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MinerFortyNiner
Fireman
USA
1994 Posts |
 Posted - 07/15/2012 : 9:25:44 PM
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I was looking for a relatively quick project to dive into in the last days of a week's vacation, and was tinkering in the railroad room with different railcar ideas. I came across this idea:
Meet the 'Rattler', named after the slang term for a rattlesnake.
I have had a Galloping Goose sitting on the shelf for a long time looking for a conversion, as the Geese are so distinctive I wanted to build something different. I was looking at my Bachmann railbus with a cracked gear and it hit me...let the freight carbody of the Goose push the railbus as a dummy unit.
I removed the front truck and cut off the metal tongue extending from the front of the freight body, and built a wood end beam with a Unimate coupler in a Kadee draft gear box. Easy! It runs great, and the two units' height and width match so closely, it almost looks like they were meant for each other!
The rationale for this critter is the Arroyo Verde & Western was looking for something like a Goose to meet its mail, LCL and passenger needs while saving costs over running a full train. RGS #4 was available, and the railroad snagged it up, only to realize they had bought a lemon. The ponied up and bought a railbus after the Pierce-Arrow continually overheated in the desert environment, and put it at the front of the converted freight box.
Next, I will be working on connecting the two so the Loksound decoder in the Goose operates the lights, and so both units pick up power from the rails. I have only removed the driveshafts and disconnected the decoder on the railbus, so I can convert it back some day if I choose. The roof of the freight box will be painted black, and it will get AV&W lettering with some of the Rio Grande Southern showing through peeling paint. As for the #4 lettering, the Rattler was assigned that number on my roster a couple of years ago, so it's serendipity that I can just keep the original RGS number lettering.
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Edited by - MinerFortyNiner on 07/15/2012 9:29:13 PM |
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BigLars
Fireman
USA
7370 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2012 : 10:06:10 PM
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Neat Verne!
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kirk
Fireman
Sweden
4526 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2012 : 12:34:40 AM
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| Great idea Verne! A good looking combo! |
Troels Kirk
Näsum, Sweden
http://coastline.no13.se |
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MinerFortyNiner
Fireman
USA
1994 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2012 : 03:47:35 AM
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Thanks, guys. I painted the Goose roof black, and drybrushed aluminum paint over the Rio Grande Southern until it is barely visible (to simulate a quick paint-over that hasn't lasted long). I will be improving its appearance and detail, including a bell, better looking driver and passengers, but first I need to get everything wired together.
I pressed on until late (or early) and figured out how to connect the Bachmann railbus to the Loksound decoder in the Goose freight body. Sometimes I hate stopping when I have wind in my sails!
Everything worked fine on the test bed, except the railbus headlights didn't light. I discovered I needed to jump a few connections in the 8-pin connector on the railbus where the decoder was plugged in. Once that was soldered in place, everything works great using the Bachmann 4-conductor jumper cable provided to connect the railbus to its matching trailer. The Loksound decoder operates the lights in the railbus including the headlights and all marker lights, and the Goose backup light comes on in reverse (with all of the other lights remaining on, as desired). Photos tomorrow when I can post them.
Since I have a pair of those nifty marker lights in the trailer just sitting there, I think I will try installing them in the back of the Goose body...there really should be lights back there, too! |
Edited by - MinerFortyNiner on 07/18/2012 02:00:57 AM |
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Frederic Testard
Engineer
France
16456 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2012 : 04:49:50 AM
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A very interesting combination, Verne. Will make RGS devotees grumble...  |
Frederic Testard |
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Geezer
Fireman
USA
8194 Posts |
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andykins
Fireman
United Kingdom
3890 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2012 : 06:06:06 AM
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| whoha, thats one neat railtruck :D nice idea :D |
"Is it really "rivet counting" if it's regarding NBW castings?"
Unknown |
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MinerFortyNiner
Fireman
USA
1994 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2012 : 01:45:43 AM
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Progress update on the 'Rattler':
Through trial and error, I've learned more than I can type here about how the railbus and Galloping Goose are wired. Here is a detail view of the railbus roof, with the open space revealing where the decoder had been...just pull the plug. I discovered it was necessary to jump the indicated positions on the 8-pin connector to enable the headlights to function. I simply soldered a short bit of wire in place.
