Their diesel repowering kits were smooth runners, but the scale-minded questioned the use of 33" wheels, where the GM prototypes had 40-inchers. Wonder if they’ve corrected that?
Deano
I’ve always been a fan even though I’m basically a steam modeler. Being a dinosaur, I love other dinosaurs.
HZ
I just checked my Hobbytown drive in my GM switchers and found 40" wheels.
Please be reminded that GM used 36" wheels in their E units as opposed to the typical 40".
Ed
I checked my Hobbytowns and all the flywheel drive units have 40 inch wheels. Most are brass a few are nickel silver,I think this was an option offered when Howard Mosley was running Hobbytow in the last years. These wheel were brass or NS with a nylon hub on the insulated wheel.
The older non flywheel kits had one brass and one black plastic wheel .I think they were also 40 inch , I have a couple I can check when I have time.
Ron High
According to the newsletter, brass helical gears like what were in the original kits are very hard to get, and for whatever reason, expensive! They do have Delrin helical gears available though, and I personally think those will do just fine. They’re waiting for input from the modelers though, so if you think this option is fine, be sure to send an email so production can get started!
Hobbytown used black plastic insulated wheels back when I bought my RSD drive in 1960. They also used black plastic spur gears. Later, when they were available in brass, I replaced them. In particular, the black plastic wheels wore out really quickly. These plastics pre-date “delrin”.
I don’t care whether the helicals are delrin or brass. I just want the BEST material.
Brass helical gears are machined. As far as I know, the various plastic gears are cast. I can see how a plastic spur gear can be cast. And I can see how a plastic helical spur gear can be cast (the same way). I am not seeing how you can cast a 1:1 style of helical gear. At least, one worth using.
Now, of course, the delrin gears might be machined. THEN they might well be superior to the brass. But they also will likely cost about the same.
A quandary, perhaps.
Ed
Hi All,
Yes, we’re back. Thanks for all the email and well wishes, they’re greatly appreciated, as are the comments and suggestions. I tried to answer each and every email and address all the issues.
The website is open in a skeleton form, but back open just the same.
The newsletter did go out last Friday, and anyone who is interested in our future plans can email me from through the email address at the end of this post, and I’ll send a copy of the newsletter back, until I can post it on the site. I can also post it here if anyone is interested, but I’m not sure if the prices would be allowed bythe moderators.
Delrin helicals are the way to go, and that’s from all the positive feedback about them from the best critics the hobby can have, you the users. I will still persue the brass helicals, but now at least I will be able to have kits back on the market in about 2-4 weeks.
To address a question or two. The gears are not machined, and never were. They are thread rolled, and always have been. This is the reason they’re hard to make. John Chapper, the founder of hobbytown of Boston, and the engineer behind everything they made for 40 years designed them and had dies made to roll them. Trying to duplicate those dies is where the problem lies. They’re extremely critical for a smooth operation, and it seems that type of perfection is hard to find these days. As soon as a new manufacturer is found, they will be employed in making the gears in brass, once again.
A note on the Delrin gears, they actually were more expensive to make than the brass ones, and still need some machining to be able to use. That’s where we are now.
I did contact someone who is prominent in the hobby as a skilled kit builder. He offered to assemble a kit with these new gears and come back with a review. Lets hope it’s a positive review! At that point, there will be nothing to stop us.
Hello Nick, Good to see Hobbytown back. Please be careful with your design to avoid the split gear problem. Everyone who has used force fit plastic gears has this problem. Knurling the axle should keep the gear from slipping on the axle without requiring such a tight fit. Mark Vinski
Hi Nick —
I tried to send you a message via your web site, but it came back as undeliverable.
I understand that you have your hands full with the reopening of Hobbytown, and product expansion is a distant future issue. My question has to do with the possibility of using a shortened Hobbytown RS3 drive & frame to power a Fairbanks Morse H20-44. This would require a frame with a wheelbase 3 scale feet shorter than that of the RS3. If this is possible, we might be able to find another producer who can provide a body casting for the project in resin or some other material.
Is this possible?
Tom
How many remember the actual Hobbytown of Boston hobby shop that was in Boston?
Ken Vandevoort