Over on the A-board there's been some past discussion on the use of "cheater" boxcars to supplement tractive effort - particuarly for some steam locomotives that are rather dissapointing at the drawbar. Past favorites have been in putting 40' boxcar bodies on EMD switchers like the Life-Like SW, and 50' boxes on Life-Like GP's. That still leaves you with 9' wheelbase EMD trucks and EMD fuel tanks - not exactly stealth. I've had real success in adapting Tomytec chassis components - the TM03, 5, 7, etc. to other ideas. The TM03 and TM05 were used by me to power a Whitcomb 65-tonner resin kit conversion. The basic RDC-style mechanism has a nice motor, flywheel, end-cup low-friction truck, and it has a 7-foot wheelbase and 33" wheelset, with push-on sideframes. It has traction tires and 8-wheel contact pickups. In short, it's a very flexible mechanism package that doesn't cost and arm and a leg. If it were imported by Walthers and available anywhere it would be perfect, it isn't, but you can get it from Japanese distributors to the US. I recently developed and copyrighted a resin conversion frame to fit the Tomytec TM05/7, etc. (17m) parts to fit either an MDC/Athearn wood-sided express reefer, or the Micro-Trains express reefer body - both in the 50 foot range. The Tomytec sideframes greatly resemble a 4-wheel passenger car truck when trimmed down. Here's the shots of the mechanism parts laid in the bottom frame, then the top frame, and the views inside and outside the car: Top frame screwed down on the bottom frame: Inside the express reefer shell - showing lots of room for weight, DCC receivers, or whatever else you want: Side view of assembled unit:
The alternative body on the same frame is designed to be the MT express reefer. This is just sitting on the stock sill: If you file the side sills flush on my resin frame, it fits right in: I also designed the frame to allow the use of the Atlas slow-speed motor, which has great performance characteristics. When I get another mechanism in from Japan, I'll finish the MT box off using it as a demonstrator. Matching speed on DCC is an issue of setting speed tables, but there's lots of room in there for a receiver. On DC, I'm exprimenting (successfully) with groups of small diodes with a .7v drop per pair. The native Tomytec motor is a FAST mechanism, so the problem is slowing it down, not speeding it up, to match what you want. Resistors do not work. I'm waiting for parts from Plazajapan to illustrate the instruction sheet, but I'm pretty close to offering this, so if you want to be on the e-mailing for the free .PDF instructions and ordering information, contact me offline and I'll mail out information to all those interested. Oh, and by the way... this thing pulls like a moose. I filled the prototype up with lead and it yanked 30+ grams on the drawbar. The one it the photo, loaded up with a couple soft-lead sinkers over the trucks, has pulled a 25-car train on the flats of my layout, through 13" curves, all by itself.
Your giving me ideas. Not sure how good that is? Your work is meticulous and admired by this participant. It's been a few years ago but I tried this approach using an HO Athearn F7 chassis the "Super Geared". Problem was my two steam engines I had at the time would not pull together or with the F7, gear ratios being different. So, I pulled the motors out of the steamers and ran them as dummies. Tongue in cheek: The steamers weren't to smart and it was easy for me, to outsmart them. I was able to pull some short freights and passenger trains up my rather steep 3% grades. Some of my visitors in the know spotted the unit right off. Seems they had done the same thing too... just for the pleasure of seeing a steamer on the point. Your craftsmanship is amazing! Yes, I would be interested. Perhaps a Santa Fe Express or REA box car by MT. Have you considered a price and what would you be asking? Thanks for the heads up.
Randgust, Bravo! That's the first one of these that doesn't look like a boxcar on Blombergs. Great work! Mark
If you're interested, there's a couple things you'll need: 1) your favorite 50' car that can looks acceptable on "passenger" trucks; I've been using express reefers but if the Proto Police have better things to do on your pike that ticket you on that, great..... 2) Get one of the Tomytec TM-05,07, or other 'long' chassis ordered from a Japanese supplier. They've been running $28.50 + 4.80 shipping here: http://stores.ebay.com/Plaza-Japan He's on vacation at the moment, but just do a search for the word "chassis" and whatever he has will pop right up. That's what I mean by the affordable factor. I could probably use a lot of mechanisms if you're willing to scrap out an entire loco to do it. My ground rules are to try to keep it as inexpensive as I can and make sure parts are available from places other than my own oddball scrap box. I'm waffling on pricing this because I'm still not sure how much, if any, electronics I want to include with it. I'm including the drive shaft splices and the screws for sure. As is, right now, I'm at about $24/kit + 4.60 shipping per order, but I also am guessing on my scrap rates on the resin castings. I like to make at least 10 sets before I launch. I really want to keep the project under $60 for everybody if I can. But I'll put out pricing and instructions (in advance) to everybody that I collect e-mails from.
