Now where did I leave that leftover SD40 truck??? It's SUPERCRITTER!

[Robbman]

For the record... it's an HTC truck... not a Flexicoil.

[randgust]

You really don't need the motor integrated with the truck, you just need the worm a permanent part of the truck and not in the center; you can jerry-rig all kinds of connections between the two.   I did a pager motor into the Tomytec 4-wheel truck to make a 25-tonner drive (9v Motorola pager motor).   Did work, but had truly poor low-end torque, couldn't hardly pull anything.  Take the same concept and get one of the tiny Gizmoszones gearheads in there would give you 5.14:1, just about right.

Still wondering if there ever was or is any EMD SD-40 type truck with the gear tower a fixed part of the truck (pivot would have been on the universal) and on one end....  That 'tower on the end' is what I'm referring to that's the critical element to pull this off.

Here's your motor.  I just repowered another Kato critter with one, if you want it faster than 15mph but not a rocket, the 5.14:1 works great, put a 100-ohm resistor in there.   With gearheads there's not enough draw to overheat the resistor, without it you have a problem!

http://www.gizmoszone.com/shopping/html/pages/612datasheet.pdf

There's so many ways now to put the micro-gearheads in there, and swap the 3V larger motors with the 12V Kato critter motors, you can build a pretty nice drive without spending a whole lot.   The trick becomes in either putting the worm on the end of the plastic shaft and changing it to an end-bearing method, or making some kind of a short universal in the drive system.  I've done both, can be done.

[up1950s]

For the record... it's an HTC truck... not a Flexicoil.

High Traction Coefficient ?

[Chris333]

Ever find a source for those 12v kato motors without buying a whole chassis?

[Leggy]

High Traction C-axle.

[up1950s]

Thanks

[BCR 570]

The switcher photographed is being built in Squamish.  it is a few tracks over from the business car NORTHERN SUMMIT which I have been measuring, so I have been watching it develop.  Pretty cool!

Tim

[Philip H]

Seems to me this would make a neat etched brass kit.

[DKS]

If it was me, I wouldn't bother looking for a truck with the right gear configuration, but rather just any truck with the correct sides. Use a Tsugawa Yokou, Kato or Bandai powered truck (whichever one has the right wheel spacing) and add a dummy wheelset to make a three-axle unit. Then chop off the truck sides and mount them to the car body.

[LV LOU]

 Here's the Bachmann Dash 8 truck,not quit finished.I built a small motor saddle under the motor,I'll silicone it on.The bearings will center the motor shaft.I'm using the stock Dash 8 worm,I'm pressing the stock stub shaft out,then I'll press in the motor shaft,and put a piece of the worm gear shaft back in the other end.The Bachmann pickup strips are bent out on the ends,and glued to the frame.Just have to hardwire the motor to the strips.These trucks are cheap,plentiful,and run fairly well,easy to use other ,smaller motors...The actual Dash 8 motor is smaller than this,I think you could stand it up on edge..

[LV LOU]

This is what it's going under..

[up1950s]

Nice Lou , you're ahead of everybody .

I look at this as not so much a model to copy , but an open door to use any truck to critterfy . DDA40X truck is about 25 feet long , eight wheel , no bolsters needed . Stretch Bachmann Plymouth comes to mind , or something like that .

[randgust]

Yeah, exactly.   Now with one of the plastic gearheads, you take the plastic shaft and bore out the FRONT half of the worm to fit, and use the original shaft and bearing for the BACK half so it is supported that way on one end.   Yours will certainly work with that motor, just will be relatively fast.

I'm looking on those Bachmann truck sideframes, wow, although that's not an SD40 truck its closer than I thought it would look.  To me its a matter of degrees, without drawings you're guessing on a lot more than truck sideframes, no sense getting stuck on that.  And I also suspect that if push came to shove, they'd be able to do the same thing on a GE six-axle truck if one fell off the truck beside the plant.

On the Kato 12V motor; no I've never found any way to get them except buy the entire chassis.   I just consider them a $25 motor with some leftover neat wheels and other parts.    I've found so many uses for those trucks and wheels that I'm not sure I've ever had any 'surplus'.  On many of my projects I've gone back and added a second traction tire set on the opposite corner, which also requires another entire chassis to accomplish.  Nothing wasted.

[LV LOU]

 Randy,if you've never run one,I think you'd be surprised..The Bachmann Dash 8 is pretty slow,no need for a gearhead.I can't get most of mine to run over 60 SMPH..

[railnerd]