flightops
Active Member
First off, I'm not a "model train guy", so go easy on me.
I'm retired Military (30 years SAR) and a lifelong gear-head. In the garage is a Corvette, a Mustang, a Mini Cooper and several "liter bikes" either in riding state or in some phase of a "project". There's also my truck and the wife's EV, but those are our driving vehicles. Getting kind of old now and working in the shop is getting harder every year, so some modelling projects are the solution to my building "itch".
As far as modelling goes, I build RC 4x4's and HO slot car tracks. In the works right now is a road track and a drag strip:
Road track is just something I pulled out of my head and the drag strip is a scale 1000'. Pretty much all the cars are "vintage". Some are case motors, some are pancake. All are "simple".
So even though not a train guy, I'm not totally new to scale building. As you might be able to tell, I also have a 3d printer, which is where most of the track accessories are coming from, which can also make most of any train layout pieces I might ever want.
I often waste a little time now and then in the local thrift store. Not that I look for anything specific, but sometimes you run across something interesting.
About a week or so ago, I ran across a bit of an old Bachmann set. "CN Hustler" or "diesel hustler" kit pieces, or something along those lines. Came with an old Tyco power pack. Gold colored one, 899 was the model IIRC. Nothing else. 20 bucks.
Now, like a lot of once little boys that are my age, Dad used to buy the occasional train set for under the xmas tree. I remember the CN kit specifically. Sometimes, I think Dad bought them as much for himself as me. Dad has been gone many years now, but fond memories remain of building and running those xmas train sets together. Even if they were usually boxed up again a week or two later.
20 bucks isn't much and I figured if nothing else, the little train could sit on a shelf and help evoke those fond memories. So I picked it up and headed for the cashier. Get it home and it's actually in pretty good nick, cosmetically at least:
I pull the engine apart and go through the motor and (very limited) wiring. I rebuild vintage audio gear, and the last unit I did was my Sansui 8080DB:
Total rebuild. Caps, transistors, outputs, burned/missing circuit traces, bad pots and switches, etc, so this little pancake engined thing is a doodle for me to fettle.
I tear it done to the basic plastic frame, and go through it all. Virtually no wear, even the brushes barely look burnished. Seems to support my theory of it being one of those "xmas sets". IE: used a couple times and then boxed away for the next 30-40 years.
8 wheel pickup, 4 wheel drive, 2 traction tires.
All cleaned and re-lubricated, I flip it over and run it off the Tyco pack with a couple jumper wires. Seems to run nicely, for what it is that is.
Since it's running well, I figure I might as well get a little track so I can run it, even in a limited capacity.
Long story short, ebay serves up some brass track and another CN engine and car set. 22 curves, 8 straights, a curve re-railer with a power tap and two (L&R) turnouts. All brass.
When it arrives, the brass is all old and tarnished. Not unexpected. I do the rubber eraser trick and run the engine over it. Seems to run fine.
So I take the brass track out to the shop and run it across the buffing wheel with some rouge. Comes up nicely. About 5-10 mins work and it's all done.
I pull the second engine apart and give it the same treatment. It's also a Bachmann (xmas set), but a few construction differences. Things like wheel contacts screwed on instead of pushed on. an extra 50 gram weight at the rear of the frame, etc. Small things, but seems a little better. I run it on some track and it seems a little stronger and smoother than the other loco. So I take the body form the first and add it to the second chassis. I remove the wiring and two of the gears in the wheel gearbox of the first engine and make it a "dummy", saving all the parts as both engines look to have very little actual run time on them.
Some of the cars are truck mounted horn-hooks, some are chassis mounted. They'll all go chassis mounted if I do decide to swap them out for kadee #5's.
I set up a small oval and try out the Tyco pack running the loco and cars:
Not bad. The Horn hook couplers aren't the greatest and low speed control isn't the greatest either, but it runs fairly smoothly. Finding myself a little enamored with the little "toy", I found myself wanting a little more "granularity" in the controls. Ebay again serves up something. An MRC Tech II 2500 for about 35 bucks:
Says "tested", but with ebay that could literally mean anything from they twiddled the dials to they ran a train with it. I looked at a couple pictures on the internet of the internal circuits/components and there's nothing there that bothers me if I have to troubleshoot it.
So that's where it currently sits. I'm into it all for 100-150 bucks Cdn. Very wallet friendly.
I may change out the horn-hooks for kadee #5's (which will likely cost nearly as much my total investment so far, lol!), I may setup a 4x8 scene, or it may get boxed up again an come out at xmas time to circle the tree. I haven't decided which yet.
I do find myself wanting to show the little loco's a little "scale love" and add in the details they lack (IE; railings, lights, lines, etc). Whether that happens of not is again, up for grabs.
One thing is sure; I won't be doing a lot of spending on it.
That means no dcc, no silver tracks, etc.
