Loco Construction Status

Loco Construction Status The GE25 replica in 3" scale in nearing completion,
construction of 40' flatcar and hopper car will be
started shortly, photos to follow soon.

The 3" shay design is comming along. Here are a fiew of the 3D drawings:

As of Oct. 1, 2002 the GE-25 switcher is running. No body work yet and running with a temporary seat but here are a few photos.

I spent several weeks looking at designs that used hydraulic transmission or motor generator setup. In the end I just used variable belt drive and forward/reverse gear box from a riding lawn mower. I haven't done a draw bar pull test but the low end has a bunch of pull and the high end will run about 12mph. The 4 wheel #35 chain drive uses 8' of chain and 2 idlers. The breaks will launch you out of the seat if you pull hard at full speed.

GE-25 view from below GE-25 top view GE-25 left side

The above images show the 8hp engine with gear shift on the left, brake lever in the center and speed control at the right.
Battery, electrical and throttle mounts will come with the sheet metal body. But it runs great! I still have to build the couplers and seat (the photos don't show my temporary seat) the coupler control arms will operate without getting out of the seat.

With the GE-25 usable I am starting on my first car. A hopper car that will carry 2 yards of ballast. The photo below shows the extended lower arch bar truck made from 1/4X1-1/2 hot bent strap and bearings.
lower archbar and bearings The 1" self aligning bearings face in and the end of the axles will be covered by a dummy journal box. The ends of the arch bar are extended for brake mounting and for cross straps to help stiffen the truck while allowing enough flex to take track variations.