Bruce, If you don’t mind telling me and measuring, approx. how far do those Kadee couplers stick out from the frame (when closed)? I might try to design my own sill mount pockets for my extra couplers (more than likely my Aristo Craft ones I have left).
For anyone interested in (what I thought was) a nice overview of coupler history, check this out:
Well, this is as far as I got today for prototype #1. It’s matching the image in my head 
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Still have some thinking and planning to do.
If it helps in the idea process of desinging small agriculturally focused cars, the first post from our cane car project includes pictures of one of the last of Oahu’s cane cars as well as a small flat used in an industrial project during the last days of the OR&L: Have Locomotive, Need Cane Cars I may have measurements somewhere of both.
Also, member @Bill_Barnwell converted some HLW minis based on his memory of cane trains in the Philippines: Rosy’s sugar cane cars.
Looking forward to ripping off your ideas as you progress! 
Aloha,
Eric
Eric,
Thanks. This did help. I didn’t read it all but some of those dimensions matched up with what I came up with so I now feel I’m on the right track. Haha pun just showed up.
I’ll read through that over the next day or two. Thanks for the links.
Glad to be of assistance! There is another user, @GAP , who works on actual cane trains “down under.” You may wish to peruse his posts or reach out to him directly. He, like Bill, builds to a greater level of detail than I do, so he would be a great resource.
Aloha,
Eric
And here we are… almost at Father’s Day. I’ve trying to get back to this. I don’t like my workbench filled with stuff. I like it cleared for a project. Oh yeah, I’m in the middle of one 
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I was having some issues with my CNC. I think I have them all resolved now. So for now I have 5 mini-flat car bases. Time to make them into one’s that can roll on rails.
YIKES!!! It has been 1 year since I posted and started this. Hmm, instead of this bumping folks, it should have bumped me.
Well, life got in the way, yet again. I have been working on this, but very slowly. I’ll try to find time to post and update on my journey. I’ve gotten past some hurtles. Mostly just me being willing to plow forward with this scratch build and to deal with any mistakes or errors or ‘oh I should have done it this way’ thoughts. I’m sure I’ll have more, but for now I’m forging ahead.
I’ll try to post some pics soon to ‘catch’ up on things.
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I got the platform attached…
I decided to use some tin-plate to do this. Doubled it up to give it some stiffness.
I then added (soldered) on some side panels, and added some 3d printed journals and glued on some springs to give it the right effect.
Now it is starting to look like a ‘critter’.
I then started working on the cab (pictures to come since I haven’t taken them yet).
Next on my list……the cab……
That came out nice. I was thinking about having the cab doors operate and use a spring to auto close the door. This held me up on moving forward. Then I figured that since this is my first scratch build that I shouldn’t bite off more than I could chew and that if I attached the cab in a way that I could take it off, I could always come back and ‘upgrade’ it with a door that you could open/close. So that idea was tabled and I moved forward with attaching the cab…
The next item….the engine compartment. I was going to continue to use the tin plate to make it but thought it that with the wireless receiver it would either enhance the signal or block it all together. What to do? Well I do have a 3D printer so why not design one. I would have to paint it and try to treat it so the weather wouldn’t have big effect on it. Then again I’m not an expert using CAD software. Again, what to do.
I know, I’ll ‘barrow’ someone’s design 
and make it the way I had imagined, since each critter is unique in the makers mind. This is what I ended with:
This was the look I was going for. With my excitement I moved in to trying to figure out how to arrange and fit all the parts in there. The battery, receiver, speaker, and fan (I had one that I pulled out of an old laptop and thought I could use it to keep things cool inside. I also think it looked cool, no pun intended)
Stay tuned for my next adventure in figuring out how to hold things in place while not having anything touch the metal deck. 
I personally like that green and the front fan…
Thanks. I’ve been thinking on what color to paint the whole thing. I’ll have to go look to see if I still have some green. With a little dullness I think the green will work. Better than purple that I still have but that depends on the look one is after 
Nothing wrong with purple and green ?
Just a matter of how you put the two colors together IMO.
I am really digging the green, but I like bright colors.
Eric
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Ok. I figured out how I’m going to hold all the elements in place ‘under the hood’.
First the holder:
The little dimples behind the fan screen will fit within two screw holes under the fan that I plan to use. The hole in the bottom of the holder fits around the screw that holds the deck down to the motor mount. Then there are holes to help ventilate the battery and all the elements there will be here.
Next the platform for the receiver so it doesn’t touch and short out on anything metal. The little dip was for the underside pins of the terminal block on the receiver:
The middle section is to hold the battery in place and keep it from moving around:
And the little ledge was to hold up the speaker (also using the top of the fan casing to hold it up):
This all seemed fine to me, then I realized it wouldn’t fit in front of the cab. I had to cut away where it wouldn’t be seem for the battery to stick inside the cab a little bit. I figured it would be covered up by the console/controls inside the cab so one wouldn’t see or notice it. I also had to cut out a slot to feed the wires back into the engine compartment from the cab. And because the edge of the tin plate was sharp, I had to 3d print some TPU to cover up the edge. I’m planning on re-printing it because I don’t feel it covers enough of it up. But using TPU was handy as it conformed to the shape of the hole that was cut out.
There, everything fits nice and snug, but not too snug. I think there will be enough air movement around everything to keep things from getting too hot when operating.
Now, onto wiring this all up and trying to install an on/off(charge) switch. I have an idea, now I have to find time to execute that idea. Life is creeping in again and I’ve got to take the free time I have and work on this, regardless if I mess up or not. So till the next story dumping time…keep on railroading!
The next step I took was to install an on/off switch. I figured this engine (Critter) was small enough that I could just switch it off, open the engine compartment, unplug the battery and either charge it there, or take it out of the engine and charge it on the bench. So, I poked another hole in the metal and forced fit a switch to the side.
The loose wires will be stripped and connected to the receiver. One may also noticed that I added some slim pieces of wood on the inside. This was to support the metal cab since the more I touched it and manipulated it, the more it got bent and started to get out of shape.
I also printed an air/brake cylinder (I don’t know the technical terms) to hid the switch but make it operatable - just move the cylinder forward and it is on, backwards and it is off.
I kind of messed up because I was planning on putting some steps/ladder in that spot. Oh well, maybe I can still fit a ladder there or have it stick out a bit over the cylinder.
I guess my next step will be to add details to the cab/body. Oh, wait, no. My mind is still set up on the wiring and hooking things up to the receiver to make sure it will all works BEFORE I close everything up in the engine/cab. I did wire up some SMD LEDs with SMD resistors. So, I guess I’ll try to figure out where I’m going to place the front and rear headlights. The rear, I’ll put on the top of the cab. Just haven’t decided on the front headlight…top of cab or front top of engine compartment?
Nope. I don’t have any green like that to paint this with. I have hunter green, but that is a bit too dark. Maybe purple 
The big reveal is coming soon. I’ve had all the good intentions of sharing as I go but I just kind of got going and forgot to take pictures. It is in pieces but I didn’t want to spoil the whole thing until I was ready.
As a small industrial place would do, I just used whatever I had on hand to keep the cost down so I didn’t go out and buy paint. Just used what I had on hand.
And before I reveal the finished engine I want to wire up and bench test the receiver. This way if something is wrong it is easier to fix with the parts all on the bench and I don’t have to take things apart and out back together again.
Oh, I’m so close to having this project done. Can’t wait to share the final reveal. 