The On30 Guy

Been rather busy ’round here with projects not related to the railroad — Things like Christmas shopping and acquiring a new, large-format photo printer and a major photo shoot or two and development of the Orchard Studios web site.

I’ve also been working on developing a few On30 Guy products. Here’s a “progress report” of sorts:

• Oyster Car — This is on the back burner for the moment. I’ll get back to it in the next few days, though I don’t plan on going in to any sort of production until spring.
• Structure Kits — Another back-burnered project, as I’m waiting for the release version of the software that will allow me to make the laser cutting design an integral part of the structure design. The software’s going to be pretty neat, as it will generate all of the cutting layouts automatically as I design the structure. It’s limited to some pretty basic shapes at this point, but that’s perfect for the simple Eastern Shore architecture I’m planning to work with.
• Shay Wipers — This is the newest (and most active) project going right now. Here’s the scoop. I’ve received numerous requests from people who’s Bachmann On30 Shays suffer from poor electrical pickup.

  Early on, I had devised a simple upgrade that bypassed the nasty little springs that Bachmann installed to transfer power from the trucks to the various electronic bits in the engine. For a while, the locomotives so-enhanced worked great. However, all of the ones that I had done have started to develop pickup problems again. That’s when I discovered a secondary source of pickup trouble — the ends of the axles are used to transfer power from the wheels to the truck side frames.What’s really needed to cure this once and for all is a proper wiper assembly. I’ve designed one, and will be starting manufacturing of the wipers as soon as possible. I’ve got pre-production prototypes on one of my Shays now, and it’s improved operation a thousandfold.

  The Shay wiper upgrade kit will consist of four phosphor-bronze wipers, wire and instructions, and will sell for $7.95, either direct or through select dealers. I’ll also offer installation services for those interested for a rate of $45, plus the cost of shipping (which is currently under $12, insured).

Get your orders in now for the wipers. For now, use the contact form to let me know your interested, as I don’t have a “shopping cart” set up for the site yet.

Tags: Special Projects //