yes i have had quality dcc and ran them also but i still like the older locomotives ahm life like model power etc, i do collect also what gives you right to find fault with me and others of the same interest you are no better than me
If one of these pancake motors was made to a high quality standard I can see a few applications where this drive could be useful.
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-Kevin
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Hi rivabruc:
I don’t think you should take other peoples’ opinions about locomotive quality as a personal attack on you. We are each entitled to our opinions. You like pancake motors, others don’t. It’s your railroad and you can run what you want.
I have one pancake motored Tyco switcher and I have to admit I get a kick out of seeing the small amount of smoke and smelling the ozone when it flies down the track at rocket speed. I have never cleaned it up. If I did I’m sure it would run much better and without the ‘special effects’.
I would make one other minor point and that is that the thread you responded to was from 2009. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with resurrecting an old thread, but just understand that it is unlikely that you will get a response from most of the original posters. Rich and Darth are still around but I don’t recall seeing any posts from the other participants in the thread for quite some time. I guess the rest of them have moved on.
Cheers!!
Dave
I purchased 22 pancake motors from E-bay to power various engine’s and free-lance power designs down the road. Here’s an example of a repowered Hustler using an SD40 truck and a pan-cake motor.
For further info on this project go here.
Bernd
At least one of the previous posters in this thread is sadly no longer with us.
Tyco wasn;t always pancake motors, their original power truck had a more standard motor in it. It was later, closer to the end, that they switched to a rather poor quality pancake motor in everything (even the steam locos - tender driven, with a diesel truck!). What’s funny is that when I had HO slot cars, I always like the Aurora cars better than the Tyco ones. Tyoco had a regular motor with the armature running fore and aft. The Aurora cars had a pancake motor with spur gears on top.
That horrible motoor Bachmann used in their train set level stuff in the 80’s was another one. As mentioned in the thread - it’s those kind of junk motors that gave the pancake motor a bad name. There’s nothing inherent in the pancake design that says you can’t build one that is ever bit as good as say a Kato can motor. Old Lionel trains were almost ALL pancake motors, wound field universal motors and not permag DC types, but still pancakes - and when you aren’t trying to run them fast enough to roll off the track on curves, they have very good slow speed running ability. Very smooth and quiet. The noise from Lionel trains is noot the motor or gears.
–Randy
Hey Bernd, that doesn’t look like a TT Scale locomotive! Are you cheating on us? LOL!
Actually I have a soft spot for Tyco locomotives, they’re what I cut my model railroading teeth on a few years back (40+, actually) And there are still a few crazies like me that enjoy tinkering with them, there are a couple Tyco forums out there and I’ve followed a couple of threads where they took the old pancake/ vampire truck and made them smooth pullers.
One of the problems when Tyco cheapened everything up were the magnets they used, they were really cheap. Add a little abuse (forward to reverse at max speed) and no lubrication to them, plus probably running on snap track on carpet and it wouldn’t take long to smoke one of them. I have one C430 torn apart on the bench that is waiting for a little time and TLC to see if I can improve it a little.
I bought a F40 LifeLike train off Kijjii with a pancake motor but really wanted it because it was marketed with GO train colours and emblem (local commuter train). It lasted about a year and was less than smooth. Noisy as heck to boot. It died so I bought the same engine at local hobby store (used obviously) and swapped the chasis. Anyone recommend where to buy a replacement engine for this train? Preferably one that’s quieter.
No of course not. If I get bored with one I work on the other. Right now I’m working on both scales.
Here’s something I’ve been working on. I haven’t got it written up on my web site yet. I’ve converted several Tyco engines with those pancake motors. I’ve also replaced the wheels sets on these with the newer Atheran wheels sets. No pictures of those yet, the wheel sets.
Bernd
I took a couple of pictures of the wheel modification.
I made a new axle using Acetal plastic. Had to make a washer on the opposite side of the gear to keep the wheels in the proper position.
Next I need to figure out the mounting of electrical pickups.
Bernd
A nine year old thread can be made interesting!
Great work, Bernd, on that Tyco truck conversion, and other little critter.
How about a pancake motored, worm drive, twin flywheel, all wheel driven and electrical pick-up, shorty industrial switcher? Perhaps ALCO’s answer to the GE 25 tonner… Actually the “prototype”, as most here know was a photoshopped ALCO short hood posted on some website, and I fell for it. Glad I did too!
With it’s old hobbytown metal body, it currently weighs in at over 6 oz, and by the time I get done filling all the cavities in the body with lead, and thick brass sideframes added, it’ll tip the scale at over 9 oz. The truck is a Kato unit originally with Blomberg truck detail. Dan
Dan!
I’m impressed! I love building small switchers. In the past I have been using Bull Ant drives from Hollywood Foundry in Australia, but they are pricey. I suspect your Kato based drive was rather cheap to build.
Nice creative work.
Dave
Oh. Here’s another “pancake” conversion; a Bachmann 4-4-0 tender drive, upgraded to a better motor, and a flywheel too, while I’m in there . Dan
Dave, A guy was selling Kato drive trucks on eBay about a year and a half ago, at first for very decent prices, (I bought some) then cheap, (I bought a few more) then SUPER DIRT CHEAP, and I had the good sense to HOARD!!! (more than pictured here!)
I’ve seen your work, Dave and some of it is even beyond my patience limits!
If anybody is still following, most imported power trucks these days, like these Katos, have a 2 mm shaft in the worm gears. There are a lot of little motors available on the 'bay, (as pictured below, note the twin shafts) as well as some in small locos like Bachmann 44 and 70 tonners, with 1.5 mm shafts.
An easy way to convert shaft size is to use this tubing I found at long last after much searching, at Slot Car Corner:
Note that one motor shaft appears to be smaller than the other. It’s sleeved. And either end is begging for a flywheel yet to be turned, depending on whatever body this finds it’s way into.
Google slot car corner, call the shop on the number listed on the website, and when you finally get a hold of the gent, he’s quite friendly and pleasurable to work with.
[tup][tup]
](https://public.fotki.com/Southgate/model-rr/pa140229.html)
Hi Dan,
Yes it can. Thanks for the kind words.
Seeing your projects makes me see I’ve got some tough competition. Great work on that daul flywheel drive.
Bernd
Dan,
Another great build. I like your thinking outside the “model railroad box” of looking at other hobbies to solve model railroad problems.
Bernd
Didn’t the Lifelike models have pancake motors?
Anything Life like made and put in train sets had pancake motors. I learned here that early on, Life like made some pretty substantial drives.
Well then, it’s no wonder why Lifelike Trains were so cheap, they aren’t built to last! [(-D]
Man, at 73 I still learn something most everyday…
I always thought a “pancake motor” was pretty much the same as a “waffle motor”, but with a lot less oil.
A quick update here: I mentioned the 1.5 mm i.d x 2 mm o.d. tubing and it’s source in my last post.
I went to use some from my recent order to find that what I received this time is 1.6 mm i.d, rendering it useless for sleeving motor shafts.
I’ll get a hold of the supplier and see what gives, maybe his supplier goofed.
(You can get 1.6 mm i.d. cheap by the yards all day long. 1.5 is REALLY hard to find. 'Least for me it has been.)
I hope nobody here ordered some and got the wrong size. Dan