aquiring a doodlebug

[jguess733]

I'm interested in adding a doodlebug to my layout. and while I'm happy with the bachman model, i'd rather go about kitbashing one so I can customize it for my railroad. does anyone know of any articles either in a magazine, online, or in a book on how to do this? Thanks for the help

[Anonymous]

Jason,

Check out the work, and/or get in touch with "interurben" at www.the-gauge.com . He does a lot of kitbashing and scratchbuilding of interurban/radial railway equipment, and the look is very similar to the old oil-electrics.

Andrew

[nfmisso]

Jason;

Use the "Index of Magazines" hot link near the top of this page. There was a very good article in MR a while back on scratch building a L&N doodle bug.

[Anonymous]

ive got a Bachmann Spectrum Doodlebug and so has another guy at my club and hes cut his down to 60ft, im thinking about cutting mine down into a full baggage variant.

[Anonymous]

I've kitbashed gas electrics using the Spectrum GE 44 tonner power trucks (older issue only had two independent powered trucks w/ the right sideframe wheelbase to mate up w/ MDC Pullman (talgo) truck sideframes. For the body, I used a Spectrum heavyweight (PRR prototype) combine, shortened to '57 feet, and used an old Walthers white metal gas electric front end part, plus louvers and vents from discarded diesel shells. I also made a trailer using a shortened Spectrum coach w/ the same MDC trucks. I used Pike Stuff seats inside and a Northeastern wood 'gas electic' profile roof and white metal roof vents.

There's an article in RMC (8/00 pg 74) on kitbashing a matching trailer coach for the Spectrum gas electric (doodlebug) referred to by 'ross31s' above. FYI, the Mayo Clinic dedicated gas electric 'train' often hauled several trailers and an observation car - not sure which railroad - may have been the C&NW, but not sure.

[Anonymous]

My doodlebug hauls a couple of streamlined coaches around, although how likely it would have been to see a Doodlebug with a stainless steel coach and a stainless steel dome-obs behind it i dont know (and as its my road it doesnt really matter!)

[AltonFan]

Art Curren had an article in Model Railroader about kitbashing a doodlebug in HO sometime in the late 1970s. Roger Baker made one in N scale, and that article probably appeared about the same time frame. IIRC, the biggest challenge in those days was finding suitable sideframes for the trucks. (Interurban parts and the MDC boxcab switcher were considered likely candidates.)

One wonders why Brass Car Sides hasn't developed a kit to modify the currently available models. (Or maybe they have, and I just haven't heard about them.)

Some years ago Model Railroader published a picture of a doodlebug pulling a heavyweight Pullman sleeper. Apparently, the line's traffic didn't justify a whole passenger train, but did require sleeping car service. (Perhaps for an occasional connection?)

[leighant]

Ross31s, about a doodlebug pulling a streamlined consist. Santa Fe once had a "super doodlebug" that pulled stainless teel round-end observation car. The obs could have been modeled very easily in N scale with a commercial model, but the doodlebug itself was ARTICULATED. Not much like Bachmann.

Santa Fe also had trailer coaches behind baggage-only doodlebugs. The trailer coaches were somewhat similar to Bachmann's 60' shorty heavyweight coaches. The doodlebugs were on lines similar to the Bachmann doodlebut except all baggage without the passenger windows.

[jrbernier]

The M&StL(Minneapolis & St Louis) bought Budd stainless steel coaches and pulled them with doodlebugs in the 50's.

Jim Bernier