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Powering a Highway Miniatures Mack Railcar

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  • Member since
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Powering a Highway Miniatures Mack Railcar
Posted by Bearman56 on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 3:42 PM

Does anyone have any idea how to power a Jordan 1922 Mack Railcar . Barry Smith

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 7 posts
Posted by BNKing on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 3:49 PM

I saw athearn has a re-powering unit that you could probably use and if not that you could go to Walthers website. I'm sure they have something.

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Chamberlain, ME
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Posted by G Paine on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 4:01 PM

Do you mean the Mack Rail Bus?
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/360-305

Maybe a NWSL flea motor would work; the model is very small however

George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch 

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  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 9:47 PM

Hi Barry:

Is this what you are referring to? If so, I think you will have a very hard time finding a power truck narrow enough to fit inside the body. In addition to the Athearn unit there is an Australian making  'BullAnt' power trucks. (Edit)Their Web site is:

http://www.hollywoodfoundry.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=10&cat=BullAnt+Drive+Mechanisms 

I think you might find both to be too big for your purposes. There is an alternative. That would be to put a power truck into something that the Mack would normally pull and have that push the Mack around the track. The Flea offers all sorts of configurations so with the right wheel size and distance between axles you might just pull it off. There is always a way! Let us know how you make out.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • From: The place where I come from is a small town. They think so small, they use small words.
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Posted by twcenterprises on Thursday, December 9, 2010 11:21 AM

I *DO* have this exact model that Dave (hon30critter) has kindly posted, and I *have* powered it with a tiny flea truck, but I can't remember who the manufacturer was.  I'm tempted to say Tenshodo, but without finding the package, I can't be sure.  I do know the drive is very fast, on 12 volts it yields a top speed well into the triple digits (over 100 scale MPH).  It's good for moving ... maybe 3 or 4 cars.  Uphill, maybe 1 or 2.  DCC?  I've no idea where I'd put the decoder, I doubt there's enough room in tha cab ... unless you used a Z scale decoder.  Anyway, if I find the package or unpack the model, I'll see if I can follow up with the manufacturer.  Hope this helps.

Brad

EMD - Every Model Different

ALCO - Always Leaking Coolant and Oil

CSX - Coal Spilling eXperts

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Thursday, December 9, 2010 8:53 PM

Barry:

Try the link below. They make a power truck called a BullAnt in a huge variety of configurations. You can also contact them directly to see if they already know how to do what you want.

http://www.hollywoodfoundry.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=10&cat=BullAnt+Drive+Mechanisms

Dave

P.S. I edited my previous post to reflect this information, hence the duplication.

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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