MTL replacement trucks for Lousiville & Nashville coaches

 

Modular dining room layout

 

Replacement trucks for MTL heavyweight cars (2)

Replacement trucks for MTL heavyweight cars

Long Island MP54

Long Island MP54, N scale 

On the workbench March 15, 2025

 On the workbench

Chicago & Eastern IllinoisiHeavyweight car

Chicago & Eastern Illinois Heavyweight car, N scale

 

Making Tomytec TM19 or TM21 drives DCC ready [part 1]

Tomytec drives are the basic motorisation set for the N scale Traction modeler. They are good running, inexpensive and available in several dimensions, there is one single downside: they are not DCC ready. 

But making them ready for a decoder is not as complicated. It basically consists in separating the wheel contact strips from the motor. We show here how it works for a Tomytec TM19 or 21 drive, both are technical identical, they have only different truck centre bases. The best decoders are wired decoders, you can directly solder the wires to the contact stripes and the motor. 

First of all, take some tools: tweezers, a small screwdriver, some wooden toothpicks. Do the work on a place where parts can not "run away". Do not force, all parts are held by clipping noses, you have mostly to widen the part opposite to the noses. Its starts with removing the white two metal weights.

Then pull out the truck opposite to the flywheel, spacing the frame a little. Remove the small transverse bar - on the side opposite to the flywheel -  spacing the frame again. Then remove the motor cradle. Don't lose the cardan shaft. At every step, keep in mind how the drive is assembled, don't hesitate to make photos to remember. 

The motor cradle holds the contact stripes. When you open the motor cradle, two contact stripes will fall out.

Of the contact stripes, you have to cut the small parts going up to the motor contacts. Cut following the red lines. Now, the direct contact between wheels and motor will be interrupted. 

 

Next part is wiring. Before soldering, you must decide where to locate the decoder. We place them usually over the metal weights, or over the trucks. Take care to cut the wires the right length - not too short, not too long (if you doubt, a little bit longer). Now, solder the black and red wires of the decoder to the wheel contact stripes. Red is usually on the "right" side. Do not solder to the end of the contact stripes, and make only small dots of soldering wire.

Then you can solder the grey and the orange wire to the motor. Don't care about + or - , you can invert the motor direction later with CV programming. But before soldering, look how to take the wires out of the motor cradle. 

Then you can start remounting of the drive. There is one small part you can set aside, before, it was used to press the contact strip firmly to the motor contact, under the motor cradle. But since this connection is cut, you can forget the small black part below:

Remounting order is 1/ putting the wired motor into the cradle, clipping the cradle together 2/ place the contact stripes in the floor 3/ insert the little transverse bar 4/ clip the full motor cradle into the floor. Then you can mount the cardan shaft and push the truck back in the floor. Your drive is basically assembled. 

Before mounting the metal weights, check if they can touch contact stripes, or any bare wire, this would make a "short". We place some tape on sensible parts, to avoid it. 

Usually, you won't use the rectangular metal weight on the top, as the cables pass there. Now you can fix the wires and the decoder with some tape. and the drive is ready for testing.

Next episode is about modifying some CV values, as Tomytec drives have 6V motors. When testing, don't go full throttle, but you can already run DCC now. 

Mounting the Cincinnati Wooden Combine on a Tomytec TM-21 drive

This Interurban baggage-passenger Combine was delivered in 1908 by the Cincinnati Car Co. to the Oneonta & Mohawk Valley Interurban Line in Upstate New York. Some cars were later sold to Iowa.

N scale resin printed car body with additional parts: a fine pilot, rear doorsteps and 2 dummy trolley poles. The car is designed for motorization with a Tomytec TM-21 drive (truck centers 56.6 mm).

This Tomytec drive is nearly symmetrical, but it goes better into the carbody with the flywheel in front. The flywheel is hidden under a ballast block, but still visible

The rear platform and the pilot plug into the Tomytec frame, into the small holes in front and back.

Sometimes, the two holes in the Tomytec drive are to small, due to production tolerances, do not force them in. It is better to widen the holes with a 1.5 or 1.6 mm drill, and fix the pilot and the rear steps with a dot of glue.

There are several truck frames coming with Tomytec drive, two types are going very well for this car. On the rear truck, small parts of the truck side frame must be cut away on one side, to allow free swing of trucks under the door steps







Once the frame completed, the body will snap over the drive, and you can plug the two trolley poles into the holes. You can bend the rear pole up.














Painting: The cars were originally probably painted dark green, later some were painted orange. The roof were dark grey or brown, the under body parts black.

We recommend Valejo acrylic paints.

Tomytec Drive for Cincinnati Curved Side Cars

How to adapt a Tomytec TM-TR04 drive for Cincinnati Curved Side cars ( Speedrail, Dayton & Troy, ...)

Available here: https://interurban-models.myshopify.com/collections/n-scale-interurban-cars

1/ Modify the elongation of the drive to the maximum of 49 mm truck centers

2/ Select the short platform (S) extensions from the Tomytec add-ons

3/ Glue the pilot to one platform, put a weight in the second platform

4/ Clip the platforms into the drive, motor truck on rear.

