Large Scale Central

Aristo C-16

General Discussion
#1

Hey was doing some day dreaming and thinking about how, when the time comes, I will build the Grant moguls of the CR&N. Bachmann’s Spectrum Moguls are a very nice approximation that would be a good place to start and have always felt I would go that route, but they aint cheap. But looking at the Aristo C-16 I am thinking that there is bash potential there. But I have some questions. First off what’s the drive mechanism look like, can the third set of drivers be removed easily to give the separation between the 2 and 3 driver of a mogul? What size are the drivers, I need 2" drivers or there abouts? They seem available at decent prices if one is patient. Thoughts?

I just realized that the C-16 is the donor for the 2-6-0 Masters Class so my question about the motor block has been answered.

#2

At 1/24 (ish) scale, I think the drivers are a lot smaller than 2". But it’s been years since I’ve seen one.

#3

The motor block has been changed since those wonderful classes.

It now has a belt drive. The center 2 drivers are blind (but we got 'em tin cups and pencils(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)).

The drivers are aprox; 1 3/8" at the fillets.

John

#4

Well the center two drivers being blind are perfect. You want blind drivers for the center set on a mogul. Now not so sure about the belt drive and how one would modify it. Also those drivers are to small by a long shot. Back to the original plan.

#5

Yes they are small drivers, but then narrow gauge locomotives were small overall. The old style (if we can call it that) C16s come up for auction, as well as the odd Delton c16.

#6

David Maynard said:

Yes they are small drivers, but then narrow gauge locomotives were small overall. The old style (if we can call it that) C16s come up for auction, as well as the odd Delton c16.

I love the looks of them. I may end up with one in the “it could’ve happened” category. But since, at least for the CR&N #'s 1-4, I want them to be at least somewhat prototypical. The Grants had 42" drivers and I would want them to be close to that and since that is achievable or at least close with the Bachmann Spectrum 2-6-0 or a ground up build with a 10 wheeler chassis I will stic with one of those choices for this particular idea. Not saying I wont own one though. There are two locomotives that every time I see them I just want one and that is the Aristo C-19 and the LGB Mogul. Both would have to be upscaled to 20.3 with new cabs at least but I love both of them locomotives.

Now speaking of “old style” verses “new style” how would one tell them apart at a glance or do you have to know? And is there any reason not to own the new style with the belt?

#7

The new style with the belt is BY FAR the best drive these locos have had. The earliest Delton drives had the motor screwed to the plastic frame, with the worm driving the axle directly. Motor gets warm, plastic warps, worm no longer drives gear. The second version fixed this issue by using a milled aluminum block under the frame to keep things aligned. That worked, except the sharp brass worm cut the soft plastic gear, and again, no movement. (There may have been a few other variations in there, but that’s how the early versions I’ve owned ran.)

Aristo got hold of the molds, and re-engineered the drive. Their “version 3” drive was a definite improvement, however, in order to make everything fit, they raised the boiler, cab, and cylinders above the frame such that the cylinder centerline was around 1/4" above the centerline of the drivers.

With the 4th version (belt drive with “prime mover” gearboxes), they corrected the height issue, and also (finally) gave this loco a really robust drive. I’ve owned a number of Delton/Aristo C-16s over the years; the 4th-generation drive version is the only one still running.

That having been said, the drive is really not well-suited for use in 1:20.3. The drivers are way too small (about 30"). They’re spaced too close together to be able to retrofit larger drivers on, also. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for suitable projects, but none have come to light.

Later,

K