I’m finally ready to repower the lead car of my HO Bachmann Metroliner set. For those not familiar here’s a shot of the prototype: http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=143529 My Bachmann’s came in the Amtrak scheme (2nd car in the photo). I’m almost finished repainting them into the Penn Central scheme (lead car in the photo).
It’s funny. This is one of those trains made by Bachmann intended for the “toy market” that has very good potential with repowering and detailing. No one else has made a plastic HO Metroliner MU car. I just wish Bachmann had not used those oversized, pizza slicing wheel flanges!
I purchased a PDT powered truck from Walthers but it’s designed for low speed operation, not 60+ scale mph passenger train speeds. Plus the Bachmanns weigh about 10 oz. each. It seems that the Mashima equipped Bull Ant is a better choice but it would be good to read from someone that has had experience with this or similar product. From what I’ve read on other posts, Canadian and Australian modelers may be familiar with these products.
No personal experience, but I have heard a few positive comments about them over on the Yahoo HOn3 list in the past. They liked 'em because they’re available in multiple gauges. You may want to inquire over there if you don’t get an answer here.
If you do buy, airmail has been pretty quick for me for several items I’ve purchased from Downunder and the exchange rate is usually in your favor versus the Australian $. Of course, I never had anything shipped during the holidays and Santa may encounter a bit of slow sledding with the lack of snow coming up from there at this time of year, but will likely improve after the first of the year.
I have heard great things about the power trucks, and have purchased other items from them, and everything is top notch. The Coach Yard site shows them in stock, but Walthers shows them out of stock, but they may be available through some other retailers.
Antonio, I have a batch of Hollywood Foundry Bullants which I recently installed in my Japanese interurban cars, replacing a mixed bag of Steam Era Models Black Beetles, NWSL PDTs, and a few original Hanozono SPUDs. I’m very pleased with their performance, their ease of conversion to DCC, and the price. They are more suited to high-speed running than any of the previously mentioned power trucks.
Fitting truck frames is also easier than on the aforementioned trucks, as the mounting brackets are styrene.
Guys, thanks so much for your input. Very valueable!
CSmith, I looked at the Coach Yard link you provided. They look good, but in checking over the photos the motor sits elevated above the bogie. The Metroliner ( which is the Amfleet ancestor) is narrow near the top. I wonder if there’s enough clearance for the motor. Also, the wheels offered are 36". The “Metrocans” had large wheels, close to 40" in diameter. However, I won’t overlook this as an option.
Mark,
Great to know about the Bull Ant’s performance on your fleet, especially with DCC at passenger train speeds.
In looking at the website’s chart, these trucks are available with scale 39 3/4 " (11.6 mm) wheels and 9’ foot (31.5 mm) long wheel bases, almost exactly like the prototype. The motor sits low on the truck, so it should fit inside of the narrow shell.
The American company that carries these is called Possum Valley Models. I’m sending them an email.
Mark, when you converted your first interurban car, did you install one powered truck and a dummy, or two powered trucks to pull the trailing cars? The Mashima motors pull well, but I now have 5 metroliner cars (got another one on ebay [swg]) and at 10 ounces each I want to make sure that I would not overtax and prematurely burnout the powered truck.
Antonio, I only installed one powered truck per car, as the Japanese line I modelled didn’t have trailers, only motor cars. My models are relatively light, being scratchbuilt from perspex and ABS, or kitbashed from Modemo styrene kits. They occasionally haul one or two four-wheeled freight cars, but that’s well within the capacity of the Bullant.
I think if I was going to run cars weighing 10oz, I’d err on the side of caution and power both trucks. Good luck with the re-power, let us know how the project turns out, eh?
This is slightly off topic from the OP, but I wondered about the use of power trucks, aside from the type of thing that Antonio is trying to accomplish. I did figure that a prototypical length brass passenger train would be taxing on even a decent power consist. Brass passenger car trucks aren’t known for being the best rolling trucks (I have had to even tune trucks on Coach Yard cars to get them to roll half way decent). I also considered the new Daylight series of cars and power from Precision Craft. Although they are plastic cars, I wonder if the GS4 they are releasing will be able to pull a prototypical Daylight consist by itself with no issues. This could have the potential for requiring that extra little boost. I am hoping that someone here has used a power truck in a similar scenario and would be curious of the results.
15 on a 1 to 10 scale! That is stunning, beautiful work! It’s apparent that a lot of creativity went into these scenes. With the weathering, the subtle contrast between the older and newer cars stands out in the 1st photo. Beautiful weathering on the station house’s roof and station platform.
In the 2nd photo realistic weathering on the shed and signal houses. The greenery is impressive. In the 3rd photo the tiny little details like the weathered barrels in this busy grade crossing scene truly bring out the realism.
IMHO these photos should appear in an MRR issue.[swg][tup]
Thank you for sharing.
Dave, I remember the MP54s!
As a kid in New York back in the day I remember seeing them running in the green Penn Central scheme. Also saw the 3rd rail versions running on the Long Island Railroad ( I think they were MP54s with those rounded windows). Seems like yesterday.