13xx Pannier tank kit on Minitrix Fowler Dock tank chassis.

Started by trkilliman, June 25, 2026, 08:20:28 PM

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EtchedPixels, me00rjb, maridunian, NeilWhite, Bigmac and 6 Guests are viewing this topic.

trkilliman

A friend has moved up to O gauge due to his eyesight not so good as it was.
He has given me a whitemetal kit and chassis as in the subject title.

I have made up the body and cleaned up the gunk that was around the chassis cogs.

I'll look to buy a Tramfabriek replacement motor for it if it's not too large for the 13xx body?. Has anyone done this?

I'd be grateful for any advice, such as any problems encountered and how to solve them.

Thanks
Steve

Bigmac

Quote from: trkilliman on June 25, 2026, 08:20:28 PMA friend has moved up to O gauge due to his eyesight not so good as it was.
He has given me a whitemetal kit and chassis as in the subject title.

I have made up the body and cleaned up the gunk that was around the chassis cogs.

I'll look to buy a Tramfabriek replacement motor for it if it's not too large for the 13xx body?. Has anyone done this?

I'd be grateful for any advice, such as any problems encountered and how to solve them.

Thanks
Steve

yes--ive done one, it was my first attempt at a coreless conversion. Unfortunately i got it wrong--the position of the worm wasnt quite right . THe result is it runs beautifully forwards--but reverse means the loco body lifts up leans over and frog hops along.
i used to be indecisive...but now i'm not so sure.

TeddytheSpoon

I'm in the process of doing a coreless conversion myself on one of these, but I'm using the Micromotor kit rather than the Tramfabriek one. It comes with a housing that replicates the shape of the original motor, which IMO makes it easier to get the right offset for the worm gear.

The reason I haven't fitted it yet is that I want to fit a Zimo MX615 decoder as well, but need to gather up the courage to solder those tiny wires!  :worried:

trkilliman

Quote from: Bigmac on June 25, 2026, 09:10:09 PM
Quote from: trkilliman on June 25, 2026, 08:20:28 PMA friend has moved up to O gauge due to his eyesight not so good as it was.
He has given me a whitemetal kit and chassis as in the subject title.

I have made up the body and cleaned up the gunk that was around the chassis cogs.

I'll look to buy a Tramfabriek replacement motor for it if it's not too large for the 13xx body?. Has anyone done this?

I'd be grateful for any advice, such as any problems encountered and how to solve them.

Thanks
Steve

yes--ive done one, it was my first attempt at a coreless conversion. Unfortunately i got it wrong--the position of the worm wasnt quite right . THe result is it runs beautifully forwards--but reverse means the loco body lifts up leans over and frog hops along.


Hi,
When you say I've done one, was this with a repacement motor to accomodate/fit within the 13xx white-metal body?

I have sent a message to Tramfabriek asking which of their motors will be best suited/fit to the 13xx body.

The 13xx cab area that the motor will sit in is a tad smaller than the original Minitrix cab.

Their website which has good photos of fitting replament motors, just shows a replacment motor for the Minitrix tank loco.

I await their reply.

maridunian

The current Tramfabriek Fowler 2f coreless kit from @Sven  offers a shorter motor than the original 2f/T3 kit and includes a new worm gear, so appears to be a more forgiving option. I fitted one of the previous designs without problem a few years back.

https://youtu.be/-k5hrjr76A8?is=Cj9JJuViWLk4B97x

Mike

My layout: Mwynwr Tryciau Colliery, the Many Tricks Mine.

My 3D Modelshop: Maridunian's Models

trkilliman


maridunian

You're welcome!

I bought another white metal kit many years ago and it came with the wrong (Foolscap!) instructions...





So, it seems the original Minitrix motor was 1mm too tall for the kit. You can compare your motor height with the Tramfabriek replacement before filing the chassis. Alternatively if you can live with a loco 1mm too tall, use a 1mm washer to hold the front end up to match the cab!

Mike


My layout: Mwynwr Tryciau Colliery, the Many Tricks Mine.

My 3D Modelshop: Maridunian's Models

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