How to build battery locos for your garden railway - Part 2 - Modifications and conversions

This is part 2 of a series of posts exploring the construction of battery powered locos for garden railways. It is unashamedly UK focused, mainly because I am based in the UK and prefer to write from first hand experience. The other parts of the series are:

• Part 1 - Kits
• Part 3 - Semi-scratchbuilding
• Part4 - Scratchbuilding (pending)
• Part 5 - 3D printing (pending)

In this part of the series, we will explore:

• Modifying kits
• Modifying toys
• Modifying and converting commercially available track-powered locomotives
• Modifying and converting live steam and clockwork locomotives

Making modifications to pre-existing locomotives can be a very cost-effective and rewarding way of extending your fleet of locomotives - particularly if you want something different or unique running on your railway but don't have the skills or confidence to scratchbuild a loco.

Modifying kits

You will have seen in Part 1 of this series, that there is a range of kits available in the UK (and beyond) which can be quite modestly priced and fairly easy to construct. Once you have built a basic loco following the instructions, opportunities arise to make changes or add enhancements. If you are feeling confident, you might even consider changing the appearance more drastically during the construction process.

Enhancing a kit

Suppliers of kits usually acknowledge that the constructor will want to further detail their kits and some of them (eg Garden Railway Specialists) supply a range of additional detailing parts for locos. Some suppliers specialise in providing detailing parts such as Cambrian Models, SLR Models and LocoWorks.

Enhancements can include adding exterior details such as the buffers, louvres, handrails and exhaust pipe on my HGLW diesel loco kit.

The buffers came from Binnie Engineering, the louvres are from a fly-screen sent to me by my mate in Australia, while the handrails and exhaust pipe were made from scratch. For more information see How I detailed my HGLW diesel loco.

Further details such as a toolbox, re-railing jacks, a horn or whistle, pipework, vacuum pipe connectors, a driver and cab interior details can further improve the appearance of a basic loco kit. These can be purchased from the above suppliers, made from scratch or modified from 'found' items, such as this safety valve for a steam loco which I made from the handlebars of a 50p model motorbike, a self-tapping screw and a small piece of brass.

Modifications

Modifications involve changing the appearance of a kit, either subtly or in a more substantial way. For example, when I constructed the model of a plate frame Simplex loco from IP Engineering, I decided to remove the non-prototypical mounting for the on/off switch on the side of the loco, 

.....with some detailing made from plasticard and Cambrian Models bolt heads, based on photos I'd taken of a real Simplex loco at the Devon Railway Centre,

In addition, I added a cab and a toolbox, also made primarily from plasticard.

A modification I made to an IP Engineering Albert loco ....

..... was cutting-down its cab to give more clearance when entering the crushing shed. This modification also required the addition of some cab detailing parts which were obtained from Cambrian Models.

Of course, modification might include a complete make-over from the kit's original appearance such as this transformation of one of Phil Sharples basic kits, from this .....

Source: https://philsharples.com/shop/ols/products/small-sharp-stuart-0-4-0-locomotive-kit

..... to this.

Source: https://philsharples.com/gallery

Modifying Toys

There are quite a few toys available for modest prices which could be motorised and battery-powered. Unlike conversions of track-powered locos (see below), toys sometimes provide you with a suitable body shell but no appropriate mechanism.

Requiring no conversion but maybe some modification, Playmobil trains are a good candidate for extending your battery loco fleet. They are (at the time of writing) no longer available but have come in various styles over the years and can be bought secondhand on eBay and similar online platforms.

An easy toy modification is to find a cheap model train which is designed to run on 32mm or 45mm gauge track. These are sometimes sold as Christmas themed train sets.

They are often fairly cheaply constructed and so their mechanisms won't withstand a great deal of heavy usage, but they do provide a cost effective entry-point for your battery loco collection. You may need to do some work on the loco body to make it look a little less toy-like. At the time of writing, this was available on AliExpress for around £40GBP plus £8GBP postage to the UK.

Another possible source for easily adaptable locos is Lego-compatible trains, such as these (also available from AliExpress).

They vary in price from around £25GBP (including shipping) to £140GBP.

If you are prepared to do some work by using a cheap motorised chassis from, say IP Engineering, Phil Sharples, HGLW or Essel Engineering or even make your own chassis, then you might be tempted by toys such as this Postman Pat Greendale Rocket train.

The model is approximately the right scale for 16mm and G Scale garden railways and has been converted by several modellers to run on their tracks. For example:

Or if you are feeling a bit more adventurous ......

My own experience with converting a toy to run on my railway is the modification of a Sylvanian Families wedding car.....

.... into a rail-car ......

.... using a cheap worm gearbox motor mechanism.

For more information see - How I constructed a car railcar

Tony Bird is probably the most accomplished and extensive converter of toy models for his garden railway and I can recommend browsing through his YouTube Channel for inspiration.

Conversions

My idea of a conversion is to start with a finished loco such as one which has been manufactured by a company such as Bachmann or LGB and converting it from track power to battery power. Less common, but certainly feasible, would be a conversion from live steam or clockwork to battery power. In addition, such conversions could also include enhancements and modifications.

