Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Here's some pictures comparing the N-Drive mechanism to a Bachmann.

Here the N-Drive mechanism is on the right. The Bachmann mechanism on the left has Nigel Lawton's re-motoring kit and a new worm from NWSL installed. The biggest difference is the motor position: it sits much closer to the worm and rear drivers. So use of the mechanism with the Chivers small Forney kit (RC-45) requires some modification.


Here's the N-Drive mechanism with a new boiler made out of 2 sizes of brass tube so that the Chivers smoke box casting will fit into it. The motor fits inside the new boiler. I think this will allow the Chivers kit to use this mechanism.
The last two photos show Bachmann and N-Drive chassis for comparison. Note that the drivers are a little smaller on the N-Drive chassis and the wheel base is a little shorter. The chassis in front in the last photo is Bachmann with the original motor, boiler and cab floor to be used in a Kennebunk Models resin forney kit now out of production.

2 comments:

jorgenr said...

Hi, where did you find that NWSL pinion for the Bachmann 0-4-0? I searched the NWSL site without any luck. -Jorgen

Stephen said...

Jorgen,

This was on the HOn30 list a few years ago from Ken Lunders. Here the text:
...The gear on my motor was bonded to the shaft and could not be
removed. Since a new gear is not part of the conversion kit I
contacted North West Short Line for a replacement. There is no direct
replacement available, but we did come up with a workable substitute.

North West Short Line, P.O. Box 423, Seattle WA, 98111-0423, (206)
932-1087, info@NWSL.com, http://www.nwsl.com, sells a 0.4MOD x 6mm x
1.5mm bore steel worm, part number 50400-6 for $7 plus shipping that
was selected. This gear is 1mm greater in diameter than the stock
Bachmann gear and may require shimming under the cradle to obtain a
good gear mesh. Sufficient shims were supplied in the remotoring kit
for me to do this. With the NWSL worm used it may be necessary to
grind out the weight in the boiler for clearance. I am using the
chassis for an HOn30 conversion so this was not an issue for me. The
remotoring kit is easy to assemble and provides much improved
performance.