Trix U28C Chassis

[Bruce Archer]

Hi!
   I have in the stash at least 4 Trix U28Cs. They run great, are quiet, and they do pull a lot. However, they have huge open pilots, difficult to change Rapido couplers, and horrible bodies.
   So I tried to fit a chassis under an Atlas C-630, but the conversion would not work, because I would need to grind away most of the front worm gear support.
   My question here is has anyone else tried to fit a Trix U28C body under another body? If so which body?

Thanks!

Bruce

[kiwi_al]

The search function is your friend

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=25663.msg257032#msg257032

[wm3798]

The question is about putting the old mechanism under a new shell.  The thread linked above referenced putting the old shell on a new mechanism. 

As a vintage N scale enthusiast, I would argue that the old shell and the old drive should be left as is, and brought out on occasion to run as a party trick.  You can point to it, tell guests that it's nearly 50 years old, and still runs great.  I have a pair in original Penn Central paint, and I run them with long string of vintage auto racks with a Con Cor bay window PC caboose. 



By the time you've hacked up the frame to accept a new shell from another manufacturer, you'll risk mucking up the mechanism.  So leave it, build a vintage train around it to enjoy periodically, and treat yourself to a new U boat from Kato or Atlas, whomever produces such a thing, and use that to your heart's content when you're running your normal operations.

Lee

[Bruce Archer]

This is the reason for my inquiry. I am sorry, the shell is, well not up to my tastes.  I almost have one chassis fitting the C-630 body, but it will not quite work. I am getting a Kato U30C body, and an Atlas SD-60 body and will see if either of those will work. I am hoping someone else did this swap to help me along. The chassis is great, the body not.

Bruce

[randgust]

Back in the 70's, this was REALLY the only good C-C chassis out there.   And once the plating wore off the wheels, MAN could they pull.

I ground the cab area off, and stuffed them under Lima FP45 bodies shortened to F45's, and under Atlas SD45's.  With black trucks I never bothered to change the side frames, but at one time I had six of these in operation, plus another two U-boats, and one hacked up as a U25B using the FM switcher trucks (it worked).  So in total, I had nine in service.    None survive today, I sold all of them when I upgraded to Katos.

I observed that the older the chassis was, the better it ran.   By the time Con-Cor made a run at them, the dies were getting worn and you could see and hear the difference.

At one time you could even buy brass overlay castings for EMD six axle trucks if you wanted to sand down the Trix ones.  Had a set and never used them, sold them.

As these were in dedicated MU 3-unit sets, I only closed up the pilots on lead units; one SD45, one U28, one F45.   I just used styrene although I 'think' MT may have made a pilot fill?  They did for a lot.

Now, you can diss the bodies if you want, but with enough work, you can do just fine.   I still have two Trix bodies left over Kato GE drives; one U28CG and one U30CG.   Remove the milk glass, redo all the handrails with wire, repaint, redecal, add all the appropriate details.   I made a replacement resin casting for the full length U30CG fuel+water tank.  The basic plastic shell isn't that bad, it's the stuff they added to it like the original 'sewer pipe' handrails.

The first time I ever saw anybody repaint and redetail one of these was Tom Hoover, RIP, that did such wonderful Ntrak work and UP diesel modeling.  Never was the same after that, he taught me how to do the wire handrails.



Link:  http://www.randgust.com/7905_closeup.jpg



Link: http://www.randgust.com/U30CGT05.jpg

With all the clips and pins, this is actually one mechanism you can tear down and it will almost always reassemble just fine, unlike an Atlas Classic that always seems to find a new way to make noise.  Tear it down and attack it with a hacksaw and an dremel, I did.   I've got old photos somewhere, if you actually want to see those PM me - particularly the Atlas SD45 and hacked Lima F45's.   I still have those modified Lima F45 shells in service with Kato SD45 drives under them!   One of them is now at least 40 years old and pushing 50.   The Lima FP45 was the ultimate POS mechanism, BTW.

[mandealco]

Bruce, Jim Fitzgerald replaced several mechanisms with Trix U-boat chassis in early N-Trak days.  There was an article around years ago covering these.  I remember there was an Atlas SD-45 (as Randgust has done), also an MRC/MP-Mehano RSD-15 and a Con-Cor C-636.  I still have my N-Trak resource books, with his repowering projects being in book #3.   He even stretched one to go under a U-50, calling it a U-50C.  He stretched a second one under an extended U-30CG, calling it the Cotton Brute, or U-60CG.  A lot of cool stuff was made in the earlier N-Scale days, just so we could have something decent and different to run.
Cheers
Steve
I just had another look at the booklet, it was a 1992 reprint, with the first printing being 1987.

[u18b]

Bruce, my experience was a bit different.

Here is a Trix shell on a Kato U30C chassis.



 It does not "fit" because the chassis is a bit tall and too fat.
I had to mill the frame halves a bit at the top.   So it will work.... but only with effort.

