My First Thomas
My son has a large collection of push along My First Thomas trains. Whilst taking one apart to repair a wheel recently, I noticed that a 32mm gauge, 20mm diameter wheelset that I had lying around fitted perfectly, so this got me thinking about the possibility of converting one of the locos to run on track.
The Thomas body is very small, but will just take a 3V motor, switch and 2 x AAA battery holder.
The battery holder is a perfect fit in the boiler. Two copper strips which are connected to the on/off switch are superglued against the back of the cab, and the battery holder contacts push fit against these. This makes replacement of the 1.2V rechargable NiMH batteries easy.
A small opening in the floor is cut out for the gear wheel, and the "bearings" drilled out very slightly with a 3.5mm drill to allow reasonable play for the axles. Some wood packing is used to support the motor which is glued in place.
The completed Thomas works surprisingly well, and is a big hit with my son.
Having motorised Thomas, the next thing was to provide him with a train. This proved to be exceptionally easy. I removed the rubber tyred wheels from a pair of Annie and Clarabel coaches, and replaced them with Binnie Engineering 20mm diameter nylon wheels. These were a perfect push fit onto the existing axles.
The existing lift on couplings work well, and Thomas, Annie and Clarabel now happily trundle around the track. Now to find some Troublesome Trucks ...