I've successfully put the Atlas slow-speed motor in this with great results. I've restarted casting, and almost have the instructions done. I started resin casting again last week, the parts are running well, and I should be shipping out information to those that have requested it shortly. The Atlas motor definitely is slower, runs cooler, has higher torque, etc. It doubleheaded with my LL 2-8-4 with no additional resistors or adjustments needed. It costs extra of course, but I think it was worth it. I did one of the funniest movies I've ever done - I put the Atlas 2-6-0 on front of the Tomytec-powered one (the faster one) and the 2-6-0 and the powered express reefer dragged around 25 50' cars on my ATSF layout through 13 inch curves and up a 2% grade. The tiny 2-6-0 goes rolling by and the cars just keep coming, and coming, and coming, and coming.... Oh, and for you guys that really want a powered tender, a 'kludge' appears to be that I've discovered a Kato RSC-2 frame just about drops into a Bachmann 4-8-4 tender body (oil-burner ATSF version). Yes, it should be eight-wheel trucks instead of six-wheel, but it's generally low enough, the right length without chopping, and you could both DCC it and/or add weight. It has some potential at least. But that's one of the very biggest tenders out there, too. The Kato RSC trucks are the only short-wheelbase, equally-spaced, low-friction six-wheel trucks I've found that could pass for a passenger car or tender truck, so further expirimentation is ongoing.
Randy, I bought four of them many years ago for exactly that purpose, after reading that Rich Weyand had done it.. I also bought extended tender resin shells from Jim Stenoski (sp?)--the last four he made, I think. My problem? The RSCs ran so sweetly I couldn't sacrifice them as cheaters!
Well, I've got enough made I think I can take orders now, so e-mail me or PM me if you haven't already got the nod. Make sure you send an e-mail address so I can send you the .PDF instruction book first. Plazajapan is back from vacation and has TM07's on his page. I've heard from a couple folks that while the TM06 has too-modern-looking sideframes, the TM07 has great ones; two sets that will work. Richie over on the A-board has weighted one up to 78 grams to test it, which is even slightly more than I got in it. It's pulling 22 grams both on his test and mine, and that's roughly equivalent to an old Kato GP38 - which is my current single-unit diesel champion for drawbar pull. Even a Kato C30-7 is a little less (21 grams).
Pete, I believe the person you got the tender shells from was Jim Semikoski. I did the stretch and he molded them for Rich Weyand. They really help those Y6B's pull a bunch of coal cars.
I did one of Randy's , still need to blacken the chassis and sideframes . I weighted the PFE refer to 78.2 grams / 2.76 oz , and it pulls about 23 grams on a slow slip , which is equal to a Life Like Erie Blt , or Oriental Challenger . Best of all , it still looks like a PFE express refer .
Thanks, Mark. As I indicated, I'd lost the name. I'm not even sure Jim did them, but may have passed the molds along to someone else. It was a while ago.
I bought a Spectrum auxiliary water tender, this should make a perfect "assistant" to the first run Life-Like 2-8-8-2. Just start thinking.
I've been thinking the same thing. I don't have one of those tenders.... if it the one shown as the N&W auxilliary tender (that goes with 611) I really think it is too short a body. My frame won't fit in much of anything shorter than 50'. You might be able to work a concept if you were willing to loose the flywheels, but on the Tomytec design those are also the universals so you're not gaining much of anything. And the driveshafts are already pitched down enough toward the truck universals that it was almost too close already. I'm going to be doing some expiriments with Kato RSC2 parts shortly to see what I can do. That short six-wheel truck is sweet...
this is the aux tender N&W used behind the Ys and As in the 1950s: A few probs for any existing chassis: a) six wheel trucks, b) low body, c) length I'll get the dimensions when at home ...
the steam era N&W aux tender (proto) is just shy of 41' over coupler faces, so the body would be a little shorter than this.
Randy's powered refer project is now declared done . The powered one is on the right . I managed to make it even lower than the stock car on the left . It will blend in with no outward sign that it is powered and pulls like a bear ( equal to the Erie Blt ) . Thanks Randy , this worked perfectly .
