44 Tonner

[railspike55]

O man
Just orderd two of these and now between the climax and the 44 t's
I am knee deep in critters.

Thankyou one and all for this info I have been looking for a 44t for some time.

Ron N.

Added just specked out 12 kato motor and on its side is a tight 8mm  should fit snug if castings are
all the same thickness.

[SirTainly]

That's .010 styrene to make a pocket on the frame; motor is 90-degrees from the original.  On this one I didn't tinker with the wheelbase.  On the later Shay and Climax B conversions I did.  You can change the driveshaft length by cutting it and stuffing it into a piece of square K&S tubing.  It works.  On this one I also stuffed in the original resistor and I'd never do that again either.

You're going to have to replace the motor contact strips with wire; not a killer, just get used to it. And you 'probably' could simply goo or epoxy the motor right on the frame instead of trying the pocket thing.

Chris made the masters for his sideframes, which was the original inspiration for me starting to cast resin.  I got my sideframes from him; also the one hood end that turned into the GE 25-tonner.  Chris did a GREAT job on those sideframes - that's what convinced me to try to learn to do this.

Thanks for the advice Randy, I was already wondering if I might have to glue the motor in, and if I would need to use wire for the pick ups. Going with the 6V pager motor would give me a little extra space to build some kid of cradle.

[SirTainly]

Tom, Chris

I was wondering if this might be a good time to try out Z scale couplers.

There isn't really much of a mounting pad, so I guess it's whatever you can fabricate. Will be an interesteing exercise never the less.

[randgust]

That's one of the 'debate items' even between Chris and I.  I really like what he did with the frame/wheelbase, but that 44-tonner has less room for coupler boxes than about anything I've ever tried except the A-class Climax.

The problem is that the Critter trucks aren't the same.  The 'power truck' has the gearbox right up to the flange edges.   The pickup truck has some room between the wheels if you do some radical cutting.

It's a lot easier to do one end than both.  I ended up putting MT passenger truck 'boxes' (the ones on the adjustable frames) cut off and simply goo'ed to the frame.  They have the shortest box of any standard MT coupler.  I also used those on the Shay and the B Climax, the 25-tonner, and the EMC40.

I did manage to get Z 905's on the REAR of the A-class, but not the front, and went with a dummy coupler there.

Before you conclude that you're going to lengthen the frame/wheelbase, you really need to study the coupler issues hard to make sure you have enough clearance to do something.  It's not one of those things you can put off until the model is painted and detailed!

This is the conundrum - you can either put the coupler box out too far or move the trucks in, on mine the gearbox is almost right against the back of the coupler box with about 010 clearance.   The rear pickup truck is easy by comparison, much more room there.



The upside is that the MT passenger car boxes are really easy to mount, and work flawlessly for delay-uncouple operations.  I like the looks of the Z's a lot better, but I wish the box was a whole lot shorter.

[tom mann]

OK, good to know that the frame lengthening isn't necessary*.  That was one of the issues I was worried about.  The other issue would be handrails, followed up glass and lenses.  Finally, I'm concerned about getting a LokSound decoder in there, but mainly because of contractual issues I have with Quantum and not space.  No, j/k on that last one.

On another note, what kick-a$$ shortline heavily weathered scheme should I choose?





*I can almost see the cover of OBTR now. 

[SirTainly]

hmm  so the couplers could be a problem, luckily I have some passenger car ones handy.

Randy, did you put a decoder in ?

[up1950s]

Thanks for that coupler / frame warning . I just ordered 2 1017 sets , now 489-302051 4 wheel passenger car modern in Walthers . I wish MTL would sell those couplers as a seperate item , though I will no doubt use the trucks once I start working on my passenger cars .

[SirTainly]

On another note, what kick-a$$ shortline heavily weathered scheme should I choose?

Not sure but the scheme on these looks familiar  ;D

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=94499

[randgust]

No, I didn't put a decoder in mine.

The other thing you 'need to know' is that you really want to try to concentrate the weight over the power truck.  Any weight in the middle will help pickup, but not tractive effort.   Mine has a ton stuffed over the gear truck in the hood, a big slug under the fuel tank, and a partial slug in the cab - you can still see through the windows.   No weight at all over the pickup truck, just the motor, etc.

If you're going for a decoder, I'd try high in the cab.  I think it will work.

Tom, the glazing is easy, just use Krystal-Cleer.

Handrails?  I put mine on before painting which was a bad idea.  I usually don't do that, now I remember why.  Impossible to get clean line separations.  I almost always put on handrails after first paint & decals, put on handrails, then do touchup, then dullcote.

[tom mann]

On another note, what kick-a$$ shortline heavily weathered scheme should I choose?

Not sure but the scheme on these looks familiar  ;D

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=94499

oooooohh.  we might have a winner here.

[up1950s]

GHQ could solve the weight , sideframe troubles . But that is pie in the sky , whatever that really derives from .

[tom mann]

I just wanted to say that I'm going to enjoy working on this project with all of you fine gents. ;D

[railspike55]

Tom mann,
do you have a source for the Arcade and Atica decals, This was one of my ideas to one for
Arcade and one for the NKP.

I have the book Arcade and Atica RR. If you need pics let me know I can scan them.

Ron N.

[randgust]

I'm not far away from the ARA.   They also have a 65-tonner that's the 'main power' now that the steam power is still down.

People ask what they can pull.  Love this 2003 shot of the A&A, 2 critters on 3 loaded cars:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=94500&PHPSESSID=f4f373bb9c7535e5462d21057d239814

Nobody can't ever say that 44-tonners aren't versatile and historic.  Here's a shot of them during the Battle of Antietam, bringing up fresh troops.  Supposedly General Grant is just off-scene to the right.

[biker_ray_pa]

Nobody can't ever say that 44-tonners aren't versatile and historic.  Here's a shot of them during the Battle of Antietam, bringing up fresh troops.  Supposedly General Grant is just off-scene to the right.

Now that's not historically accurate!!! Everyone knows that in September 1862, Grant was in Tennessee/Mississippi, NOT at Antietam!!

Other than that, well, makes sense to me.  ;D


Where exactly can I get one of these shells again??


Ray