Large Scale Central

Triple O -- Bachmann 10-Wheeler Salvage Campaign

Modeling Motive Power
#1

OK,

This is now a third active thread, but, as I believe in flowing to the available parts and crew interest, it was time to put myself on record. This is an outgrowth of a delayed project to use leftover Bachmann 10-wheeler bits to create a South African Railways inspired 4-6-0T that I carried forward into the Triple O - 2024 Plans & Objectives . @Rooster forwarded along a much better donor and a challenge to make an OR&L inspired 0-6-0 or 4-6-0, the last two of which await restoration at the Hawaiian Railway Society. I mentioned that Kid-zilla and were out there yesterday (23 March 2024) researching for our parlor and commuter car projects ( Triple O Gloss – Passenger Car & Parlor Car) as well as the “Rooster Challenge,” and a docent rewarded his enthusiasm with two derelict 10-wheelers. Today, we laid it all out alongside parts from a former(?) LSC member Dan Stuettgen. The wheels started turning today…but the photos didn’t make it over from my phone to the PC, so the update will have to wait.

Have a Great Week!

Eric

1 Like
#2

That is why I put the LSC app on my phone I can just add pics direct from the phone. :+1: :sunglasses: JMHO YMMV

#3

Not to side track but there is an app ?

#4

We have an app!? Groovy! I mean sic! That is sooo GenY David.

#5

BD is not your ordinary run of the mill site owner and host now is he??? :sunglasses: :upside_down_face: :+1:

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#6

Never looked for an app, but just get the website on safari and bang zoom in chatting or posting away
Hmm cannot find the app on my iPhone. David can you show us the app?

#7

Don’t know how to get a screen shot but this is from the app on my android
I know I got here by searching on my firefox app from my phone and then saved the sight to my phone and got a different screen view for the sight
An abbreviated page when on the phone.
I just searched the sight and came up with this:

Scroll down and Devon gives a pic and his explanation.

#8

Devon, I love your explanation. :grinning:

Devon’s here until Thursday! Try the veal! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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#9

Huh…an App appeared for my phone, so I accepted it.

Anyway, to review, Kid-zilla and I laid out all the parts.

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He then took each chassis to the tracks to see if their power trains worked. For one, I cracked it open and put leads to the motor. Good to go. By his count, we have enough stuff on hand to try three separate projects, bringing us to…

Part the First: Emmett

I had forgotten that we have a couple circus cars. He did not. He immediately realized that our tender from the museum would give us a circus train (so much for an OR&L inspired loco or my 4-6-0T!). I disassembled the tender, and he gave it a thorough cleaning in the deep sink.

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Even with soap and an old toothbrush, he couldn’t get all the drek off the old thing. This was a valuable observation as we go forward, as paint, I learned in the Navy, does not stick to dirt!

We spent some time finding a lower hull plate, pilot, and leading truck for the old boy, but, minus a pushrod, we soon had him on tracks for some more testing.

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Emmett needed a little coaxing, but “he” came to life. He was binding, and we discovered I had not properly aligned everything when I matched Emmett to his new lower hull plate. It wasn’t too long, however, and the circus came to town! Here we see the Triple O crew accepting their new motive power into service.

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For reasons not clear, my videos remain locked in my phone, but we’ll get them up eventually.

Not the project I intended, but, per CINCHOUSE guidance, it cannot be just my hobby! Now Kid-zilla has an engine he restored, and, for however long Emmett’s gears last, “he” - with donor parts from three other locos - is again bringing joy after years in storage. The fact that Emmett’s rebirth and Kid-zilla’s success is the product of the generosity of three people over many years makes this little engine pretty special, so thanks to all.

Kid-zilla is already cleaning up the other hulks…

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…so stay tuned for Part the Second!

Have a great week!

Eric

#10

Does Cinchouse have a jewellery cleaner? If you’re having difficulty cleaning tight spots it could be quite handy. They can cost as little as $6AUD from AliExpress
https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-ultrasonic-cleaner.html?spm=a2g0o.home.auto_suggest.1.650c76db2dd4UY

#11

Nope. Put it on my “to get” list! It’d have to be big enough to hold a boiler and firebox, though!

#12

Finally…

“Hurry, hurry, hurry! Step right up and get your tickets for the circus!”

VIDEO: “Emmett” returns to service

Kid-zilla is pretty proud of this!

Eric

#13

Buying salvage trains is one of my favorite things to do, I’m a modeler first, so this is like getting a new toy, teardown and rebuild, the best part of the hobby for me. Very satisfying and getting the feel of accomplishment.

#14

Hmmm, the 1.3 litre ultrasonic might fit your requirements and they’re pretty inexpensive. However, the hidden cost might just be the amount of jewellery you will need to purchase Cinchouse, to justify that size! :grin:

#15

Ha Ha Eric got yelled at !

#16

John,

I’ve come to this conclusion, too. I’ve littered LSC with posts documenting my effort to keep another 10-wheeler rolling, my LGBO Olomana working, and my LGB Zillertalbahn pulling. It is frustrating, but these repairs that have become campaigns have taught me a lot about how these models are put together and thus how to maintain them.

We botched this project, too, and learned a bit more. Somehow, a wheel got out of quarter and jammed a siderod. Long story short, seems we didn’t make sure all the journals were in place when we buttoned Emmett up, letting the forward driver work loose. Irritating “own goal” but not a fatal error!

Eric

#17

Update:

Emmett’s leading truck gave way, with the stem running up into the chassis snapping off at the base and the frame holding the wheels snapping in half. I suspect a dog may have jumped on it, as Kid-zilla has been playing with Emmett on a track he set up in the living room.

Regardless of cause, now I have to conjure a solution. eBay came up “zero,” with parts heaps notably lacking these leading trucks. I went to the Bachmann website. The new trucks seem a lot more robust, but they seem to attach to modern chassis in a radically new fashion. Has anyone retrofitted one of these new leading trucks to an older 10-wheeler? Failing that, has anyone designed an built one from scratch? That would be the best long term solution, actually, as Emmett and the two derelicts all now lack leading trucks and it would provide a solution should North Star’s leading truck give way.

Thanks in advance!

Eric

One more project on the list…

#18

Eric, if you are talking about the truck with the metal strip (drawbar,) I’m sure I have read that you can just bolt them on to the chassis bottom plate.

I haven’t made one for the 4-6-0, but I made pilot trucks for other locos.
I assume then the truck broke you were left with 2 metal strips with the wheels in them? Here’s a photo of an old one:

tenwheeler-truck-notes2

So you just need a “U” channel to fit over the metal strips and a brass strip as a ‘drawbar’.
Or is your truck even older than that?

#19

I want to help, but living and shipping from Ottawa Canada would be a tad expensive…
I do have two pilot wheel assemblies for the Bachmann ten wheelers that I can spare.
You can use the “NEW and improved” latest pilot wheel assemblies, if you can make an attachment point on the existing underframe…worth a try if you are game for it.
Let me know, and I can package the needed old style parts and send them to you…(No charge)…it would probably take at least 3 weeks to reach you.
Fred Mills [email protected]

#20

Eric, is it a clean plastic snap? If you think it can be placed together and only shows a hairline it may be worthwhile trialling a solvent glue like MEK methylethylketone.

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You hold the pieces together. Capillary action will suck it into the crack, melt the plastic which then solidifies as the MEK dissipates leaving little evidence of gluing. Once completely dry you have less worries of glue failure as the MEK has evaporated and the plastic becomes a solid welded plastic.

I’ve used it on styrene like plastics with success. I believe ABS glue does the similar but with ABS.