For today, I'm giving you all a fun little "how to" project. I tried submitting this to Model Railroader, but never got a response, and it may not be up to their quality or interest standards anyway. This topic will show you all how to build a neat little Critter for your layout using a Jordan Products "Mack 15 Ton" non-powered kit, a Bachmann 44-Tonner power truck, and a few other parts. And all for $50 or less!
STEP 1:The first step is to cut a large area out of the floor piece to clear the motor. Don't cut out too much, because there has to be enough left to rest on the power truck frame. Assemble the pilot and sideframe parts to the floor using plastic glue (liquid recommended, leave the brake details off for now).
STEP 2:Disassemble the power truck completely, then cut and file it as shown while making sure the top is completely level. Also cut the top motor brush contact level with the truck frame (leave the other contact alone unless you're going to use DCC). Put the wheels back in the truck, and make sure they line up well with the sideframes with the frame assembly sitting on the top of the power truck. The Bachmann power truck wheelbase is shorter than the Mack frame by a few scale inches, so the wheels won't be perfectly centered behind the journals.
STEP 3:With the floor centered on the power truck, drill a #72 (or so) hole in each corner. Glue a piece of 0.020" brass wire into each hole, and cut them at about 2mm height. This will act as the mount later while keeping the power truck perfectly straight and centered under the body. Reassemble the power truck, making sure everything runs smoothly. Once you're sure the truck is running as smooth as possible, glue the motor down with super-glue. The original motor mounting bracket will not fit in the Mack body.
STEP 4:Prepare the parts for the body for assembly. I'll be installing headlights using micro-bulbs, so I drilled the headlight pieces out using a #53 drill bit, and I drilled a 1/8" hole in the cab front/back pieces to clear the wires.
STEP 5:Begin assembling the body according to the kit instructions. Leave the roof and ceiling pieces off until the final assembly after painting (I would also recommend leaving the windows and headlight lenses off). Notice how tight of a fit that motor is! The truck's super compact size is the reason I chose it over a more expensive Bull Ant, Flea, or Stanton Drive (which all appeared too large in the front or back for this model).
STEP 6:Assemble the detail parts to the model. The kit includes plastic grab irons, but they're fragile and not very clean looking. I decided to use 0.015" brass wire instead. To install the brake details, the brake shoes have to be cut off completely to clear the Bachmann wheels. Before the glue for the brake parts dries, put the truck in place under the frame and line up the details with the wheels to prevent binding. There will be very little clearance, but still just enough for the wheels to turn freely.
STEP 7:There is just enough space behind the motor to hide a small constant lighting circuit in one of the hoods. I soldered six 1N400X (1 through 7, doesn't matter) series diodes into a small brick, making extra sure there were no solder bridges or points where a short could happen, and that all of the diodes were in the correct direction. The diode brick is very sturdy on its own. I'll show how to wire the circuit in the next step.
STEP 8:The circuit may look confusing in the first picture. The bottom motor brush is grounded to the right rail (with the worm facing forward), and the top brush is wired in series with the circuit. For those who don't know what the diode symbol in the diagram means, the line at the end of each "arrow" represents the gray band on the front of each diode. If you don't want lighting, simply solder a wire from the top brush to the left rail contact. For those wanting DCC, there's enough room in the cab above the motor for a small N-scale decoder (use resistors of at least 530 ohms for the lights, assuming the decoder puts out 12 volts to the bulbs. Use 600 ohms if the voltage is any higher).
STEP 9:Make sure everything fits together. It will be very tight with the lighting circuit. I found that the diode brick is sturdy enough and far enough from anything that could cause a short that electrical tape or heatshrink wasn't needed. The model needs about a half ounce of extra weight to run well, so I cut an A Line 1/2oz stick-on weight into two pieces. I further shaped the two pieces for fit, and stuck them into the cab under the windows. Run the model extensively in both directions to make sure it's broken in and working properly.
STEP 10:The model comes with dummy couplers, but I wanted mine to pull something. There's not enough room to cleanly or easily install swiveling couplers, so I cut the back off of Kadee #58 scale couplers. I drilled a 1/16" hole straight into each coupler pocket, and pressed the couplers in place (they will be glued after painting). The wheelbase and overall length are so short that swiveling action isn't needed for any standard size curves.
STEP 11:Remove the couplers, power truck, and lighting circuit. Paint and letter the shell to your liking. Once the paint is dry, assemble the windows and headlight lenses. Use a small amount of carefully applied liquid plastic glue to hold them in place. Assemble the power truck and lights into the body (make sure the bulbs aren't reversed). To hold the truck in place, put super glue on each of the four mounting pins made earlier. The light bulbs in mine stayed in place on their own, but glue will have to be used if yours don't. Cut the middle out of the ceiling piece to easily clear the light bulb wires, and glue the two halves in place. Glue the couplers in place.
