Well last night I took a chance on EBay by bidding on a 2-6-4T loco. No not the one going for over $200 but the much cheaper on going for $30 and I got it for $32. Why did I go for a poor performer, see Spookshow, well it was primarily for the shell which would cost me as much or more on Shapeways. The steam roster of the Turtle Creek features mostly tank locos and that gets rid of the need for a space eating turntable on my layout and a round house. Already have 5 working tank locos in my roster now. The loco may arrive by this week end and the plans for it? Well first is to see if there is life left in that pancake motor by Lima. If I can get it to run that is a plus. If not then there are a number of small motors in my parts box including some small can motors plus other small motors to repower this with. Another option is to slide another steam mechanism under the tank engine shell. And the final option is to make this free rolling and use a motorized car behind it. Already have one from Kato that is that way. Oh and I have an N scale Thomas face on order from Shapeways so now you see the direction I am heading.
As stated in the original post I have quite a few options open. I have had luck in restoring to operation 2 out of 3 very old mechanisms. Would have had 3 out of 3 but 1 decided to stop on the tracks and do a melt down. If I had caught it in time I could have saved it but alas no. Up my sleeve is a repowering with a Bmann 0-6-0 since Thomas is an 0-6-0T. The other option open is a free wheeling version with power provided by the Kato 11-103 now the 11-109 chassis. These are a mechanism that fits under the Kato pocket line cars and are two axle mechanisms. And Thomas pulls 2 axle cars.
Well my tank engine is in the post from Florida. The Thomas face should be finished production today and should be in the mail by tomorrow. I have a bid in on an 0-6-0 and I have at least 3 motors in my box for that.
If you go the powered car option, the Lima 2-6-4Ts do freewheel well when you take out the motor and some gears. The one annoying eyesore is that the connecting rod slides out of the front of the cylinders. I tried trimming it on one. That did not go well. My other option to fashion a larger cylinder. The Kato 2-6-4T requires little work to make it look more North American. I chopped off the smokebox cover from a B-mann USRA 0-6-0 shell, take out the alien smokebox cover and affix the B-mann. You could change the domes if you wanted to do that. I did a minimum of surgery to affix a North American style cowcatcher to the "front". I am working on fitting a pilot of some sort to the "aft" end. As the coupler is truck mounted, I am trying to mount a swivelling pilot onto the tongue on the trailing truck that accommodates the trailing truck coupler.
Thanks for the info. Since I will be modeling my version of Thomas I am not concerned that is does not look USA since Thomas is British. I have two powered passenger cars both from the Kato pocket line and a number of powered Bandai coaches. Also have about three Bandai mechanisms sitting in my parts box that can slip under a 40 foot box. My preference is to have the loco powered though and to that end I have a bid in on a 0-6-0 and that would solve the issue of the cylinders. Plus Thomas is an 0-6-0. I have a Kato 2-6-4 in my steam roster and it is a great performer able to navigate my 8-5 inch radius and my 7 inch radius. The tank engine is out for delivery today with the postal service so by tonight I will know what direction I am heading. The other 2-6-4T on Ebay has been offered to folks that have looked at it at a lower price but not by much and still over $200. I replied to the seller via E-mail that I already bought one at a much lower price and was not interested.
But I get to have some fun seeing if I can resurrect an old mechanism or re-powering it. Plus I am going to see if I can get two shells to fit on a mechanism having a conventional loco and a Thomas type for when the grand kids are over.
Well the tank engine has arrived and as I suspected the motor will not run. Upon dismantling I came upon some rust and suspect this loco was a victim of a hurricane being from Florida. Surprisingly the light still works. Motor was cleaned with contact cleaner and contacts cleaned but still no run and there is a line inside the shell on the plastic that indicates an overheat at some point. 100_1223-3 by John Moore posted Aug 12, 2021 at 5:35 PM So on to option two which is to see if I can figure out how to remove the motor and gears. After supper I managed that and am pleased to say the loco is very free rolling. So option two is one of my Kato motorized cars 100_1224-4 by John Moore posted Aug 12, 2021 at 6:32 PM Option three is to shove another mechanism under the shell.
