| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 03/06/2012 : 11:21:47 AM
I am going to attempt (as I say loosely) [:-banghead]
attempt, to motorize this Vintage Vehicles 1922 Mack Railcar kit. So far I bought a NWSL flea and will be changing out the wheels for the NWSL 36” spoke wheels, and using 26” NWSL spoke wheels on the front.
Also, purchased were Tomar Adlake marker lights for the front and rear, and white 3mm LED for the front and red LED for rear of the railcar. I may be using a Digitrax DZ143 decoder for its nice Back EMF, size, and functions available. This will not be my usual move right along type of build. As I guess I’ll need to figure out what needs to be cut, and what needs to be changed along the way.
I know a bunch of great railcar builders out there, and help and ideas I will need, so please chime in with your knowledge and ideas. You have done this many times, and I’m a newbie at it. 
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 10/17/2012 : 6:28:18 PM
quote:
Originally posted by CWRailman
Louis,
Thanks for posting the link to this Mack Bus build. I have three of these kits and two of the NWSL Flea’s and was considering the same build minus the DCC. Years ago I built a service rail truck and enclosed the Flea in the truck box. I was not at all happy with the performance. In testing I found the Flea motor does not produce enough torque to start the model smoothly. Adding a flywheel makes the start a bit worse but does smooth out some of the pulses when running. I had experimented with installing a different motor but when that failed I actually hooked up another motor to the shaft of the small Flea motor. That helped with the start but did not fit into the body of my service truck. I may use some of your ideas here and the dual motor setup to make for a smooth starting model. Then again some time has passed and maybe there is a better higher torque motor to attach to the Flea gear box.
Since you are running DCC did you adjust the Kick strength and kick frequency CV's. That usually improves slow speed operation.
Denny
Janitor in Training
CW Loco and Car Rebuild Shops
WEB site: CWRailman.com
Facebook: CWRailman
Hi Denny, thanks for replying and posting your comments. I had not tried tweaking the CV's as of yet, but that is a good idea. It seems to run fine as is, but does not have that super fine slow speed that I like seeing. |
| CWRailman |
Posted - 10/17/2012 : 6:18:01 PM
Louis,
Thanks for posting the link to this Mack Bus build. I have three of these kits and two of the NWSL Flea’s and was considering the same build minus the DCC. Years ago I built a service rail truck and enclosed the Flea in the truck box. I was not at all happy with the performance. In testing I found the Flea motor does not produce enough torque to start the model smoothly. Adding a flywheel makes the start a bit worse but does smooth out some of the pulses when running. I had experimented with installing a different motor but when that failed I actually hooked up another motor to the shaft of the small Flea motor. That helped with the start but did not fit into the body of my service truck. I may use some of your ideas here and the dual motor setup to make for a smooth starting model. Then again some time has passed and maybe there is a better higher torque motor to attach to the Flea gear box.
Since you are running DCC did you adjust the Kick strength and kick frequency CV's. That usually improves slow speed operation.
Denny
Janitor in Training
CW Loco and Car Rebuild Shops
WEB site: CWRailman.com
Facebook: CWRailman |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 04/15/2012 : 09:46:02 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Ray Schofield
Lou I agree Roland. Bring them to the club. We get to see Ed's 45 tonner why not a Mack railbus. It might inspire some of our members
Thanks Ray. Also, the open house went well at the Aquidneck Valley yesterday. |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 04/15/2012 : 09:44:07 AM
quote:
Originally posted by rgMorin
Hi Louis,
Got home from the club to find the links you emailed me. Thanks.
Your railcar builds, both the Express Mail Rail truck and the Mack Railbus look great.
Your postings, along with the other forum comments and contribuitons were both entertaining and informative.
Some of the things that stuck out for me was the rewiring of the 44 tonner power truck, the detailing of the Mail railtruck, right down to the water bag, the electrical pickup scheme for the flea powered railbus' front truck and the painting of the flea drive motor black and surrounding it with passengers. If all but disappears inside the railbus. Good model engineering !
Maybe sometime when you, Ed and Bob pay us a visit, you might bring them both down for a run on the PN right of way. I know Ray and I would enjoy the experience.
