Thomas as steam kitbash fodder

[timwatson]

Disclaimer: I know this is going to sound crazy so here is my disclaimer.

Ok now that that's out of the way here is the idea - I recently just bought my son an N Scale Thomas the Tank Engine made by Tomytec (or Tomy whichever you prefer). I was very pleasantly surprised when I hooked it up to 12 cars (including Annie and Clarabel) and Thomas didn't bat one of those buggy eyes of his.

What??? How can this little guy pull almost as many cars as my 2-6-6-2??? This is a kids toy (albeit an expensive one).

So in the interest of science I took him apart. What I found was kind of a shocker. This little engine is a well made gem. Here are the positives:

Technical specs:
All geared drivers
All wheel pickup
No traction tire (would mess with pickup)
Metal bearing blocks
Split frame

Wow ok so that's the short list of what makes a great N Scale steam engine. I admittedly don't know much about Tomy, but after playing with this engine, I wanted to know more. So checking around the web they make some steam engines for the JNR crowd but no apparent USA prototypes. Bummer.

Ok back to Thomas. Well so my thought was maybe since Thomas doesn't have any United States cousins maybe he could sit in for a USA prototype loco or 2. So I began to measure and weigh and measure some more.

What did I find after I compared his measurements to a quick pass through the Steam Locomotive Encyclopedia? He could be made into a number of short x-4-x or x-6-x engines. So I'll show you his innards, some detail shots and you all can embrace your own inner child and see if this little guy can be a project starter for you. So here we go.

Measurements (are all to scale):
Top of rail to top of motor chassis.
12' 6"

Driver diameter: ~6' or 72" or 10mm
Driver spokes: 16
Driver center spacing: 7' 6" (equidistant) or 14.5mm

16mm wide at the tanks. This will likely be an issue. Nothing a grinder can't fix.

Weight: 45g (with shell on)

Length: Main length chassis 45mm

My own personal interest would be in making a Camelback out of one of these little guys. They would also sit in for an NYC E1e (pretty nicely). Primarily any mogul you would like to have with a large driver diameter would be up for grabs I would think. Something to think about given it runs as well as it does. That in and of itself seems to be tough to come by these days.


Thomas sans shell beside a Kato Mikado Driver


Low-rider steam is sexy!


Metal bearing blocks - woohoo


Nice little motor in there. Super quiet motor and mechanism.

[One of One-Sixty]

With Thomas, being a a British product, Thomas and his friends based off of British locomotives.

Here is the classes that of some of the engine represents in real life.

Thomas: E2
Gordan: "A0" Pacific
James: L&YR Class 27 rebuild
Percy: Avonside 0-4-0ST

[Ike the BN Freak]

Also, wanna say its Japanese N scale, so its 1:150th or so.

Off topic, but where can you get this set? Got me one on the way, and figured be a good "start" into N.

[peteski]

I agree that these models are quite well made for a child's toy.  I run them without modifications on the N-Trak layout during shows and they are quite a crowd pleaser, especially with the younger audience (of possible future model railroaders). 

As far as where to get them, eBay seller plazajapan has all sorts of Thomas and many other N scale models from Japan, like the Kato "critters" and all sorts of other powered chassis.

[CBQ Fan]

Still blows me away the cost of a Thomas car which is a complete toy compared to a detailed scale car in N scale.  But my boys have or had loved Thomas at one age or another so buy, buy, buy we do!!!   

[sizemore]

One thing you're missing, the reason it pulls so well, the frame is largely balanced front to rear, port to starboard.

The S.

[timwatson]

@Ike congrats on your new engine the kids will love it. The reason I gave real N Scale (1/160) measurements was so the 1/150 would be nullified. The measurements are actual measurements of the real engine.

@Peteski the thing is this engine is not only good as a child's toy but as an actual scale model. I mean if you can pay $150 for something with twice the wheels for twice the price that's considered to be a professional model - then this can easily be a "donor" loco. We owned the HO scale Bachmann Thomas and I would have NEVER suggested that engine was usable after the kids are grown. This engine is very different from that. It has that Japanese engineering we love with the Katos at a smaller price (I got ours for 75$) and MUCH smaller footprint. We bought this for my son to run at train shows (TTrak) since the current club member who has one is leaving our club (moving away). We will run it on our http://www.flickr.com/photos/wittmason/6787741134/ lego module  .

