My next project: "next gen" 'streets 18-wheelers

Do you have Plan B already worked out?

Joe

Yeah, Plan B involves using a double shaft drive as in many HO and N scale diesels, with a motor horontal along the long axis of the trailer, driving both sets of two axles.  An alternative is small vertical motors above each set, driving the axles much like, again, diesels.  The trailer would basically be like a small diesell, with two sets of driven two axle wheels, like all my 18 wheelers do, with both two-axle sets pivoting like trucks on a diesel, too.  The "tractor" would just have one axle and a rear frame that would plug into a pivotoing holder on the front of the trailer, so it looked like the front pair of axles on the trailer were part of it, and allowing it to turn. 

This will work, I know.  it would also have eight-wheel drive and thus probably climb grades well.   But it would be much more difficult to build, it would require reduction gearing,  and I don't have all the gears and parts I need to build it.  I may get to it anyway but I want to try the other ways first.  I really want to try to get a tractor that is independent of the trailer - that pulls it, rather than is pushed by it. 

Lee, i've never opened up one of Lionel's new inspection cars, but I would imagine them to have compact motors and circuitry that would fit into the Corgi Kenworth trucks without much modification. You might be able to 'flange' the front axels of the trucks s well.

I think you might want to use tower drives. That way the motor can ride in the superstructure and drive the axles. That would also give you some flexibility in powering multiple axles. Using U-joints would give you flexibility of motor mounting.

As for tractive effort, you could add some weights over the driving axle(s). This should help with the grades.

I don't know if he's got much room for weights over the front(drive) axle of the sleeper unit.

Thanks guys - some comments:

I've taken apart three of the inspecton cars, same motor and gears as in Superstreets vehicles, but a motor durable metal chassis and pickups.  I want a larger, slower turning motor with a flywheel.  I converted one of the inspection vehciles to a "steets vehicle (its a scale '38 or so Buick) but putting a different front axle on it. 

Tower drives are an option - one that is looking better and better as I think about everything.  If I go with Plan B (the more I think about i, too)t . . . I could do that, and use two motors in a tower drive at each end.   It would solve a lot of problems wouldn't it?

I'm just playing with these ideas now.  I digged up some stuff for a cab chassis this afternoon.  But I am liking Plan B and tower drives, more, the more I think about it.   I want a - well, really, two -  really good, smooth running slow 18 wheelers. 

I think what I will do first is make a really good two-axle tower drive using the bigger of the two motors, and just see how well it works.  I will do that tomorrow.

All I'll say is "wow" to this innovative idea.  As for being a crazy idea I'll just repeat what my mother used to say when I was growing up:

"It's far better to try something and fail then to try nothing and succeed"

Best of luck!

--Greg

Lee:

If you've seen the old Weaver/Red Caboose/P&D tower drives, they're actually a combination of tower and shafts in the single-tower drive with short shafts between the axles of each truck and a long shaft between the trucks. Twin-tower drives have towers at both ends and shafts between the axles of each truck. You could use a tower under the hood of the tractor to turn a drive shaft to the rear axles -- complete with u-joints if you want the rear axles to swing slightly (might be tight on 'streets curves, though.)

Lee, I know you are doing these for your superstreets, but have you thought about making a HighRail type truck?

I'm sure you could turn this:

into this:

I have both the bucket truck and the auger truck in that series.  That's a good idea to convert them to dual rear axles.  I may have to do that - certainly will if I convert them to "Streets" vehicles - but I was thinking of using them in a static scene putting up a downed pole near a tornado touch down site.

Lee, have you looked into modifying an HO gauge diesel mechanism to put into your trailer?  Pull the HO wheels and add an axle extender and your tires, reroute one side of the pickup to a third rail pickup and a rectifier, and modify the drive shaft lengths for your trailer's length (if needed).  

Lee, I always like all your ideas and designs. With all these streets, when you get a chance, a street sweeper would be a great project. 

Great idea.  It would make for a short, compact little vehicle, but could probably be done.  It would look good if using gear reduction so it would run prototypically slow. 

And, it occurs to me, a Zamboni on an ice rink would be a cool idea, too - say a vignette modeling a break during a hockey game or something.  Not quite sure where I could put that on my layout at I would do with magnets from underneath, like my ski boat on my lake.

Lee, that Mack looks great.  It makes you wonder why they haven't produced one as part of the product line, the choices available are rather odd. 

Lee,

I look forward to your reports on progress of this project.  Here's another suggestion (might get a little pricey).  Have you looked at the Nortwest Shortline "magic Carpet" O scale 3 rail drive units?

http://shop.osorail.com/category.sc?categoryId=225

They have various wheel sizes and speeds available.

Larry

Thanks for the suggestion.  I know the site, have bought one unit.  I like both the magic carpet and their flea motor drives.  They are pricey, but if they work . . . . 

In particular, the flea would work well for me.  But I think for the time being I will take another route.

A quick update.  I spent yesterday afternoon playing with Alternate Plan D: using N or HO scale loco chassis buried inside the trucks and cars to move the otherwise almost stock vehcile, on "Superstreets" roads custom made with the N or HO track running down the middle of the lane (its easy to make).  By the end of the evening, I had a 1:43 scale '48 Ford Woody wagon that was running well on a test section, powered by a old Kato N gauge F3 chassis I had, unmodified, inside it (it was as if the Ford was made to just slip atop the Kato chassis).  It worked well enough - ran smooth and slow.   I also verified the Kato F3 chassis, with weight added for traction, will move a corgi deicast 18-wheeler adequately. 

BUT . . . I decided to go with Plan B - tower drives in the trailer.  I will stick with O-guage, with my next 'Superstreets" road made from Atlas track, not Sperstreets/EZstreets, but otherwise the O gauge on the axles on all vehciles I make.  Just one afternoon of playing with N gauge track and locos reminded me of why I gave it up in the first place.  The things are so tiny and hard to get on the track, and unlike O guage they don't stay on the track for hours at a time. 

I'm going to custom build what I hope will be a really quality tower drive over a dual axle set for the lead "truck" in the trailer, with a big flywheel motor and all four wheels with traction tires.  Then take it from there.  That will work, and it won't by fussy like N would be: it was a good idea, but it would ultimately be too annoying to tend.