The N-scale Milwaukee Little Joe is done! Is it worth the effort?

[peteski]

I don't suspect resin molds will yield all that many castings therefore I think it will be more limited, and I think I remember seeing Pewter parts and pans as well.

You are correct - resin and peweter. But pantographs are not included. 

[wcfn100]

But pantographs are not included. 

Or available.

Jason

[peteski]

Or available.

Jason

Ha!  I bought several when Kato GG1s first came out. 
I wonder if these will become a high-priced commodity on eBay - just like Mikado traction tire drivers.

[wcfn100]

I wonder if these will become a high-priced commodity on eBay - just like Mikado traction tire drivers.

For me it's going to become the worlds easiest excuse not to buy one.

Jason

[Andrew Hutchinson]

Well, just like just like with the steam drivers I'm sure anyone who wants pans can make them or some reasonable facsimile of them. It's not rocket science.  And it shouldn't be a deal breaker for someone who models Avery- Harlo/ Southshore/elsewhere who has longed for this engine but hasn't yet taken the plunge to make their own or aquire them through some other means. The model is 99 percent there. All the modeller has to do is clean it up, assemble and add paint. Somebody else has fought off deer ticks, turned an idea into a  design, a design into a tool and a tool into a model kit that we can put together should we choose to do so. My hat is off to them for the work that THEY did.

I'm sure a quiet word in the right quarters would provide the info needed to cobble together a set of pans. Most of the necessary info is probably in recent threads right here on this forum. If not, go measure a joe pan/equivalent and consult with folks who do know how to do this sort of work. Do the work. Problem solved.

Andrew Hutchinson
Surrey BC Canada

[hegstad1]

Well, just like just like with the steam drivers I'm sure anyone who wants pans can make them or some reasonable facsimile of them. It's not rocket science.  And it shouldn't be a deal breaker for someone who models Avery- Harlo/ Southshore/elsewhere who has longed for this engine but hasn't yet taken the plunge to make their own or aquire them through some other means. The model is 99 percent there. All the modeller has to do is clean it up, assemble and add paint. Somebody else has fought off deer ticks, turned an idea into a  design, a design into a tool and a tool into a model kit that we can put together should we choose to do so. My hat is off to them for the work that THEY did.

I'm sure a quiet word in the right quarters would provide the info needed to cobble together a set of pans. Most of the necessary info is probably in recent threads right here on this forum. If not, go measure a joe pan/equivalent and consult with folks who do know how to do this sort of work. Do the work. Problem solved.

Andrew Hutchinson
Surrey BC Canada

Where is the "like" button?

[PGE_Modeller]

Following along on Andrew Hutchinson's comments, a quick search of the Model Railroader 75 year DVD collection turned up an excellent article on building smoothly operating pantographs by Robert Hegge on page 37, May 1974.  It illustrates several different pantograph configurations.  While Bob built his in 1:48 fine scale, the information is there for anyone who needs a pair in any other scale.

Cheers,

[peteski]

Scratchbuilding functioning pantographs in N scale will be a bit more challenging than in 1:48 scale.

BTW, Kato GG1 pantographs are excellent looking, but that is it - they are non-functional.

[wcfn100]

I'm out.

Problem solved.


Jason

[PGE_Modeller]

Scratchbuilding functioning pantographs in N scale will be a bit more challenging than in 1:48 scale.

True!!  But certainly not beyond the skill sets of many of the very talented modellers whose work appears regularly on this forum!

Cheers,

[nkalanaga]

Building pans can be done, and the ones I built years ago worked reasonably well.  They weren't the best looking, partly due to lack of skills and partly to lack of plans, but they did follow the wire and remain upright. 

N-Cat used to have some that, while not the best looking, worked very well, and were designed for use with live overhead.  They may still be available.  The biggest operating issue I had with them was that the springs were too strong.  My overhead is for scenic purposes only, and the springs pushed the wire up unrealistically, but for live overhead that would ensure contact.

My current pans are extras from the Overland Little Joe, but one can buy a good locomotive for the price of a pair of them, and I doubt that they have any left.  They look and work good, but can't be used for pickup, as everything is painted, insulating the joints.

[mmagliaro]

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Beyond that, there is nothing wrong with an Arnold GG-1 mech, after a little fine tuning....



Motor from an Atlas MP-15. Kato worm shafts and bushings. Smooth and much more quiet than stock. No more jack rabbit starts.

Tony,
That's a really nice upgrade there.  I used a Kato GM-5 motor in mine (there was no such thing as the Atlas MP-15, or
any of the nice smaller 5-pole skew-wound motors like the Mashima 1015 around at the time!)
It starts up smoothly and runs slow, but there is still a good bit of gear noise.   I can't quite see in from the top how
you are supporting those long worm shafts.  Do you have a top-down pic?

[SkipGear]

Tony,
That's a really nice upgrade there.  I used a Kato GM-5 motor in mine (there was no such thing as the Atlas MP-15, or
any of the nice smaller 5-pole skew-wound motors like the Mashima 1015 around at the time!)
It starts up smoothly and runs slow, but there is still a good bit of gear noise.   I can't quite see in from the top how
you are supporting those long worm shafts.  Do you have a top-down pic?

Kato plastic bearing that came with the worms on the far end and the silicone tubing on the motor end. It is pretty much a drop in. I have to do some digging to remember what the worm shafts were from. They are two different shafts, one longer than the other but are stock Kato parts from two different locos.

[peteski]

I have just finished acquiring (on eBay) the mechanical parts for this model:  Once complete loco, and one chassis with a single truck (someone just happened to be selling it for parts).  The only hope now is that this kit will be released, and that it will not cost an arm and a leg.

[thbguy]

Here is a better size picture:


Michael Livingston
Writing rather than modeling N scale. . .