My Buddy L loco is running again and better than ever, thanks to Barry Olsen of Barry’s Big Trains, and Dave Goodson (TOC) of Northwest Remote Control. Dave provided the motor from a Bachmann Shay, and Barry swapped out the worm gear and fan from my old motor. And they were kind enough to do this for about the cost of postage. Thanks guys!
Now if I can just find the screws to reassemble the superstructure… Why is that putting something away “so it won’t get lost” always just expedites the process of losing said object??
Good for you, Ray.
Your “workhorse” is rolling again.
Since my Buddy L needs rewired, I’m toying with the idea of converting to R/C battery.
Ralph
Ralph Berg said:"GASP"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Good for you, Ray. Your "workhorse" is rolling again. Since my Buddy L needs rewired, I'm toying with the idea of converting to R/C battery. Ralph
it’s a slippery slope!
Ray, those two guys are top-notch!
cale
Oh my, whats next? a BBT conversion kit for this clunker??? :lol:
I’ll have to keep this in mind for my wifes Bloody L/Keystone circus train that can’t even pull its own caboose over my steep little layout.
Ray, what other modifications have you made to your engine?
I can barely get my Keystone version to pull itself over my grades let alone the 4 cars that came with the set. I’m planning on adding buckshot to the sidetanks but the internals may preclude adding extra weights in there, plus I might strip the gears if I add to much lead to it.
Vic, I bought a 6" length of galvanized water pipe, filled it with lead, and stuck in the middle of the boiler. It weighs almost three and half pounds and gives the loco plenty of traction. I also regauged the wheels.
Other mods include a new stack, some backhead details, paint & weathering, and replacing the coal load with an oil bunker.
OH BTW, I found the missing screws last night, right where I put them.
3 lbs of lead? Guess we know why the gears went phooey! 
I’ll have to try that 
I never did weigh it, but I added a bunch of weight in the boiler of my Buddy L too.
After adding the weight, it pulled better then my unmodified Big Haulers.
The one line I have complete has very steep grades. Big Hauler will pull 3 cars and a caboose. Buddy L went from 2 cars, no caboose, to 5 cars and a caboose.
I also had to add weight to the Buddy L tender. More than 2 cars and it would jump off in the curves.
Ralph
Victor Smith said:Sounds like it was made in China?
3 lbs of lead?
Victor Smith said:I would like to do one, myself. The Buddy L needs a BBT drive more than the Big Hauler does. Because it is a clunker. But it is different, and with R1 curves, the choice of big engines is very limited. Ralph
Oh my, whats next? a BBT conversion kit for this clunker??? :lol:
Ralph, Anyone else, Ridgeroad Station still has them listed on their website, $75 or thereabouts.
Just for the record, I have built 2-6-2 drives for the Bach. BH so it shouldn’t be too difficult to adapt for the
Buddy L.
If there are similarities between the two, it becomes less academic.
Barry - BBT
C. Nelson said:Yes, but I had to add the lead myself. The Chinese only put three pounds of lead in their candy. ;)Victor Smith said:Sounds like it was made in China?
3 lbs of lead?
Vic, the gears are still fine, it was the motor that failed. For all I know, the added weight may have been a factor, or not. Guess if this new motor holds up, I’ll know it wasn’t the weight.
If it does fail again, I’ll scrap the loco – it’s no use to me if it can’t pull a load up a grade.