Family Garden Trains
Discussion Forums

Visit our Affiliated Pages:
Return to Family Garden Trains Home page
Garden Railroading Primer Articles: All about getting a Garden Railroad up and running well
Big Christmas Trains: Directory of Large Scale and O Scale trains with holiday themes
Return to Big Indoor Trains Home page
Building temporary and permanent railroads with big model trains
Best-loved railroad songs and the stories behind them.

It is currently Tue Dec 10, 2024 10:46 am

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 3 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2021 6:38 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 9:13 am
Posts: 184
A reader writes:

I have successfully converted the Santa Fa diesel and cars to G scale. The diesel is quite easy just follow the instructions for the steam engines. The cars are as easy. I took it one step further and got four diesel engines and converted two into a B unit with two motors. I stripped out the electronics and replace it with a Hobby King 1.2 Ghz controls. These controls are quite small and have a long range. I installed a receiver in each of the three units with a 20amp hobby king ESC. I followed the instructions on how to bind all three receivers to the controller. I replaced the batteries with 8aaa battery packs with a charging plug installed in the access door at the rear of the units. I then rewired two motors in reverse as they would be going the other way. With four motors and the ESC binding with the controller I have been able to pull over 25 New bright cars that I have kit bashed.

At first glance you'd think I invented a separate G scale train line as all cars and engines are kit bashed, painted in black and blue for my Brandywine Lenape Railroad and sport Brachmann couplers. What I have discovered is a very inexpensive way to get into G scale trains on a tight Scottish budget. I'm now converting a Penn Flyer with another one in the mail. The controls for these ready to play trains are unique to each train. Allowing you to run as many trains as the track can take. I use LGB R-3 track and turnouts which are far less harmful to the plastic wheels. Later I will convert the passenger truck wheels to New Bright metal wheels.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2021 7:25 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 9:13 am
Posts: 184
The reader added:
Here are some pictures of the progress on the conversion of the Penn Flyer ready to play to G scale.
As You can see a pill bottle is the exact size to hold the speaker which I plan on moving to the tender so as to make room for a smoker. I used mini 9 V green LEDs that made a perfect fit where the plastic green inserts were. I cut off the tips and carefully step drilled the remaining hole until the the wires would fit. They were tight as they had tiny resisters attach so I took a round mini file and filed out the lower portion that had some meat on it and oblong the hole until the wires passed through. I super glued and tapped into the head light and provided a plug so I could remove the front over of the boiler if needed.

Attachment:
Dscn6286.jpg
Dscn6286.jpg [ 52.02 KiB | Viewed 11911 times ]


Attachment:
Dscn6283.jpg
Dscn6283.jpg [ 108.39 KiB | Viewed 11911 times ]


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2021 7:34 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 9:13 am
Posts: 184
The reader wrote back:

I have found out that the ready to play version of the Penn flyer is some what stouter then the earlier G scale version. I broke one of the protruding tabs on the second set of drivers. Made a cute insert that I feel is a better choice so I replace the other side as well. Turned out fine except I had to sand the gray spacer a little thinner but that tightened up the drivers. Will send pictures so if anyone else can see how I made repairs.

Have finished the box for the 16 AA rechargeable batteries and when I open the engine I will take pictures. The weight almost equals the 6 C cell batteries.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 3 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron


Click to see sturdy Lionel(r) trains that are perfect for your Christmas tree.


Visit our affiliated sites:
- Trains and Hobbies -
Return to Big Indoor Trains Home page
Return to Family Garden Trains Home page
Big Indoor Trains Primer Articles: All about setting up and displaying indoor display trains and towns. Garden Railroading Primer Articles: All about getting a Garden Railroad up and running well
On30 and O Gauge trains to go with indoor display villages and railroads
Big Christmas Trains: Directory of Large Scale and O Scale trains with holiday themes
Visit Lionel Trains. Free building projects for your vintage railroad or Christmas village. Click to see Thomas Kinkaded-inspired Holiday Trains and Villages. Big Christmas Train Primer: Choosing and using model trains with holiday themes Visit Howard Lamey's glitterhouse gallery, with free project plans, graphics, and instructions. Click to see HO scale trains with your favorite team's colors.
- Family Activities and Crafts -
Click to see reviews of our favorite family-friendly Christmas movies. Free, Family-Friendly Christmas Stories Decorate your tree the old-fashioned way with these kid-friendly projects. Free plans and instructions for starting a hobby building vintage-style cardboard Christmas houses. Click to find free, family-friendly Christmas poems and - in some cases - their stories. Traditional Home-Made Ornaments
- Christmas Memories and Collectibles -
Visit the FamilyChristmasOnline site. Visit Howard Lamey's glitterhouse gallery, with free project plans, graphics, and instructions. Visit Papa Ted Althof's extensive history and collection of putz houses, the largest and most complete such resource on the Internet.. Click to return to the Old Christmas Tree Lights Table of Contents Page Craft and collectibles blog with local news of Croton NY.
Click to visit Fred's Noel-Kat store.
- Music -
Carols of many countries, including music, lyrics, and the story behind the songs Wax recordings from the early 1900s, mostly collected by George Nelson.  Download them all for a 'period' album.
Best-loved railroad songs and the stories behind them.
Heartland-inspired music, history, and acoustic instrument tips. Own a guitar, banjo, or mandolin?  Want to play an instrument?  Tips to save you money and time, and keep your instrument playable. Own a guitar, banjo, or mandolin?  Want to play an instrument?  Tips to save you money and time, and keep your instrument playable.



Click to trains that commemorate your team!

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group