I am not sure which is the bigger headache...looking at this photo, or figuring this out. This is the goose's guts.  Starting with 1, the 8-pin connector to the left, I inserted half a connector (four solder positions) to enable me to solder leads for right and left rail connections. These leads (4) will connect to the Bachmann jumper cable and the railcar. They enable both units to pick up power, which should make it extremely reliable even on dirty track.
2 and 3 show the wires connecting to the headlight jumper...I painted the insulation to match the colors on the Bachmann jumper cable for headlight power. The final connections will be made just before I button everything up. 3 is an additional wire, not sure its purpose, but I simply covered the end with shrink tubing and will keep it in place. 5 shows the backup light jumper (you can just see a bit of the original backup light circuit board, which I will not use).
With all of the cool lights on the railbus working, I next set about to add functioning marker lights on the freight box. This ended up a disappointing string of dead ends. The short summary: the Goose's decoder doesn't crank enough power on the lighting circuit to power the 9 LEDs on the bus, plus marker lights in the freight box. I tested with the Bachmann marker lights I unsoldered from the trailer, and they made all LEDs way too dim for a good effect.
The solution I came up with was a set of beautiful Tomar marker 1.5v incandescent marker lights, with a separate battery tucked under the rear of the freight box shell. A micro switch will control this function. I don't use headlights during day operation, and it's easy enough to pop the shell and flip the switch, so I have functioning lights all around.
Here are the marker lights temporarily inserted...the stock backup light has been removed, I will add a locomotive headlight from my parts box on the roof instead. I sanded the rivet detail off of the roof, etched some Sodders aluminum siding, and then burnished the tops of the corrugations with a sanding stick. Once I mount the headlight and the last roof panel, I will add the wood stringers over the car sides typical of car roofs used in Mexico and Central/South America. I haven't decided whether I want to paint the roof a faded black, or leave as is.
All of the RGS lettering was removed with Gun Scrubber, a nasty solution that is great for cleaning guns...and removing lettering! Just be sure to use rubber gloves and have plenty of ventilation.
I highlighted the door seams and panel joints with different shades of Vallejo acrylic paint, to emphasize the detail a bit. I am striving to make the origin of the freight box less obvious.
Next, I will work to install an identical headlight in the roof of the railbus, and finish designing the custom decals for the Rattler. I have finalized the snake graphic I will use on the sides of the freight box:
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Edited by - MinerFortyNiner on 07/18/2012 01:53:17 AM |
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Georgia Gulf
Engine Wiper
United Kingdom
100 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2012 : 02:52:42 AM
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Very nice work those marker lights are neat.
Nick |
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Frederic Testard
Engineer
France
16456 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2012 : 03:59:35 AM
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| Verne, I like the roof this way. It makes an interesting contrast with the aluminium sides. |
Frederic Testard |
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Geezer
Fireman
USA
8194 Posts |
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Tyson Rayles
Moderator
USA
10170 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2012 : 07:55:23 AM
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| Great "bus". I like it better than the goose! |
Mike |
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MinerFortyNiner
Fireman
USA
1994 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2012 : 08:58:36 AM
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Thanks, guys. This is one of those projects where almost half the time has been spent tinkering and thinking, rather than building...so progress has been slower than usual, and the list of things to do just gets longer!
quote:
Originally posted by Frederic Testard
Verne, I like the roof this way. It makes an interesting contrast with the aluminium sides.
Thank you, Frederic. I think it's a step in the right direction to avoid ending up on the Naughty list with the RGS fans!  |
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Hopeless
Fireman
USA
1250 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2012 : 7:06:29 PM
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I like the roof the way it is also. The whole thing is a great idea. My only problem is calling it the rattler. I hate snakes :D. Will be following along.
Roland |
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MinerFortyNiner
Fireman
USA
1994 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2012 : 8:34:15 PM
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| I know what you mean, Roland...the family had a discussion about that very thing. It's the working name right now, but I am open to any non-snake mascots suggested! |
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Topic |
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Building the Estrella & Sonora Grande RR
Topic Locked
