part name

[h2w]

 I bought  a Bachmann gp50 it runs great when I turned it upside down theres nothing covering the gears is there apart that connects to the trucks and covers the gears?
thanks
 Mark

[reinhardtjh]

I don't know what Bachmann would call that part.  On a lot of trucks the sideframes and the bottom are one piece.  They have a parts diagram for the GP50 but no details on the the truck so I can't tell what it is.  Looks like they consider it once item.  Which, as it happens, are sold out of their parts store. (http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=66_70_122&sort=20a&page=3)

Parts diagram: http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/N_SCALE_GP50.pdf

[PROPULDUDE]

No cover..See pic

[h2w]

yep that is whaat it looks like ...weird
thank you
 mark

[peteski]

Not weird at all - many N scale Bachmann models were constructed that way (especially the ones from the 80s with white gears).  Minimalistic design - lowest price.

[nkalanaga]

A lot of non-Bachmann trucks also have exposed gears, although I haven't seen any quite that exposed.  My Kato electrics seem to be especially bad about picking up loose ballast and debris in the axle gears...

[peteski]

Majority N scale locos have at least some part of the gears exposed on the bottom of the truck.  But those Bachmann locos have the entire gear case fully exposed.

[davefoxx]

Majority N scale locos have at least some part of the gears exposed on the bottom of the truck.

Probably has something to do with clearance.  If the manufacturers were to cover the entire bottom of the trucks, they would likely be dragging.

DFF

[peteski]

Probably has something to do with clearance. 

Yup, that is the only reason I can think of. Nice thing about the Kato FEF is that the gear is all covered up. They can do that with larger steam driver wheels.

[nkalanaga]

DFF:  That's what I've always assumed.  A solid cover plate makes sense on several levels.  That it isn't done that way means there has to be a very good reason for the holes.

Z scale models are even more sensitive to dirt, because their gears are closer to the ballast, and, of course, there's even less room for a solid cover plate.  I wonder if the practical limit on model locomotives will be debris  in the gears, rather than lack of weight or motor size?  Most people can't afford a "clean room" for the layout...

[peteski]

I found that on many locos which have holes for the gears in the cover plate, the gears do not extend below the bottom surface of the plate.  Covering the openings with a strip of blue masking tape effectively covers the gears without causing any other problems.

[nkalanaga]

Peteski:  I might try that on my Kato electrics and MT Z diesel mechanisms.  Hadn't thought of tape...

[peteski]

Peteski:  I might try that on my Kato electrics and MT Z diesel mechanisms.  Hadn't thought of tape...

This:


You might remember this thread from the A-board where I recommended using tape (my eval is towards the bottom of the page).
http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=65549&whichpage=2

[nkalanaga]

No, I don't remember that one.  I have few, if any, Kato shock absorbing trucks, so probably skipped the topic entirely.  I know, there's always the possibility of unrelated, but useful, information in a topic, but often I have to ration my reading time...

Unrelated, but it's interesting that, although the forum is closed, and all topics locked, one can still log in.  Doesn't do any good, but the login function still works.

[peteski]

Unrelated, but it's interesting that, although the forum is closed, and all topics locked, one can still log in.  Doesn't do any good, but the login function still works.

Actually I had to login to find that thread.  With the older threads where I have to search the entire message for a keyword (since I don't remember the subject line), the search times out without results (just a database error).  A-board was always like that (one poorly chosen setting somewhere that limits the search time).

The way I found that thread was to login and look up the thread by the user name (since I did remember that).  If the logins were disabled I would have not been able to find that thread.