DalaGStanator's Customs, Mods and Experiments

One method I've seen for making a reliable gearbox is to use an existing one from a friction motor, with a DC motor geared to it instead of the flywheel. A plenty of my old toys are friction powered, so I wanted to try it at least once. This gearbox came from a friction helicopter with a spinning rotor, hence the additional gear assembly on top. I put a crown gear on a motor and taped it to the end, and it managed to power it very well. Oddly, none of the other gears I've collected have the right teeth spacing to mesh with the one on top and still fit into the other hole, so I couldn't quite use it for power. I later found out the rotor gears were a removable piece, allowing the motor to fit somewhat better. The gearbox happens to fit between the rails, but won't allow enough side clearance for wheels.




I then made a cardboard chassis to incorporate it, complete with a running board. Mounting the gearbox horizontally with the motor still taped to it/at the same angle didn't work, so I had to mount it vertically. Turned out much like a firebox in my opinion. If I had resistors for my LEDs and a "flicker" circuit/bulb, I would've added an orange or red light that would turn on when the motor is running. In part because the running board was built first, the chassis was very poorly made and is now being redesigned. It's planned to be an 0-6-0T, so the middle wheels will either be flangeless or fake. For traction, I coated the powered wheels with the rubber adhesive I used for Rocket. It was only a partial success due to the motor sinking and disengaging constantly (accompanied by a horrifying "drill like" noise due to the crown gear slipping...) When it did run, it worked fantastic on carpet. Hope the rebuilt version will work on the track like the first chassis did. Like all designers, I would like to try different gearboxes and configurations until I could find one that works well for motive power (or powered coaches/trucks).