Just as I was starting to enjoy the fact my train has been running a good portion of the day into evening the wheels literally start to come off.
The rear truck of the tender broke leaving the wheels trying to hold on for dear life. But alas they would only last another three feet.
So now I get to decide what to do to replace both plastic trucks. Has anyone tried something else?? Metal trucks??
Richard
You can narrow the trucks, and that fixes the problem. Alas, I’ve never taken photos of the process, but you can safely lose about 3/16" between the wheels and the frames. This isn’t the best photo, but I think I shot this photo to show the difference in the spacing between frames and the wheels. The truck on the left has been “narrowed,” while the one on the right has not (or at least not completely) It’s been a while since I took these photos, and I forgot what I was trying to illustrate.
Here, you can see the narrowed trucks, with the wheels closer to the frame.
I’ve done this to all the “Connie” trucks that have crossed my workbench. I’ve not had one break (that I’ve heard of) yet. The key is that by narrowing the trucks, you end up screwing the sideframes into the “meat” of the bolster, which keeps them together. (I believe Dave Goodson simply used longer screws, but I’d defer to him for his actual technique.) I never liked the way the trucks were that much wider than the wheels, so I just started narrowing them from the first time I worked on one. (I suspect that the trucks on the tender of the prototype were 3’ gauge trucks, with 30" gauge wheels. When Bachmann did the model of the 30" prototype, I have a feeling they just made the trucks wider, preserving the “inset” of the wheels on the axle. Pure speculation on my part, but it makes sense.)
Later,
K
Thanks Kevin for the response and great photos…I’ll have to order another truck of the Bachmann site because the one I had just cracked right off. No repairing this one…I’ll probably get all new just so everything is fresh. Hope Bachmann can send it quick on Monday since I was planning to run the train on Thanksgiving for family and friends…otherwise my son, who has more trains than I will end up being the host.
Thanks for the suggestion to talk to Dave…I’m working with him to get some RC/Battery equipment for a 3-truck shay that’s been sitting on my shelf for over a year.
Richard
Richard,
Sorry to hear about the trucks on your Connie tender, but this is another “flaw” in an otherwise nice engine. Many of us finally gave up using Bachmann’s plastic tender trucks and went with metal trucks from AMS/Accucraft. This is what I did to my Connie many years ago. I called Cliff at Accucraft and he “found” some C21 tender trucks laying around the shop from a customer’s damaged C21 tender. They were relatively pricey at $100 a pair, but I have not had a problem since 2008. A good friend here in Southern California found some AMS shorty caboose trucks for sale from Chuck Agonis from Chicago (member of LSC) and he mounted them under HIS Connie. I believe he paid about $50-$75 for this pair. The nice thing about using these metal trucks from AMS is that they can have ball-bearing wheel sets added…definitely enhancing the rolling capability! I had Phil Dippel of PNG re-bearing my C21 trucks. What a difference. I’ll see if I can find some photos of my Connie tender to post.
And pertaining to your thread on mounting the Accucraft body mount couplers…I have also done that to my tender. It DOES take some cutting and bashing, but it looks very nice.
Lastly, I added a BBT drive to my engine. Expensive additions, but now this Connie is my workhorse and used all the time!
Greetinga Gary,
I’ve ordered a new truck from Bachmann just so I can get things operational. But I will look into the metal Accucraft trucks and will call Cliff either tomorrow or Tuesday to see what options there are. Also thanks for lead with Chuck.
I have a BBT drive in the engine and I love how it works…I have some elevation at one end of my railroad and it just goes…even pulling three AMS coaches.
Richard
Richard,
Gary is correct. The accucraft AMS metal trucks are super nice. The ones I used on my Connie and also sent a pair to Gary’s friend are the 1/20.3 caboose trucks. Removed the electric wipers and bolt them on. You may have to use a bushing to bring the couplers to the correct height, but otherwise a quick and permanent fix. No more plastic to break
Chuck
Thanks Chuck…I am definitely going to look at the Accucraft trucks. I just saw an email that the Bachmann replacement truck has been shipped so hopefully it will be here by Wednesday in time for a Thanksgiving run.
Richard
The broken truck can be repaired. I have repaired two of mine. It’s an easy process. It’s been awhile though so I may be a bit foggy on the details. I used a piece of brass tube the same diameter as the insert into the truck side frame. I drilled out the side frame, inserted the tube, secured it with screws and glue and then was able to attach the side frame to the brass tube. The first repair has been going for six years now. I’ll try to get some pics for you, maybe you’ll be able to repair it and keep it as a spare as the connie tender trucks are notorious for breaking.
Terry