So I got a Tyco Turbo Train for my birthday a few months back. It’s in great shape, but it couldn’t run on my layout! Being me, the only choice was to make a brand new chassis from scratch.[:D]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdonOb4cMeg
I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the best running Turbo around![:D]
Another neat project from the mechanical genius himself![bow]
Dave
Wow, the original chassis was straight out of a slot car, with flanged wheels added. The cheaper they made stuff, the more they turned people off from the hobby. A food conglomerate just had no clue. Mid 70’s-early 80’s junk like the original I say did far more harm to this hobby than any other single event.
Had they made it actually run well, despite being goofy looking with no real prototype, at least it would have run, and not broken within 5 minutes.
What a great job taking a piece of junk and turning into a working piece.
–Randy
Thanks guys![:D]
It is tough keeping that slot car drive running well, but I’m going to keep it around in case I decide to use the Tyco up-the-wall track at any time. But for any other time, the new chassis is a real smooth and much more reliable runner.
Things were actually looking really good for the first year Tyco was under new ownership. Their C-630 had decent detail for the price, with very realistic trucks, and it had a mechanism developed by Rivarossi (I believe with 8-wheel-drive, like the U25C). It was the Power Torque truck and desire for higher profit per unit that drove the quality down to rock bottom soon after.
Well sure, those things were in the pipline before Consolidated Foods. [:D]
It took a few years before the cost cutting and the “we clearly know nothing about the hobby” mismanagement started being felt - like such wonderful items as the GG1 on a pair of 4 axle trucks, or the Chattanooga Choo Choo morphing from a 2-8-2 to a 2-8-0 to a 0-8-0 tender drive - all with the same boiler casting. Such a shame, too, because I have some late 50’s era Mantua/Tyco, including the original run of the 4 wheel Birney car, that all still run. The locos still run, but have a little bit of metal rot.
–Randy
Your right, while Tyco brought many into the hobby, they also drove many out. I know because it almost happened to me. [xx(]