The NMRA doesn't factor into the Thomas range.

Aside from that, Pinchy can be made to lay fairly flat, minimizing the height increase. Diesel 10's popularity would also lend strength to his chances, since that makes him more marketable.

I would say that Boco or perhaps Derek would have more chance than Daisy.. Daisy has appeared more recently, but there is that issue of windows.

I hope you're not suggesting linking the crane to the motor, that would just lead to it cartoonishly spinning in circles as the engine moved.

I would think the best way would be to simply have the crane/Pinchy be manually-operated. Just mount it with a simple pivot joint (held either by a pin/screw or by a multi-piece shell). Pinchy would probably end up not being fully-featured for complexity reasons, but still.

The real trick with Diesel 10 would be getting an eye mechanism to play nice with his drive mechanism, since he doesn't have a fixed wheelbase (ditto for Boco, Derek, etc).

The same issue would also affect Daisy, whom I would rate as the trickiest to figure out an ideal way to do. Beyond the usual issues present with self-propeled railcar models and the aformentioned eye mechanism issue, they'd also have to balance trying to hide the mechanisms with the fact that her interior is mainly supposed to be coach space.

I know the coaches you're talking about, and neither proposed route will get you a true match. The Old Coaches, as they are officially named, are actually Great Eastern Railway 4-wheel coaches designed by Holden. So your best option would actually be to buy and paint up models of those.

Do be sure you look closely at the power pack/speed controller before buying. Some of the early versions of Bachmann's square type with with the big knob and reversing switch don't have accessory terminals

Quote from: HoModeler on February 11, 2017, 07:55:39 AM
Very nice craftsmanship... Just out of thought why the nurse's station

Because that's what was behind that separate lower-level window on the ATSF domes the model is based on: an office for a courier-nurse

Thank you.

HoModeler, who said anything about fitting it with a decoder All the OP was asking about was how to get it moving again

If you can't get the bottom plate off even with all the screws you can find removed, check to see if it's glued on or if maybe the plastic melted over a screw (Yes, that can happen, and it is super-annoying).

I believe it was North West Short Line that offers wheelsets that can be put to this task, but don't buy until you've got the loco fully open and confirmed what's wrong.

I acquired a Bachmann 85' full-dome as a birthday present. It was originally ATSF, but I repainted it into the Red Oxide with black roof livery of my fantasy railroad. I also modified the interior to be a bit better:


The lower insert has been modified. I painted the floor red and the upholstery turquoise, added divider windows to the lounge, and I expanded the floor on either side to add the nurse's room and the bar (the liquor cabinet is a Paul Friedlund picture).



I cut notches in the floor of the upper interior insert to make room for installing homemade staircases, painted the floor and upholstery, fashioned walls for the lower-level equipment rooms and covered the floor gaps above said rooms, built a dumbwaiter and the upper-level service counter


And here's the car all together

It's perfectly fine to lube the axles so long as you use suitable oil - and don't overdo it. Just a tiny drop on the end of a toothpick.

I would check to see if the wheels are able to freely spin (this much you can do by spinning them with your finger). If not, there may be crud in the axleboxes. Or there could be mold flash (excess plastic left over from the manufacturing) getting in the way, in which case you'll need to relieve the axleboxes with either a fine sharp knife or a small drill bit.

By "false uncoupling" do you mean:
The cars briefly coming uncoupled while the train is in motion?
or
The cars failing to uncouple when you want them to?

It sounds like you're actually talking about the former.

You could also purchase an aftermarket motor to replace the original with.

Quote from: ACY on January 24, 2017, 08:39:47 PM

Quote from: JNXT 7707 on January 24, 2017, 12:11:48 PM
I assume they would look odd or "Lionel-like" on anything less than 22, just wondered if it was possible.

The Bachmann 89' passenger cars will not reliably negotiate 18" radius, and would have a large overhang. On 18" radius expect a derailment or issue almost non-stop.
The only way I can see this working is by making several modifications but at that point you may as well just buy shorter passenger cars or accommodate 22" radius.

I don't think it would take that much modification considering that the Budd full-domes (which are only 4' shorter) and the tri-level autoracks can reliably negotiate 18" radius.
That is, if it would take modification at all; your wording implies you don't own one of the cars to test with yourself.

It could also be that the plate isn't setting in fully, that it's sticking up just enough to lift the engine's trucks off the rails.

Model number isn't as important as description. How long is it, how many wheels, general shape.

What locomotive are you using? I'm surprised no-one's asked that yet