5/ Choose truck frames KS45L or Brill (none is prototypical, but you wont detect it ...)

6/ Bend the dummy trolley pole up and plug it into the hole in the roof (diameter 1.2 mm)

7/ Clip the body over the drive.

When transporting, hold your hand under the car, the drive can sometimes fall out

Protect from heat and excessive sunlight

THE "L" - Elevated Open Station 186 mm #160-0151

The system is based on Kato Unitrack/Unitram standards. The standard track centre distance is 25 mm, and the standard length of a sections is 186 mm.

The structures are made basically of three components, the spans , the cross bents, and the station decks. They are designed to be erected over standard Unitram sections.

Elevated sections can be connected directly with Unitrack/Unitram sections.

The construction requires some additional parts: Kato Flex track 21-000 and Kato UniJoiners 24-815.

You need also the following tools: Allen key, Plastic cement or AC glue, tools for cutting the flex rail, sandpaper, file

Before glueing parts, become familiar with the kit. Don't hesitate to ask questions.









Station cross bents:
The station cross bent is made of 5 parts: the top of the bent, two halves of the column gantry, and two column bases.

Assembling the cross bents:
The bents on the end of the station are made of one half bent with guards (blue) and another half of a standard station bent. There are also two types of bent tops: Type C25 for middle bents, Type D25 for end or connecting bents.

The center bents are made of two half standard station bents glued back to back.

Start with glueing the halves back to back. Sand the top of the column assembly and than insert and glue a Top of bent. Then plug the column bases onto the bottom of the columns. You can glue them, or keep them removable. The bents are now ready.

The spans
The standard span is single track 186 mm long, made of two twinned 93mm sections, with plate girder. Each span has two channels for the flex rails. Optional, you can add dummy 3rd rail.

Assembling the spans
The plastic part present small edges on top, this is inherent to the production process. We recommend to sand the top end of the spans a little. Then cut the rails 186 mm, or 372 if you want to join two station kits. Slightly sand the bottom ends of the rail profile, to avoid sharp edges. Push the tracks carefully into the channel of the spans, and plug one Kato UniJoiner on each track end, left side.

Station decks

The decks are made of 3 plastic parts and 2 laser cut wooden decks. Glue the inside girder frame, the central deck frame and the outside girder with its cast-in guards

The central frame is not symmetric, the wider spaces must be placed OUTSIDE, next to the girder with guards. Do not yet glue the wooden decks.






Staircases:

The staircases are made of three parts: the stairway with right guard cast in, the left guard, and small squares (red) to enclose the staircase on deck.

Once glued, the staircase and the guards and handrails form a solid unit. Sand the top sides of this assembly a little.








Assembling the Elevated sections
Plug the track spans into cross bents. Return the assembly and fix the bent to the spans with M1.6 screws. 2 screws for one bent are more than adequate. Tighten the screws with care, otherwise you destroy the thread in the plastic bloc. Then you can insert the station decks

Fixing the wooden decks:
The wooden decks are made of half sections, each is mirrored. There are several positions of the stairways possible. The unused hole in the deck is to be covered by the small cover plate, with or without glueing.

Inserting the Staircase: 
Glide the staircase assembly into the deck. The middle of the stairway sits on small arms of the bents. You can remove unused arms later with a cutting knife, if you have decided how the staircases are mounted.

Adding 3rd Rail
Test the position of the 3rd rail before gluing, the small squares plug into the space between the sleepers on the the ends of a 93 mm sections. Choose the good distance to the track, my preferred value is 4 mm, inside rail to inside 3rd rail

Fixing to pavement or Unitram sections
You can fix the Elevated sections to your pavement or to Unitram sections with 1.6mm screws. The holes on the cross bents are 54 mm apart in width, the columns are spaced 93 mm in length.

THE "L" - Elevated railway kit - Straight plate girder section 372 mm #160-0101

"THE L" modular elevated structures in N scale

The system is based on Kato Unitrack/Unitram standards. The standard track centre distance is 25 mm, and the length of the sections is a multiple of 31 mm. The structures are made basically of two components, the spans and the cross bents. They are designed to be erected over standard Unitram sections. Elevated sections can be connected directly with Unitrack/Unitram sections.

Double track and single track use the same spans, only the bents are different. Bents and spans are fixed with screws, the assembly is modular and can be constructed / deconstructed. Parts & Tools The construction requires some additional parts: Kato Flex track 21-000 and Kato UniJoiners 24-815.

You need the following tools: Allen key, AC glue, tools for cutting the flex rail, sandpaper, file The cross bents A standard cross bent is made of 5 parts: the top of the bent, two halves of the column gantry, and two column bases. There are two types of bent tops: Type A for middle bents, Type B for end or connecting bents. You can use end bents "B" in place of middle bents "A", but not inverse.


