I finally made progress on the GE 44 Tonner model. The shell was designed way back in November 2019 but the chassis design sat around for 9 months. There were major hurdles to overcome. The long hood is only 6mm wide on the inside so it was difficult to find a suitable motor. Also, the motor shaft was too thin to fit the Shorty’s worm gear. I was able to use brass tube for a shaft adapter. Unfortunately, there is no room for a functional coupler. I incorporated couplers into the shell’s 3D print model. These faux couplers connect with MTL, AZL and Full Throttle couplers but it must be done manually. The chassis under this shell is a rough prototype. Now that I have a suitable motor and I can finalize the chassis design. Here's a video
I like it too, however I don't think it's time to throw in the towel on automatic couplers just yet. The MTL 902 can be made to work. A small flat rectangular piece of .003" springy metal (I can't remember the name of it right now) with a bump in the center can make a centering spring like used on the T Gauge couplers, and just tap a screw through both halves with a bottom plate to hold the coupler in. I can see the whole mechanism in my head, and it would fit. Then you could switch magnetically with your switcher.
Great progress! Also a smooth runner. Would there stilll be any space for a dcc decoder? I like Robert's idea with the #902 couplers. Verstuurd vanaf mijn ANE-LX1 met Tapatalk
That is perfect loco for you layout. Which as said before might be one of the coolest small layouts I’ve seen!
We think alike, sir. A while back I considered the 902 couplers (and Rokuhan knuckles) and tried to fit them. The problem is the prototype has no walkway over the pilot. So to keep realistic proportions, you only got 1.25 mm to work with. In that space it's possible to put a pole to mount 902 couplers. Even so, the back of the coupler would be rubbing against the truck. That's without adding any spring mechanism to make them function. During my trials, I added extra room at the front/rear pilot and it no longer looked realistic. Imagine the MTL SD40-2 coupler box but bigger. Ugh. Below are some pictures to show the 902's size compared to the available space. If you guys want, I can make a plastic version of the shell to experiment with.
Oh no, I'll be happy with the brass one as is. I will just use a 24' caboose as a permanently attached buffer car.
You should be able to fit the DZ126 decoder under the chassis in the fuel tank area. You will have to trim away some of the plastic from the trucks. You may have to trim some to the decoder itself, if possible. I left the fuel tank area open so people can add the shorty weights.
Amazing work, you are very clever !!! I now have hope that I can power my little N scale GE steeplecabs.
Can you make .010" deep recesses on the interior for us to mount plastic window glazing sheet inside? And provide a cutting template, as I think window glazing and interior figures take these models to the next level.