Oh no!! I've created monsters!!
Karl
NCE über alles!
kbkchooch, I'd never thought of using a 6-wheel truck! I can hardly see the difference in axle spacing under those Hustlers, and I bet they run a whole lot better than the old belt drive! There really are so many things you can do with an Athearn Hustler.
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Thanks Karl!
I picked up a pair of six wheel trucks today and will tackle this project when I return home for a break. Thank you for the inspiration!
Yeah, the Penn Line model is an actual model, not just something they made up to make a small loco for tight radius. The little critter I had was the old Flyer HO one - I used to have a tight trolley loop through my town, part of it witht he old Tyco 'street track' they made, plastic road sections with the tracks embedded, and that little loco could run around there.
Hmm, a Hustler with steam sounds - actually, that would REALLY drive people nuts with that FU-2 unit, put steam sounds in it!
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I WAS thinking bout that with the "B" unit, but then I saw what Wolfgang Dudler (RIP) did with the 23 tonner. That got me to imagineering.
My next Victim?
Yes, a Penn line midget diesel, and before the purists get squawking that its just another "fantasy" diesel, lookee here!
Just gotta get some projects out of the way, clear the workbench ya know? Get the paying customer stuff outta here!
Actually, I just had the sound decoder and speaker in my 'decoder box' and is was for a large steam engine. Sounded wierd but was fun. I guess I could fit one of the small decoders and speaker but have too many other 'more demanding' projects fighting for my time. Because of only having four wheel pickup, it stalls on some of the turnouts, even with powerer frogs.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
I must say that I'm enjoying this thread immensely!
The Cedar Branch & Western--The Hillbilly Line!
Smaller speaker, it ought to fit. Also, Loksound Micro decoder, it's even smaller.
Heck, if Wolfgang could get sound in one of those GE 23 tonners...
OK, I know it wouldn't fit in the body shell, but I had to try and put sound in a Hustler!
Karl, thanks for showing us how it was done. Awesome work. I also really like the FU-2.
I love the creativity in your projects.
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
rrinker Nice. Did the CD motor happen to have the right shaft size, or did you stick some bushings on there to make it fit the Athearn worm? Much as the Hustler is a fantasy loco, it still would make a nifty heavy-duty 'critter' for some industrial concern. Gotta love the last one on the page.. especially the designation of it. --Randy
Nice. Did the CD motor happen to have the right shaft size, or did you stick some bushings on there to make it fit the Athearn worm? Much as the Hustler is a fantasy loco, it still would make a nifty heavy-duty 'critter' for some industrial concern.
Gotta love the last one on the page.. especially the designation of it.
IIRC, there were bushings (maybe 2) on the small motor shaft to bring it up to the side on the worm, then connected with another that covered both.
Yeah, the one at the bottom has been a hoot at shows, a lot of the comments aren't printable!
pricebc@aol.com I absolutely love the cow and calf! Great work! I think you will have to find some time and show us how you did this conversion. You have all inspired me to take on the challenge!
I absolutely love the cow and calf! Great work! I think you will have to find some time and show us how you did this conversion. You have all inspired me to take on the challenge!
OK, For you, Randy and Dave (or anyone else following this thread) maybe this will help. Bout halfway down the page. Just click on the thumbnails,
http://www.kjbond.com/The%20Lab.htm
Second that - I'd love to see at least a picture of the mechanism in those, Karl.
Karl:
Those look pretty good!
How about a "how to" article to show us how you did it? (Some of us with limited electronic experience need to be led by the hand).
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Just goes to show ya that there is more than one way to skin a Hustler!
Darth SF
Wow, what detail, what craftsmanship, what expense!
I repowered mine the, um, cheap way! Yes, Red Green would be proud of this! Each one has an Athearn 6 wheel truck with the center axle removed. I then built a bolster from styrene and mounted a small can motor on the truck directly linked to the drive gear. The motors were "liberated" from some "dead" CD Rom drives, and DCC decoders added. Now the voltage limits were set low, since these motors are designed for 5 volts, but low speed operation is good! LED lighting and some detail parts, and they are ready to handle switching chores!
Just another way to a means!
Thanks for resurrecting this thread. I have a couple of Hustlers that I had put aside because of their rediculous speeds. Now, thanks to Darth Sante Fe (once again) I have a solution.
I have 7 or 8 Hustlers, some are Lionel version wiith gear drive and have planned to remotor as you did but with so many projects, I wound up buying one on Ebay for $60. It is pretty smooth running with a can motor and gearsets on each axle. I swapped bodies with one I had been working on, added DCC and a printed mockup interior. Still needs detail work but I love these little engines, Wish Athearn would redo them with DCC and lights.
Incredible series, I love it! I am an Ahearn Hustler aficionado and have one of every variety I have ever seen. I also have most of the Lionel versions. I can’t wait to give the conversion a try. DCC and sound in a Hustler, maybe even a Cow-Calf set-up would be wild. Great series packed with helpful comments. Thank you very much for sharing this information.
