On page 53 of Sept MR, is a picture of a free-lanced Center Cab one of the authors of the article, Perry Amicangelo built.
As soon as I saw it, I thought “Why didn’t I think of that!” It’s completely believable, and looks like a 'ba***hat wouldn’t be real tough.
What do you guys think of it? Dan
I thought it was neat and quite believable: not all that far removed from some early diesels. At one time Tyco/Mantua had a two axle switcher that could also be worked up into a somewhat more modern looking center cab.
Old timers remember when an outfit used to make a small trolley car body kit that was meant to fit over the Athearn Huster chassis. The name Paul Moore comes to mind as the maker.
Dave Nelson
Here’s a link to a site about the Paul Moore Trolleys.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/roconnor/pmscoo.htm
Years ago I made a Hustler “B” unit from two shells. I also made a center cab diesel using two Athearn SW-7 shells, but I stole the idea from a friend. Neat!
Bob Boudreau
I thought that loco was really cool ! are those trolly still available ? I may try some projects !
Awesome little freelanced engine!
What’s even more surprising, (to me) is that MR actually showed it!
After all, it’s doesn’t have an exact prototype, (even though it could be argued, that it is proto-typical ) plus it’s not available from Walthers (who looks as if they have just about purchased Kalmbach judging from the amount of ads in the October issue!)
hidden away somewhere i have a rubberband drive hustler.
phil
The Paul Moore stuff is hard to find but it can be had on eBay and other places. I have a plastic Paul Moore two-truck Birney which is a very, very nice model (although the motor needs some work.) I haven’t seen one of those Hustler covers before but would snap one up in a heartbeat.
Actually, now that one mentions it, converting diesel chassis to traction designs isn’t entirely unknown–some folks have taken various inexpensive diesels (Athearn SW-7’s and the like) and built boxcab bodies to snap on top of them to represent various electric boxcabs. They’re not too far off the mark.
About the closest thing similar to the Moore shells were the Cannonball GE steeplecab kits, and those are currently out of production–they were intended for use mounted on top of the trucks from a Bachmann 44-tonner model.
One thing I note about the two-Hustler model: are the two trucks designed to turn? If you just mounted two Hustlers back-to-back it seems that they’d be awful stiff on a curve.
Jetrock, to answer your question, the article points out that the loco’s chassis is from an Athearn SW7, with a Sagami can motor. Only the body shell is made from the Hustlers.
Any number of chassis could be utilized in this sort of project, Athearn switchers, P2Ks, etc. I bought a P2K Alco S-3 for it’s chassis from Train World for $29.99. Only then I couldn’t bring myself to toss such a great S-3! We’ll see what happens…
A great website for these types of oddball locos is http://www.northeast.railfan.net/home.html When you get there, click on Industrial locomotives, and sift your way down the list. Lots of different centercabs in there. Dan
sparkingbolt: Ahh, I see…must have missed that. It also inspires because I have my own plans for turning an Athearn SW7 with a decent motor and an ugly chassis into an interurban freight motor of similar dimension!