Nothing fancy and this build will be staying "low budget" no matter what.....
I'm retired Military (30 years SAR) and a lifelong gear-head. In the garage is a Corvette, a Mustang, a Mini Cooper and several "liter bikes" either in riding state or in some phase of a "project". There's also my truck and the wife's EV, but those are our driving vehicles. Getting kind of old now and working in the shop is getting harder every year, so some modelling projects are the solution to my building "itch".
As far as modelling goes, I build RC 4x4's and HO slot car tracks. In the works right now is a road track and a drag strip:
Road track is just something I pulled out of my head and the drag strip is a scale 1000'. Pretty much all the cars are "vintage". Some are case motors, some are pancake. All are "simple".
So even though not a train guy, I'm not totally new to scale building. As you might be able to tell, I also have a 3d printer, which is where most of the track accessories are coming from, which can also make most of any train layout pieces I might ever want.
I often waste a little time now and then in the local thrift store. Not that I look for anything specific, but sometimes you run across something interesting.
About a week or so ago, I ran across a bit of an old Bachmann set. "CN Hustler" or "diesel hustler" kit pieces, or something along those lines. Came with an old Tyco power pack. Gold colored one, 899 was the model IIRC. Nothing else. 20 bucks.
Now, like a lot of once little boys that are my age, Dad used to buy the occasional train set for under the xmas tree. I remember the CN kit specifically. Sometimes, I think Dad bought them as much for himself as me. Dad has been gone many years now, but fond memories remain of building and running those xmas train sets together. Even if they were usually boxed up again a week or two later.
20 bucks isn't much and I figured if nothing else, the little train could sit on a shelf and help evoke those fond memories. So I picked it up and headed for the cashier. Get it home and it's actually in pretty good nick, cosmetically at least:
I pull the engine apart and go through the motor and (very limited) wiring. I rebuild vintage audio gear, and the last unit I did was my Sansui 8080DB:
Total rebuild. Caps, transistors, outputs, burned/missing circuit traces, bad pots and switches, etc, so this little pancake engined thing is a doodle for me to fettle.
I tear it done to the basic plastic frame, and go through it all. Virtually no wear, even the brushes barely look burnished. Seems to support my theory of it being one of those "xmas sets". IE: used a couple times and then boxed away for the next 30-40 years.
8 wheel pickup, 4 wheel drive, 2 traction tires.
All cleaned and re-lubricated, I flip it over and run it off the Tyco pack with a couple jumper wires. Seems to run nicely, for what it is that is.
Since it's running well, I figure I might as well get a little track so I can run it, even in a limited capacity.
Long story short, ebay serves up some brass track and another CN engine and car set. 22 curves, 8 straights, a curve re-railer with a power tap and two (L&R) turnouts. All brass.
When it arrives, the brass is all old and tarnished. Not unexpected. I do the rubber eraser trick and run the engine over it. Seems to run fine.
So I take the brass track out to the shop and run it across the buffing wheel with some rouge. Comes up nicely. About 5-10 mins work and it's all done.
I pull the second engine apart and give it the same treatment. It's also a Bachmann (xmas set), but a few construction differences. Things like wheel contacts screwed on instead of pushed on. an extra 50 gram weight at the rear of the frame, etc. Small things, but seems a little better. I run it on some track and it seems a little stronger and smoother than the other loco. So I take the body form the first and add it to the second chassis. I remove the wiring and two of the gears in the wheel gearbox of the first engine and make it a "dummy", saving all the parts as both engines look to have very little actual run time on them.
Some of the cars are truck mounted horn-hooks, some are chassis mounted. They'll all go chassis mounted if I do decide to swap them out for kadee #5's.
I set up a small oval and try out the Tyco pack running the loco and cars:
Not bad. The Horn hook couplers aren't the greatest and low speed control isn't the greatest either, but it runs fairly smoothly. Finding myself a little enamored with the little "toy", I found myself wanting a little more "granularity" in the controls. Ebay again serves up something. An MRC Tech II 2500 for about 35 bucks:
Says "tested", but with ebay that could literally mean anything from they twiddled the dials to they ran a train with it. I looked at a couple pictures on the internet of the internal circuits/components and there's nothing there that bothers me if I have to troubleshoot it.
So that's where it currently sits. I'm into it all for 100-150 bucks Cdn. Very wallet friendly.
I may change out the horn-hooks for kadee #5's (which will likely cost nearly as much my total investment so far, lol!), I may setup a 4x8 scene, or it may get boxed up again an come out at xmas time to circle the tree. I haven't decided which yet.
I do find myself wanting to show the little loco's a little "scale love" and add in the details they lack (IE; railings, lights, lines, etc). Whether that happens of not is again, up for grabs.
One thing is sure; I won't be doing a lot of spending on it.
That means no dcc, no silver tracks, etc.
Nothing fancy and this build will be staying "low budget" no matter what.....
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