Work can give you a lot of time to think, and today's thought was "I wonder how hard it will be to convert a older Bachmann 2-8-2 (actually a Reading 2-8-0 with a trailing truck added) that has a pancake motor to one that has a can motor". Im just trying to figure it out, just for curiosities sake. Thanks for the help and advice. I'm also assuming that none of these were ever made with a can motor and all of them were pancaked.
rocky-
Not a particularly difficult job. You can get motors and parts from NWSL or perhaps ebay. I suggest that you make sure that the model's detail and condition warrant the time and expense. Good luck!
-- D
The hard way: buy a can motor and gear box, then have a machine shop mill out the frame to make room for them. Finally fiddle it all together and try to make it run. Possible but expensive.
The easy way: buy a used Bachmann Plus 2-8-0 and put the plus mechanism into your existing shell. Very slight modification to the body is all that is required.
I assume you wish to keep the original shell for some reason. Otherwise I would have suggested parking the sidewinder on a RIP track and buying a Bachmann Standard (formerly Spectrum) 2-8-0. Better mechanism than the Plus, much better than the sidewinder, but will not fit your old sidewinder body.
Jim
Right, all very good thoughts. Like I said, I was just wondering about the possibility of it while I had time at work to think. O how I have heard that the Bachmann Standard line (former Spectrum) 2-8-0 and how great it is and would like to acquire one some day. I was just wanting to entertain my mind with it though.
If really bored, go to the NWSL site and look at all the info on motors, gears and gearboxes.
When NWSL was in Seattle a number of years ago, they sold a gear and motor planning kit that I purchased which gave me a very good idea of motor/gear/gearbox sizes.
Some years ago I put a Sagami can motor, flywheel and MDC replacement gears into a HO Tyco 4-6-0 and 0-4-0. The shafts were the same diameter. I actually made the compound gear drive frame that the MDC/Roundhouse steamers have today and used the MDC gears that NWSL sells. Ratio, 45 to 1 for the 4-6-0 and 72 to 1 for the 0-4-0.
I needed to use the Puller and Quarterer. No way was it cost efficient but was an experiment. I was using DC with pulse power power pack I made and could fine tune the pulses. Those locos would crawl ever so slow and were quiet. I mounted the motors using bath caulk to reduce any possibility of vibration. I adjusted gear lash before the caulk set up and left them alone for a couple days.
Rich