USA Trains 44 Ton Locomotive ?????

Do it before I get a patent on it.....LOL
 
Here's the completed project. The thing that looks like a stack on top of the cab is the charging socket. The engineer shares his cab with alot of stuff, don't you think ? IMG_5318.jpgIMG_5319.jpgIMG_5320.jpg
 
Nice kitbash Dan!

I use the 44 tonner motor blocks for my 'invisible' motorising of Bachmann and LGB passenger cars (I use the Aristocraft centre cab ones for freight cars). I do this because of my layout's max 10% incline so when I do not want to multi-head the locos, I can run a single loco with a string of cars behind and it has the 'invisible' help to climb the slope (and also the 'braking' of the car motor blocks to stop it speeding up down hill), in the form of the motorised cars. It is a shame that USA trains no longer make the 44 tonner blocks as spares.

13a motor bogie in place sideframes 2.jpg
 
I didn't know that USA Trains stopped making the 44 ton motor blocks. They do sell replacement geared wheel sets however. Both with and without traction tires. I imagine these wheel sets to be the same ones used in some of their other locos. I opted for the plain wheel sets, without tires. I feel that the tires may have something to do with the premature splitting of the plastic portion of the axle.

USA Trains makes some very nice trains. Beautifully detailed locomotives and rolling stock. However, the engineering design of how the parts all fit together leaves something to be desired. I've worked on many LGB locomotives and tearing them apart and reassembling them is straight forward. USA Trains locos, on the other hand, are more difficult to disassemble and reassemble. Access to the screws holding things like upper body parts to the chassis requires a screwdriver that hasn't been invented yet.....:confused:.....

When I disassembled the 44 ton loco, I found that one of the posts inside one hood was broken off. These posts member up with a female post that is part of the chassis. This seems like a weak design to me. Getting to the screws that hold the hood onto the chassis is difficult, requiring that uninvented screwdriver I mentioned. The drive axle design is another mystery. Why it was designed this way is beyond my comprehension.

While it sounds like I am trashing USA Trains, I'm not. Many modelers are quite pleased with their products. Their Overton coaches are some of my best operating rolling stock. I'm hoping to get many years of enjoyment from my 44 ton loco.
 
I agree Dan USAT do make some fine kit. I also agree with you regarding the rather Heath Robinson approach to their construction.
Only USAT would have a mixture of led and tungsten lighting that needs two separate regulators etc. I have lost a few screws taking the chassis apart and as to that non-invented screwdriver, how they build them in the factory would be interesting to see......
 
The wheel/axle holders either side of the worm gear crack because they used junk plastic and the knurling was badly designed.
The wheels and tyres have nothing to do with it. They break anyway.
The 44 ton wheel diameters are different from all other motor blocks.
You need a long shaft Phillips head screwdriver. Long enough to wriggle down between the sideframe and the wheelsets.
 
I have that long shaft screwdriver, Tony. It's the one that comes with the LGB kit. While the shaft is thin, it could be thinner. I've found it better to loosen the truck side frames. This allows a bit more space for the screwdriver to slip between the wheel and the side frame.

By the way, thank you for your input. I don't feel so alone now.
 
USA Trains screws must go soft over time.. Either that, or they are made of cheese!
They are also either not done up, or appear to have been glued-in, whilst tightened by a Gorilla..
And as for those two teeny-tiny screws holding the cab!!!!!!! :banghead::banghead:

Oh, and don't get me started on whether they are DCC-friendly or not..


They do some cracking liveries though.. :clap::clap:
 
Dunno about DCC friendly. They certainly are battery friendly though.
Really easy to convert.
I use a specialist store bought thin screwdriver that slips easily between the side frames and wheels.
The screws are pretty crappy to start with so make sure the screwdriver head is the correct fit into the screw. You will get perhaps 2 - 3 removals and replacements before the screwheads are mush.

Yes I have found one or two that have been glued in, making it very difficult to remove.
I had much more trouble then. The trucks have to be removed so a drill can get down into the cavity. Bachmann screws are just as bad. Give me LGB screws anytime.
 
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DCC friendly that the connections to the motors and pickups are separate and use connectors readily available.

Not friendly by virtue of incandescent bulbs of multiple and weird voltages and also the use of bidirectional leds etc.

My screws last a long time if they are removed without damage, and the threads are lubed and not overtightened when replaced, and put back into the same threads. Find a screwdriver that fits the heads exactly, and label it and use it only.

in my experience the axles with traction tires crack before the ones without. I got rid of all the traction tires, when when it stalls the wheels spin.

Greg
 
I seem to recall reading on one of the garden railway forums that Charlie Ro went to Germany to tour the LGB factory. He was so impressed with their manufacturing methods and products that he supposedly was going to emulate them. Maybe on the way back home he had forgotten everything he saw and heard.....:rofl:

I know that sounds like I am trashing his products. What I am doing is offering constructive criticism that may be read by some USA Trains employee or even Charlie himself.
 
Greg Elmassian said:
He's been hearing about these things forever.... I doubt age has made him more flexible.

He sells lots of replacement wheelsets.... get it?

Greg
Click to expand...

Then they ought to list ALL the spares, and get the website to take payments then!

Many parts you have to ask for specifically, and their website will not accept my Visa card.. :banghead::banghead::banghead:
 
The phone requires one to communicate directly, one to one, with somebody else. Shudder!!
 
My 44 ton at work.

 
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