The NWSL parts are:
207-6 Auxiliary gearbox (two needed)2004-6 Geared 42" shouldered axle (two needed)221-6 Transfer gearbox, 3.125:1 ratio2015-4 Shaft/axle stock, 1.5mm487-6 Universal coupling set (to connect the gearboxes)You'll also need one more universal coupling set for the motor, but which one depends on what motor you use. If your motor has a 1.5mm shaft (most likely size), use the 487-6 set. If it has a 1.2mm or 2mm shaft, use 485-6. A 2mm shaft is very unlikely for the size of motor needed, and 1.2mm is also less common since Sagami went out of business.
As for a motor, I would recommend using one 20 or 25mm in length. A 20mm motor would allow a small flywheel to be used (NWSL 401-6 for 1.5mm shaft, or 421-6 for 1.2mm shaft). I used a 13x30mm motor, and it was a very tight fit. Some good choices would be:Mashima 12x14x24, 1.5mm shaftMaxon 16x25 coreless, 1.5mm shaft (largest I would recommend. This is a very good motor)Maxon 13x20 coreless, 1.5mm shaft (expensive, but best in its size. As powerful as larger motors)There are others out there, but I think these are the best choices.
Of course, you'll also need the K&S 3/32" brass tube, and you may want a motor tool and cutting disks if you don't have that already.
To mount the motor and gearbox, you'll have to come up with your own method. I used super glue and some left over foam rubber blocks I got from work, as well as some other scrap materials. You'll notice in a lot of my projects that I work with what I've got on hand a lot of the time, and some of my methods may be pretty unconventional.
Thanks for reading, and good luck with yours!
Hi,
Could you post the NWSL parts numbers that you used? I have an old Hustler that I would like to use to convert using your excellent article.
Thanks in advance
Darth Santa FeI'm glad to know you got your Ernst gearing to work right! Sometimes, those little adjustments are all it takes to change something from noisy to quiet.
Well, I would say it's quieter. It's a relative term here, because the original motor is never going to be as quiet as a coreless motor, even with a transfer gearbox. Then again, I spent all of $12.
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
I like the project. Thanks for sharing it!
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
IbflattopI wasmessing around with the engine on Monday afternoon and the back of the can motor comes back up into the cab at a 45 degree slant. No way will I be able to fit an interior into it. I got it running with a decoder for a test run on the layout. Going to put some electical pickup wipers on the wheels for better contact. Ran pertty decent thou. Could you supply me with the numbers to what ya used for the hand rails? I thought of just getting an Athearn plastic handset railing and cobble them up to fit the Hustler.
Ah, I see now. Well, it should still run much better than the rubber band drive, even if it's only a single axle setup. I sort of tried that once with an Athearn worm and bearings, and a rubber band going down to the worm. It didn't work, but it was worth a try.
For the handrails, I used Utah Pacific stanchions (they give you about 3 dozen per pack), and Detail Associates 0.015" round brass wire. The chain on each end is A Line's 40 link per inch brass chain (just one length of that stuff has lasted me for years!).
Darth.
I wasmessing around with the engine on Monday afternoon and the back of the can motor comes back up into the cab at a 45 degree slant. No way will I be able to fit an interior into it. I got it running with a decoder for a test run on the layout. Going to put some electical pickup wipers on the wheels for better contact. Ran pertty decent thou. Could you supply me with the numbers to what ya used for the hand rails? I thought of just getting an Athearn plastic handset railing and cobble them up to fit the Hustler.
thanks Kevin
davidmbedard, I looked at putting the lettering on the smooth parts of the doors, but something about it just didn't look quite right to me. The railroad is fictional, so maybe it's a super clean and cool running switcher that won't mess up the CIL.
SteamFreak, you're right. The transfer gearing isn't helical. But it is well engineered and works pretty quietly, unlike the old Rivarossi cab motor 0-8-0 or KMT tower gearing. My RR U25C also has a transfer gear system, but it works much more quietly.
I'm glad to know you got your Ernst gearing to work right! Sometimes, those little adjustments are all it takes to change something from noisy to quiet.
I never thought I'd see a Hustler with a cab interior, unless it was a dummy. Nice work!
The NWSL gearing didn't look helical based on your photo, but Rivarossi did use some non-helical 1:1 offset gearboxes in some locos that were quiet, so it isn't a necessity as long as it's well designed.
I went back to my Ernst geared Hustler after reading this, and was able to improve the performance by turning the flywheels a bit at a time until the vibration is minimal -- I thought I'd already done this, but who knows, maybe I hit the sweet spot and they are now counterbalancing the motor. In retrospect, I should have enlarged the flywheel and worm ID's before attempting to assemble them, because they were more than a friction fit to begin with. It pays to do a careful assembly job, removing flash and slightly reaming gearbox components to eliminate friction, if there is any. The most important aspect of the job, aside from the flywheel installation, is leveling the motor and making sure that the gearboxes are centered, because it's easy to strip the worms if anything is off. The gear reduction is significant, in fact it has a similar speed range as yours
I didn't mean to hijack your thread, but maybe my notes will be helpful to someone out there with an Ernst kit. Maybe now I can install a crew doing their best not to bet mangled by the massive gearing between them.