TT Scale. The Ideal Scale.

Here is a short video that I hope will answer your questions in regards to chassis attachment.


If it was a real project of mine I would probably use a brass strip rather than wood.

ConducTTor wrote:... Can you give motor dimensions - specifically height and width - I don't care about length.

When I get it, you bet!

Personally I think $70 is cheap! The Tillig trucks are at least that much and the wheelbase is 8'6". And the Bull Ants are almost twice that. They're custom built so they're right on for any wheelbase you specify, and they can take a while to get, sometimes Geoff has supply problems.
One thing I would caution is the motor size you offer. To fit anything US prototype you need to keep it at 13mm max width. That fits inside a long hood of the GP's and SD's. And have you mocked up a chassis to see what it will do for a minimum radius?
Al

Hi CSD,

I get the idea, thanks for posting the video! Not unlike the way an Athearn HO loco mounts the trucks. I guess that $70 is pretty reasonable if it includes a decent motor, so I'd probably be in for at least one of them if you can pull this off. I forgot to mention that this drive would probably be good for anyone wanting to do a gas-electric "Doodlebug" as well as a switcher. If you were willing to fudge a bit on the truck wheelbase, it could probably work for interurban and electrics too. That intrigues me, since when I was in high school (a long time ago) I built some TT equipment; a 40' gondola, a B&O wagon-top boxcar, and a Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee electric merchandise dispatch box motor. I never got trucks or decals for them, because the LHS didn't carry any TT parts, and the models were probably a bit crude, especially by today's standards, being made out of wood plus card stock from a manila file folder. I ended up giving them to one of the guys behind the counter at the hobby shop, and often wonder what he ever did with them...

Bill in FL

areibel wrote: And have you mocked up a chassis to see what it will do for a minimum radius?
Al

Hi Al,

The radius capability would depend on truck centers, amount of overhang at the ends, and width of the body to allow truck swing. In other words, you would have to have a specific prototype in mind. I think since most switchers have fairly short truck centers, the real limiting factor would be hood width and clearance inside the shell for the truck to pivot. There ought to be enough prototypes out there that you could find something that could work...

Bill in FL

CSD, I want to order one of these kits. Let me know when it's possible.

ConducTTor wrote:CSD, I want to order one of these kits. Let me know when it's possible.

Me too!

CSD wrote: <snip> At this point an 8' truck is available. A 9' should come out next year.

The 8ft-0 truck would be useful for an AAR Type-A truck, used on some -very- early diesels.

I will hold out for a TRUE 9ft-0 wheelbase truck... suitable for EMD Blombergs.
The Tillig/PVM/Lionel combination (as available) is within a few % of prototype...
so there is no need for another approximation for the majority of US EMD diesels.

i don't think it's just 'very early' diesels. all EMD switchers up to the SW1500 could have the AAR A type :

http://www.readingmodeler.com/modules.p ... ent&tid=23

... and locos with that truck are assuredly still in service today. most SW1500s and some earlier SWs used in road service had a flexicoil 8' truck, which permitted higher speeds.

scaro wrote:i don't think it's just 'very early' diesels. all EMD switchers up to the SW1500 could have the AAR A type :

Agree... a useful table at the late "HO Sam's" site:
http://www.hosam.com/emd/swros.html

Just a quick update. This is in process and going forward. The latest version of the motor still has to be tested before MTB is comfortable with releasing it. The 9' truck has completed most of the design process and is targeted for the first quarter of next year. I will hold off taking orders and announcing a final price until all the details are sorted out. I was not to far off the mark with the price by the sounds of it.

As a side note: If anyone is interested in the MTB version of the T478.3/753, keep it in mind that eventually I'll be placing a bulk order for a few of those as well.