IP Engineering Railbus

[JimmyB]

Jimmy, how small a hole will they fit through?

Rhino, do you want/need a couple, for your VW, PM me

 

[Rhinochugger]

Rhino, do you want/need a couple, for your VW, PM me

Jimmy, many thanks - I had a cunning plan which needed more than a couple so I've ordered some ................ er ten in fact, although the cunning plan doesn't need quite that many ............... yet

 

[dunnyrail]

I prefer my food real, not modelled!

Aha foot!

 

[Chris Vernell]

Aha foot!

Is foot in mouth a food, or a disease?

 

[Rhinochugger]

Is foot in mouth a food, or a disease?

I dunno, but every time I open my mouth ............................

 

[JimmyB]

So a little progress (photos to follow), I tried the MFA 12 - 24 volt motor, first with 7.2 volts and then with 12 volts (NiMH), and with the lower voltage poor and the higher okay ish. So I tried the "cheap" Chinese" 6 - 12 volts motor on 7.2 volts, wheels spun well, so a uncontrolled test around railway. I hadn't considered weight, and being ply the the wheels spun and almost no traction, just over 1kg of weight added and it ran very well, fast than I would normally run it but with the RC added this would be controlled.
So I will be powering this with Li-Ion 2S (7.2 volts), and I was considering a MR001a Rx and 12 volt 30 watt ESC. Also sound with a MLS Railcar card, however the speaker could be fun to position, and I was considering a "baggage car", just for the speaker, however I would assume if run without the speaker the MLS would have to have a dummy load, or be switched off.
I now need to go and take some photos of the progress before I get any hassle

 

[dunnyrail]

So a little progress (photos to follow), I tried the MFA 12 - 24 volt motor, first with 7.2 volts and then with 12 volts (NiMH), and with the lower voltage poor and the higher okay ish. So I tried the "cheap" Chinese" 6 - 12 volts motor on 7.2 volts, wheels spun well, so a uncontrolled test around railway. I hadn't considered weight, and being ply the the wheels spun and almost no traction, just over 1kg of weight added and it ran very well, fast than I would normally run it but with the RC added this would be controlled.
So I will be powering this with Li-Ion 2S (7.2 volts), and I was considering a MR001a Rx and 12 volt 30 watt ESC. Also sound with a MLS Railcar card, however the speaker could be fun to position, and I was considering a "baggage car", just for the speaker, however I would assume if run without the speaker the MLS would have to have a dummy load, or be switched off.
I now need to go and take some photos of the progress before I get any hassle

Try a smaller Bass Reflex speaker, so long as it has the correct rating will be fine if not cheep but better than building another vehicle to add to it. I have used a couple in my 2 space challenged Steam Trams.

 

[Rhinochugger]

Yeah, the problem with tiny prototypes. If you go for a mini speaker, you'll get some realistic noise from an MLS sound card (I've used that set-up on my Yeti)

I don't seem to get much speed variation in the sound - it picks up from idle and then seems fairly constant and that's running 12 volts - but the gearing is fairly low, about 1:30 and the motor is fairly light. I boxed the speaker in to set it back about 3mm from a plain oval aperture to give it a little bit of resonance. When you decelerate, the motor shuts off nicely for a very brief spell - that also sounds realistic, but that's a diesel loco sound card, not a railbus. (My railbus card is set to US sounds for the Goose so I don't know what it would produce for an Irids railbus Probably, instead of 'All Aboard' it says 'Guinnes is good for you.'

There still won't be much room in there. Compare it with my VW, and I have a manual speed control because I don't operate the drasine, I just pop it on the track and watch it run, the motor gearbox is pretty small, and then I have the three AAA batteries sitting on top of the rear wheel arches. I have retained the front seat, and the Chinese manual speed controller is much larger than a Deltang Rx / ESC.