Straight conversions

Over the years, I have converted a range of locomotives to battery power; either for my own use or for fellow modellers. A very common conversion is the LGB Stainz locomotive which is included in their various Starter Sets or can be bought separately in various guises.

They often turn up on eBay, though sometimes sell for ridiculously large sums as some variations are quite collectible.

At the time of writing, I wouldn't be prepared to buy one for more than £70 or £80GBP for a secondhand Stainz loco.

The loco is very easy to convert to battery power as it has a power socket at the back of the cab which can be used to provide lighting for coaches but which can alternatively be used to feed power to the motor. 

A very basic conversion can easily be achieved by connecting the socket to a battery pack carried in a wagon, van or coach coupled to the rear of the loco.

As well as the batteries, the trail-car could include a basic manual or a radio control system - See How I converted a Stainz loco to battery power. Apart from the ease with which the conversion can be carried out, a key advantage of using a trail-car is that one could be used to power and control a range of locomotives by simply unplugging it from one loco and plugging it into another. However, there are drawbacks. Firstly, if you want to run the loco into a terminus and then run around its train for the return journey the loco will end up between trail-car and the rest of the train. More importantly, if the electrical pick-ups aren't removed from the wheels, the power supplied to the loco's motor will also be sent through the wheels to the track - which might cause some interesting and unexpected problems when other locos try to use the same stretch of track.

To overcome these problems, somewhere needs to be found in the loco body to house the batteries so the trail-car can be discarded. I found there is plenty of room on the cab floor of the Stainz loco for a small lithium-ion battery pack.

The second problem is relatively easily solved by removing the pick-up wipers. On most track-powered locos, this is accomplished by removing the bottom plate on the base of the loco and extracting the pick-ups and connectors which are usually a push-fit.

For more information see How I converted an LGB Stainz loco to battery power - Part 2

The process of converting track-powered locos to battery power is virtually the same regardless of the loco:

1. Dismantle the loco
2. Remove the track pick-ups
3. Find somewhere to install the batteries
4. Wire-up the batteries to the motor through a switch and either a manual speed controller or a radio controlled electronic speed controller (ESC)
5. Re-assemble the loco.

From my experience, the main difficulties are working out how to dismantle the loco (sometimes there are hidden screws or lugs which need to be sprung open) and finding sufficient room for the batteries. I now make my own lithium-ion battery packs as I can configure them to fit into the available space(s). Lithium-ion packs are much smaller than other battery packs because each cell holds 3.7v rather than the 1.2v or 1.5v other cells hold. However, you must do your homework before attempting to construct your own battery packs as you might not only ruin your model, you could burn down your house if you handle them incorrectly. For more information see - An introduction to batteries for model trains.

For more examples of battery conversions see:

• How I converted a Bachmann Lyn to battery power
• How I converted a Piko DB BR80 tank loco to battery power
• How I converted a Dapol 0 gauge terrier tank loco to battery power

... and there are several similar accounts to be found on the internet. For example:

• A dummies' guide to converting a loco to battery power
• Convert engines to battery power
• Conversion to battery power

Conversion and modification

As discussed above, a straight conversion does not need to be the end of the process. Once a loco has been converted to track power it can be further enhanced or modified to personalise the loco or, in my case, to make it more suitable for a 1930s UK-based railway.

Some examples of my own conversion-modifications include:

Anglicising my LBG Stainz loco

From ....

.... to.

For more information see - How I Anglicised an LGB Stainz loco

Modifying an LGB Otto

From ......

.... to.

For more information see How I converted an LGB Otto into a Black Hawthorn saddle tank

Bashing an LGB ToyTrain diesel loco

From ......

..... to.

See -  How I Anglicised an LGB ToyTrain diesel loco (pending)

In reality, the only limitation to such conversions is your imagination, your expertise and your confidence. In reality I have found it's far more related to confidence than anything else - any expertise which I have gained over the years has been developed simply by having a go, making mistakes (many many mistakes!) and learning from them.

Converting live steam and clockwork locos

To be honest, this is something I have not (as yet) tried. The main reason has been the lack of availability of donor locomotives. Live steamers tend to be very expensive. Even the lowest priced secondhand live steamers (eg Mamod) can fetch around £200GBP in even tatty condition.

In an ideal world, I would find one with a dodgy boiler in a car-boot or garage sale at a knock-down price.  I have seen such models converted to battery power and then modified to enhance their appearance.

Similarly, old clockwork locos can be converted to battery power, particularly if the clockwork mechanism has failed. It is possible to buy commercially produced electrically powered chassis for some old clockwork locos......

Source: https://www.collectors-club-of-great-britain.co.uk/articles/new-upgrade-service-for-old-clockwork-trains/

..... but it should be quite easy to make your own.

Conclusion

Converting and/or modifying (aka 'bashing') an existing model to run on your railway can be a cost-effective way of extending your fleet of battery locos. It can save you a fair amount of effort compared with building a loco from scratch though I have found from experience that, sometimes, it can be easier to start from scratch than trying to adapt something - as was the case with the LGB Otto conversion mentioned above. A lot depends on the level of realism you want to create. If you are happy for something like Postman Pat's Greendale Rocket to run on your railway in it's original form, then the conversion could be quite quick and easy. 

As has been said many times - it's your railway and you set the rules.