Weekend Update 6/12/22

[BCR 570]

I’ll be following your crane build with interest as well Reese.
Beautiful job on the chassis. Very cool!

AS will I, and yes well done!


Tim

[nkalanaga]

Jim Starbuck:  You'd have to build new, inside, frames (cosmetic), but it wouldn't be hard to widen the gauge of the Marklin chassis to 9 mm.  All it would need would be two new axles, and probably move the pickup wipers, as the Z wheel standards are quite close to N.  It would make a nice "critter" for an industry.  The body is all metal, so there's plenty of weight.

The Marklin model has siderods, and the Z kit can be bought with them, if one wants to glue the axle extensions/counterweights on.  I chose the no-rod version for simplicity.  On a standard gauge version, with inside frames, rods would be simple.  The only catch is that the chassis has 3 axles, and the converted unit has the center wheels removed.  That means that the original rods couldn't be reused, but making new ones wouldn't be hard.

DCC might be a challenge!

[PiperguyUMD]

I finished my first scratch building project - er… sort of. Roofing materials showed up late yesterday. Also need to do a foundation and enough of an interior to herd lighting where I need it to go. I’ll need two more to finish up the neighborhood on the Dawson module. I started laying out the walls on the next on to only to discover I didn’t have any windows that would work, then I remembered I have a 3D printer    Hopefully I can whip something up this afternoon!





I’ve also been picking away at a few other fronts, but I’ll make a layout thread post to tie it all together a little later.

[Jim Starbuck]

Jim Starbuck:  You'd have to build new, inside, frames (cosmetic), but it wouldn't be hard to widen the gauge of the Marklin chassis to 9 mm.  All it would need would be two new axles, and probably move the pickup wipers, as the Z wheel standards are quite close to N.  It would make a nice "critter" for an industry.  The body is all metal, so there's plenty of weight.

The Marklin model has siderods, and the Z kit can be bought with them, if one wants to glue the axle extensions/counterweights on.  I chose the no-rod version for simplicity.  On a standard gauge version, with inside frames, rods would be simple.  The only catch is that the chassis has 3 axles, and the converted unit has the center wheels removed.  That means that the original rods couldn't be reused, but making new ones wouldn't be hard.

DCC might be a challenge!

Thank you much for the information, I will definitely look into it as I have more critter projects in mind.
It makes perfect sense to start smaller with a Z mechanism and that’s one avenue I haven’t explored.

Jim

[BCR 570]

A couple more photographs of the crane chassis I shared earlier.  Micro-Trains Buckeye trucks with Fox Valley 28" wheels installed:




Sitting on the track; rolling, tracking and coupler height all good:




Starting on the cab today.


Tim

[SP-Wolf]

After watching the movie "White Heat", I just had to build a similar tank truck. I have no idea what color the movie truck is/was - so I chose red.

Here is what I came up with.

Tractor is from Classic Metals Works White. the tank is from GHQ



Thanks,
Wolf

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Now that I’ve got the layout back up, I’ve been playing around with running switching ops and figuring out where I’d prefer to have my two main industries. I think I’ve settled on having the plastic film plant that takes up the bulk of the switching along the run around, with the scrap paper warehouse down at the end of a long spur. In the photo below, you can see the spur just barely holds five hoppers; I’ll be swapping a few pieces of Unitrak around to lengthen it slightly and move it further back to let the scenic elements work. I’ll be off the start of the week and hopefully will get my engineering report updated during that time!

That's fun. I dig it!

[sirenwerks]

After watching the movie "White Heat", I just had to build a similar tank truck. I have no idea what color the movie truck is/was - so I chose red.

Here is what I came up with.

Tractor is from Classic Metals Works White. the tank is from GHQ



Thanks,
Wolf

Whatever you did to that CMW cab, you made it look a whole lot more presentable than the stock model.

[SP-Wolf]

Whatever you did to that CMW cab, you made it look a whole lot more presentable than the stock model.

Thank you, so very much.

I changed the wheels, added side mirrors and windshield wipers. Moved the fuel tanks. Moved the fifth wheel back(to make room for the spare) and repainted her. And of course added the rear fenders.

CMW's wheels and tires are absolutely terrible. I have a whole bunch more to modify. Fun stuff!!

Best regards,
Wolf

[Snark45]

Hi

Please, where did you get those replacement wheels?

Many Thanks, Harry

[peteski]

Hi

Please, where did you get those replacement wheels?

Many Thanks, Harry

Those look like Trainworx wheels.  Not sure if they are available.  It has been few years since they produced the last batch.

[SP-Wolf]

Hi

Please, where did you get those replacement wheels?

Many Thanks, Harry

Good morning Harry,

I good friend of mine cast those for me about 20-25 years ago. I have no idea what he used for the pattern.
Check out Showcase Miniatures site for truck wheels. They offer a very good selection.

Thanks,
Wolf