FM Motorcar "The Vulcan"

[cd]

This is actually a double build. The first will be in HO scale with a large scale version to follow at some point in the future when I have enough information to build one.

This 80' diesel powered motorcar was one of six built by St Louis Car Company in 1939 for the Southern Railway. This was the first use of a FM opposed piston engine in anything with wheels. It was also the first internal combustion powered units bought by SR. My little known prototype, the Georgia & Florida wound up with one of these units (SR#41 "The Vulcan") after saving it from the scrapper in 1955. After being used initially for pulling the occasional business car, it spent most of it's life as a switcher and pulling the wreck train. Now can you imagine this thing switching cars in and out of the local freezer? Or shoving cars of rock into the local concrete plant?





Obviously this has the appearance of a passenger car, but if you check out the construction photos here on my photo site;

public.fotki.com/CDDX1/railroad/motorcar/

You'll see that the front of the frame was built like a locomotive! It also weighed more than a GP-7.

Unless someone offers up one of the ultra rare HO scale brass models, this will have to be scratchbuilt.

[icghogger]

This will be a very interesting build, no matter the scale. What will you use for your build, brass or plastic, and what will you use for the trucks?

[cd]

Feb 5, 2013 11:04:13 GMT -5 icghogger said:

This will be a very interesting build, no matter the scale. What will you use for your build, brass or plastic, and what will you use for the trucks?

Robert,

I've considered styrene for the HO model and brass for the large scale. But it's all going to depend on how much detail I can transfer to the models. These things were basically assembled with rivets and that detail may prove challenging to replicate, especially in the large scale.

The front truck is a basic run of the mill heavyweight passenger car truck while the rear is an A1A power truck similar to a Baldwin truck as used on an AS-416. Trying to replicate it is proving to be the single most challenging part of this build.

[icghogger]

As a suggestion, I have used the Archer rivet decals with great success on small projects.  Not sure if you can justify the cost, but it makes rivet detail go much faster than other methods I have used.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[liengineerbob]

While not as good as the Archer rivet decal sets......check the ones made by MicroMark.....you get an awful lot more for less money.

[m a y o r 79]

I agree with Robert, this will be an interesting one to follow. Im interested in building a Milwaukee Road motorcar (their home built "bulldogs"). Ive started collecting some parts, but most will have to be scratch built. For yours can you use passenger car bodies at all for some of the side panels or will it basically have to be home built? What are you doing for the 3 axle trucks?

[cd]

Feb 8, 2013 22:26:27 GMT -5 m a y o r 79 said:

I agree with Robert, this will be an interesting one to follow. Im interested in building a Milwaukee Road motorcar (their home built "bulldogs"). Ive started collecting some parts, but most will have to be scratch built. For yours can you use passenger car bodies at all for some of the side panels or will it basically have to be home built? What are you doing for the 3 axle trucks?

Mike,

I think it would be easier to try to use heavyweight style passenger car sides with lots of rivet detail if they're available. It looks like the MDC/Roundhouse Harriman RPO is going to be my best bet. This will result in an almost exactly accurate RPO with the Baggage area being about a scale foot too long. The rivet detail will be very close. By removing a section from the middle of a second car and adding to the front, it would give the majority of the length needed. Then by making my own front nose and attaching, it will give a reasonably accurate car.



It appears that the easiest way to build the nose is going to be by heating and shaping a piece of styrene with the correct thickness around a wooden dummy. By leaving "wings" on it, It would be easier to attach to the sides and would appear to be stronger also.

The front truck is just a plain three axle heavyweight passenger car truck that was common on a lot of things. The real challenge will be the rear truck. I'm planning to use a Coach Yard three axle power truck as it already has the correct wheelbase. I would just need to make some correct sideframes to attach to them. The rear truck on the prototype was the same thing as used on a Baldwin AS-416.



The most readily available models have the incorrect offset axle arrangement while I need the evenly spaced arrangement.

Do any of you have any suggestions for a rear powertruck or sideframe apart from what I've already mentioned above?

Also, I need to either strengthen the styrene frame or build a new one out of brass to give it a little strength. The CY trucks are apparently strong for their size and will need a frame sturdy enough to prevent breaking in half. Obviously this is not an overly powerful piece of motive power, but it would be great it if is functional enough to be used like the prototype as a switcher or for pulling work trains and the wrecker around. And this will be fitted with DCC and sound.

THANKS!

[brgp302300]

Hi......have you looked into Northwest Shortline for a power truck?



They have a modern version of the old PDT called the Spud drive......it is suppose to be DCC compatible and I think they either have or are working on a 6 wheel version.



Northwest Shortline

[cd]

Feb 24, 2013 15:12:28 GMT -5 brgp302300 said:

Hi......have you looked into Northwest Shortline for a power truck?



They have a modern version of the old PDT called the Spud drive......it is suppose to be DCC compatible and I think they either have or are working on a 6 wheel version.



Northwest Shortline

I did look at them, the coach yard unit just seemed to be a better fit as it already came with the HW passenger car sideframes in case someone wants to mount it in a passenger car. These units are apparently pretty strong as they are also used in pairs to power some recently released E-Units.

[brgp302300]

Oh okay........I was not aware of the Coach Yard power trucks.

Are all 6 wheels powered? or just the wheels on the ends of the truck?

[cd]

Feb 25, 2013 17:10:50 GMT -5 brgp302300 said:

Oh okay........I was not aware of the Coach Yard power trucks.

Are all 6 wheels powered? or just the wheels on the ends of the truck?

I don't have one in hand at the moment, but it appears that all three axles are powered. These drives are supposed to be super quiet and torquey also. This would allow a lot of room in the front for adding DCC and sound.