Model Train Forum banner

Kitbashing Mr Roger's Neighborhood Trolley?

23K views 52 replies 11 participants last post by  gunrunnerjohn 
#1 ·
I want to try my hand at a simple kitbashing project. Here is my Idea: Buy a Bachmann cable car like this (about $25):

modify/fabricate it to look similar to this:

Since I don't own a Bachmann cable car I am not sure how much the engine/chassis comes up into the cab of the car which might interfere with the seats. Any suggestions?
-Art
 
See less See more
2
#2 ·
The roof looks close enough to my eye....I think a dremel with a cut off wheel would work. the seats are very simple in design as well as the vertical poles and front and rear should be easy to replicate. The rooftop sign also looks easy to make. My LHS carries plastic and brass poles.
 
#3 ·
The Bachmann cars are motorized in the open seat section, it is self contained and clips out, much like a battery pack. The one you see pulled thru the neighborhood on his show was kitbashed from an old TYCO HO trolley. It was not motorized like the larger one and was pulled across the set via a fishing line attached to a stick under the set. The builder did this because there was no way to motorize it without interfering with the seats.
 
#7 ·
Shaygetz,
If the motorized unit is narrow enough I might be able to make the seats go from the outer edge of the car up to to motor unit on each side. That might work. The seats would not go all the way across the car but that would still give me the open air look I am after. At $25 for a Bachmann trolley car, it might be worth a try. It would be nice to wire up a headlight and tail light as well as lights in the roof below the "Neighborhood Trolley" sign. Thanks for your suggestions.
-Art
 
#4 ·
I do not know if this would work but here are a few ideas I have. Is it possible to hide an N scale drive line in there just add larger wheels? What about steeling a truck from a Bachmann 40 tonner? I have one and it has a separate motor for each truck.
 
#6 ·
tkruger,
Not sure exactly what you mean by a "Bachmann 40 tonner". Can you send me a link to show me what you mean or a picture of yours with and without the body?
I am sure an N scale drive line would fit in there but the wheels would be too narrow for the HO scale tracks plus the wheels would be really tiny. I'm not sure how to make that idea work.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will stop at my LHS on sunday and ask the owner if he has any suggestions.
-Art
 
#5 ·
I don't see why that drive won't work, you would just loose the see-thru effect, but only from the seat bottom down. It would probably take two cable car bodies to make one long enough---however---that second body can be one of these...





The castings are the same as the Bachmann ones (pirated?).
 
#12 ·
useing an N scale drive system should work. You would just need to switch out the axles and wheels with the proper sized ones. It also won't be able to take major inclines with an N scale drive ssytem most likely.
 
#14 ·
Shaygetz,
That should work nicely. I will only be able to have a single seat on either side of the engine bay but the other side of the car should be able to accommodate the full row of bench seats. Does the cable car have a headlight and tail light? A few days of modifications and I should be off the the magic kingdom LOL BTW thanks for the pics.
-Art
 
#18 ·
They include diodes as well.....the advertisement says ready to hook up. Good for AC, DC or DCC. Pics coming soon, I spent several hours working on the trolley. The lights will be added when they come in the mail (if I don't have too much trouble hooking them up).
-Art
 
#19 ·
Mission Accomplished!

Here are some pics of my Mr. Rogers trolley project. I used a dremel to remove parts of the cab, made a sign for the roof and painted it red and black. Sorry for the bad photos I had to use my camera phone.
Before:

After:

It's not perfect but I think pretty good for a first attempt. I realize now just how small HO scale is to work on.
-Art
 
#24 · (Edited)
I'd color the wires black and just run them along the inside edge of the body or just underneath it.

Maybe add a little clear red film in the windows of the cupola. Looking at it you could also remove the pillars on either end that support the roof (cut off along upper/lower window edges) and put in a small thin piece of clear window film along the curve.

Not sure how thick those side pillars are, but you could also add metal grab wires near the seats.

Here's the side by side.....looking great.



 

Attachments

#25 ·
Scott,
I agree lights in the cupola with red film would be great. I was thinking the same thing. This model is so damn small though If I try to add a headlight and taillight and 2 cupola lights the thing is gonna be full of wires! It also could use some additional weight in the floor, it does allot of slipping on the tracks. I appreciate the input.
-Art
 
#26 ·
Don't even know if you need to light the cupola. I was only thinking head/taillights. I think the clear red film would finish the top off nicely. Oh yeah...just noticed the bottom below the pillars is all black (vs. red) You could even hand paint the brown on the sides of the seats exposed around the pillars.

One of these days I'm going to do a project like this.
 
#29 ·
Soldering Retardation

Well I got my LED lights for my trolley mounted 1 in the cupola, 2 in the passenger compartment and one in the front of the trolley. I got the wires pretty well hidden in the cab then tried to solder the wires to the engine pickups. Well after multiple failed attempts I managed to overheat the engine and now it won't run :(. Today I looked online and Bachmann sells a replacement for $15 so I will order one.

I knew my soldering skills were poor but I thought I could make 2 simple connections. Today at work I looked online for soldering tutorials and apparently I made every mistake in the book.
1. parts not properly cleaned
2. did not "tin" the tip of my iron
3. heated the solder not the parts
4. tip of iron not kept clean
5. did not "tin" the parts
6. overheated my project
7. too much movement of the parts
I will practice on the broken engine before the new part arrives.
-Solder Challenged LOL
 
#31 ·
Keep at it, just following those steps will help a bunch! :D

Soldering is a bit of an art, once you catch on, it goes pretty smoothly. Some of those tips aren't 100% correct, don't put yourself in a straightjacket. For instance, I normally apply heat to the joint and then feed the solder in to allow it to flow and heat up the joint. Many times, applying heat only to the joint is difficult to actually get things soldered. Remember, a little solder goes a long ways, you just want to parts secured, you don't need a huge blob of solder on the connection. Normally with my connections, you can see the individual wires, they're just all coated with solder.

I use rosin core solder, the only time I use flux is doing plumbing work with acid flux. Another key is to buy really find solder, find the stuff made for circuit boards. It's easier to do a proper job.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top