thinking about trying to kitbash some bachmann parts into a Garratt
- Thread starter NorthwestGarrattGuy
- Start date
well my plan is to 3D print a central bridge and reinforce it fro underneth with 2 steel rods with some grooves or something
Yeah, will threaded rod would be simple, and you can get it at the local hardware place... I wonder if you printed grooves underneath, then laid the rods in and filled with epoxy?
Greg
Greg
So here's a standard gauge, easy one to build for you: 2-6-0+0-6-2. (And don't say it's not American because there were no American Garratts)
By The original uploader was Bundeena2230 at English Wikipedia. - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Oxyman using CommonsHelper., CC BY-SA 3.0, File:LMS Garratt 498x.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Last edited:
-
2
- Show all
I found that when making my Mason Bogie that parts not meant to be part of the engine still enhanced the look of it so I added them, bachmann makes so excellent looking parts that are quite reasonable. Of coarse there are several rivet counters out there that will pick you apart but to me if it looked good I went with it,such as my steam valve on the starboard side of the engine is the crush-able part of a 1/8" pop stuck on a piece of 1/8" brass rod and is held in place with 1/8" cotter pins. One can use all sorts of stuff from the hobby bench to make stuff. Might not be prototypical but works for me. I'm just not into the time and expense that it takes to make a museum quality piece, and although I admire the amount of work that goes into one If I want to run it I'll build it by 10 foot rule. Look forward to your build< Bill
Attachments
-
1
- Show all
Bill, that's what is known as "Rule 9" - if it looks good to you, and it is your Railway, then is IS good. Another rule is the "10' Rule" - if it looks good at 10 feet then it is fine.
Rivet Counters only tend to be annoying when you say something is "a model of xx prototype" 'cos someone always knows more than you about it!
My best advice is to get the units that are going to form the basis of your bash, put them on a table or bench sit down with a nice refreshing drink and look at them for a few days/weeks.
Let your imagination run riot keeping in mind that this is your bash and as it is your design there can be no wrong solutions. If you like the look of it then go for it.
For the chassis/frame I recommend aluminium angle, it is easy to cut/grind and being angle it has a resistance to sag.
The downside is its light weight but once all the extras are added the weight will increase, to increase weight stick on mag wheel balance weights can be glued underneath they will be hidden from view by the chassis side.
This is what I am going to use for my bash when I restart it aluminium angle frame with a aluminium sheet deck, it weighs 0.6Kg (1.4lbs) before anything is added.
Weight will be the battery in the boiler, the electronics and the boiler/cab components I estimate the main frame will weigh about 1Kg.
The water tank and tender weight will be,primarily, from the mechanisms plus shell and if needed lead fishing sinkers glued inside.
Let your imagination run riot keeping in mind that this is your bash and as it is your design there can be no wrong solutions. If you like the look of it then go for it.
For the chassis/frame I recommend aluminium angle, it is easy to cut/grind and being angle it has a resistance to sag.
The downside is its light weight but once all the extras are added the weight will increase, to increase weight stick on mag wheel balance weights can be glued underneath they will be hidden from view by the chassis side.
This is what I am going to use for my bash when I restart it aluminium angle frame with a aluminium sheet deck, it weighs 0.6Kg (1.4lbs) before anything is added.
Weight will be the battery in the boiler, the electronics and the boiler/cab components I estimate the main frame will weigh about 1Kg.
The water tank and tender weight will be,primarily, from the mechanisms plus shell and if needed lead fishing sinkers glued inside.
-
2
- Show all
i already said i was gonna build a 4-6-2+2-6-4 but i want to know how one assembles all the parts together actully here is my inspriation its capecodtraintodd's garrattSo here's a standard gauge, easy one to build for you: 2-6-0+0-6-2. (And don't say it's not American because there were no American Garratts)
By The original uploader was Bundeena2230 at English Wikipedia. - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Oxyman using CommonsHelper., CC BY-SA 3.0, File:LMS Garratt 498x.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Attachments
-
1
- Show all
Well, with a couple of 4-6-0 frames like that, there are a few things to assemble.