It's a challenge; looking forward to the photos

 

[dunnyrail]

Yeah, the problem with tiny prototypes. If you go for a mini speaker, you'll get some realistic noise from an MLS sound card (I've used that set-up on my Yeti)

I don't seem to get much speed variation in the sound - it picks up from idle and then seems fairly constant and that's running 12 volts - but the gearing is fairly low, about 1:30 and the motor is fairly light. I boxed the speaker in to set it back about 3mm from a plain oval aperture to give it a little bit of resonance. When you decelerate, the motor shuts off nicely for a very brief spell - that also sounds realistic, but that's a diesel loco sound card, not a railbus. (My railbus card is set to US sounds for the Goose so I don't know what it would produce for an Irids railbus Probably, instead of 'All Aboard' it says 'Guinnes is good for you.'

There still won't be much room in there. Compare it with my VW, and I have a manual speed control because I don't operate the drasine, I just pop it on the track and watch it run, the motor gearbox is pretty small, and then I have the three AAA batteries sitting on top of the rear wheel arches. I have retained the front seat, and the Chinese manual speed controller is much larger than a Deltang Rx / ESC.

It's a challenge; looking forward to the photos

Oh just had another thought my other get out of trouble with speakers is roof mounted either on a luggage rack with a tarpaulin to cover it or inside under the roof.

 

[Rhinochugger]

Oh just had another thought my other get out of trouble with speakers is roof mounted either on a luggage rack with a tarpaulin to cover it or inside under the roof.

Yeah, the trouble with a railbus is that you also have to get the sound out as well

 

[JimmyB]

Here we go, so first I built the main components as per the instruction:



However I wanted the roof removable, so a couple of pieces of balsa wood shaped to the roof:


Holding them in position along with the roof spars, a drop of glue elastic bands and the roof is stuck:


Glue dry, clamps and elastic band removed, extra glue, and then a coat of sanding sealer, and removable roof the fits:


My next tweak was the front windscreen, I didn't like the three panel window:

 

[JimmyB]

Now the motor test, a set of 6 AA NiMH, a DPDT CO switch with the ends "cross-wired" gives me a forward and reverse at full battery power, extra weight was added:


Content with the motor, powering from 7.2 volts (nominal), time to fix the side frames, slight deviation here, and small blocks glues in place to add strength.


Side frames to be fitted, and then adding detail, and planning the electronics. As you can see there is very little roof except underneath for the electronics to go - should be fun

 

[Rhinochugger]

Oh, I thought you were doing a T&D one - you'll have a little bit more space in this one

 

[Fred2179G]

I'm not sure you need to add such a motor upgrade to that little railbus. Mine seemed to run fine with the stock motor.

 

[JimmyB]

I'm not sure you need to add such a motor upgrade to that little railbus. Mine seemed to run fine with the stock motor.

I want to add sound, so I need more voltage, and I did not think the 3 volt motor would handle the required volts.

 

[Rhinochugger]

Rhino, do you want/need a couple, for your VW, PM me

Have you started playing the SMD LEDs yet? Even the wires are fiddly - it's difficult to see the black one

 

[JimmyB]

Have you started playing the SMD LEDs yet? Even the wires are fiddly - it's difficult to see the black one

I have tested a couple, but not wired any in yet.

 

[JimmyB]

So progress:

Side frames added:

Bonnet assembly soldered together using low melt solder, a Cambrian radiator added for detail:

As found the assembly is light so extra weight added held in place by two part resin:

The inside panelled (coffee stirrers of course):

A housing made for the roof to hold the speaker in place:

So today I have started the paint task, inside varnished, and outside sanding sealer, and just been for the first coat of primer.

You can find full details on my blog:

IP Engineering Railcar – Tumble Down Falls

www.tumble-down-falls.co.uk

 

[JimmyB]

Progress is moving on, though slowly, the railbus has now been painted, and detail is being added:

Again the roof is painted and again detail added:

Planing the electronics was somewhat of a squeeze, the the power switch and charging point were moved inside to become a console over the electric motor:

Seat had a small amount of weight added painted and felt padding added:

The blog will be updated with more specific details this week.

 

[JimmyB]

Now nearing completion, decals added and top coat of lacquer. The finish details now added, further details can be found on the blog:

IP Engineering Railcar – Tumble Down Falls

Luggage is available for the roof rack (courtesy of Tanker man ) currently in the paint shop