Those of you who know about my layout will also know the pretty heavy inclines that are on it due to the topography of the garden and its usage. I already use double/triple and even quadruple heading if I want to run long freight or haul heavy streamliner coaches up the slopes. But most of this happens with deisels. I will, when using steamers, lash-up a mallet and another heavy loco or two and this is fine. But I also have some 'weak' steam locos that I want to use at the head of consists.
The weakest one besides the Bachmann Annies is an Accucraft C16 (it has problems pulling its own shadow besides any rolling stock). So I came up with a solution...motorise ssome rolling stock.
First job was to find a motor block that had good weight and a wheelbase that more or less matched the trucks found on USAT, Aristo, Bachmann ond LGB cars. I looked at them all (LGB included) and measured them all for wheelbase. The only one that really fitted was the diecast motor block from the Aristocraft Centrecab deisel. Others were near but too long wheelbased and I wanted the 'motorising' to be as invisible as possible so the motorblock would have to have the original archbar outsides grafted on and still look fine.
The next thing was to choose the rolling stock to motorise. Ideally something with a removeable floor. The only american outline from Bachmann, USAT, Aristo or LGB, that fitted into my line's roster, with a floor that came out, was the Bachmann stockcar. This, of course, could be done with a piece of rolling stock that doesn't have a removeable floor, it just would not be so easy!
The stockcar needs some cosmetic customisation to be prototypical like a Rio grande narrow gauge but it is close enough...and it has that removable floor to make the motorising of one truck easier as well as keeping one original truck and most of the underbody detail intact during the remodelling.
Here is how it went
First get your motor block. The ones I used were very short wheelbase Aristocraft from Centrecab deisels (three bought separately but another two from a dismantled Centrecab)
Then take off the bogie sides
Then off with the A-Frame
The A-Frame ready for a bit of cut and shutting
Next is to get the donor bogie to dismantle for the truck sides
Attach the bogie truck sides to the A-Frame with epoxy or "serious' glue there is no force on this when in use so glue is fine
Attach the coupler bracket. (this is a little cheat as I was going to make them out of aluminium sheet myself but Tony already had a couple lying about from some kit that he had bought so ..........)
Then the input cables (that would come from the loco original electronics) and output cables (that would have gone from the block to the original loco electronics ) are attached in a way that ensure the correct direction of wheel rotation for each stockcar motorisation.
The long grey cable is so that all the motorised stock cars can be linked, if wanted, to the 'steam' loco input for use on auto shuttle lines (so all the motorised cars will be seen as just one loco!).
The completed motor block with its new truck sides
Now to the customise the car to accept the motor block
First cut the floor
The rest in the the next posting coming up right away!
The weakest one besides the Bachmann Annies is an Accucraft C16 (it has problems pulling its own shadow besides any rolling stock). So I came up with a solution...motorise ssome rolling stock.
First job was to find a motor block that had good weight and a wheelbase that more or less matched the trucks found on USAT, Aristo, Bachmann ond LGB cars. I looked at them all (LGB included) and measured them all for wheelbase. The only one that really fitted was the diecast motor block from the Aristocraft Centrecab deisel. Others were near but too long wheelbased and I wanted the 'motorising' to be as invisible as possible so the motorblock would have to have the original archbar outsides grafted on and still look fine.
The next thing was to choose the rolling stock to motorise. Ideally something with a removeable floor. The only american outline from Bachmann, USAT, Aristo or LGB, that fitted into my line's roster, with a floor that came out, was the Bachmann stockcar. This, of course, could be done with a piece of rolling stock that doesn't have a removeable floor, it just would not be so easy!
The stockcar needs some cosmetic customisation to be prototypical like a Rio grande narrow gauge but it is close enough...and it has that removable floor to make the motorising of one truck easier as well as keeping one original truck and most of the underbody detail intact during the remodelling.
Here is how it went
First get your motor block. The ones I used were very short wheelbase Aristocraft from Centrecab deisels (three bought separately but another two from a dismantled Centrecab)
Then take off the bogie sides
Then off with the A-Frame
The A-Frame ready for a bit of cut and shutting
Next is to get the donor bogie to dismantle for the truck sides
Attach the bogie truck sides to the A-Frame with epoxy or "serious' glue there is no force on this when in use so glue is fine
Attach the coupler bracket. (this is a little cheat as I was going to make them out of aluminium sheet myself but Tony already had a couple lying about from some kit that he had bought so ..........)
Then the input cables (that would come from the loco original electronics) and output cables (that would have gone from the block to the original loco electronics ) are attached in a way that ensure the correct direction of wheel rotation for each stockcar motorisation.
The long grey cable is so that all the motorised stock cars can be linked, if wanted, to the 'steam' loco input for use on auto shuttle lines (so all the motorised cars will be seen as just one loco!).
The completed motor block with its new truck sides
Now to the customise the car to accept the motor block
First cut the floor
The rest in the the next posting coming up right away!
