What happened at your workbench today?

Northsider said:
The final job on building the MER No.23 lookalike was to fit a motor and gearbox.
I can't remember how I discovered it, but Appletree Railway make a compact motor/gearbox at a good price,
View attachment 352752which can either be nose-mounted as per the prototype, or mounted solidly to a floor. I went for the first option, drilling the frames to take a 3mm bar to act as a second mounting point. It needed a bit more epoxy than I would have liked, although it won't be visible when running. It also looks skew in the photo, but isn't in real life!
View attachment 352753
I had to supply an axle which Appletree fitted when building the gearbox; assembly into the truck was simple, and the installation is very neat. It is virtually invisible to the naked eye from the outside, too. I just need some dry weather so that I can test it.
View attachment 352754
I can thoroughly recommend Tim at Appletree Railway -he was a pleasure to deal with, communicated well and made sure the unit was to the spec that I wanted.
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I would think about having both axles driven. Unless your track is perfectly flat, on occasion you will only have one driving wheel on the track, which will slip.
 
JimmyB said:
I would think about having both axles driven. Unless your track is perfectly flat, on occasion you will only have one driving wheel on the track, which will slip.
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My track  is fairly flat -the Cleminson coach (which is my avatar) really doesn't like changes in gradient! I have a single-axle drive on a couple of ⅞ths locos which are OK, so I think this will be, too. There's not much room for a Delrin chain, either...
It performed very nicely on test this morning, but it's back to the drawing board as the steady bar is too low and the motor is catching on points... :oops:
 
Roof panels are in place, just final fettling before gluing, so much fun notching out the tiles were the panels butt up against each other, but that's for another day, quit whilst you're winning :wait:
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Northsider said:
My track  is fairly flat -the Cleminson coach (which is my avatar) really doesn't like changes in gradient! I have a single-axle drive on a couple of ⅞ths locos which are OK, so I think this will be, too. There's not much room for a Delrin chain, either...
It performed very nicely on test this morning, but it's back to the drawing board as the steady bar is too low and the motor is catching on points... :oops:
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From experience, when I motorised the bogie on my San Fransisco tram, it ran fine on the flat, but as soon as encountered uneven track with any resistance. the driven axle would slip (even with extra weight). Once I had both axles driven the issue disappeared.
 
Northsider said:
My track  is fairly flat -the Cleminson coach (which is my avatar) really doesn't like changes in gradient! I have a single-axle drive on a couple of ⅞ths locos which are OK, so I think this will be, too. There's not much room for a Delrin chain, either...
It performed very nicely on test this morning, but it's back to the drawing board as the steady bar is too low and the motor is catching on points... :oops:
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Not sure that you can even get a Delrin chain after some recent reports in the forum, sadly tis or was great stuff. Though I believe gher is a relatively new alternative if you have problems.
 
If you are not to worried about the coupling height how about bigger wheels to gain the the clearance required over points? As long as the bigger wheels do not foul the underframe or the centre casting will need some packing as well ! This of course would raise the coupling height twice.
 
As @Fezwig said, this is turning into 'What Happened at Your Manx workbench'...
First off, a bit of clamp porn, as I laminate the roof for my final saloon coach:
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The project stalled a couple of years ago when I hit problems with the step hangers, which I fabricate from brass strip, so I'm doing the easy bits first...
A quick test showed that the Appletree motor/gearbox was sitting too low in the truck/power bogie of my Nº23 winter project, so I had a quick look at it, and used cable ties as a temporary fix. But the more I looked at it, the better the quick fix seemed; so I've left it in place. Who will know? Me and God, me and God...
It was dark by the time I'd finished, but with rain forecast for the next couple of days, time was of the essence. I haven't run anything after dark for years, but with directional lighting installed, there's really no reason not to, and as we know, without a photograph, it never happened...
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Northsider said:
It was dark by the time I'd finished, but with rain forecast for the next couple of days, time was of the essence. I haven't run anything after dark for years, but with directional lighting installed, there's really no reason not to, and as we know, without a photograph, it never happened...
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Just be careful around "Bonner" curve ;)
 
John Randall said:
If you are not to worried about the coupling height how about bigger wheels to gain the the clearance required over points? As long as the bigger wheels do not foul the underframe or the centre casting will need some packing as well ! This of course would raise the coupling height twice.
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I moved the motor mount, which lifted the motor/gearbox clear of point blades, etc. I'm not fitting couplings, as I would be surprised if Nº23 hauled anything else when loaded with 12 tons of mine spoil...
 
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It's a bit rough on the print side - had it warp on the bed but good enough to test fitment. Probably going to be a couple more prints before the tolerances are dialed in but hey, it works!

