tooters scooters...

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weekendrailroader said:
"...and just put together any train stuff that looks cool. ;) "

Same here. I don't do much of anything prototypical either. Just wait till you see my "locomotive crane". It's a standard diesel wrecker, but with an F-7 cab and riding on Blomberg trucks. :D
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Hi weekend, :)

Please do post a picture of it, I'd really like to see what you came up with. This is a Barnhart log loader I put on a 6 wheeled truck...

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Just got a good deal on this diecast metal and wood kit off ebay...

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It's Tomar Industries "Little Hook" Industrial Brownhoist pillar crane and loading dock. Also have this old timer crane car kit yet to be built...

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Now, the question is: Can tooter build the tooter skidder? Maybe one donkey engine and a 20 foot spar on a bobber frame?:D
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Could you post a picture of a full sized skidder so I can get an idea of what it is supposed to look like?

Thanks, :)

Greg
 
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Added a couple of low side gondolas...

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Put spoked wheels and Kadees on them.

Also put spoked wheels on the hopper...
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Haven't cut any shortys lately as I've been getting the "train room" ready for a layout board. :)

Greg
 
Finished the Kadee conversion on the passenger train cars...

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There seem to be two basic kinds of European conversions to Kadees. Newer cars have standardized pockets into which you can simply plug in Kadee #18's.

Others that don't have those pockets, do have a pin that secures the European coupler assembly while providing the point on which it pivots. For these, Kadee #41 long underset shank couplers combined with snap together boxes work perfectly. You simply put a spot of glue on the underside, and stick on the box while inserting the pin through it and into the base of the car to align it. The glue is just to keep the box from pivoting.
 
After procrastinating for a while, here are some workbench photos and a video of my scooter (I got bitten by the scooter bug!) on the club layout.

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Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plLegLXbO4c

I sped up the locomotive a bit near the beginning since I didn't want it to get caught up on switch frogs due to the short wheelbase. It runs like a coffee grinder at high speeds, but that's what you would expect from an old Bachmann motor. It's very intolerant of dirty track though (due to it's light weight) so I can't operate it in yards without scrubbing down the track first (even though theres no visible gunk)

The prototype is still on the roster and is still used occasionally.

This model was a Grandt Line kit that was assembled and painted by Jerome (wheeler1963). The locomotive was custom painted and detailed. The front and rear headlights are operational and are surface mount LEDs. The original drive was replaced with a Bachmann Spectrum GE 44-tonner powered truck. I've added weight to it (I cut down some A-Line weights and glued them in front of and behind the truck).

With the added weight, the little switcher can pull up to 3 NMRA weighted 60' box cars on level track without slipping. Because of the short wheelbase, the switcher tends to hang up on unpowered frogs, but it makes it through fine on powered ones.

The DCC decoder on board is a Digitrax DZ125, installed by Mark G. (MGWSY)

The couplers are Kadee #43s, short centerset shank couplers. The truck made mounting the Kadee #711 couplers impossible so I glued in the #43s. The couplers do not swing so I decided to go with the standard head rather than the scale head. The front coupler sticks out a bit, but the #43 is the shortest all-metal coupler that Kadee makes.
 
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Hey burn, :)

Cool scooter! :)
Is that the Grandt Line 25 tonner? Super paint job. I also used #43's and enlarged the holes in the end pieces with a small file to accept Kadee boxes so that the couplers would swivel. You might give that a try if you want operational coupling.

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Your video technique of following the engine around the layout turned out really nice. :)

Greg
 
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It's not the pilot. The truck is larger than the original drive so the recommended Kadee #711s (Kadee's version of AccuMates) won't fit. The #711 is the smallest coupler pocket that Kadee makes and since those didn't fit I glued the #43s in.

The engine is short so any coupler swing can be provided by the car that it's towing.
 


Eric that really turned out nice!
Maybe I should finish mine someday, it's only been some fifteen years or more...
 
Thanks for the heads up. :)
They're Roundhouse Old Time 30' flats with wood sides. Roundhouse sold them as 3 in one kits. I have a set...
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...and sold another 3 in 1 set about 4 months ago.

Greg
 
A new pair of Mantua Classic Heavyweight Old Time 30 foot box cars...
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They're on sale for just $7.89 each at Hobbylinc.com... so I just couldn't pass them up. Decently detailed for the price, and both doors open so you can actually load, transport, and unload cargo... and they come with knuckle couplers. What a deal!:)

Greg
 
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I just ordered a passenger car that I was looking for for a long time from Hobbylinc. How are they?

Those cars look like they sit a little too high... almost like 3-rail O scale cars.
 
diburning said:
I just ordered a passenger car that I was looking for for a long time from Hobbylinc. How are they?

Those cars look like they sit a little too high... almost like 3-rail O scale cars.
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That's because they're not modern boxcars. They're from the 1860's...;)

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Greg
 


I never consider prototypes, and so have no idea. But I do know about Hobbylinc. Their service over the past year has been absolutely flawless. :)

Greg
 
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