Building an engine

[brains]

Well since my budget is minimal and one of the responses I recieved from a previous post I am now focused on building my own engines and cars.  Cabbage gave me some suppliers across the pond but are there any suppliers of wheels, motors, parts etc. to scratch build my own engine and cars?  I did a search and  I could not find anything.  I would want to remain using track power and am looking for powered trucks or motors and gears that I could make work.

Thanks in advance for any responses, everyone here has been great to this newbie and all of my dumb questions.

Ed

[kstrong]

Give Hartland Locomotive Works a call. They don't list parts on their web site, but they do sell drivers, motors, gears, etc. They're on my list of folks to call later this year when I start my next loco project. I'm just trying to build up my courage to attempt scratchbuilding valve gear again.

Later,

K

[cabbage]

I am delighted to put another person onto the path of scratch building, but I am puzzled by your comment Kevin... What "courage" is required to produce valve linkage -unless it is the fact that you do not trust your maths???

What you have to remember is the most complex valve gear was designed before the advent of computers using log tables and slide rules -and the most common of them was designed by drawing.

Despite the increase in computing power available I still use the tables found in my teenage 6th form books and my Logarex "Toison d' Or" slide rule for designing my linkages. This was despite the use of an £8 million design computer, (which I confess to having designed myself), when I produced the Klose Linkage in the image above.

You have nothing to loose -other than blushes!!!

regards

ralph

[Mt Beenak]

G'day.

Here are a couple of rail tractors I built using small motor blocks.  The first is an LGB 2020D diesel block with an LGB flatcar (shortened) on top.  The engine and gear box on top are from a truck kit plus a lot of bits and pieces from the scrap box.

The second one is on a Bachmann diesel bogie.  It has a scratchbuilt frame and the 'engine' is from a 1:18 scale Fergie Grey tractor.

I have several other locos, none of which were difficult to build.  And because I use basic engine blocks, they run well using just DC track power.

Good luck, and remember to post pictures of your efforts.