Fits all the original Playmobil parts with the exception of the cab. That needs the sides of the seat box cut out to allow for the larger RC motor unit. I did a quick rough print of a modified cab for people who would rather not cut into their collectible!

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Took the opportunity to improve the grille by printing it with a grey backing so it looks like mesh.

Roof is modelled and think I'll design an option that replaces the clip on air horns with a working headlight with air horns either side.

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Wrong colour but you get the idea.
 
Printed and painted an LGB R5 style point and 2 R3 points.
These are going to be used on 2 new sidings that I am building.
All are printed using PETG filament with the R5 being outside in the garden, PETG has better UV resistance than PLA and with a coat of UV resistant paint and being positioned in a spot that gets morning sun and afternoon shade it should stand up well. The other 2 are going to be inside like the other 5 sets that are already in service.

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An unexpected lack of precipitation meant I got out in the garden, although as I expected, it was  very wet underfoot. But overhanging foliage was cut back from the lineside, some weeding was done, and I had the opportunity to test Nº23. One curve needed the screw holding the track down easing as it was out of level from side to side, but otherwise the tram was a delight to run. The USAT trucks provide a lot of low-down mass (and a decent clickety-clack on rail joints), while the Appletree Railway motor/gearbox is virtually silent, with just a slight (prototypical?) whine. As it runs through spur gears and not a worm drive it behaves differently, freewheeling to a halt after the power is switched off. It is more like a live steam locos on gradients, slowing as it goes uphill, and more prone to running away on the descent. It suits the re-purposed Piko 35040 key-fob remote really well; with no worm-gear friction, it starts at the first press, which gives a good low speed for moving around a yard, etc. Out on the line further 'clicks' are needed to tackle gradients as described above, or it can be left running more or less unattended. I really didn't like the Piko system when installed in a steam-outline (worm-drive) loco, but here, it's close to perfect. The directional lights are helpful in identifying when the motor is off, too.20260206_144104.jpg
In the yard, waiting to take a load of ore...somewhere.
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Out on the line and crossing the Basket Bridge, having climbed Strawberry Bank (not that there are any strawberries at this time of year!).
20260206_140821.jpgBack in the yard, with another load of ore. The trolley pole is set for the journey down the Auldyn valley.
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Unusually, sitting right at the inward end of the bay platform. Word in the Bothy suggests that this is because Fictitious Fezwig likes to stop as close to the station Tea Rooms as possible. I couldn't possibly comment...
 
Northsider said:
Word in the Bothy suggests that this is because Fictitious Fezwig likes to stop as close to the station Tea Rooms as possible. I couldn't possibly comment...
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Well observed part of railway operations ;) right oh, Dominoes, penny a spot, who's in?
 
Northsider said:
An unexpected lack of precipitation meant I got out in the garden, although as I expected, it was  very wet underfoot. But overhanging foliage was cut back from the lineside, some weeding was done, and I had the opportunity to test Nº23. One curve needed the screw holding the track down easing as it was out of level from side to side, but otherwise the tram was a delight to run. The USAT trucks provide a lot of low-down mass (and a decent clickety-clack on rail joints), while the Appletree Railway motor/gearbox is virtually silent, with just a slight (prototypical?) whine. As it runs through spur gears and not a worm drive it behaves differently, freewheeling to a halt after the power is switched off. It is more like a live steam locos on gradients, slowing as it goes uphill, and more prone to running away on the descent. It suits the re-purposed Piko 35040 key-fob remote really well; with no worm-gear friction, it starts at the first press, which gives a good low speed for moving around a yard, etc. Out on the line further 'clicks' are needed to tackle gradients as described above, or it can be left running more or less unattended. I really didn't like the Piko system when installed in a steam-outline (worm-drive) loco, but here, it's close to perfect. The directional lights are helpful in identifying when the motor is off, too.View attachment 352846
In the yard, waiting to take a load of ore...somewhere.
View attachment 352848
Out on the line and crossing the Basket Bridge, having climbed Strawberry Bank (not that there are any strawberries at this time of year!).
View attachment 352849Back in the yard, with another load of ore. The trolley pole is set for the journey down the Auldyn valley.
View attachment 352847
Unusually, sitting right at the inward end of the bay platform. Word in the Bothy suggests that this is because Fictitious Fezwig likes to stop as close to the station Tea Rooms as possible. I couldn't possibly comment...
Click to expand...
Lovely looking job and so glad that the beast runs so well and is the ideal vehicle for the Piko system. I have one in one of my Swift 16 Railcar, some if my operators struggle with the use being so different from my dominating Fosworks TX but needs be and it was good to try a different system.
 
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