Large Scale Central

Railtruck project

I bought this Bachmann Rail truck years ago and it has not been run due to the known problem with the loose screws in the drive train wearing out the gears prematurely.

I finally tackled the job and followed along with Greg E’s tutorial, thanks Greg. It was an easier repair than I thought it was going to be.

When the truck was back together I didn’t want to put the rack body back on so I started thinking about a box for it. I had a LGB shorty that lost its trucks to the Beyer Garret and it was a perfect fit!

The RR colours are red and black but I think I might leave this grey as a nod to the original galloping goose. I still need to paint the rear platform black.

Cool.

I like the blue guy in the back…

Bruce Chandler said:

Cool.

I like the blue guy in the back…

Are you talking about the smurf or the guy in the blue overalls? That is Mik and he is part of the mind trust when it comes to the bosses making RR decisions.

The rear platform is now painted black with a wood deck and I couldn’t resist painting the roof black to match the cab roof. I think the box will remain grey.

Those things are fun to bash.

I’ve got 2 that I’ve remodeled.

Those look good, Ken

Jerry

I like the canvas tarp/cover. I may have to “borrow” that idea.

Yours look great Ken. I remembered that someone had put boxes on the back of the rail trucks and it was you.

I painted the roof black and the rear platform black and “wood” for the deck boards.

The rail truck went out yesterday to check on the progress at the trestle rebridge site.

Todd Haskins said:

Bruce Chandler said:

Cool.

I like the blue guy in the back…

Are you talking about the smurf or the guy in the blue overalls? That is Mik and he is part of the mind trust when it comes to the bosses making RR decisions.

The rear platform is now painted black with a wood deck and I couldn’t resist painting the roof black to match the cab roof. I think the box will remain grey.

Mik is good, but I was referring to the Smurf.

Not that I would ever do anything like that! (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)

The rail truck lends itself to lots of funky customizations…

Is that Wallace on that speed/mile car. I built one of those, the car not the Wallace but I have all sorts of characters on my RR.

Nice custom stuff Bruce.

It sure is Wallace, Todd. Gromit is there - doing all the work, as usual.

Alan Lott said:

It sure is Wallace, Todd. Gromit is there - doing all the work, as usual.

Wallace and Gromit (and Feathers McGraw) hang out here too, at times.

Todd Haskins said:

Is that Wallace on that speed/mile car. I built one of those, the car not the Wallace but I have all sorts of characters on my RR.

Nice custom stuff Bruce.

Thanks - and it is! Hard to make a realistic speed and distance car with that giant bicycle speedometer - so I just decided to make it a bit more whimsical. (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)

(The cheese got eaten before I could put it in place…)

Lots of unique ideas here, thanks

The new railtruck has been making the rounds on my RR and there are 2 problems.

#1 the surging on grades is crazy. On Greg E’s webpage he mentions adding a strip to the front truck to create a bit of drag and that reduced the surging. I will have to look into that.

#2 the Railtruck goes the wrong way. I had my GP38 pulling some freight and I put the truck on to chase it and it went the wrong way. There is a switch under the electronics cover. Is this the same type of switch that hides behind a smoke box door on a shay which will change the direction? It seems to have 4 positions.

Thanks.

The last 2 positions of the switch should do what you want Todd.

The first 2 positions are off, and power to lights only.