You have to suspend a flat frame between the 2 chassis to support the boiler. My Garratt seems to have a double layer of styrene sheet. The protruding bolt is the pivot to connect it to the chassis:
Mine has electrical connections between the 2 frames (small brass pads above,) so that if either is collecting juice, then both can move. (Pretty essential, as you don't want one chassis to stop while the other continues.) I suggest using cables and plugs - there pads don't work if the track isn't perfectly flat.
You'll need something like a flat piece of thick styrene with a hole attached to the chassis for the pivot to drop in to, or a hole in the top (I can't remember what they look like on top!) So now you have the 2 chassis with a flat plate suspended between them. If you want to reinforce the plate, get some 1/8" brass angle and glue it along the edges, where the original had a lip.
Those chassis have a big screw at the back for the hook that connects the tender (which you don't need) so there's a place to link the trailing truck, which looks like what Todd did. Here's what my trucks look like - I assume they were LGB spare parts. You could easily 3D print a similar one and put it behind the 4-6-0.
After that it is all cosmetic. Todd mounted his 4-6-0 boiler on the central frame - I'd be inclined to extend it a bit, but that's up to you.
On the end chassis Todd mounted the tender bodies from 4-6-0s. (P.S. I know someone with a bunch of junk 4-6-0s if you need parts.) A real Garratt had coal and water behind the cab, and a big water tank up front. I would suggest you use the tender body at the cab end, and make a box with rounded top, maybe glued on the tender body for strength, for the front end. The front tank on mine is just a thin styrene sheet fitted over the top of the frame.
Now, practically speaking, you need to add some weights. The 4-6-0s used to have a great big lump of cast iron inside. One good source would be fishing weights - just take a small box, fill it with weights, and pour in some glue. Then glue it to the bottom of the tender body, or the top of the chassis.
Last edited:
-
2
-
1
- Show all
Well, the batteries will replace one set of weights, and those 4-6-0 tenders have tons of room for electronics and stuff. Plus you have a whole boiler to fill. You can even put the speaker under the stack so the sound comes from the right place.
Nicest block of lead that is easy to get is a "rock cod sinker", they come in 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 pound sizes... (at least in fishing stores in the USA)
Here's some in a Lionel Atlantic:
Here's some in a Lionel Atlantic:
ok so thats how i add weightNicest block of lead that is easy to get is a "rock cod sinker", they come in 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 pound sizes... (at least in fishing stores in the USA)
Here's some in a Lionel Atlantic:
but uh what should i use for the boiler i want something in larger diameter than a 4-6-0 boiler since it needs double the steam
I have seen various large scale steam loco builds which used plastic plumbing pipe as core of boiler.
Perhaps, as you have admitted to never having built anything before, and, indeed, seem to require full instructions on the basics of scratch-building as a modelling method, trying your hand at something a little less adventurous than a very large and complicated loco that never existed in North America might be a bettter plan.
Unfortunately, AFAIK, there is only ONE kit for building any kind of North American loco, and that's the Accucraft live-steam 'Ruby' - IF you can find one.
I fully realise that this is not something you might care to read, but I'm offering it as advice anyhow.
The many of us who scratch-build ALL started on something less advanced and over many YEARS gained experience by making use of other materials and methods. The incredible results from many scratch-builders are the products of much trial and error. As Mark Twain noted about whittling, the woodchips weigh can often ten times more than the finished toothpick.
The VERY best thing you can do is to find a group in your local area - some of them may have had the same ideas as you have. CapecodTod's model is an ideal one to emulate, IMO, and was the result of a LOT of hard and imaginative work and mucho head-scratching over the long time it took him to build it.
Unfortunately, AFAIK, there is only ONE kit for building any kind of North American loco, and that's the Accucraft live-steam 'Ruby' - IF you can find one.
I fully realise that this is not something you might care to read, but I'm offering it as advice anyhow.
The many of us who scratch-build ALL started on something less advanced and over many YEARS gained experience by making use of other materials and methods. The incredible results from many scratch-builders are the products of much trial and error. As Mark Twain noted about whittling, the woodchips weigh can often ten times more than the finished toothpick.
The VERY best thing you can do is to find a group in your local area - some of them may have had the same ideas as you have. CapecodTod's model is an ideal one to emulate, IMO, and was the result of a LOT of hard and imaginative work and mucho head-scratching over the long time it took him to build it.
Last edited:
-
1
- Show all
yeah i thinking that could work but PVC pipe might not be big enough in diameter for a medium sized garratt