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MRC roundhouse shay kits

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  • Member since
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MRC roundhouse shay kits
Posted by NVSRR on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 2:30 PM

Did they come withmotor and gears or was that a separate purchase from the kit?

shane

A pessimist sees a dark tunnel

An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel

A realist sees a frieght train

An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space

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Posted by CNR378 on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 2:58 PM

AFAIK, MDC shay kits come with motors and gears. That said, you may wish to investigate using the NWSL gear upgrade kits with it.

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Posted by Little Timmy on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 3:13 PM

Yes they came with motors and gears.

you can build them straight out of the box and with a little "tuning " they run ok.

But, yes, adding NWSL  gears and a flywheel will help quite a bit.

 

Rust...... It's a good thing !

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Posted by NVSRR on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 3:43 PM

Thanks.  That tells me the ones on eBay are missing parts.  The motor and parts. But if it is a good idea to upgrade,  then maybe better to get it without the parts

A pessimist sees a dark tunnel

An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel

A realist sees a frieght train

An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space

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Posted by Road Foreman of Engines on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 4:17 PM

I've built 7 loco kits; 4 from Model Die Casting, 3 from Bowser. The last kit I built was the MDC 3 truck H0n3 Shay. I got it built , running, and detailed, but never got around to disassembly and painting. My plan is to finish it, and put it into use. It runs o.k., with some gear noise, not bad.

Paul

at one time, I wanted to letter my Shay " Foster's Logger"........

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Posted by Little Timmy on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 7:17 PM

Even if the ones on E-bay are missing stuff, they are still worth looking at. With all the parts there, I got my last one 6 months ago for $50.

So depending on what's missing, I wouldn't bid much higher than $35 - 40.

( but having a pile of extra parts is nice too.)

 

Rust...... It's a good thing !

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Posted by rrebell on Wednesday, October 18, 2023 7:30 AM

They can be made to run perfect with whats in the box, my freind did it but he was a machinest. I got mine to run perfect also but I cheated on two of the outside gears. Mine ran at a tie a minute under regular DC.

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Posted by dknelson on Wednesday, October 18, 2023 9:28 AM

NVSRR

Did they come withmotor and gears or was that a separate purchase from the kit?

shane

 

Shane you might be thinking of the white metal kit Shay from Keystone, which was indeed unpowered (but the shay mechanism was complete -- if you built it right, which I understand was a challenge -- and you could push it along the track.  There was an aftermarket motor and gearing set which might or might not have been from Keystone itself.

Dave Nelson

 

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Posted by snjroy on Sunday, October 22, 2023 7:04 AM

dknelson

 

 
NVSRR

Did they come withmotor and gears or was that a separate purchase from the kit?

shane

 

 

 

Shane you might be thinking of the white metal kit Shay from Keystone, which was indeed unpowered (but the shay mechanism was complete -- if you built it right, which I understand was a challenge -- and you could push it along the track.  There was an aftermarket motor and gearing set which might or might not have been from Keystone itself.

Dave Nelson

 

 

NWSL offered a gearing and motor kit for the Keystone shay. These are getting very hard to find.

Simon

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Posted by Geared Steam on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 1:38 PM

Plenty parts on Ebay, I would definitely purchase the "improved" trucks as these were on of the items that needed to work. There is also a NWSL motor for it, much better motor than the original open frame.

mdc shay for sale | eBay

Just my opinion, but those full kits on EBAY are outragiously expensive for what they are. I've passed on those kits at trains shows for $25.00, no interested because I know what they really are. 

 

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein

http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/

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Posted by NVSRR on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 2:20 PM

I passed on those kits there too.   just didn't seam worth it   Cannot see paying two or three hundred for something that might be complete. With that money, go buy a spectrum Version.  Even thier large scale 36t is cheaper than those Mdc kits. 
shane

A pessimist sees a dark tunnel

An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel

A realist sees a frieght train

An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space

  • Member since
    January 2018
  • From: Douglas AZ.
  • 635 posts
Posted by Little Timmy on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 8:33 PM

I see all those kits on E-bay, and I just laugh, and laugh, ...

I have some "vintage" MDC horn hook couplers for sale .... $20 a pair... 

Do people really believe their stuff is worth that much ?

I say again, ... a complete  MDC Shay can be had for $50 

Sure you have to do some looking, but they DO exist.

 

Rust...... It's a good thing !

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