Why is it so hard to find diesel dummies in N scale. perhpas its just me, but I have ahd the hardest time finding them. To top it all off, there is no hobby shop in my town and so I cannot get a darn thing unless I go to the big city or online. Can Someone help?
I do not know of any company selling dummys today. Thirty years ago a lot were available. Most of the N scalers I know prefer to have all their locos powered.
There are resin conversion shells available which could be used to make a dummys and you can also somtimes find loco shells from the major companies packaged and sold as parts. (Railroad Hobbies in Roseville CA used to and may still have some) I haven’t trucks in the stores, but you might be able to order the parts from the manufacturer. This goes for the shells too.
Life-Like had dummies of FA-2 and FB-2s, and maybe a few other engines, in N scale. But by and large, the growing prefernce is to have all units powered. Bachmann I believe also has/had F-unit dummies, both A and B units.
However, a dummy is a useful place to hide sound units and other electronic devices.
Lifelike make E-unit Bs as dummies in N-Scale
It seems like it would be possible to make one’s own dummies–just rip out the motor and gearing and leave the trucks in place. The motor can be set aside for other purposes like repowering a unit with a burned-out motor–and since one assumes that dummies will match the appearance of one’s powered locos (for visual consistency) you would have a place to put it.
And if there is no hobby shop in your town, then yeah, generally online shopping or a trip to a city that has a hobby shop is pretty much the only way to go.
For the record, I wish dummies were made available by ALL of the locomotive manufacturers, of course they can make more $$$ on the powered stuff, so… Aw, that’s just a coincidence, right?
Hey, here’s a thought. if Kalmbach came out with a book of track plans and scenicing suggestions for model railroad dioramas for those who don’t have any room for a layout or module, and used dummy unit locos since nothing will be running in such a small place, would they call it Model Railroading For Dummies? Never mind…
All deisels are dummies, you never hear anyone ask for steam dummy!
Jay
Yes, but expensive unless you really to expect to have use for the motor.
I have a dummy brass switch engine because a gear broke.
You might be able to find non-working locos at train shows for a reasonable price.