Camelizing the Bachmann 0-6-0

[ryourstone]

These things run surprising well for a $25 engine, here's something I've been thinking of trying for a while. While obviously this won't be pulling 20 cars and I had to give up some weight, permormance is the same after flipping the motor sideways and to the other side of the gear tower. Converting the tender to Kato trucks and 8 wheel pickup will help, and I'm thinking I might even be able to fit a flywheel at the end of the firebox:



Since the motor will be visible through the cab windows, I might want to use a can motor instead. Will look just like the boiler. Anyone have any recommendations for something that will fit in this area and give better performance?

[Chris333]

Nice work!

A mashima 10x12x15 or 10x12x20 may fit. You can squeeze extra weight by using tungsten welding electrodes. I buy mine from this guy:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Tungsten-rod-electrode-element-tesla-coil-99-95-pure_W0QQitemZ320266531879QQihZ011QQcategoryZ29402QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
He cuts it to your exact length as well. That I recommend because you won't be able to cut it.

[ryourstone]

Mashima motors are not easy to find, where did you buy yours? Have you tried the Tiny-tot motors? These are only 6 mm wide and less than $20, I might pick one up to experiment with.

I'm also wondering if something like this would work on the Bachmann lt mountain to turn it into a 4-6-0... minus the last driver the running gear is a perfect match for what I need.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Oh man, that's gonna be awesome...

[Chris333]

Max did some tests with the Tiny-Tot and found it would burn up quick. I used a Tiny-tot gearhead on the front of a Mashima. I got it from "The Motorman", but:

http://www.hollywoodfoundry.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?catalogid=32
http://www.hollywoodfoundry.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?catalogid=34


http://www.micro-loco-motion.com/

The 10x20 comes in the Atlas shay and the 10x15 comes in the Atlas MP15.

Really I bet that stock motor runs pretty good. How bad does it much up the windows? Can it be mounted vertically or are gears in the way?

[ryourstone]

Was he doing a stress test or did it burn up under normal operation? I wonder if it would hold up just doing some light switching... Once Atlas has it's store back online I'm going to check on the MP15 motors there too. thanks for the tip.

The stock motor isn't bad at all. It looks like the same one in the 2-8-0, but for a 3-pole it runs pretty smooth. I had to mount it sideways because otherwise the bottom would have been below the top of the wheels. I don't have a shell yet, but I'm gussing the motor is going to take up nearly the whole width of the cab, and probably about 2/3 of the height. And the cab will have to be slightly longer than prototype and a little forward, but I think visually it will still be ok.

Here is a proto pic from NE Rails:

[Chris333]

I believe Max wrote about it here:
http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=43820&SearchTerms=tiny,tot,0-8-0
The last few pages is where he burned up motors.

BTW the Atlas MP15 motor also has 3 poles, but the same exact sized mashima motor I bought had 5 poles. FWIW.

[ryourstone]

So just for giggles (and to see how bad the motor looked through the windows) I dropped on the cab from my 2-8-0. Oddly enough, it appears to be about the right size even for this little switcher:





There seems to be enough air around the motor so it wouldn't look too bad with a little black paint. With a window frame or crew member in place I think it might do ok for now. Lots of room for weight too, so maybe I can get away with cutting away a little more frame to add a flywheel.

[RDG_Rich]

Nice work Rich!

You kill me... First, we have the same name, and then...every time I turn around, you are building stuff that I want to build. You followin me?  ;D Although this is an exception, as it is a sister road camel...

Another motor option:

http://www.nigellawton009.com/BachmannCradle.html

It's for the old 0-4-0, but it is a 10x12, which might give you more room for weight, or whatever you want to put in there...

KEEP GOING!!!

Rich

[DKS]

Rich, I think you and Chris share the world record on the most awesome loco mods.

Was he doing a stress test or did it burn up under normal operation?

From what I gather from that interminable thread, it was more of a stress-test. IIRC, he had it running at or near full throttle for a couple of hours (correct me if I'm wrong). I tend to think that with more normal use, the Tiny Tots (or equivalently lightweight motors) might be serviceable.

[ryourstone]

You kill me... First, we have the same name, and then...every time I turn around, you are building stuff that I want to build. You followin me?  ;D Although this is an exception, as it is a sister road camel...

Everyone jumping on the Reading bandwagon these days, it's the next Santa Fe

Actually I'm doing less RDG now that my focus is on the Newark Branch rather than the CNJ main. I wanted to include a bit of the main at Eport but it's not fitting into my plans. But there's always the occasional transfer run up to Brills that would use whatever power was available at Eport, including RDG and B&O.

[ryourstone]

Rich, I think you and Chris share the world record on the most awesome loco mods.

Was he doing a stress test or did it burn up under normal operation?

From what I gather from that interminable thread, it was more of a stress-test. IIRC, he had it running at or near full throttle for a couple of hours (correct me if I'm wrong). I tend to think that with more normal use, the Tiny Tots (or equivalently lightweight motors) might be serviceable.

Thanks David - I think Chris has me beat by a mile! And he finishes stuff in a couple weeks that takes me years But one of these days I'm going to get me one of those Micro-mark etching kits too.

From what I gather from that thread I think you're right. Max thought it was running at over 5V that burned up the contacts. What I'm building now is more of a big switching layout, no loops, only a short grade of 0.5%, and much of the trackage the switcher would live in is 10mph limit and would rarely have to move more than 5 cars at a time. I might still give it a try, I like the idea of the built-in gearhead for a low-speed switcher.

[Chris333]

You can always go Faulhaber for a motor/gearhead. You can get a 8mm dia. that runs at 8volts or a 10mm dia. that will run at 12volts. The motor are around 16mm long, but add the gearhead and it goes out to around 25-26mm long.

Some HO pics: http://www.homauchchunk.co.uk/0-6-0_b_series.htm

I said in the other thread that I sold my camelback, I just had to start another though ;D
http://picasaweb.google.com/ErieChris333/ErieRailroadD4440CamelbackNScale

[Chris333]

PS.
Here is the inside of a Tiny Tot:


And here is a Faulhaber:

[ryourstone]

Some HO pics: http://www.homauchchunk.co.uk/0-6-0_b_series.htm

Sometimes I'm jealous of HO modelers... until you realize they have to pay at least $500 a pop for these things, something I could never afford anyway. With N, I compromise on individual models and go for more of an approximation but the proto-OCD kicks in when it comes to layout design. I've tried coming up with decent plans in HO and unless you have a 50x50 room you're stuck with narrow gauge or the lightest branch line. So fortunately for my wallet my dabbling with larger scales always ends with pencil and paper.