The Very Last White River and Northern Railroad

[Hawghead]

Wouldn't Z scale work better for this?

Scott

[DKS]

Wouldn't Z scale work better for this?

The primary problem is the amount of space I have available: 3" x 6". That means a track radius of 1.5 inches. Plus, Z Scale track is roughly equivalent to 3-foot narrow gauge in N Scale, which isn't small enough to represent a kiddie ride. T Gauge track scales out to almost exactly 18 inches, which is perfect.

[Chris333]

Another kiddie ride idea>?   

[keeper]

That's the 'Schwebebahn' in Wuppertal, Germany,

[DKS]

Well, I came really close to having a functional kiddie ride locomotive today. I had the worm drive assembled, and when I went to run a test, it kept seizing up every half-second or so of running. Turns out the nylon pinion gear on the motor shaft had split. Typical, right? No problem, I had two spare motors. Well, the pinions on them were split, too. Every. Single. One. So now the project is on hold until I receive replacements from the UK.

And here I was videotaping the construction process so people could see how I work. I was so damned close! Figures. Oh, well.

[DKS]

Another kiddie ride idea>?   

Fascinating!

[Sokramiketes]

Well, I came really close to having a functional kiddie ride locomotive today. I had the worm drive assembled, and when I went to run a test, it kept seizing up every half-second or so of running. Turns out the nylon pinion gear on the motor shaft had split. Typical, right? No problem, I had two spare motors. Well, the pinions on them were split, too. Every. Single. One. So now the project is on hold until I receive replacements from the UK.

And here I was videotaping the construction process so people could see how I work. I was so damned close! Figures. Oh, well.

I pulled out my early T gauge stuff awhile back and ran into gear issues too.  And magnetic wheels that disintegrated.  Are we going to look fondly on the early days of T like we do for early N scale?   

[DKS]

I pulled out my early T gauge stuff awhile back and ran into gear issues too.  And magnetic wheels that disintegrated.  Are we going to look fondly on the early days of T like we do for early N scale?   

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't much matter to me. I just want to see stuff run for a while, then I won't be around to worry about split gears or disintegrated wheels. Someone else will have to worry about it if they want to see this run.

But, to your point, no, I don't think "we going to look fondly on the early days of T" because the "we" is such a tiny number that it's statistically zero, and the chances that the scale will see any growth at all in the future is likewise statistically zero--indeed, I suspect T Gauge will be all but gone before long. Apples and oranges to place T in the same context as N.

[Hawghead]

AHHA!

When you said T scale my mind went to TT scale.  I didn't even.know about T scale until I just looked it up.

Scott

[Chris333]

I still have my T scale RDCs that I put into a baggie somewhere.

[DKS]

So, progress today. I found a set of new gears--and different ones, bigger and less prone to splitting. So the project saw completion this morning.

Many hours were spent staring at a box of tiny parts, holding gears and wheels up next to one another, scribbling sketches on paper, and pretending to build the mechanism in my mind dozens of times. When I'd rehearsed the plan enough times, I got to work. First, I made a pair of spacer blocks precisely the width of the motor out of PC board material. Into each of these I drilled a dimple to make bearings for the ends of a "worm" made from a 2-56 screw: I chucked the screw into a drill and tapered the ends to points with files. Then, I drilled and tapped a nylon gear scavenged from a micro servo, threaded it onto the worm, and bonded it in place with CA.

Next came the side frames, which I made from extra-thin PC Board. I assembled the side frames onto the spacers with CA, with the worm positioned between the spacers such that it spun smoothly. I press-fit the motor down into place until its pinion gear engaged the gear mounted on the worm, then bonded the motor permanently in place with CA. I quick tested the motor to be sure it ran smoothly before continuing.

After cutting down the drive axle bearings, I soldered them to the sides of the chassis, then installed the wheelsets. Moment of truth time: will it run? It ran... sort of. Noisy and stuttering, it almost hopped down the track like a jackrabbit. But it did run. Which means this proof of concept model can be improved, and so I placed an order with a company in the UK for a slew of spare parts to make a better version.

[DKS]

AHHA!

When you said T scale my mind went to TT scale.  I didn't even.know about T scale until I just looked it up.

Scott

More than you probably want to know: http://davidksmith.com/modeling/resources/t-gauge/index.htm

[nickelplate759]

Oh ... My ... God!

[CRL]

I think you’ve clearly established the event horizon between genius and insanity.

😳

[garethashenden]

Well done!