Assembling the cross bents 
Start with glueing the halves back to back. Sand the top of the column assembly and glue it under the top. Then plug the column footers onto the bottom of the columns. You can glue them, or keep them removable. The bents are now ready

The spans
The standard span is single track 186 mm long, made of two twinned 93mm sections, with plate girder. Each span has two channels for the flex rails. Optional, you can add dummy 3rd rail, otherwise you can plug overhead poles into the 1.6 mm holes on top of the bent.

Assembling the spans
The plastic part present small edges on top, this is inherent to the production process. We recommend to sand the top end of the spans a little. Then cut the rails to 372 mm length, or 186 mm if you want to split the kit in two sections. File slightly the bottom ends of the rail profile, to avoid sharp edges. Push the tracks carefully into the channel of the spans, and plug one Kato UniJoiner on each track end, left side.


Assembling the Elevated sections
Plug the spans into cross bents. When building to 372 mm length, put an "A" middle bent in the center where two spans are connecting. If you build to 186 mm length, you place a "B" bent on the end. Return the assembly and fix the bent to the spans with M1.6 screws. 2 screws for one bent are more than adequate. Tighten the screws with care, otherwise you destroy the thread in the plastic bloc.

Adding 3rd Rail
Test the position of the 3rd rail before gluing, the small squares plug into the space between the sleepers on the the ends of a 93 mm sections. Chose the good distance to the track, my preferred value is 4 mm, inside rail to inside 3rd rail

Fixing to pavement or Unitram sections
You can fix the Elevated sections to your pavement or to Unitram sections with 1.6mm screws. The holes on the cross bents are 54 mm apart in width, the columns are spaced 93 mm in length.

Connecting the Elevated sections with Unitrack
Spans without a crossbend can be connected directly to standard Unitrack sections. When using crossbends on the end, you have to make a small cutout on the connecting Unitrack end Power supply We recommend use of UniJoiners with cables, but you can also solder directly cables to the tracks. Be careful when soldering, the heat can warp or melt the plastic.

#160-4130 Septa N5 ABB car

Modern stainless steel cars built 1991-93 by ABB Traction for the SEPTA Norristown High Speed line. The model snaps over a Tomytec TM12R drive. Please order also truck sideframes #160-8130 . The window glasses are actually not part of this kit, they will be produced separately and may be available soon, please look for announcements here on https://interurbanmodels.blogspot.com

«MAIN STREET» - modular storehouse fronts in N scale

Four modular fronts: http://r.ebay.com/4G3szZ
2 x Four modular fronts: http://r.ebay.com/EssIKe

A modular "architect game" in N scale with storefronts, upper floors and cornices. Each building is 46.5 mm wide, a four house row is fitting exactly into a 186 mm Kato Street track length.

Each building front is different, but all storefronts, upper floors and cornices can be mixed.

The kit is easy to build - assembly requires a steady hand and some patience. You will need to provide: white glue, some sandpaper, a pin or a toothpick, a good fine cutting knife and tweezers.

The parts are cut from 1mm MDF. If any part is missing or broken when opening, please send me an e-mail with a photo or sketch of the part.

All parts are on a fret-plate and have to be cut out of it very carefully, along the short connecting links. Use a very sharp cutting knife.

Start with the storefront A, then mount the floor B, and finish with the cornice C.

There are several hood designs available for each house. Main Street 2 and 4 can be mounted without hoods.

Painting:

The upper floor brick facade don’t need to be painted, if you want to represent yellow brick. Otherwise you may choose a red terracotta shade.

Even the storefront, the windows, the cornice and the hoods can stay without paint. But you can apply also bright colors, there is a prototype for everything!

We recommend «thick» paints, the MDF soaks up a lot of paint, make some trials on surplus MDF before. Personnaly, I use acrylic paint pens with fine points (brands like Posca or Molotow)

I would appreciate any suggestions or feedback. Have fun with the assembly.

Interurban Box Motor w/ clerestory roof, N scale

Interurban Box Cars CERA type, with rounded ends, N scale

Liberty Bell Limited in N scale available @Shapewa...

Lehigh Valley Transit "Liberty Bell Limited", ex C&LE "Red Devil", in N scale

The  Lehigh Valley Transit "Liberty Bell Limited" cars, former Cincinnati & Lake Erie "Red Devils" will be produced in N scale soon. Three versions are considered:

1/ unpainted 3D printed body with accessoires (truck frames), to order at my Shapeways Shop. Release date early June 2017.

2/ painted 3D printed body with accessoires (truck frames, dummy poles), will be sold in small quantities on eBay for a fixed price.
Release date end of July 2017 (see photos on the right)


3/ painted and lettered 3D printed body with accessoires (truck frames, dummy poles), will be sold in small quantities on eBay for a fixed price
Release date not yet fixed, aimed for September 2017

Due to very recent pricing changes by Shapeways I cannot yet announce the prices, I need some days more to rework the drawings, the prices will be published soon.

The body is snapping over a standard Tomytec TM-TR04 drive, this drive had to be purchased separately