Has anyone built a motorized version of these?
The only one I’ve seen was human powered, near the Hi-Line area in Northern Montana along with about a dozen speeders.
Wayne
that’s what I meant, human powered, but a model with a motor, that has a figure pumping it to make it more, although it is motor powered under neath the hood…I could also have it DCC, and have a Z scale decoder, so that it is well hidden…
I’ve never seen a working model of this style before, although I have seen working models of the more traditional handcar where two people work the mechanism. Unfortunately I don’t have a link or photo of such a working model but I bet someone here can help you.
Wayne
I think motorizing something as small as a velocipede would be quite a challenge. Perhaps you could start with a cell phone vibrator motor, but then you would have to build a gearing system to make the high RPMs usable, find a place to install resistors to control the voltage, etc. etc.
If you want to build something small I would suggest choosing a small industrial engine which can be built over a powered truck. Bachmann sells powered trucks for their cable cars for $12.50. The critter in my avatar is built on a Bachmann N scale 4-4-0 drive system where the motor is in the gondola behind the engine (It is HOn30 scale - HO on N scale track). These drive systems offer lots of possibilities. I built the critter in my avatar from brass sheet but styrene would have worked as well. One key element is to figure out how to add weight so the wheels maintain electrical contact with the track. Also, your track work will have to be pretty good especially on turnouts if you don’t want the thing to stall every five feet.
The best recommendation I can make is to give it a try! Somebody once said “If at first you don’t succeed then try, try again…” You might just suprise yourself!
Dave
Have you even seen a scale model of a velocipede? Here is an O scale one on the left (On30 actually), and an HO scale one on the right. Good luck trying to power either one!
Interestingly enough, both Buda and Sheffield made motorized versions of the velocipedes. Here is a link to a 1910 advertisement of such: BudaAdvertisement
I have one of the Buda engines in my collection:
None of this really applies to the OP’s question about motorizing a model of a velocipede, but theses things are so rare it made caught my attention when looking through the forum. By the way, Buda made these in two basic versions, one with the manual handles which could be used to move the velocipede just like the non-motorized versions and another that did not have the handles and relied strictly on the engine for power. Buda’s were available from about 1909 up to the early '20’s.
- James
Edit: Fixed the lengthy link to the advertisement.
There you go ‘trainobsessed’! Just build yourself a superminature gasoline engine in additon to the gears etc. and AWAY YOU GO![}:)]
Dave
how big is it?
Thanks, by the way, real name is Tate.
Tate
Railroaders is a film you might enjoy.
http://www.nfb.ca/film/railroaders
It has a Velocipede at about the thirteen minute mark ( I think )
Brent
Hi Tate!
Sorry, no offense intended - I was just trying to be funny.[;)] Seriously, I don’t think you could disguise a motor in the velocipede, regardless of the scale, let alone the mechanisms to make it work. That is why I suggested that you choose a small ‘critter’ engine to model. Believe it or not but the critter in my avatar was one of the first things that I modeled when I got into the hobby. I was actually suprised that it came out as good as it did (Please - no rivet counters input here!). When I do the next one there will be lots of improvements like not having the exhaust stack interfere with the headlight beam, and installing a white backup light instead of the red LED in the back. Point is dude - you should challenge yourself to create something that you can call your own!
By the way, Tate, nice catch!!
Dave
H0 scale:
Wolfgang
I bet too, if you tried to hook a crewman to it, you’d find he don’t have enough hinges. the Bachmann Handcar is equiiped with pumping people, but working a velocipede is a bit more involved in the bodystrokes.
Wolfgang’s Pedler vedrsion is intrigiung though, and there IS a European make of a pedding bicicle, so you could go that route. I think he had an under-layoput track though and the peddling was hooked to a rolled wheel being pulled along though, not motorized himself.
Just guessing, probably about 1-1/2 feet tall, I will have to go out and measure it later. To give you an idea of the relative size, look carefully at the mounting flanges on the crankcase. The lower flange that is mounted to the board would attach to the top of the lower frame member of the velocipede. Now note that there is an upper flange a few inches above it… that attaches to the underside of the upper frame member. So, if you look at your original picture, the engine would be directly behind the front wheel, with the mounting flanges on the insides of the upper and lower frame members just in front of the pump handle. I’m guessing that the motorized version was slightly longer to accomodate the engine. The cylinder stuck up directly behind the front wheel. There was a roller chain drive from a small sprocket on the engine to a large sprocket on the front wheel - no clutch, no reverse, no multiple speeds. The engine has a compression release so the rider could get the velocipede rolling to start the engine.
I like the idea of having a velocipede attached to a small fishing line on its own dedicated track. Flip a switch and a small winch could pull it down the track. It should be a lot easier than hiding a motor on the velocipede itself.
Brent, the Railroaders clip is a classic! I got a kick out of the guys riding along on the Fairmont speeder, knocking snow off the telegraph poles. I used to have a Fairmont M19, but mine had a windshield - those poor guys were out in the Canadian winter with nothing to break the breeze! Made me shiver just watching it.
- James
If you want to see some home made stuff go to u tube and type in the jigger cart, it brings up a lot of home made rail runners. Jim.
Motorizing a velocipede will be a “graduate level” project. You will have a space in O scale probably less than 1/4" diameter and 1/2’ tall in the motor or 1/2" diameter and 3/4 in tall in the rider to put the motor, gears, drive system and control system if any. In S scale it would be even smaller. It would probably require some sort of micro motor from some piece of electronics (such as a portable CD player).
Before you try that I would suggest modifying an HO engine for Sn42. Modify the cab , widen the running boards, replace the air pumps and generators, headlights, grab irons, etc. Then once you get two or three of those down, plus practice on a couple cars, adding all the detail (truss rods, bolt heads, etc). Before anybody jumps up and down about “rivet counting”, if he is wanting to build all these very small, intricate models such as a working velocipede, he is going to have to learn to work with very small delicate, detailed models. Its not about rivet counting, its about learning the skills to fabricate and install very small intricate parts.
Tate, you have already asked us a bunch of questions about how to build allsorts of stuff. my suggestion is to stop asking about new stuff and try actually building something previously discussed. Depending on how much you enjoy that experience and how the results turn it it may alter your direction. I am willing to bet you will have more than enough questions during the project without going off in new directions.