Diesel engines for miniature gauge locomotives?

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Diesel engines for miniature gauge locomotives?

Home Forums General Questions Diesel engines for miniature gauge locomotives?

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  • #347451
    Simon Robinson 4
    Participant
      @simonrobinson4

      What kind of small Diesel engines are fitted to miniature gauge locomotives such as 5” gauge and 7 1/4” gauge?

      It’s always puzzled me because small diesel car engines would probably be too big to fit inside a locomotive body for those gauges.

      Thanks.

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      #25902
      Simon Robinson 4
      Participant
        @simonrobinson4
        #347452
        Ian Childs
        Participant
          @ianchilds37813

          It is usually a Honda or clone small petrol engine. There are various ways to use this to drive the wheels but from experience the easiest is to use an Eaton Hydrostatic Drive to the via chains usually with a lay shaft and speed reduction. There are small diesel engines out there but they are much more expensive and I suspect too slow unless you are going for diesel mechanical. I have a friend who has a five inch gauge loco that uses a Suffolk Punch engine and friction clutch that works well with a mechanical reverse.

          Edited By Ian Childs on 24/03/2018 22:33:27

          #347489
          John Olsen
          Participant
            @johnolsen79199

            I've also seen small "Diesels" fitted with a battery and electric motor. Of course they don't sound right, although I suppose you could fit a sound effects system.

            John

            #347513
            doubletop
            Participant
              @doubletop

              One of our local club members has built a 'proper' diesel electric. Rather than plagiarise the article please open this link and read the whole thing.

              http://www.tmmec.org.nz/downloads/349Feb-Mar2016.pdf

              But a quote to whet your appetite.

              At the recent convention in Tauranga, one of the star attractions for me, and much of the public, was the DE loco of Tony Brown. This from a ‘if it ain’t steam, it ain’t a loco’ man. What made this loco stand out from the crowd? The DE ran with side panels removed, for cooling purposes, which hardly made it look elegant or authentic, (although I know some NZ diesels did run that way, out of necessity). The answer was in the sound, a genuine diesel growl, rumble, throb, or whatever you prefer to describe what emanated from the engine compartment……

               

              He uses the 3 cylinder diesel engines from small Kabota tractor lawn mowers

              Since then Tony has now built the second example and runs them double headed. They sound absolutely fantastic.

              Also NZ uses 3' 6" guage so a larger loco when scaled to 7.25"

              Pete

               

              Edited By Doubletop on 25/03/2018 11:02:17

              Edited By Doubletop on 25/03/2018 11:06:13

              Edited By Doubletop on 25/03/2018 11:06:32

              #347521
              Ian S C
              Participant
                @iansc

                A lot of the little Kabota diesels drive a hydralic pump, and on lawn mowers driving anything up to half a dozen or more hydraulic motors driving the wheels(2 to 4), and the cutter blades, one each. Also a lot of mowers this size have hydraulic rams to rais and lower the cutting heads, and tip the grass catcher.

                Ian S C

                #347525
                Neil Wyatt
                Moderator
                  @neilwyatt

                  My brother had a French-made car powered by a Kubota diesel of negligible capacity for a while. The belt driven transmission was best considered a consumable component… not really suited to driving the length of the UK and back again. As an ex-MZ owner he probably thought it was a luxury car…

                  The engines themselves are almost bullet proof.

                  Neil

                  #347536
                  Another JohnS
                  Participant
                    @anotherjohns

                    Years ago I did some repair work on a ground level 7-1/4 diesel electric that is/was running in The Hague.

                    My job was replacing a shaft, and a carbon brush holder on the generator.

                    It did have a very small diesel, and the generator was from a military aircraft, if I remember correctly. My dutch at the time was "so-so" but got a lot better thanks in part to those club members.

                    I'm not a diesel guy, but was impressed with it's design. Should have taken more pictures.

                    Maybe someone from SWZ reads this and can comment?

                    #347547
                    Chris Shelton
                    Participant
                      @chrisshelton11794

                      Neil, I think the car you are talking about was an Aixiam, a car dealer I carried out work for was an agent for them, I did quite a lot of electrical work on them, they could driven on a motorcycle licence.

                      They used a single cylinder Kubota engine, which as you say was bullet proof.

                      The problems really got bad when they introduced a battery powered van.

                      #347558
                      Neil Wyatt
                      Moderator
                        @neilwyatt

                        Yep, that;'s the one – technically a quad bike in the UK! CVT and electric windows(!)

                        Strangely they don't seem to be any cheaper than ordinary cars!

                        Edited By Neil Wyatt on 25/03/2018 16:00:27

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