LongIslandTom said:
Several possibilities...
- You can try repowering it with self-powered trucks like the PDTs from Northwest Short Line (These things ain't cheap though):
http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?category=&scale=H&manu=&item=&keywords=self-powered+truck&instock=Q&split=300&Submit=Search
- Or you can try repowering it with the chassis from a Proto 1000 RDC-- It has the same exact wheelbase as the Metroliner. I don't know if the P1K RDC is geared to run fast though.
- Or you can try fiddling with the existing mechanism yep... The growling is coming from the motors and not the gears, right? Yea maybe a new motor would help... You might have to use small diameter rubber hose as coupling though.
When I was a kid back in the 1980s I also got some Bachmann Metroliners, but they were the ones with the Pancake motor drive. POS died within a week. Now that I think about it, I was surprised I didn't give up on this hobby right then and there.. Most of my childhood friends did though because of cheap crap like that.
I don't think the PDTs will work... I've looked into them but they'd require modifications i'm not sure i can handle.
people have reccomended the RDC before, but the bottom details will be off, and that will bother me, lol. i think if i can find a way to shoove a good motor in there, the problems will be solved.
It sounds like a Pancake, but i think it works. Its pretty strong to, but it only starts moving higher up at higher voltage. To be fair, when i first got it, i didn accidentally break one of the geared wheelsets, and replaces it with a spare part Dummy i bought, so its really only running on 6 of 8 wheels.
I'll definitely keep the rubber tubing idea in mind. I don't doubt that there will be a small enough motor to fit in there. I can probably get an SW style athearn motor in there, with some filing and cutting of the diecast frame. there are metal "half walls" that hold the current motor where it is. Maybe i can wire an athearn motor into it.
Yeah, I heard of the pancake motor ones. All of my dummy metroliners are the original first run (which have more details present on them, although the paint job sucks. I might repaint these one day.) the dummys had drawbars ( another desireable feature on something that runs back and forth) so i needed to find a first run power car. I got lucky and found a junk unit ( the shell is ripped up and dirty, but i might be able to fix it and use it for a cab car) but the mechanism, after running and lubing it, worked, and after correctly orienting the shims and truck covers, and a new shell from a spare dummy, it all seems to work well, apart from the noise and heat.
The motor probably won't die anytime soon, but its not the best quality, and i think it would benefit greatly with an update.