rrinker The truck wheelbase on the 70 tonner as pictured looks to be almost dead on. Hard to get accurate spotting on the tape measure but it looks like axle to axle it's 1" or 7 1/4 scale feet, the truck frame looks to be about 1 1/4" or 9 scale feet, and truck to truck looks to be about 2.75" or about 20 scale feet. So they would be the trucks to use, with a shortened driveline. Which really shouldb't be too hard, there are I assume drive shafts connecting the motor to the truck, they are easily shortened. Or just replaced with NWSL parts. My brass RS-2 has some NWSL universal parts in it, the drive shaft is custom cut (by you, not NWSL), the universal ball slides over the end of a square tube and you cut it off at whatever length is needed. The two motor version of the 70 Tonner is probably easier, no driveline mods (unless is stands too tall), just need to fashion a frame for the loco and mount the two trucks closer together. I really like these little boxcabs, so when I get around to mine I will probbaly just bite the bullet and pay the price to get a Bull-Ant drive made. Not sure about fabricating my own frames and drives from brass - might give it a try. --Randy
The truck wheelbase on the 70 tonner as pictured looks to be almost dead on. Hard to get accurate spotting on the tape measure but it looks like axle to axle it's 1" or 7 1/4 scale feet, the truck frame looks to be about 1 1/4" or 9 scale feet, and truck to truck looks to be about 2.75" or about 20 scale feet. So they would be the trucks to use, with a shortened driveline. Which really shouldb't be too hard, there are I assume drive shafts connecting the motor to the truck, they are easily shortened. Or just replaced with NWSL parts. My brass RS-2 has some NWSL universal parts in it, the drive shaft is custom cut (by you, not NWSL), the universal ball slides over the end of a square tube and you cut it off at whatever length is needed. The two motor version of the 70 Tonner is probably easier, no driveline mods (unless is stands too tall), just need to fashion a frame for the loco and mount the two trucks closer together.
I really like these little boxcabs, so when I get around to mine I will probbaly just bite the bullet and pay the price to get a Bull-Ant drive made. Not sure about fabricating my own frames and drives from brass - might give it a try.
--Randy
I just dug out the dial caliper.
Truck to truck is 19 feet.
Axle to axle on a truck is 6.6 feet.
It was a new DCC onboard. Stripped it out and installed LokSound Micro v3.5 with 25 x 35 mm oval and baffle. Removed upper weight and made my own weights. Kept both lights and mounted on styrene with decoder.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
richg1998The Bachmann site shows the parts for both the last time I looked at their parts list
Some but not all parts. If you look at my photo you will see someone (probably with the same last name and in their 30's) lost a wheel and sideframes. They are NLA for the 1st gen. Some guy on Ebay is selling a powered truck for the price of a pair of 1st gen 44 tonners sold for last week (asleep at the switch).
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
You may be right about a DCC ready and a not DCC ready single motor. My single motor is a DCC readony one, currently it sports a TCS MC2, after I clipped off the capacitors. I've had it like 7-8 years now, so if they did make a single motor without the DCC plug (well, holes in the board to solder the wires to), it was probably a short time. Mine was in a black and gold box. Next to last one at the Strasburg train shop (the one that used to be right at the railroad, not the other place out on 30). Factory lettering is PRR, to match the one they have there.
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I have two single motor and use to have a two motor. As I recall, you can tell looking at the loco bottom but I doubt and ebay seller would post a photo of the bottom or know what the bottoms of both locos look like. The Bachmann site shows the parts for both the last time I looked at their parts list. The trucks for both are different and noticeable looking at the bottom of both locos.
My two motor cracked a gear. Bachmann sent me a single motor, DCC ready replacement.
I recall some years ago, two motor DC, single motor DC, and single motor DCC ready but might be wrong about the single motors.
My single motor have a LokSound v3.5 now.
Geared Steam, or anyone else. I am a bit confused about the generations of 44 tonners. There are 3... I think?. The originals were 2 motors and came in a black box with gold letters. When did the single motor come along and how would I know if I see one on Ebay? Or do I have it all wrong?
