One of my gifts this Christmas was an HO scale GE Steeple Cab body kit by Cannonball. The plastic body is easy to assemble and makes a nice looking, easy to customize base for a project.
I have a bunch of details on order at my LHS, but I'll also be making some parts from scratch. Not going for a specific prototype, but it'll at least look believable.
Cannonball includes a simple frame for mounting two Bachmann 44-Tonner trucks (old style), but they're too tall as is. AMB makes a nice lowering kit for better realism. The other option is to use quality power trucks, such as the NWSL Stanton drive, but that's $170 for all wheel drive...
Forget that! I'll do it MY WAY!!!
I'm making my own chassis using a motor and gears by NWSL, brass sheet and tube by K&S, and wheels by Intermountain! I'm using 72DP gears with a 20:1 ratio. Getting everything meshed perfectly has been exceedingly difficult, but I've got one truck put together and working smooth so far. I'll take pictures of the other truck during assembly so you can see my design.
Here's the finished truck (minus paint) next to a Bachmann truck with the motor removed. Quite a difference in size! The NWSL geared truck should also run smoother, and the size difference will allow me to add more weight.
This chassis is still costing me around $100 and a lot of time, but it should all be worth it in the end.
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Darth!
I have a number of the 44 tonner drives and I thought they were pretty small, but your scratch built unit makes the 44 ton trucks pale by comparison. Great that you do not have to worry about how long the 44 tonner motors will last either. I can guess that getting the gears to play nice was indeed a challenge.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I use to have the article on using the two motor for the steeple cab. The motors were turned 90 degrees in the trucks. But knowing how the gears are for the Bachmann two truck, NWSL gears are an excellent choice.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
The quality of the Bachmann trucks is the reason I decided against them. The one in the picture was the first one I got from Bachmann for my Jordan Mack critter a couple years back, but the gears were so bad that Bachmann sent me a free replacement. I combined all the best parts from the two, so the critter is still running well, but I didn't feel like taking that risk for this project. The AMB lowering kit does flip the motors 90 degrees to get the body to the proper height, likely in a way similar to the article you mentioned.
The gear mesh was the hardest part. I spent hours turning the gears by hand, watching the teeth engage, feeling for any binds, and drilling new gearbox plates to correct any problems. The slight helical cut (for better mesh with the worm) makes perfection even more important! A fraction of a millimeter off, and the whole mechanism would seize, which is very frustrating.
Gotten a lot done in the past week! Here's my progress.
Here's the gearing setup. The main gear is a 24 tooth, the idlers are 15 and 10 tooth, and the axle gears are 20 tooth for a 20:1 ratio. I used NWSL 72DP gearing, since the selection of sizes is really good and they're a bit less expensive than their other gears.
Truck #2 assembled! Half the electrical pickup is through the frame, and the other half uses modified Kadee centering springs as wipers. It's reliable enough that it doesn't even know when it's going over a switch. Only this truck has the wide bolster to stabilize the chassis, and the other truck is more free floating for some equalization on rough track.
The assembled chassis! The motor is a 1630D-9 from NWSL, and it's the largest one I could fit in there. It's smooth, powerful, and efficient, giving the chassis excellent running characteristics. I was originally going to put some flywheels in there, but my calculations were off and they didn't fit. Oh well, it's so smooth it doesn't actually need them anyway.
Quick look with the shell sitting on top.
To mount the shell to the frame, I tapped a couple 2-56 holes on each end of the shell and used Kadee plastic 2-56 screws. You'd think plastic wouldn't do much, but this is actually really sturdy!
One coupler mounted! Because of the tight spacing, I can't use standard Kadee couplers. Until I get some Whiskers, I've got a Bachmann (McHenry) in there. The mounting height is perfect according to a Kadee height gauge! Again, plastic screw in a 2-56 hole tapped through the shell.
It needs to run in a little more, but so far, this may be the smoothest runner I've ever built! It's not silent because of the frame design and some slight imperfection in the gear mesh, but it's not loud either. Also, the chassis is so compact and low profile that there's a lot of room leftover for weight! Overall, it's coming together really well!
Great progress!
Great job on this project. A good running unique locomotive is a real reward, and that one looks like it will run forever.
I have used the trucks from the trin motor 44 tonners on at least 3 different projects, and I will call them successes, but within the running limits of those little motors! Dan
Just a little update today.
I painted the trucks silver, the frame and motor black, and added chains to all the trucks as I've seen on some prototypes. I'm also starting on some of the detail. These were probably the most tedious parts to do. The rest should be a little easier.
Darth:
That's turning out to be one beautiful model.
Joe
Why has it been so long since I've made progress and updated this? I don't know.
I'm trying to get a number of desk clogging projects out of the way so I can get back to the Arbour Models 2-8-4, and this one's next in line.
Adding lots of details! Just a few more small touches, and this'll be ready to paint. I carefully drilled the headlights for 1.5mm bulbs in a way that will keep the wires completely hidden, and it should look good when it's finished! Since there's basically no two alike with these things, I just referenced a bunch of prototypes and other models to come up with something.
Darth,
if you paint it in YVTC colors and ship it over to my place, I´d be a happy man!
What a great looking engine you have built!
That's a remarkable build!
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Thumbs up Sir. Great model.
Guy
Modeling CNR in the 50's
Hello Darth Very nice. What are the silver thing's on the cab corners? they look like lights ? I see your are clearing the bench. So I have to ask about two of your past projects not sure if you finished them or not. One was your (Crazy idea) thread you were buliding a electric loco from scratch. And the other one was (trucks for a climax) are these done or are they still on the bench? Thanks Frank
Thanks! I should look even better when it's all done. I'm going to paint it the same way as I've painted my critter projects.
0-6-0, the scratch-built freelance electric is still on the bench waiting to be finished. I have all the parts, but I need to figure out exactly how best to cut and assemble the pieces. The Climax project was finished a while back, although it needs some slight repair and tuning after a fall. Should be up and running again in no time though! http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/247782/2763741.aspx
The shell almost looks like a Green North Eastern Locomotive,
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Looks like the engineer can operate from either side.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/247782/2763741.aspx
Made the link clickable.
I finally finished it!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAMHGV8Atx0
I'll put up some good photos later.
Ok, here are the photos.
Just after painting
Decals in place
All done!
Now, onto finishing that custom lead Cary switcher, a couple other small projects, and then I can get back to work on the Arbour 2-8-4.
Darth .... Thanks for sharing. Very nice work !
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Hey Darth!
Beautiful and inspiring work as usual! Thanks for sharing! When can I order mine?!?
Cheers!!
Darth, I really like the work you did on this model. It is beautiful.
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I am beginning to think about what I want to assemble for my next round of painting in January. Maybe this will be enough inspiration for me to build my double ended boxcab project.
-Kevin
Living the dream.