I was browsing around tonight and found myself reading up on Z-bend modules over on Ztrains.com when I glanced over at the side bar and saw and interesting little critter. After a double take.. wait.. thats MY little critter! Just one of those pleasant surprises.
Hi Mark, I'm the guilty one... I was poking around looking for something interesting to post up as our Coffee Break for the week when I came across your mod. Lot of fun... thanks for posting those images. Your thread received a couple hundred clicks this past week. John Cubbin Ztrains: Z Scale (1:220) Model Railroading Information
Excellent project! MC Fujiwara sent me a link to this, and your locomotive: Reminds me a lot of this one: This is a GE/Ingersoll Rand 59 ton locomotive that was used on the Bush Terminal railroad in Brooklyn. There were only 7 made and all of them were scrapped in the early 70s. Now that I see yours I think it'll be super easy to make one of these.
These little shorty engines and cars look like they belong to the Munchkin and Oz short line. Logo is, "Only a flying monkey is faster". :tb-tongue:
Well, this isn't exactly 'short' for a loco, but I think it still falls in the category of What in the world is this? View attachment 38902 Shot on the club layout.
When I first saw the photo, I wondered why the first photo was in the N scale section, but upon closer and more detailed inspection, it is an N scale loco and layout, not G as I originally suspected. Congratulations!!!!! G scale makes some "shorty" locos and passenger cars, and for some crazy reason, they are so darn ugly they are neat looking!!!! I will be purchasing some of these power chasses soon and make power tenders and a mini-me-geep myself. Too neat to pass up. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman
Just for the record.....there is a precedent here....and by EMD, no less: http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/amf40.jpg As modelled by me: http://gustafson.home.westpa.net/EMC4018.jpg Underneath that is ALSO a chopped-up Kato 11-105 chassis....just a one-axle drive though. "wimp" hardly describes it. Not so funny-looking now, is it? On the Kato 11-105 chassis.... the original 3.5v. pager motors from the first production had a white 100-ohm resistor soldered on the 'circuit board' deal in the center. The later-issue 12V ones still have the same circuit board and no resistor. The motors, at least on the exterior, are indistinguishable. When I get one I scratch either 12V or 3.5V so I can keep them straight. I did the first GE 44-tonner off of one, history now. But the chassis and wheel size is very similar to the Bachmann 44-tonner, which is a much better-running chassis. My Climax A kits still use the Kato 11-105, but a popular option has been to get the 3.5v. gearhead "M&M" motor from gizmoszone to run it for ultra slow-speed.
Well, I guess that just proves BarstowRick right... "If you look long enough, you are bound to find a prototype for what you desire to model."
Guys these chassis are as common as dirt. If you look up Bandai B-Train Shorty you will find tons of information on these guys. Both Kato and Bandai make these chassis. Kato 11-105, 11-106, 11-107 * wheel chassis and 11-103, 11-104 4 wheel chassis. Bandai Power Unit-1 four wheeler and Power Unit 2 Eight wheeler. Each version has matching truck for following cars. The Bandai B-Train Shortys are collectible condensed versions of Japanese rail equipment. No matter what the actual length a piece of equipment is, it is reduced to a 35 foot length. Bandai releases a couple of trains every few months. Bandai Chassis and Trucks Kato Chassis and Trucks More bodies A fun project is to remove the chassis from a caboose. Cut the end platforms off the chassis, glue them to the body. Now drop the body on a eight wheel chassis. Put it on your track, amaze your friends with the runaway caboose that goes uphill and can pull cars.