The truck spacing on the 70 tonner is wrong though (although it appears less than scale, so maybe Bachmann did us a favor). If the model is actually closoer to scale, it would have 26' truck centers which is just too much moore than the boxcab's 17' to just ignore and go with it. 17' vs 19' or 20', I might be able to live with.
Then there's still the fact that the single motor 44 tonner I have is an ok runner at best. It'll work for its planned duties as a cement plant switcher, but for something I will put a good bit of time into adding detail, I want to run great, not just OK.
A simple conversion here using a 44 ton chassis
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
Randy, the conversion can be made without making changes to the driveline. You only need to grind the 70 tonner frame to make it fit under the MDC shell. If you have a dremel, it's quite easy to do...
Simon
richg1998You can post the picture I sent to you of my 70 ton, single motor.I just have no desire to get another photo hosting site.
You can post the picture I sent to you of my 70 ton, single motor.
I just have no desire to get another photo hosting site.
BigDaddyMy question is Is the 70 ton still a consideration? I found other threads on other forums but the links to the descriptions are dead.
Edit, I misread a site,
Bumping my own question.
My bachmann 44 ton and the MDC boxcab have truck to truck measurement of 18' and 16' Anyone have a 70 tonner handy?
An expert no less that the Internet, says
the 44 tonner wheel base was 5' 0" with 33" wheels, truck to truck 19' 3"
the 70 tonner wheel base was 6' 10" with 36" wheels, truck to truck 26'
the Box cab wheel base was 7' 2" and 36" wheels truck to truck 17'
Whatever the model 70 tonner is, it's bound to be more than the 44 tonner which is already longer than the box cab. I'm sure some of you out there are confortable with altering the drive line, but that wouldn't be something I would be interested in doing.
I did find a worthwhile site for pictures, and data is mixed in. The organization of the website is not quite what I would do.
http://sbiii.com/boxcabdx.html
https://www.thedieselshop.us/ This site has some interesting info on all sorts of locos.
The thing about the track cleaner one is, the cleaner pads bit just screws on the front, you cna take that off and attach eht footboards tot he proper position. And the track cleaner body shell is the most correct one, unless you are building CNJ 1000. The non-track cleaners ones (that I have seen, and I had two different vintages of them - one from when they first came out and one of the ones with the (useless) flywheel) have no doors in the ends, just on the sides. This matches CNJ 1000. Later ones all have doors int he ends - which the trak cleaner version body shell does. Go figure, otherwise it's the same shell. Why they retooled it to put doors in the ends but left all the others alone is anyone's guess.
I know they did sell the track cleaner attachment seperately, if you already had a boxcab you could just get the cleaner part and attach it.
Hello all,
ATSFGuyIt's too bad Roundhouse never offered one off the shelf, most I've seen are usually kitbashed models.
I have three of them that I found on eBay.
Two of them were the track cleaning variant with the front footboards extended and the third was true to the prototype.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
It's too bad Roundhouse never offered one off the shelf, most I've seen are usually kitbashed models.
I recall doing the MDC box cab track cleaner about ten years ago. It had the open frame motor. Under one amp current as I recall.
I ran #30 from the pickups.
I found I think a DH126 decoder in the junk box that I wired to the motor contacts after removing the original pickup wires. It worked well but noisy.
rrinkerI do hope that place that sells proper GE traction sideframes is still around, I have the bookmark somewhere... --Randy
Its still functional link on page one Randy.
http://www.laserkit.com/ldgecab1.html
richg1998 Quite easy. Red wire to insulated brass strip and black wire to frame of loco. An old Digitrax decoder. Did almost the same with a MDC Climax with Micro Tsunami sound. Rich
Quite easy. Red wire to insulated brass strip and black wire to frame of loco. An old Digitrax decoder.
Did almost the same with a MDC Climax with Micro Tsunami sound.
Rich photo's don't show. PhotoBucket problem
Gary
Slow project progress alert - I only recently finally aquired an MDC boxcab track cleaner version - the track cleaner version has the end doors that only CNJ1000 is lacking. I've had a single motor 44 tonner for a while, but I kinda don;t want to cannibalize that one for parts, it still has service ahead of it as a dedicated cement plant switcher. The MDC boxcab is missing some parts, but I have two others for parts. Some sort of weathering was done on this, it looked like the oone truck sideframe was actually rusting but the same thing is evident along the rivet patterns and the bootm edge of the body, so it appears to be powedered weathering with an overspray of Dullcote.(it doesn't rub off) No worries, it's getting stripped anyway. I'm exercising modeler's license anyway to have one of the Reading units still in service in the mid 50's.
