No valve gear?
NVSRR how well do the mechanism work in these?
how well do the mechanism work in these?
I am very impressed with the drives, they are very smooth,very quiet, and so far, reliable. I dont overtax them by expecting them to pull 12 full size cars, they only pull a few of my 2 axle HLW (w/ BB wheels) cars at any time. the only thing I could say needed improvement was adding some extra weight to the engine as they are a bit light, but this should be done cautiously as no one really knows at this point how much weight will cause damage, I plan to add some self-adhesive tire weights to give it some extra traction but as-is they are quite successfully able to pull my 3 Lil Hauler passenger cars (also BB wheel equipped) around my 3' round pizza layout.
I think these are a screaming good deal.
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Got around to adding to siderods to my LBH saddletanker:
I have to admit it really does make this look better, just a pair of standard Big Hauler pistons with the tangs cut down, thats the hard part as the tang both narrower and thinner, a dremel tool is most definetly required for this, also cutting down the pushrods and adding screws to the wheel pivots just like the Bumble Bee bash. I really hope Bmann adds full siderods to these one day.
You're most certainly having FUN. Nice work,
Rex
Looks to me like this one is going to draw ALL the little ones if & when you take it & the pizza to a show! Nice.
Tom Trigg
I know these little buggers are kinda too cutesy for the more 'serious' modelers here and there, but they do have a lot of potential and they certainly do have charm.
I've gotten busy with other stuff of late, and quite frankly didn't want to bother with bashing the pistons and cylinders like I did with the Bumble Bee version of this engine, so I decided to try something different, an inside frame version of the typical mining engine, like a Bell Locomotive was constructed.
Looks like a bog standard LBH but...
New smokestack, scratched bell and mounting, repainted parts of the body
Popped off the dummy cylinders, re-cut and positioned them under the fore-frame.
Added an air compresser, theres a small tank on the other side
Added a simple backhead details and coal bunker, link/pin couplers F & R
Bachmann did such a nice job on the finish, I just haven't had the heart to repaint it. I wasn't originally going to repaint the boiler but during modifications I smeared CA onto the upper boiler, by the time I have removed it i permanently marred the surface, so that's why its now black.
The best part is that I can still do the cylinders and siderods later when i feel like it, the mounts are still there and I can do the same way I reworked the Bumble Bee.
Overall a relatively small project, but one that looks very nice to my eye.
Get the Garden Railways newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month