Please excuse me if this has been covered before, as I must have missed it: Has anyone tried to mount Life Like E6 shells on the new Kato E8 chassis? I was reading the article in last month's N Scale Magazine about converting an unpowered B unit into a powered unit plus adding DCC and had an idea about a different method: How about swapping the Kato chassis of a new E8 A-B set under the LL E6 A-B, you'd accomplish that and more! Granted, it is not the cheapest route, but is reasonable in that new Kato E8 A-B sets have been selling (and not selling) on eBay for $99; LL E6 A-B set for $40-50! Also reasonable in that "custom painted" Kato E models sell in the $125+ range for each unit. I am not knocking the LifeLike drive; in fact, for the money, I think it is a wonderful performer. I have owned both Kato and LL E units and have tested them side by side; the Kato is a smoother, quieter performer. Plus, the Katos are DCC Plug 'n Play with the new decoders. Any thoughts? Chessie ------------------ Harold Hodnett Fan of NS, CSX, and their predecessors! Coming soon: The North Carolina Railfan Web Site http://www.trainweb.org/ncrail/
I did get a resonse to the topic e-mailed to me: Harold, I have put LL E7 and E8 both A and B unit shells over the Kato E8 frame. I have an LL E6 that looks like it will fit without any difficulty just as nicely. When I fit the LL shells over the Kato E8 frame, I had to trim a little of the plastic on the inside about half way up. Otherwise it spreads the shell sides. Another approach would be to groove the Kata frame. This would be more difficult and need greater working precision but would yield a firmer "aligned" fit. So, I guess it is easily "doable" Chessie ------------------ Harold Hodnett Fan of NS, CSX, and their predecessors! Coming soon: The North Carolina Railfan Web Site http://www.trainweb.org/ncrail/
