Triple O -- Bachmann 10-Wheeler Salvage Campaign

[Eric_Mueller]

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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…

…so stay tuned for Part the Second!

Have a great week!

Eric

[Hines (Bill)]

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

[Eric_Mueller]

@Hines

Does Cinchouse have a jewellery cleaner?

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

[Eric_Mueller]

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

[John_Lenheiser]

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.

[Hines (Bill)]

@Eric_Mueller

It’d have to be big enough to hold a boiler and firebox, though!

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!

[Rooster]

@Eric_Mueller

Not the project I intended, but, per CINCHOUSE guidance, it cannot be just my hobby!

Settle Down, Beavis

Ha Ha Eric got yelled at !

[Eric_Mueller]

@John_Lenheiser

Very satisfying and getting the feel of accomplishment.

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

[Eric_Mueller]

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…

[PeterT]

@Eric_Mueller

Has anyone retrofitted one of these new leading trucks to an older 10-wheeler?

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.

@Eric_Mueller

has anyone designed an built one from scratch?

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:

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?

[freddy (Fred Mills)]

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]

[Hines (Bill)]

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.

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.

[Eric_Mueller]

HiEveryone,

Here is the picture of the break:

You can see that the post holding the truck to the frame snapped as did the truck itself.

It would seem that I could try Pete’s (@PeterT ) and Bill’s (@Hines ) suggestion, using a solvent style glue and a bit of a U-channel to brace it. Then I should be able to tap a hold into the step and drive a screw through the lot. There would be nothing hurt in trying.

Fred (@freddy ) thanks for the kind offer of replacement parts. I will write you separately. They would be welcomed.

As for drilling into the frame to mount a new style truck, I am wondering if the plastic will handle it. The stems that take the screws holding the bottom of the chassis to the upper part of the chassis gave way, too, and we are going to have to get long screws to hold this contraption together. One part we are going to see if we can “fix” with a zip tie held in place with CA, reinforcing the steam and allowing the screw to bite. The cause of the break is unknow, but could be 1.) we overtightened it, 2.) we used screws from a different derelict that were slightly larger, 3.) the plastic was old and brittle and could no longer handle the stress of holding together a working loco’, or 4.) Act of Dog. One more thing to puzzle out as we proceed.

Eric

[freddy (Fred Mills)]

Eric;
Today, I have mailed you two “New” pilot trucks for your 10 wheelers (No Charge) Enjoy…
Please send me your telephone number, and email address Does your email address have a dot at the end of it ?
Fred Mills

[PeterT]

@Eric_Mueller

the plastic was old and brittle and could no longer handle the stress of holding together a working loco

That would be my guess.
I get to fix the pilot on an old Circus loco this week - my pal Jack in Florida has 2 and the working one has a broken pilot so they will be swapped. Not sure what will happen to the other!

[Eric_Mueller]

Update:

While we await Fred’s parts (@freddy ), I decided to forge ahead with a repair effort. I got a plastic I-beam that, as it turned out, was just a bit too wide for the job, but that was easily remedied with styrene shim left over from another project. I remembered that I had a huge tin of MEK bought for a long forgotten project, so I grabbed that, too. I then clamped that lot together and let it lie.
Uploading: 20240420_132244.jpg…
It worked! I found a bit of dowel we will cut to make that “stem” that rises into the chassis, and I bought some small woodscrews today.

Today, Kid-zilla and I scrounged up our remaining pilot trucks, and he and I set to work cutting the bits we will need to repair them. We will glue the remaining pilots back together over the course of the week, then we will set about trying to connect them to the various chassis. Even if Fred’s pilot trucks get here first, finding away to make spares from trash seems like a good idea!

Beyond the pilot trucks, we puzzled over how best to attach that lower plate of the chassis to the upper portion with that busted stem. I found a bit of styrene tube that just fits over the stem. What if I glued that on, filled the cavity with CA, then tapped a new hole? Also, for the record, our zip-tie reinforcement of the other stem worked.

I’d show pictures but, I have some internet connectivity issues at the moment…

Eric

[PeterT]

@Eric_Mueller

What if I glued that on, filled the cavity with CA, then tapped a new hole?

It should work. I had a Bachmann tender with a huge battery in it and it looked as if the owner had picked it up a few times and the screws stripped.
You can see in this pic that he put tubes on them to make them connect in the right place, then he drilled out the hole in the top and used longer screws.

[Eric_Mueller]

Pete,

Thanks, we’ll go for it, using the longer screw in lieu of trying to fill and tap the cap. That sounds like an easier solution!

This project, by the way, has really captured Kid-zilla’s imagination, so restoring these old iron horses has taken lead on the lanai. To better capture our weekend efforts, below is a picture of our first repaired pilot and accompanying repair material:

As mentioned, we need to cut a bit of dowel to shape to replace the plastic rod that once connected this to forlorn Big Hauler.

This having proved successful, Kid-zilla and I rounded up all the other pilots, cut the I-beams…

…removed paint from the scrap styrene that would serve as shims…

…and commenced repairs, which, today, include buffing corrosion off the pilot wheels.

Fred’s donor pilot will got to Emmett. The next donor will got to the second derelict to return to service. We’ll use our spares for derelict number three and whatever goes out next!

In the meantime, he and I are debating paint schemes. Emmett will remain our circus train by mutual agreement. He gave me permission to transform Other Emmett into a proper OR&L inspired iron horse. Other North Star he asserts should remain a Christmas-themed engine. I think we may compromise and do this one up in a more Wild West color scheme to maintain the colorfulness while moving away from a holiday-specific engine. We’ll see!

Updates as progress merits!

Eric

[Pete_Lassen]

Kind of sounds like it is you and KZlla as the main operators of the repair and maintainence shop. Well it is easier to reach a consensus with only 2 to vote, than the opinions of many! Looks like you have this well in hand!

[Korm (Korm Kormsen)]

yeah, seems that this repair and maintenance shop depends heavily on child labour…