Rail Truck

Sometimes you just go with your gut.

I've been looking at buying more motive power for the L&SE. Not that I really need it, but buying trains is part of what we do. Really, logically, what I most need for my anticipated large-form L&SE layout is another DCC 2-6-0 in basic black, or maybe a Whitcomb diesel or a Heisler. Or another 0-4-2 for the mini layouts. Or any of the above, but with sound. I've been eyeing clearance sales from a couple of online stores; Micro Mark has 2-6-0s in black for $139, and Trainworld has Whitcombs for $149, as well as the Bachmann Trench Locomotive for as little as $149 with DCC and sound. All great prices. But none of them really grabbed me.

Today, on the Facebook On30 Marketplace group, a Rail Truck popped up for sale, cheap, and I jumped on it.

Not that I need it, but it just spoke to me. I think part of the appeal is the dark green paint and light weathering, especially the finish on the wood side boards. As with Porter #6, paint makes a huge difference.

Now, the reason this is so cheap is that it doesn't run; the seller says he can hear the motor turning, but no power gets to the wheels. That makes sense, since these units are known for gear issues. But for $30, I felt like it was worth having. It's probably fixable, and if not, it will still make a cool static display model sitting on a siding, or for still photography.

If I can get it running, some sources say it will operate on 10 inch radius curves, so it could maybe work on the Winter in the Red Rocks layout or the San Emigdio Canyon, or certainly on the Frazier Borate.

A couple of people have offered repowering kits. Lambert Locomotive Works sells one for $40 that replaces the overly complicated stock drivetrain with a very simple worm and gear mechanism. Stan Shields also offers one that's about twice as expensive but uses a Chinese N20 geared micro motor unit with metal gears instead of plastic, and drive wheels pre-installed. Bachmann offers replacement drivetrain parts as well. So chances are pretty good that I can get it fixed; it may cost a bit for parts, but even at that, it's going to be a fairly cheap piece of motive power. There are also some kits on the market to replace the stake bed with a cargo box, or convert it to a rail truck. Any of those might be interesting.

But like I said, just as it is, it speaks to me. I look forward to getting it into my hot little hands.

3/25/25: It arrived today. Very nice looking model, lightly weathered, and a previous owner replaced the plastic stake sides with wood ones. As a bonus it includes a bunch of odds and ends of lumber, tools, oil cans, and such as a load in the back.

When I tried to put it on the track to test, I found that someone had regauged it to On3. That was easy enough to fix. Once it was properly gauged, I quickly found that what the seller said was correct: The lights work (and respond to DCC commands, so the decoder seems to be okay) and the motor can be heard spinning merrily, but the truck doesn't move.

I sent Stan Shields a message and he sent me instructions for his rescue kit. It's a standard Chinese geared micro motor unit with wheels pre-installed, and a 3D printed mounting bracket and a few other small parts. It does require some grinding and filing to the chassis, but nothing especially difficult. It's more expensive and more work to install than the Lambert repower kit, but is probably a higher quality, more durable drive. So I'll most likely order one of those.

3/28/25: I ordered the Stan Shields repower kit today, so I'm all in now. After studying the instructions some more, there's less work to be done on the chassis than I thought; I'm reasonably confident I can get it done before the Mini Fiesta the first weekend in May. I'm less sure about the electronics. For now I'm thinking I'll try to keep the factory DCC, if possible. If not, I can hook it up to run on DC. I'll have to see when I get into it. 

In the long run, I may convert the cargo bed to a freight box, or make it into a railbus, with a better DCC decoder, keepalive, and perhaps sound. But that's a project for farther in the future.

4/2/25: The repower kit arrived. The drive is tiny. I'm hoping to get into it tomorrow or Friday. Studying Stan's instructions and other sources, I feel pretty comfortable with physical installation. I'm less sure about the wiring. Have to see when I get in there.

4/5/25: Got the repower kit installed and wired, and it works! However, the truck derails in a couple of places on the San Emigdio Canyon. It may be a track gauge problem; I need to do some checking and adjusting. It may also help when I get the cab reinstalled, which will add some weight.

I kept the stock electronics for now. I'm pleased the decoder works, and I was able to figure out which wires go where. If I decide to keep it as a flatbed, I'll eventually replace the decoder with a smaller one and hide it under the hood. If I convert it to a rail bus, I may put in a sound decoder.