RMT Rail diesel Idler

Look for an old K-Line truck, that's the same design.  AAMOF, many of the RMT cars actually still had K-Line on the molds for the trucks.  I'm holding an old truck in my hand, send me an email and you can have it for the price of shipping.  It doesn't have the motor as that was removed, but the rest of the truck is there.

chetkl@tx.rr.com

Chet, as Gunrunnerjohn said, the RMT "Buddy" RDC car and the RMT "Bang" S-4 Switcher do utilize some common parts with their K-Line predecessors. But some parts, like the couplers and motors are unique to the RMT products.

The motors on these are a different spec than the K-Line versions, running much slower with a postwar transformer than do the K-Line ones. If you enjoy running these locos, in my opinion, you'd be well advised to pick up a spare if you can now find one at a decent price.

This is not only a problem with higher end, low production run products with unique to that model components, that wind-up not having parts available. It is also a problem with products from companies that are now out of business, that had products with unique parts.

At least the BANG and the BUDDY shared some common parts with the K-Line versions. The BEEF and the BANG were products unique to RMT, so in my estimation, the only way to get parts for those is to have an extra one on hand to cob parts out of.

One plus for the BEEF Geep switcher was that, in reading some article about them, there were around 20,000 of them produced, so finding an extra one of these shouldn't be as difficult as finding the BANG S-4. I have no idea how many of those were produced, but the supply of those at reasonable prices has really dried up. The BUDDY RBC car is easier to find than is the BANG S-4.

@brianel_k-lineguy I'm curious... have you tested these motors against the originals on straight DC, out of the chassis?  I also see a series-parallel switch on the underside.  Could it be the RMT electronics do a better job of soaking up the extra voltage, to give lower speeds?  I had K-Line's MP-15 and the Kusan-derived FAs.  Never bought more because they were just too fast.  Would love to know...

Ted S, yes I did do exactly that on straight DC. And there was a pronounced difference in the low speed operation. The K-Line engines need far less voltage to the track to get moving as compared to the RMT versions.

I'm sure RMT did this as a reaction to all the complaints about the "jack-rabbit" running of the K-Line locos. And while you can get the K-Line locos to run slower by using a transformer with a lower starting voltage, the fact remains there are a lot of operators out there still using vintage Lionel transformers, that start off with 6-volts to the track.

Of course, here I'm excluding re-wiring the motors, or the later K-Line locos that came with a select power switch.

And YES, the RMT locos did have a select power switch on them. I suspect this was to accommodate operators who are using a command sort of set-up with the typical 18 volts to the track. Using a Lionel 1033 with the A-U voltage posts of 6-17 volts, and switching the power select switch on the RMT engine, you would NEVER ever have to worry about the engine flying off the track on a tight curve... it won't happen.

Ted S posted:

@brianel_k-lineguy I'm curious... have you tested these motors against the originals on straight DC, out of the chassis?  I also see a series-parallel switch on the underside.  Could it be the RMT electronics do a better job of soaking up the extra voltage, to give lower speeds?  I had K-Line's MP-15 and the Kusan-derived FAs.  Never bought more because they were just too fast.  Would love to know...

I've always run it with the switch in the "Normal Series" mode on our club tracks using a a Lionel ZW-L  transformer. It ran smoothly and starts without a jerk. I'm not sure if that's because of that or that gear being worn down. I had it on a "subway" loop on our display layout in the Grapevine Texas Visitors Bureau last year and it probably wore down then. Lots of kids kept pushing the start button.