Like I said since we had one and I had it apart no harm sharing to see if someone has the perfect prototype that may fit the chasis. It could to be made into a really great small steam loco.

[One of One-Sixty]

Kids trains in JP is like kids and the Tyco trainsand slot cars in the 80's here.  Also remember N is the major scale over there so making Thomas in N (which went on for 8+ seasons unlike our Shining Time Station) was a no brainer for Tomix/Tomy/Tomytec.

Also, wanna say its Japanese N scale, so its 1:150th or so.

Off topic, but where can you get this set? Got me one on the way, and figured be a good "start" into N.

As Petski said, Plaza Japan on "The Bay" they also carry the other steamers and cars from Thomas.  Hobby Search JP also is a reliable source.

[mmyers]

Tomix has offered at least three N scale iterations of Thomas over the years. The latest (last 7-10 years) is the split frame model shown. It's a pretty good runner. Mine has a decoder installed and just for kicks, his eyes are lit with surface mount led's. Couldn't get a 4 function decoder in there to make them ditch lights. Need to go back and work on that now with a smaller decoder.

Plaza Japan has some decent prices on Thomas and friends. They are in Osaka. Shipping is reasonable and extremely fast. Last set I ordered on a Sunday afternoon. It arrived Wednesday's mail.
http://stores.ebay.com/Plaza-Japan/Thomas-the-Tank-Engine-/_i.html?_fsub=15

[Ike the BN Freak]

meant I have a baby boy on the way, not the loco...

[Flatrat]

You got your son a Thomas the Tank Engine and you already have it all pulled apart on the workbench to check it out? I keep thinking; "Daddy, can you pleeeeze put Thomas back together now so I can play with it?" [laugh]

I don't blame you, I've been looking at the G scale versions of Thomas and friends for a few years and can't seem to help myself from thinking; "there MUST be something I can build out of these." I'm glad to find out that I'm not the only one. The euro style of the drivers etc. always stops me from thinking of anything that would fit on my layout though. Plus, I have enough wacky projects that will probably stay half completed as is, so...I resist the temptation to start yet another one.

Maybe I should just tell myself that it's okay just to buy and enjoy running Thomas & Annie and Clarabell just as the Good BachMan intended them to be. I can always tell people I bought them for when folks bring their kids over [lie].

[fredmoehrle]

Baldwin built about 150 of a class of 0-6-0T for England during WW2 and shipped them over.
Might have been built to the same plans, they look allot like Thomas.
Got a picture of a merchant ship unloading one onto the dock in England, right onto the rails.
It's in a history of WW2 book I've got somewhere.
About a dozen of them ended up on the bottom of the Atlantic, thanks to the U-boats.
Some outfit was offering a "flat" brass kit in HO about 10 years ago in RMC.

[Pete Steinmetz]

Our club used Thomas in shows we used to do.  we found that they worked well for a short time, but didn't last very long.  We ended up puling the guts out of Thomas and fitting one of the passenger cars with a Kato power drive.  That was a few years ago.  The new arrangement is still running strong.

Point being, how much effort do you want to put into a loco that may not run well over the long term?

Pete Steinmetz

[Roger Holmes]

How hard is it to put a simple DCC decoder in Thomas?  Any tutorials out there?

Thanks.

[VonRyan]

Our club used Thomas in shows we used to do.  we found that they worked well for a short time, but didn't last very long.  We ended up puling the guts out of Thomas and fitting one of the passenger cars with a Kato power drive.  That was a few years ago.  The new arrangement is still running strong.

Point being, how much effort do you want to put into a loco that may not run well over the long term?

Pete Steinmetz

The one my N-Trak club has is still in running order, albeit only bunker-first now, but if i can finagle a whole cavalcade of the faced locos out of a non-train-interested friend of mine for $10, i'll end up replacing the one my club has with one that actually works 100% in both directions.

-Cody F.