HOn2½ Tractor Trailer Rail Truck

This project got restarted at the being of April 2023. I've done much research on battery power for HO scale models in all three gauges. I've also
redone the drive train on this truck. I didn't like the large ball bearings used in the drive axle. A member on the Railroad Line Forum found
1mm X 3mm ID bearings on E-bay. I ordered some to redo the rear axle on the truck.

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Time to cut out the bearing supports. Here's how I started out.
I used a three bladed "surfacing bit" to level the surface of the
MDF wood. I used ACC and Insta-set to harden the ACC in gluing own the piece of brass. This is the first time I tried that.
I had my doubts, but it worked great.


Once glued down the milling program was run.

This is the result.


After the parts were cut out I discovered that the rounded cut out
was the size on the bearing and not the bearing holder I had
made. The light bulb lit at that point and I redesigned the
part to completely surround the bearing. This is the end result.


Gathered some equipment, foam, foam core,
PC perf board and the parts.


Some assembly required. Used four wire nails to hold the circuit
board down. Because the nails were to long I used the foam
insulation underneath. I use track spikes to hold the parts in
place for soldering.


Added a couple of drops of liquid flux and some solder paste.
Hit with a 750° iron and wha-la.


A bit of clean up and a trail fit.


The completed job. After I assembled the rail truck and took the
picture I was thinking, I wonder how it would look all in brass?
What do you think, leave it in styrene or remake it in brass?


So this is where this project stands as of today (9/28/2023). I plan on finishing the
truck and adding the R/C equipment. I'm going to start a new section for battery
power. When this will happen is any bodies guess.

I did get to develop an R/C control for the truck. The receiver was mounted in the
truck body and the batteries were mounted in the trailer. Test runs showed that the
truck wasn't heavy enough to pull the trailer with batteries. The truck powered axle
would spin at the slightest uphill grade. I decided to scrap the project until I could
come up with a better design. As of 5/12/2024 I think I have a much better idea of
building the next truck and trailer. I'll be posting that here on the web site with a
new name when I get some of my other HOn30 projects finished.

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