The vehicles (2 ea) I bought awhile back for possible conversion into a railtruck was an HO Rocco model of a Russian truck (p/n Lkw ZIS-5 Kasten). Looks to me very much like an early Ford truck. All I need now is some spare time. . .
Roland
Thank you very much Roland for your kind comments, and the offer to run it at the Providence Northern. [:-thumbu] |
| Ray Schofield |
Posted - 04/15/2012 : 09:36:45 AM
Lou I agree Roland. Bring them to the club. We get to see Ed's 45 tonner why not a Mack railbus. It might inspire some of our members |
| rgMorin |
Posted - 04/07/2012 : 9:05:25 PM
Hi Louis,
Got home from the club to find the links you emailed me. Thanks.
Your railcar builds, both the Express Mail Rail truck and the Mack Railbus look great.
Your postings, along with the other forum comments and contribuitons were both entertaining and informative.
Some of the things that stuck out for me was the rewiring of the 44 tonner power truck, the detailing of the Mail railtruck, right down to the water bag, the electrical pickup scheme for the flea powered railbus' front truck and the painting of the flea drive motor black and surrounding it with passengers. If all but disappears inside the railbus. Good model engineering !
Maybe sometime when you, Ed and Bob pay us a visit, you might bring them both down for a run on the PN right of way. I know Ray and I would enjoy the experience.
The vehicles (2 ea) I bought awhile back for possible conversion into a railtruck was an HO Rocco model of a Russian truck (p/n Lkw ZIS-5 Kasten). Looks to me very much like an early Ford truck. All I need now is some spare time. . .
Roland
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| desertdrover |
Posted - 03/22/2012 : 5:17:28 PM
quote:
Originally posted by djdutch
can't wait to see them I dit this with an busch pick up truck but your difficulty is that you need two collors in one verry small light and don't forgot the angle you can bent an optic fiber but not 90 degrees
DJ
What I was saying DJ is that I would use the green color fiber optic to just light straight forward, and another red for straight back, and then just use the non-lighted reflective color lenes to the sides. Here is a truck that I did with LED and using fiber optics lights. http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23070 |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 03/22/2012 : 5:06:29 PM
quote:
Originally posted by andykins
looks great, i have one of these kits part started somewhere in a box.
how does that chassis run? ive thought about useing one before for some on30
Thanks for posting a commet. You would be happy with the NWSL Flea to run just about any build/kitbash. I would suggest getting the flywheel for better starting power, for better/smoother start to running speeds.
The only way I can discribe it is, my passengers go from a stop, to a nice traveling along. Just hold their hats at take off. |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 03/22/2012 : 4:57:47 PM
quote:
Originally posted by BigLars
Neat finish Louis.
Thanks Larry, I'm happy with it, and it was worth the effort to motorize it. The only change I would make is to add the flywheel. |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 03/22/2012 : 4:56:01 PM
quote:
Originally posted by nhguy
Looks great Louis. How does it run?
Hi Bill, it runs good, but it could run better at slower speeds if a flywheel was added. I can't get very low constant speeds, but it can run slow enough to run right under power. It will start slow enough and run, but to get it to creep along, I found you would need the flywheel.
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| andykins |
Posted - 03/22/2012 : 3:03:36 PM
looks great, i have one of these kits part started somewhere in a box.
how does that chassis run? ive thought about useing one before for some on30 |
| BigLars |
Posted - 03/22/2012 : 2:23:21 PM
Neat finish Louis. |
| nhguy |
Posted - 03/22/2012 : 2:09:27 PM
Looks great Louis. How does it run? |
| djdutch |
Posted - 03/22/2012 : 12:43:30 PM
can't wait to see them I dit this with an busch pick up truck but your difficulty is that you need two collors in one verry small light and don't forgot the angle you can bent an optic fiber but not 90 degrees
DJ |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 03/22/2012 : 12:35:40 PM
quote:
Originally posted by djdutch
realy like this build, maby it is posible to make the marker lights from optic fibers
DJ
I had thought of the fiber optic, or even cutting down a 3mm red and green LED like the pictures. But the marker type of lights I like the looks of better with their different colored lights around the markers. The single type of lights look better when used on more modern type of equipment.
Unless, I do what you said and took the kit plastic marker light and drilled out the light for fiber optics with green in front, and red at rear, with the other side lighs done with the MV Products lenses. That would look good.
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