Well after playing with the mechanism for awhile it started having some binding issues so today in the heat I will stay cool in the man cave messing with trying to remove some idler gears form the loco. All while waiting for the clock to tick down on a attempt to get a mechanism off the Bay to slide under the shell. And in a late addition removing the idler gears only made it mechanism worse so that idea is down the tube. If nothing else right now I am only confirming Spookshow's opinion of this loco. The loco besides the crummy pancake motor had binding issues. Fortunately I got this for the shell only cheap off the Bay. Now on to option three which is finding a suitable chassis to slide under. After some thought I am leaning toward a 2-6-2 mechanism rather than the original 0-6-0 idea. Hopefully the models also have a 30 foot wheelbase from lead to trailing truck.
Well I won my bid for a loco for the mechanism to power the tank engine a 2-6-2. And a Tomix 0-6-0 Thomas with two coaches is on its way from Japan. So with luck my Island railway will have two of the Thomas family on it.
Well what should arrive today in a hugely over sized box and enclosed with a strip of large bubble wrap, then in an plastic envelope in which was another bubble wrapping, but my very small Thomas face. 100_1226-1 by John Moore posted Aug 14, 2021 at 5:29 PM Now heading for a soak in some Simple Green.
Well the Thomas face has been soaked in Simple Green, dried and given a coat of primer. Going to be some fine point brush painting up next. 100_1228-3 by John Moore posted Aug 14, 2021 at 7:58 PM Since everything I have coming is rapido equipped I have to change out couplers and my favorite is the Kato coupler because it plays very well with MTs. Pulling out my packs of Katos I found I had a black package and then noticed they were different than my regular 11-702s and 11-707s. These were 11-721s and had airlines and MU hoses. I made a nice boo-boo and I like these. 100_1227-2 by John Moore posted Aug 14, 2021 at 7:58 PM
Well got the paint done on the Thomas face. 100_1231-1 by John Moore posted Aug 15, 2021 at 11:41 AM 100_1233-2 by John Moore posted Aug 15, 2021 at 12:11 PM Now the waiting game for something to come in, either the mechanism for the tank engine or the supplies from Japan.
Well an old Bmann 2-6-2 arrived in the mail today that will become the donor chassis for the tank engine. I immediately opened the box which was the original box and retrieved an almost new loco. Test runs were successful with only the front truck giving issues. That is being resolved by installing a new pilot which allows the front pony truck greater side to side motion. Some minor trimming on the metal boiler and installing some shims in the body and I am in great shape. Cleaned the motor and contacts and lubed everything. I had three Bmann motors in my parts box if I needed them but so far its is running like a top. Now waiting for ACC to set up on the pilot and primer on the weight then I will be ready for paint on the shell and installing a back coupler. 100_1239-1 by John Moore posted Aug 18, 2021 at 8:32 PM 100_1240-2 by John Moore posted Aug 18, 2021 at 9:40 PM
Well just starting to apply paint. I am following a Japanese paint scheme. The object below the smokebox is the mounts for two cross compound air compressors. The colors are Vallejo sky blue and sky grey. The face was just tacked on with Hobby Tac making it easy to remove for painting. All steam on the Turtle Creek is oil burning. 100_1245-1 by John Moore posted Aug 19, 2021 at 7:03 PM
Finished except for striping and lettering. Got the air pumps, bell, and headlight on, and remounted the face. 100_1251-1 by John Moore posted Aug 20, 2021 at 7:44 AM 100_1252-2 by John Moore posted Aug 20, 2021 at 7:44 AM 100_1253-3 by John Moore posted Aug 20, 2021 at 7:44 AM
Well I just received word that my Tomix Thomas has shipped from Japan. This included the two coaches also. In addition three Bandai coaches are included in this order to go behind the current Thomas creation. These coaches are only 34 foot long and instead of using Bandai couplers and trucks I will be using Kato couplers and trucks.
Had a Bandai car body in one of my parts boxes so equipped it with trucks and now adding MTs. It is converted to a cafe/dining car with some added roof details. Trying to decide if I want to repaint it into sky blue or leave it alone. 100_1255-3 by John Moore posted Aug 20, 2021 at 8:28 PM
