TheRailwire

General Discussion => N and Z Scales => Topic started by: randgust on April 07, 2014, 03:35:24 PM

Title: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: randgust on April 07, 2014, 03:35:24 PM
Wow, this is just too cool for a critter.  Somehow I don't think it needs three traction motors, maybe one and a bicycle chain line like the 25-tonner:

http://members.shaw.ca/tractivepower/index.html?page_id=2

80-tonner, 56,000 pounds of tractive effort???  375HP?   Hmmmm.  Of course, you don't need sophisticated wheel slip controls with a chain!

Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: tom mann on April 07, 2014, 03:56:52 PM
April Fool! :tommann:
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: davefoxx on April 07, 2014, 04:53:34 PM
Reminds me of Oscar and Piker.

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/932-37
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: up1950s on April 07, 2014, 05:49:58 PM
That looks really cool . Leave the unit unpowered so there is room for the engineer with see-through daylite . Then make 3 powered B units . Paint silver with a red cigar band .

Other shots and info
http://members.shaw.ca/tractivepower/brochure/TP56_20140401_A.pdf

http://www.tractivepowercorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/tp56_960x344.jpg

http://www.tractivepowercorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/specs_960x344.jpg
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: TiVoPrince on April 07, 2014, 05:54:25 PM
Athearn
'Hustler' brought to life?  Wonder if its over or under 40 miles an hour at six volts...
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: chessie system fan on April 07, 2014, 06:54:01 PM
It doesn't look too difficult to make, considering Kato now includes the gear tower with the truck.

http://www.katousa.com/images/929341.jpg (http://www.katousa.com/images/929341.jpg)
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: LV LOU on April 07, 2014, 07:11:39 PM
WOW!! Exactly what I'm looking for!!! I was gonna freelance something like this. I gotta take some pics,but I just built a power unit from a junk Bachmann Dash 8,[So,yeah,pretty much ALL B-Mann Dash 8's are perfect candidates..] would fit that perfectly!! The B-Mann truck is perfect for critters,the worm gear is part of the truck,and the tower is on the end,not in the middle.
   I pulled the worm off the shaft,the motor shaft goes right in the tower,presses through the worm.You need to press a small piece of shaft in the other end of the worm.The biggest job is gluing and wiring the pickups in,since the chassis doesn't hold it in anymore.I built one for a boxcab I'm building,uses the Dash 8 motor,too..I was gonna post pics when it was done..
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: randgust on April 08, 2014, 07:10:35 AM
Back 'in the day' the Roco E-7 had a six-axle truck with the fixed gear tower at one end.

What others were ever like that?  Do you have a picture of the Bachmann one?   Is there any 'SD40' truck out there like that?

That's what you need to make this work.  There's several small 3.5v gearhead motors that would interface with that, and keep the speed within limits, but the drive has to be on one end for room.

http://www.spookshow.net/loco/atlase7.html

I suppose you could try with an old Roco one..yeesh
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: LV LOU on April 08, 2014, 08:12:17 AM
Randy,I'll get a pic tonight,but the entire motor from the dash 8 will fit on top of the truck.The tower is all the way on the end..I just looked at the B-Mann parts page,it's the old Dash 8 that has the right truck.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: randgust on April 08, 2014, 02:34:07 PM
Why would this get moved over to the crew lounge when we're discussing how to do it in N scale?   I saw this happen in trainboard so I posted it here, thinking it would stay where I wanted it... thread will now drift off and die.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: tom mann on April 08, 2014, 02:56:58 PM
I think Ian thought it was going to be otherwise...I'll move it back.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: wm3798 on April 08, 2014, 03:36:15 PM
Itchy finger Ian.  Good thing there's lots of paperwork to do when a cop shoots someone... probably the only thing that spares the miscreants of Ossipee.

Lee
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: peteski on April 08, 2014, 03:43:09 PM
Besides several Bachmann locos (older and newer), IIRC, con Cor / Roco RDCs has a worm integrated with the truck.

Also one of the older releases of Bachmann DDA40X had its motor as a part of the truck assembly (self-contained power truck).  That was the one where the rear truck was a dummy.

Kato RDC and NW2 trucks also have worms integrated in them.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: garethashenden on April 08, 2014, 03:50:17 PM
It doesn't look too difficult to make, considering Kato now includes the gear tower with the truck.

http://www.katousa.com/images/929341.jpg (http://www.katousa.com/images/929341.jpg)

Take this, replace driveshaft with small motor, attach body, job done.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: Ian MacMillan on April 08, 2014, 04:04:23 PM
 :facepalm: 

Almost a whole week without being compared to TB.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: Robbman on April 08, 2014, 04:56:07 PM
For the record... it's an HTC truck... not a Flexicoil.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: randgust on April 08, 2014, 05:01:43 PM
You really don't need the motor integrated with the truck, you just need the worm a permanent part of the truck and not in the center; you can jerry-rig all kinds of connections between the two.   I did a pager motor into the Tomytec 4-wheel truck to make a 25-tonner drive (9v Motorola pager motor).   Did work, but had truly poor low-end torque, couldn't hardly pull anything.  Take the same concept and get one of the tiny Gizmoszones gearheads in there would give you 5.14:1, just about right.

Still wondering if there ever was or is any EMD SD-40 type truck with the gear tower a fixed part of the truck (pivot would have been on the universal) and on one end....  That 'tower on the end' is what I'm referring to that's the critical element to pull this off.

