Scratch and bash driver discovery

[capt_turk]

I have one of the Bachmann Hershey trolleys. It was running poorly so I figured I would take it apart and see if I could restore it to health.
What I discovered:
The drive unit comes out with two screws removed from the bottom. It is a complete, self contained drive with wheel power pickup wipers built onto the drive. The drive unit will work, DC, by itself. It is 3 3/4" long by 7/8" tall. Relatively flat across the top. The motor wires, and brushes are easily acessable from the top. (Looks kind of strange going around the layout just by itself.) The wipers rub on the top of the wheels. The motor is open frame, with worm gears to each axle.
This looks to be a great drive unit for S&B. Take a truck off a flat car, cut a hole in the deck of the flatcar to fit over the drive, and you have a great platform to bash a loco on, or a speeder, or what ever your imagination can come up with. It looks like the deck of the flat car will be about flush with the top of the drive, and you already have the couplers installed.
Another possible is a small switch engine. Just bash a body and set it on top. It would leave you with plenty of room for weights and a decoder.
AND, it's relatively cheap, and readily available!!!!
Let me know what other ideas you can come up with.

 

[Matthyro]

Thanks for the tip CT sounds like fun. By the size it sounds like HO. Do they make one in N?

 

[capt_turk]

I don't know if Bachmann makes an N trolley. The one I have is On30. The driver could be used for Ho or On30. The wheel size is the same as some of the Ho steam locos that I have.

 

[Jac's Lines]

Bachmann makes a "Brill trolley" in N-scale. I think it retails around $30, but I picked up mine for $15 on ebay. It is a great little runner, from what I've seen. I've attached two pictures -- one with shell and one of the guts. The length of the chassis is 3 1/8".

The problem I've had with bashing (to HOn30) is that the lead weight is almost as big as the chassis, and is what holds the wheel sets, gears and motor in place. Basically, even with the Brill shell removed, you're stuck with a chassis that's more than 3/4" high (from the bottom of the wheels). It looks like it can be shoehorned into a boxcab, but I had planned to try to bash a small Class A Climax. Short of a massive milling project, that ain't gonna happen.

 

[Fred_M]

LOL, rediscovered would be the proper term. There are resin kits that have been sold for years that use the brill trolley and other such mechanisms for power guys. Here is a link to but 1 example. http://members.aol.com/on30resinkits/speeders.html Fred

 

[jetrock]

The power truck in the Bachmann Brill is a popular subject for traction bashing kit--it's relatively easy to rewire, and while the running is not spectacular, it works suitably well. The diameter of the wheels is pretty small, I think around 26". The price, however, is right--you can get Bachmann trolleys used for $10 or less on eBay and at train shows, and pretty much chuck the rest of the trolley if they aren't your thing!

 

[spitfire]

Robin, they do make one in N. Just yesterday I saw the Bachmann PCC at the LHS, N-scale in the Philadelphia cream and green livery. It looked so cute I wanted to buy it!

Val

 

[Matthyro]

Thanks Val
I will have to see if there is one at the Barrie show. If not you can tell me which LHS has it.

 

[spitfire]

They have it at Credit Valley. :thumb:

Val

 

[Sir_Prize]

Kato and Greenmax (mostly Tomix, too) have short framed motorized chassis...
Actually they look like the one pictured, just more plastic pieces.