STEP 12:Assemble the final roof parts. Make sure everything is holding together. If all has gone well, enjoy!
And now, a completed shot on the layout!I think my little project turned out rather well! It runs smoothly and quietly, it looks good, and it can pull three small freight cars and a four wheeled caboose on level track without a problem.
I'm not the first one to use the 44-Tonner power truck for this engine. I got the idea while looking around Google, and came across a picture of one someone had built for a fun little 10"? circle of track. He said it was powered with the Bachmann truck, so that's how I knew it would work. Jordan Products says in the instructions to use a Bachmann Gandy Dancer with the figures removed, but that won't line up with the sideframes or have enough traction for even one freight car with its single axle drive.
Although the Bachmann truck is available and has been upgraded, there was a problem. The first truck I got had axle gears that were warped and cracked beyond use. Bachmann immediately sent a replacement with good gears, but those were starting to show signs of breaking down too. To avoid the problem as best as possible, I drilled out the axle gears with a 1/16"? drill bit. This left enough material for the wheels to have a slight grip inside the axles. I carefully super-glued the wheels in to make sure they wouldn't slip out. It was troublesome, but worth it in the end.
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Great article! Terrific modeling!
Jim
Darth Santa Fe!
Great project! Fantastic modelling in a tight space.
I am into critters (as I'm sure you can tell by my avatar). Why MR would not want to use this for an article is beyond me. Certainly many other articles they have run in the past required similar skill levels.
This one I absolutely have to do, and I will try to do it in DCC. I already have one of the Jordan 15 tonner kits and I just ordered 2 power trucks to start the project (I have another critter that I will try to see if the truck will fit).
Thanks for the inspiration and the excellent details!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
The Jordan Products kit was a gift, but most distributors (like Walthers) keep a regular stock of their products. You should be able to find one very easily for $10. The truck came directly from Bachmann. They recently created a shopping area on their website with a huge stock of parts. To make it easier for you, here's a link to the 44-Ton truck page. Not a bad deal for $15! Shipping and the rest of the small parts and supplies brought it close to $50.
Great model and article. I have been looking for a way to repower a couple of old Athearn Hustlers and was consideriing the Bull Ant or the new NWSL power unit. I may try one of these now that you have paved the way. Really nice work. thanks,
- Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
Looks fantastic Darth, just thing to "bump" the Super Chief and make everybody scratch their heads...............;-)
Question, what do you think about using Bachmann's "Doodlebug" power truck? Or is it basically the same thing. I have both but would have to dig the out to compare. And don't get me wrong, what you have done here is top notch all the way, just curious about the other one as well.
Mark
WGAS
Nice Critter, Darth.
I'm always glad to see folks "rollin" their own, as the case may be. Hope the reliability issues don't crop up again.
On Mark's question about the Bachmann Doodlebug, if mine is any indication it doesn't have a "power truck" per se, but rather a gear tower truck like an Athearn. It's powered by a single shaft with a U joint from a can motor and flywheel. Much too big and complicated to work in such cramped quarters.
Lou
You´ve done it again, Darth!
for your little "critter"!
Thanks everyone.
farrellaaGreat model and article. I have been looking for a way to repower a couple of old Athearn Hustlers and was consideriing the Bull Ant or the new NWSL power unit. I may try one of these now that you have paved the way. Really nice work.
You may still want to use a different power unit with your Hustlers. The Bachmann power truck is over 6 scale feet shorter than the Athearn wheelbase (7' vs. 13'6"). NWSL is working on a new Stanton drive to fit the Hustler, but you can still find an old PDT occasionally too.
Darth Santa FeI tried submitting this to Model Railroader, but never got a response,
Have you considered Railroad Model Craftsman? This would probably qualify for one of their RMC Kitbash Awards
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
OK, but where exactly do you put the sound decoder and speaker? No model is complete without sound these days!!
Tom
potlatcher OK, but where exactly do you put the sound decoder and speaker? No model is complete without sound these days!! Tom
Right behind the "smoke unit"!!!!!!
Awesome work & thanks for the excellent documentation!!! Nice job!
This is a newby question, but I am a newby, so I will ask :
What DCC decoder would you all recommend for this project?
Prowler7
The first thing you have to do to choose a decoder is measure the amps the motor will draw at stall. If the draw is less than 1 amp there are several decoders that should fit in the cab above the motor. Tony's Train Exchange has a comparison chart:
http://tonystrains.com/productcompare/decoder_comparison.htm
From my unassembled Jordan kit and by looking at the pictures by the OP I estimated that the available space is approximately .94" wide x .44" x .38" high above the motor.
The chart shows Digitrax DZ125 2 function, DZ143 4 function, and NCE N12SR and Z14SR. I didn't check to see if these particular examples are current or discontinued.