I do hope that place that sells proper GE traction sideframes is still around, I have the bookmark somewhere...
Realizing this is a 5-year old post...
One of the perks of being a NMRA member:
https://www.nmra.org/sites/default/files/sr201306_boxcab.pdf
And, just incase:
http://www.cnwhs.org/ageir/ageir.html
I did a Google search for MDC climax tsunami and found a few pictures in Google Images.
I have the manual for the conversion somewhere with part numbers. I will try to find it.
https://www.google.com/search?q=mdc+climax+loksound&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwik3LGh14zVAhUGaz4KHWszAnoQ_AUICCgD&biw=1024&bih=680#imgdii=WByRJAtJbl-tLM:&imgrc=9jZldb_ub3pC1M:
BigDaddy Necro Thread Alert !! Many dead links in this thread and this one http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/t/216292.aspx However many of the responders are still active in the forum. It happens that I have a MDC track cleaning boxcab that I painted for the Ma and Pa and a 1st generation 44 tonner. Unfortunately the 44 tonner is the older model with 2 motors and the missing parts. As Randy pointed out, the 44 ton has smaller wheels. The goal would be DCC conversion with sound. My question is Is the 70 ton still a consideration? I found other threads on other forums but the links to the descriptions are dead.
Necro Thread Alert !!
Many dead links in this thread and this one http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/t/216292.aspx However many of the responders are still active in the forum.
It happens that I have a MDC track cleaning boxcab that I painted for the Ma and Pa and a 1st generation 44 tonner.
Unfortunately the 44 tonner is the older model with 2 motors and the missing parts.
As Randy pointed out, the 44 ton has smaller wheels. The goal would be DCC conversion with sound.
My question is Is the 70 ton still a consideration? I found other threads on other forums but the links to the descriptions are dead.
Sorry about the broken links. Photobucket now locks all photos unless you pay them $400.00 a year.
I had the two motor with DCC until it cracked a gear.
Bachmann still sells a few parts for the two motor.
I got a single motor 44 ton replacement from Bachmann and converted in with Loksound.
Did Tsunami Micro in a regeared, remotored MDC Climax. I will check my photos for what I used for a motor.
The gears and flywheel in the picture I posted are from NWSL. I found the book that Ron LaFever wrote about the Climax conversion he did which should apply to the boxcab. He has numbers for the single gear and two gear drives.
Ron did a lot of fine tuning of both trucks, plus wires instead of spring contacts.
He also did some metal frame modifying.
Too much detail to post here and I doubt if the book is available anymore.
Since the Climax and boxcab had a lot of bad rep, the conversion info was not widespread and many just ignored these two locos.
I am seeing a little more interest in different forums for both locos but cannot find anyone selling Ron's book.
I bought the complete modified Climax from Ron and it is much quieter than an unmodified. With my hearing aids on, I do pickup a high frequency gear whine which many with normal hearing do not hear.
The Micro needed a lot of fine tuning for proper chuff sound and equalizer for small speaker. At 10 mph, it really sounds like it is flying.
A possible source of parts for that might be Bachmann,. since some of their steam locos use a cogged belt drive to keep the under-boiler area clear.
thanks Rich, I like the use of pulley and belt vs gears; should quiet it down a little.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
No idea if this will be any help.
http://2guyz.info/Forums/viewtopic/t=2095/postdays=0/postorder=asc/start=0.html
http://2guyz.info/Forums/viewtopic/t=2095/postdays=0/postorder=asc/start=15.html
The Climax and boxcab being almost the same essentially.
Nice video! What is the inside look like with the sound system? I may have to hold off on my project and wait for $$$ to go the Tsunami route.
watch?v=BfSSbnPdGhY&context=C467bf59ADvjVQa1PpcFOSACBNlWwLWy2f5AD1J1s7qYDOSJiJXFM=