beavercreek
Travel, Art, Theatre, Music, Photography, Trains
Due to my heavy inclines on the layout all steamers need assistance if they are to get themselves and some cars up the gradients.
I had already knocked up 3 motorised stock cars for the cattle train but wanted to have a ?local? passenger train with a couple of coaches, a flat car and a caboose so the Annie loco was going to need a helping hand.
I could have drafted in one or two of the already motorised stock cars but fancied having a go at a passenger car?.
The good thing for kitbashers is that Bachmann stock cars and their passenger cars have removable floors. This makes the alterations easier than having to physically cut out the hole for the motor block, wiring it up and other alterations etc.
It starts off first with an old Bachmann Colorado & Southern combine with the 9v battery lighting system.
Bachmann used a system of ?plastic ?light-pipes? to spread the light from two bulbs but I was going to use LEDs so they had to go. The leds where attached up to the 9V battery box and even though they are warm-white they needed to be ?coloured? to give the ?old? look.
Floor pan marked and ready for the cut
I used my preferred method of making the mount for the motorblock out of lumps of wood. This is because it is good and stable as well as adding a bit of extra ?heft? to the rig. As the roof has the clerestory centre I cut rebates in the first block to fit into the clerestory space. The second block was cut to size and stick onto the first one..nice and solid.
I chose a USA Trains block as this is fairly close on for the passenger bogie wheelbase. I would have used my preferred weighty Aristo centrecab blocks, however although their wheelbase is great for freight cars, it isway too short for passenger ones.
The contacts and wiring for the motor block are made. There will be the extra cable for the second bogie pick-up wheels, soldered on later.
The block was prepared with an A-frame to which the sides of a passenger bogie would be fixed.
The bogie sides had to be customised to fit the slots in the A-frame and also extra holes had to be made for the protruding axle stubs as the bogies sides where just not exactly the same length wheelbase as the block.
The coupler bracket was glued to the block after making some 'shaping' adjustments to allow access to the screws for the block top plate. The height of the coupler was checked many times..just in case!
PART TWO.............
I had already knocked up 3 motorised stock cars for the cattle train but wanted to have a ?local? passenger train with a couple of coaches, a flat car and a caboose so the Annie loco was going to need a helping hand.
I could have drafted in one or two of the already motorised stock cars but fancied having a go at a passenger car?.
The good thing for kitbashers is that Bachmann stock cars and their passenger cars have removable floors. This makes the alterations easier than having to physically cut out the hole for the motor block, wiring it up and other alterations etc.
It starts off first with an old Bachmann Colorado & Southern combine with the 9v battery lighting system.
Bachmann used a system of ?plastic ?light-pipes? to spread the light from two bulbs but I was going to use LEDs so they had to go. The leds where attached up to the 9V battery box and even though they are warm-white they needed to be ?coloured? to give the ?old? look.
Floor pan marked and ready for the cut
I used my preferred method of making the mount for the motorblock out of lumps of wood. This is because it is good and stable as well as adding a bit of extra ?heft? to the rig. As the roof has the clerestory centre I cut rebates in the first block to fit into the clerestory space. The second block was cut to size and stick onto the first one..nice and solid.
I chose a USA Trains block as this is fairly close on for the passenger bogie wheelbase. I would have used my preferred weighty Aristo centrecab blocks, however although their wheelbase is great for freight cars, it isway too short for passenger ones.
The contacts and wiring for the motor block are made. There will be the extra cable for the second bogie pick-up wheels, soldered on later.
The block was prepared with an A-frame to which the sides of a passenger bogie would be fixed.
The bogie sides had to be customised to fit the slots in the A-frame and also extra holes had to be made for the protruding axle stubs as the bogies sides where just not exactly the same length wheelbase as the block.
The coupler bracket was glued to the block after making some 'shaping' adjustments to allow access to the screws for the block top plate. The height of the coupler was checked many times..just in case!
PART TWO.............