Here's your motor.  I just repowered another Kato critter with one, if you want it faster than 15mph but not a rocket, the 5.14:1 works great, put a 100-ohm resistor in there.   With gearheads there's not enough draw to overheat the resistor, without it you have a problem!

http://www.gizmoszone.com/shopping/html/pages/612datasheet.pdf

There's so many ways now to put the micro-gearheads in there, and swap the 3V larger motors with the 12V Kato critter motors, you can build a pretty nice drive without spending a whole lot.   The trick becomes in either putting the worm on the end of the plastic shaft and changing it to an end-bearing method, or making some kind of a short universal in the drive system.  I've done both, can be done.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: up1950s on April 08, 2014, 08:11:50 PM
For the record... it's an HTC truck... not a Flexicoil.

High Traction Coefficient ?
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: Chris333 on April 08, 2014, 08:34:45 PM
Ever find a source for those 12v kato motors without buying a whole chassis?
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: Leggy on April 08, 2014, 09:09:29 PM
High Traction C-axle.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: up1950s on April 08, 2014, 10:19:37 PM
Thanks
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: BCR 570 on April 08, 2014, 10:55:37 PM
The switcher photographed is being built in Squamish.  it is a few tracks over from the business car NORTHERN SUMMIT which I have been measuring, so I have been watching it develop.  Pretty cool!

Tim
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: Philip H on April 08, 2014, 11:19:33 PM
Seems to me this would make a neat etched brass kit.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: DKS on April 08, 2014, 11:27:07 PM
If it was me, I wouldn't bother looking for a truck with the right gear configuration, but rather just any truck with the correct sides. Use a Tsugawa Yokou (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Mini-Size-Motorized-Chassis-TU-7T-N-scale-/360891455594?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item5406ce986a), Kato (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kato-11-103-Powered-Motorized-Chassis-N-scale-/360902970082?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item54077e4ae2) or Bandai (http://www.ebay.com/itm/B-Train-Powered-Motorized-Chassis-1-Bandai-N-scale-/360878527088?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item5406095270) powered truck (whichever one has the right wheel spacing) and add a dummy wheelset to make a three-axle unit. Then chop off the truck sides and mount them to the car body.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: LV LOU on April 09, 2014, 12:00:12 AM
 Here's the Bachmann Dash 8 truck,not quit finished.I built a small motor saddle under the motor,I'll silicone it on.The bearings will center the motor shaft.I'm using the stock Dash 8 worm,I'm pressing the stock stub shaft out,then I'll press in the motor shaft,and put a piece of the worm gear shaft back in the other end.The Bachmann pickup strips are bent out on the ends,and glued to the frame.Just have to hardwire the motor to the strips.These trucks are cheap,plentiful,and run fairly well,easy to use other ,smaller motors...The actual Dash 8 motor is smaller than this,I think you could stand it up on edge..

(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss53/LV_LOUIE/DSCF0105_zps44e05e08.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/LV_LOUIE/media/DSCF0105_zps44e05e08.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: LV LOU on April 09, 2014, 12:02:50 AM
This is what it's going under..

(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss53/LV_LOUIE/DSCF0110_zpse7d7604e.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/LV_LOUIE/media/DSCF0110_zpse7d7604e.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: up1950s on April 09, 2014, 01:43:10 AM
Nice Lou , you're ahead of everybody .

I look at this as not so much a model to copy , but an open door to use any truck to critterfy . DDA40X truck is about 25 feet long , eight wheel , no bolsters needed . Stretch Bachmann Plymouth comes to mind , or something like that .
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: randgust on April 09, 2014, 08:41:19 AM
Yeah, exactly.   Now with one of the plastic gearheads, you take the plastic shaft and bore out the FRONT half of the worm to fit, and use the original shaft and bearing for the BACK half so it is supported that way on one end.   Yours will certainly work with that motor, just will be relatively fast.

I'm looking on those Bachmann truck sideframes, wow, although that's not an SD40 truck its closer than I thought it would look.  To me its a matter of degrees, without drawings you're guessing on a lot more than truck sideframes, no sense getting stuck on that.  And I also suspect that if push came to shove, they'd be able to do the same thing on a GE six-axle truck if one fell off the truck beside the plant.

On the Kato 12V motor; no I've never found any way to get them except buy the entire chassis.   I just consider them a $25 motor with some leftover neat wheels and other parts.    I've found so many uses for those trucks and wheels that I'm not sure I've ever had any 'surplus'.  On many of my projects I've gone back and added a second traction tire set on the opposite corner, which also requires another entire chassis to accomplish.  Nothing wasted.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: LV LOU on April 09, 2014, 09:48:10 AM
 Randy,if you've never run one,I think you'd be surprised..The Bachmann Dash 8 is pretty slow,no need for a gearhead.I can't get most of mine to run over 60 SMPH..
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: railnerd on April 10, 2014, 03:05:32 PM
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: Philip H on April 10, 2014, 03:21:14 PM
Not sure whats up with the camera but this thing really is weirdly cool.
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: LV LOU on April 10, 2014, 04:46:31 PM
Not sure whats up with the camera but this thing really is weirdly cool.
The music was a little .."optimistic.."? Sounded like a movie trailer,I was waiting for some creature to burst out of the secret rogue government facility in the background,and then the locomotive turns into a giant robot to save the day..
  Actually,the Old Atlas or Con Cor SW cab would be a good starting point..
Title: Re: Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!
Post by: nkalanaga on April 11, 2014, 02:01:10 AM
It makes sense, given the number of older SDs being retired or stored, and you would get two switchers per SD...