The stall current of Bachmann's motor is less than half an amp, so practically any small N scale decoder should work. My recommendation would be to use the smallest decoder you can find. I don't have DCC, so I can't suggest anything specific.
Thank you for your answers. That really helps
Unfortunately according to Bachmann the 44 ton power trucks are sold out and they will not be making any more. I ordered a cable car power truck to see if it could be used as a substitute but unfortunately it is a little too big. It might be possible to use the cable car truck if the engine cowlings were expanded but if that is done the cowlings will interfere with the cab door. The only way to get the 44 tonner trucks is to buy a used switcher (make sure it is the early style with two motors, later ones had a single motor driving two trucks).
That does seem to be the only way now. The NWSL Stanton and Flea drives are a little too big for this little critter, and I suspect the Bull Ant won't quite fit either. If cost isn't an issue, it may be possible to use just the Flea axles and gearboxes with NWSL's small 3.125:1 ratio transfer gearbox in the middle, and fit one of their smallest motors into one of the hoods. It would certainly be tight, and end up costing about $90 for the drive parts, but it might work?
With a little bit money more I've got my 25-ton
It's made from brass sheet, I've bought a driving unit and an ESU Loksound micro decoder. .
Wolfgang
Pueblo & Salt Lake RR
Come to us http://www.westportterminal.de my videos my blog
Well, I'll be dar-ned.
What a great project to have selected - many thanks for sharing. I built this kit and painted it gray; I think that I paid around $12.00 for it, with a view to placing it on a wharf used by the Navy during WW2. Mine will remain un-powered because I have a log jamb of projects already needing my attention, but I enjoyed reading what you have done and with less on my plate I think that I would power mine now that you have showed us how. Well done bringing this critter to life! Bruce
What a great project to have selected - many thanks for sharing.
I built this kit and painted it gray; I think that I paid around $12.00 for it, with a view to placing it on a wharf used by the Navy during WW2. Mine will remain un-powered because I have a log jamb of projects already needing my attention, but I enjoyed reading what you have done and with less on my plate I think that I would power mine now that you have showed us how.
Well done bringing this critter to life!
wedudler, that's a nice little critter you've got there! I'm also working on one of those Grandt Lines, but I'm keeping the stock mechanism. I've got it running very smoothly (except for some wheel wobble, which I'll look into), and it can really crawl! All that's left to do is paint it and make some lead weights so it can pull something.
By the way, did you have trouble cutting the window frames from their sprues? I got the left one out with minimal damage and was able to repair it, but the right one was totally destroyed (no big deal, I'll just imagine it's open). And that was with very careful cutting using a sharp knife.
Excellent modeling! Do you have any pictures of the construction of the locomotive? I am particularly interested in how you fit the decoder and speaker into such a small space.
I just found a couple of Tenshodo WB-31 motor bogies that I wonder how they might be used?.....maybe for something like this??
Brian
My Layout Plan
Interesting new Plan Consideration
That'a a nice little loco. Thanks for posting you article here, I know it's frustrating when MR doesn't respond to interested writers.
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
Seeing the late Wolfgang Dudler´s name appear again filed my eyes with tears. Wolfgang was such an excellent model builder and a well deserved Master Model Railroader!
His webpage is still up:
Westport Terminal RR
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
I'm wondering if one of these motorized trucks might make a kitbash drive for these small docksider locos,...afterall it appears they are quite compact, and often have BOTH axles powered??
http://arumo.a.la9.jp/r0123.htm
http://arumo.a.la9.jp/r0138.htm
You might want to check the January 2013 MR for an article on repowering one using NWSL parts.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
railandsailI'm wondering if one of these motorized trucks might make a kitbash drive for these small docksider locos
Hi Brian!
Those trucks are fantastic! They fill a void left by the closing of Hollywood Foundry who made a similar unit to the one in the bottom picture. It was called a Bull Ant and came in a variety of axle numbers and wheel bases. Wolfgang Duddler used a Bull Ant in his 25 tonner.
I noticed that there are only two wheel bases available - 24.5 mm and 26.0 mm. Further investigation revealed that the company makes drive systems similar to the NWSL Stanton drives with a wider variety of wheelbases. I don't know what the wheel base on a manufactured docksider is, but if the trucks that Brian showed are too short then one of the other drives might work.
I can see all sorts of possibilities with these little beasts. Thanks for the link!
Thanks for that link to the Arumo trucks! I hadn't heard of them before, but it looks like they've come up with a creative design with a lot of flexibility. The pricing isn't bad either (looks like it's about $45 each before taxes and add-ons).
It's been a while since I checked Hollywood foundry's website, and it is sad to see them go. I do know the owner was getting older and had been thinking of retiring.
Has anyone picked up the Jordan Products line? This and their other kits were good quality, so it would be a shame if they were gone forever.
Wolfgang was one of the great MRRs on this forum. Hard to believe it's been almost 8 years now.