Will N scale Kato El Capitan diner 3-axle trucks fit on Kato business car?

[atsf_arizona]

Anyone know if the N scale Kato El Capitan diner 3-axle trucks will  fit on the N scale Kato business car?


Here's photo of Katousa.com's p/n 800122



Here's the Kato business car:



I was thinking that would make a good 6-axle Santa Fe business car (either "Santa Fe" or "Topeka"):



http://needlesdivisionsantaferrnscale.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html


Thx for letting me know if someone's done this particular swap - I don't know what trucks Mike Komos used in the train in his great blog post / photo above (i'm guessing it might have been the 6 axle trucks off the Bachmann Santa Fe Big Dome)  -  yes, I know I'd need to cut the skirts on the side of the car .

John Sing
Sarasota, FL
http://www.pbase.com/atsf_arizona

[CBQ Fan]

I used MT silver 6 axle truck on one of my Kato business cars.

[eja]

yes, I know I'd need to cut the skirts on the side of the car .

John Sing
Sarasota, FL
http://www.pbase.com/atsf_arizona

And depending on your date, you may need to close the porch :

[EspeeGoldenState]

They will fit, but as the pic you have shown and have stated, you will have to cut the side skirts for them to take curves. Another issue is the Kato business car  trucks screwed in whereas the 3 axle truck is a snap in piece and the middle axle will hit the screw head. Thats where I am stalled at on mine, and haven't had the time to sit and get it right.

It almost looks like there is no middle wheel set in Mike Komos car.

Chris

[atsf_arizona]

Chris, you may be right about that - Mike Komos' business car might be intentionally missing the middle axle.  I had faced
similar situation when I did a Santa Fe Big Dome improvement project some years back:





Downloadable PDF file of what I did back then, probably 2005 or so:

https://web.archive.org/web/20151002184857/http://home.comcast.net/~atsf_arizona/Modeling_Santa_Fe_Big_Dome_in_N_scale.pdf

On that model - I looked and remember now that I ended up removing and replacing the middle axle set of wheels whenever installing or removing the truck's mounting screw.  Also used a different wheelset (Intermountain IRC60051 36" wheelset) than the stock Bachmann wheelset, in order to get a thinner middle axle. Suspect something similar may need to happen here.  When I get time I will go take a photo of that part of my Santa Fe Big Dome model and post it here.

So, I guess we're saying we think the Kato El Capitan diner 3-axle trucks will fit, but bolster or installation modifications necessary.  Maybe I will try it and see what happens.   Feel free to comment further.   

[atsf_arizona]

Found a Trainboard.com thread that discusses doing something very similar:

http://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/swapping-bachmann-fulldome-trucks-out-with-kato.72266/

That thread refreshed my memory a bit. 

From that thread, I also found Spookshow.net's N Scale Encyclopedia at:   http://www.spookshow.net/trucks/gsc61rdo.html
has photos comparing both the Kato GSC 61-RDO truck and the Bachmann Big Dome truck:



And in comparison, the Kato El Capitan truck:



So, good data to consider ......   The Internet is wonderful.

[EspeeGoldenState]

So here is a few pictures of what I can give you. Currently in a holding pattern as I have a ton of projects as is, and this one wasn't just a truck swap, was gonna turn it in a quasi UPP 150 Sunset. So currently awaiting time.

Top View with middle axle removed.


Not the greatest pic, but clearance between axle and screw hole.


Side view


Without cutting the skit, this shows just how much the truck will be limited in turning, I've turned them as much as I could.


Chris

[atsf_arizona]

Thx, Chris, for the photos, really appreciate it.