Mth J1e, K-line J1e, and Lionel 1990 700e measurements needed if possible.

Are you trying to build this? ....this is a hodgepodge of MTH and Lionel parts....I can take all the measurements you want...

What are the roller bearing rods from? All of the ones I am familar with are on metric engines. Lionel's ESE, 3rd Rails J3s, Smithsonian and Williams Drefusses.

That will rule out the 1990s Pullmor motored Hudsons which have inch spacing on the axles.

Pete

I think Pete (Norton) has been trying to do something similar with a CV Hudson, as far as roller bearing rods go....hopefully he’ll chime in, he has already made some discoveries he can shed some light on........Pat

The wheels and side rods are from a 1992 3rail Smithsonian Hudson. I also have most of the chassis, gearbox and motor.

If I can, the easiest thing to do would be to find a Hudson with the same size axle and side rod length. Then I wouldn't have to modify the frame. But since this is a brass model, I don't know if the wheels will fit on anything else.

I would like to use the roller bearing side rods as they are more accurate for a late life 5344 than the friction side rods.

I also don't feel like messing around with a 1997 763e. From what I've heard, they are too much $$$ and have too many problems.

-Cole

The only immediate solution I could see that would even be feasible, but still be going around your butt and back again Cole, would be to use a MTH J1E like the one I pictured above and buying a scullin disk engine block and MTH rolller bearing rods from their Dreyfuss and doing a bolt on swap....the above pictured locomotive is originally a two rail MTH Hudson, that I bought a 3 rail engine block and driver set from MTH....I was able to sell off the 2 rail chassis for more than I payed for the 3 rail service part ( go figure)  ....the only thing my locomotive lacks is roller rods to be where you want, and of course the cab no..............I got lucky doing a pretty hanious dance hunting parts and reselling parts I didn’t use, otherwise, that project would have reached stupid stratosphere costs.......hope that make sense........Pat

harmonyards posted:

The only immediate solution I could see that would even be feasible, but still be going around your butt and back again Cole, would be to use a MTH J1E like the one I pictured above and buying a scullin disk engine block and MTH rolller bearing rods from their Dreyfuss and doing a bolt on swap....the above pictured locomotive is originally a two rail MTH Hudson, that I bought a 3 rail engine block and driver set from MTH....I was able to sell off the 2 rail chassis for more than I payed for the 3 rail service part ( go figure)  ....the only thing my locomotive lacks is roller rods to be where you want, and of course the cab no..............I got lucky doing a pretty hanious dance hunting parts and reselling parts I didn’t use, otherwise, that project would have reached stupid stratosphere costs.......hope that make sense........Pat

Good idea, but I want to see what I can do with the Smithsonian parts. I think my best chance for the Smithsonian wheels is the k-line Hudson. The measurements I'm looking for are axle diameter and distance between the centers of the front and rear axles. If you have one, could you post these 2 measurements.

-Cole

Actually the best idea is to keep the Dreyfuss frame intact and try and mount a J3a body onto it. I think North Lima has 5444 bodies on ebay for relatively small money. You could keep your 5433 intact. This is a farly hard to find engine.

Pete

Norton posted:

Actually the best idea is to keep the Dreyfuss frame intact and try and mount a J3a body onto it. I think North Lima has 5444 bodies on ebay for relatively small money. You could keep your 5433 intact. This is a farly hard to find engine.

Pete

Pete,

I did think about doing that, but the frame isn't in the best of shape. The wheels and rods look to be okay though and that's why I want to put them on a different loco.

I've always liked 5344 in its late life and now that I have the wheels and rods to model it, I don't want to waste the chance I have to do it.

The two Hudsons I would really like to know the measurements of are the scale K-line Hudsons and the 1990 700e remake. I don't think the MTH Hudson is going to be compatible with these parts. I'm not sure if the Smithsonian is metric, but from one axle to another it's extremely close to 1.75 inches. Even if the measurements don't work out, I might end up sticking the chassis inside a Commodore Vanderbilt shell hiding the defects. Thanks!

-Cole

J Class Hudson Fan posted:

Norton posted:

Actually the best idea is to keep the Dreyfuss frame intact and try and mount a J3a body onto it. I think North Lima has 5444 bodies on ebay for relatively small money. You could keep your 5433 intact. This is a farly hard to find engine.

Pete

Pete,

I did think about doing that, but the frame isn't in the best of shape. The wheels and rods look to be okay though and that's why I want to put them on a different loco.

I've always liked 5344 in its late life and now that I have the wheels and rods to model it, I don't want to waste the chance I have to do it.

The two Hudsons I would really like to know the measurements of are the scale K-line Hudsons and the 1990 700e remake. I don't think the MTH Hudson is going to be compatible with these parts. I'm not sure if the Smithsonian is metric, but from one axle to another it's extremely close to 1.75 inches. Even if the measurements don't work out, I might end up sticking the chassis inside a Commodore Vanderbilt shell hiding the defects. Thanks!

-Cole

What’s wrong with the frame that makes you say it’s not in the best of shape? As far as your measurements go, you’ll need quite a few more measurements than just what your asking for. Axle diameter, crank pin configuration, crank pin size...the list goes on....one measurement off, and the project is curtains with out specialized machining tools and skills.....not exactly a simple task for the DIY guy unless this is your cup of tea and you have and posses the equipment and skills and enjoy this kind of work. A more reasonable approach, given the parts you already have would be what Pete suggested and mount that chassis in another shell.....I would think this would be project that could come to happen.....given the Motor’s location, gear box configuration and what not, some shaving inside a boiler casting may be necessary. This is something the DIY guy could achieve with minimal tools and make happen.....I have a spare Kline 5343  boiler shell that may fit the bill so to speak, along with what Pete suggested.....it would be the absolute least invasive path to what you’re trying to do...................Pat

Cole, Close doesn't count. I have the same frame but from the Williams Masterpiece version. Identical but it has a Mabuchi motor instead of the Pittman. I also bought it for the roller bearing rods. I wanted to put them on my Lionel Commodore Vanderbilt, same as a 700E. It also has 1.75" driver spacing but the rods have metric spacing. I forgot the mm size but they were .020" off. If you tried and elongated the holes in the rods it would look horrible and the engine would barely move. 

Since the rod spacing is the key, and you wanted to swap drivers then axle spacing is the key. New axles could be machined to fit easier than changing axle spacing in another frame. Still as Pat says not an easy job unless you have the tools.

BTW I would have tried to mount the CV body to the Dreyfuss frame but didn't find the frame until well after my CV was done.

Pete