i bought 2 hobbytown plastic dummy rs2 engines. They were nicely built and were a great price. But they have plastic wheels and mismatched sizes.
So does anyone make a 42" metal wheel set with pointy ends like the intermountain 36" wheelsets. Anyone know where i might find them? Ebay came up empty.
I would like tomrun them as dummies behind my other units but they may get relegated to sitting somewhere never to move again.
thanks
Mike
alco's forever!!!!! Majoring in HO scale Minorig in O scale:)
Northwest Shortline makes them. I think the proper size for the locomotive would be 40", though.
Ed
I think that you're right, Ed. It's the Athearn wheelsets for the BlueBox diesels that were 42", I think.
As I recall, the early BB wheelsets had either pointed or blunt axle ends, and rode in metal sideframes, while the later versions' axles didn't protrude beyond the wheel at all, as the axles rode within inside bearings.Mike, if you can't find suitable wheels, you may be able to get complete dummy trucks from Horizon, or, worse, may have to go with trucks meant for powered locos, and remove most of the gears, so that they'll roll more freely.
Wayne
The Hobbytown kits came with styrene trucks. I expect they will wear quickly. I strongly suggest using "real" trucks.
Of course, the price of this project is suddenly, uh, increasing. And there's the installation money/time. Decision time, I guess.
However.
If you want pointy axled wheelsets, NWSL is your source.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Thanks guys for the quick answers. The hobby town"chasis" if you will is just a flat piece of plastic with a couple holes on them formthe trucks.
For me to use regular trucks now becomes buying the frame and trucks. So it will get pricey. Might as well just buy some old atlas engines cheap and replace the bodies, but then i have extra bodies laying around.
Somi think i will check out nwsl for these. Oh and thanks for the correction on the size of the wheel.
Mike,
You might consider powering the two units with the original drives, which should slip in directly. I know they DID, in the olden days, 'cause I did it, myself.
You can get the B-B drive for $50, and the C-C drive for $60 from here:
http://hobbytownofboston.com/?page_id=61
Unless they've changed them, they only have 4 wheel pickup. If you're going to DCC them, I'd thus recommend a "keep alive". If you're staying with DC, you could drawbar the two units, and run jumpers between them, and get 8 wheel pickup. Or you could add wipers. Or do both, and have nev-r-stall 16 wheel pickup.
Of course, one of the neat things about using dummies is that they MU perfectly with whatever they're running with.
Also, the Hobbytown RS's are RS-3's, not 2's.