But you have another option-  fill in the pilot on the shell.

Here is a Trix shell   (kitbashed to phase 3 radiator section) on a kitbashed custom chassis....
Notice the pilot is filled in.



Here is a closer view.   The pilot is a standard Micro Trains pilot conversion for a Kato GP38-2.
Number 1151.
There is one on ebay right now:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/145357771084

You have to file the opening in the Trix shell a little wider.
Trim the top-back on the conversion so the truck won't hit it.
And you'll have to play with it for height.

[peteski]

I have to agree that the Kato U30C chassis is vastly superior to the Minitrix chassis.  Kato is almost silent, with a smooth 5-pole motor and large flywheels, and it also introduced the low-friction axle-cone bearing/pickup truck design. It is like comparing the original VW Beetle to a BMW.  Both are reliable, but the Beetle is crude and noisy.

I also never liked the plastic "dummy" wheelsets in the Minitrix loco.  Kato has all 6 axles powered and picking up power.

But to each his own I guess.

[Bruce Archer]

Hi!
   The Kato chassis is superior to the Trix chassis, but I do not have 4 Kato chassis. I do have 4 Trix U28Cs I would like to improve the body on. So the first thing I would need to do is fix the pilots. I could do that, but my arthritic hands would prevent me from bending and fitting new handrails. Then there is the cab which is too square. and the too square windows.....
    All 4 of my Trix locos run very well and are very quiet. I do wish to use a new body, realizing there will be grinding on the frame, especially around the cab.

Bruce

[randgust]

I
I also never liked the plastic "dummy" wheelsets in the Minitrix loco.  Kato has all 6 axles powered and picking up power.

But to each his own I guess.

My own testing kind of shot holes in that when I was tractive effort testing various locomotives.   The Trix units, once the plating wore off the treads, had some of the highest factor of adhesion of anything I ever tested.   I think that at least part of that was concentrating the frame weight on 8 wheels instead of 12 made it 'stick' better, and I never saw any issues with electrical pickup other than that stupid wiper to under the fuel tank (many of which broke off and ended up with a soldered wire).   I never had any issues with the dummy wheel other than the face really needed painted black.   Because there was no wiper on it, plastic wheels, and no weight on it, it always surprised me it didn't derail more, but it didn't.

So why it would 'seem' like that would be conventional wisdom, at least for TE and pickup, couldn't prove it.   The slipperiest  6-axle in my fleet remains Atlas SD24's and my lone Alco C624.    Mind you the Kato chassis were at least the equal of the Trix, but didn't exceed it for performance other than slow-speed creep and chassis noise.  But they were equal on just hoisting a train around my layout.

I had one Trix chassis that was just extraordinary, absolutely silent and a perfect 3-pole that set a Divisional NMRA contest record for best slow speed.  3 pole motor and all, but this was the oldest one, maybe 1973 run from Trix.

It was always nice to drop the trucks out by just pulling those pins, made maintenance easy, and the motor was easily accessible as well.  I did have constant issues with motor cleaning IF you ever got any lubricant near the commutator, there go the fire rings. 

But overall, nope, I'd never go back, mostly because my Katos are just as powerful, dead silent, MU together well, and have five-pole motors with good creeping speed.  Since I'm DC you can get a pretty good deal on first-generation Kato SD45's, SD40's, U30C's and C30's.

[Skeebo]

      I was there too at the dawn of N scale and the Minitrix U28C chassis was one of the star performers. I have a bookcase shelf of legacy loco's I kit bashed in the mid 80's, They were reliable runners and put in hundreds of miles running on the SDSONS layout in San Diego. They are all now honorably retired as they won't run on my layout which uses Altas code 55 track.



     Among them are U33, U36, SD40, F45, FP45, SD45, SD45B, SDP45, SD45X, DD35, DD35A, DDA40X. I did upgrade several models including my two U50C's to stretched kato chassis. Here is a picture of my U50's back when they were on the original Minitrix chassis.

[spookshow]

Day-ohm Skeebo, that's some serious dinosaur stuff from back when modelers were real modelers 

-Mark

[LIRR]

I had a few of these 100 years ago. There was a time Minitrix was the best N scale had to offer….

[Bruce Archer]

Hi!
   I have tried the Trix chassis with the Atlas C-628, C-630, SD-60, and SD-60M, Kato U30C and C30-7, and the Bachmann 8-40CW. The main problem area is the casting around the cab on the Trix chassis, it is too wide

   So what I will do is grind this area down, and retry the shells. I know there is a modern shell that will fit eventually, I just need to find it.

Bruce

[Bruce Archer]

I found a shell. With the cab area round down, the Trix chassis will fit a Bachmann 8-40CW shell, now. I will check the 8-40C shell also. I have one shell and will need 3 more.....

I will also try as many shells as possible.

Bruce