[bigdodgetrain]

thomas the tank body on another frame.

 

[Old_Hobo]

And why would you do that…..?

 

[T-Man]

I have Diesel the frame may work. Is that where you are going with this? I checked the parts diagram for Thomas and it runs on the same motor, Lionel link

 

[T-Man]

Looking at the two pictures the 520 comes to mind. The frame also resembles the 8161 Laser switcher from the modern era. Thomas ans Diesel run on the same Can motor but has a different drive gear.

 

[T-Man]

And why would you do that…..?

Thomas trains see a lot of younger hands and the engines just do not survive the drop test. It would make sense to find a more durable frame. The frame could be out of stock too. I worked a a g scale Lionel Thomas the frame needed a lot of epoxy but I did get it running.

 

[bigdodgetrain]

And why would you do that…..?

at the model railroad museum we have a small layout that has a o gauge thomas.
kids and adults push a button and it goes around once and then stops until a kid or adult pushes the button again
we kill around 3 of these a year with all the starting and stopping it goes through

if we could find a better motor and frame to put the thomas body on they would hopefully last longer