Extreme Mamodification Question

DickyC

DickyC

(BZB Mountain Railway)
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Hi all, Ok to was sitting in my shed this weekend painting and setting the world to rights while escaping whatever rubbish was on the TV at the time with a LGB locos about.

I was looking up and my MSS (now gas fired) engine and thinking that steam is great ! but a bit of a faff (sorry all you live steam guys out there and i know the Mss/mamod is not a true example but a bit of toy).. I like however how the Mss looks (crude and basic) as it remonds me of the Mamod we had in the garden back inthe 80s/90s.

So my question out there is this ? Could the be converted to Electric ?? Keeping the look, cyclinders etc but underneath it all is a motor (battery and RC). Im guessing it would need a 1 scale gearbox and motor ??

Any thoughts or would it just be impossable ?

Cheers Richard
 
Never had a Mamod loco but I guess you could cut away and just stick it on a power block from any of the major makers - perhaps the Otto block would do. That is of course, if it fits - I know the Mamod is hardly the biggest of locos.
 
Roy Wood can supply a 45mm gauge live steam Janet for not much over £400. I went to him for upgrades to my two Mamod SL1s. I can vouch for the marvellous quality of the parts he sells. One loco is gas fired, has a Goodall filler valve, 40psi SV mounted on a turret with needle valve regulator & displacement lubricator. The other has all those fittings, plus new silver soldered copper boiler with sight glass, upgraded cylinders & pistons, new wheels & new coupling rods. The cab has also been cut down à la Janet. It's technically still a Mamod, as the frames, draw bar & smokebox are original. For traction, there's a kilo of lead in the side tanks as well, but it will slip heavily with 10 kilos on the drawbar.

http://roywoodmodels.co.uk/janet

I mention all this because SL1 locos deserve these upgrades instead of just being left languishing on some dusty shelf. Once refitted to the standard of the first loco described, they become very controllable. The second loco was purchased with loose wheels, oval coupling rods, a leaking boiler & only one cylinder; a perfect candidate for an Andre Chapelon style rebuild. It's now twice as powerful as its stable mate.

SL1 x 2 = https://www.nationalgardenrailwayshow.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/JW1.jpg
 
Team_Kona said:
Hi all, Ok to was sitting in my shed this weekend painting and setting the world to rights while escaping whatever rubbish was on the TV at the time with a LGB locos about.

I was looking up and my MSS (now gas fired) engine and thinking that steam is great ! but a bit of a faff (sorry all you live steam guys out there and i know the Mss/mamod is not a true example but a bit of toy).. I like however how the Mss looks (crude and basic) as it remonds me of the Mamod we had in the garden back inthe 80s/90s.

So my question out there is this ? Could the be converted to Electric ?? Keeping the look, cyclinders etc but underneath it all is a motor (battery and RC). Im guessing it would need a 1 scale gearbox and motor ??

Any thoughts or would it just be impossable ?

Cheers Richard
Click to expand...
Yes it is possible a friend of mine converted an original Mamod to Battery Power. I think he put the Battery bits in a Tender that he made. I think that you will find the axles to be ok for 0 Gauge Gears and Motors 3/16 of an inch but please do check that out before buying. A gearbox motor will make life much easier but not sure how the wheels are held in place on the MSS beasts. Certainly with Mamod one needed to do some metal bending (around the axle where the wheel is held in place) to get a wheel off and some bashing with a hammer to get it back to hold when replaced. Good luck!
 
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