Speeder & Trailer

I saw the MDC/Roundhouse speeder car and trailer, it looked pretty cute.

I figured I could DCC it if I got both the #2000 Rail Speeder, and the #2021 Speeder Trailer.

Only the Speeder has a motor, but they share a number of common parts. All the wheelsets are the same, with gears on the center.

Construction is very simple, 2 metal side frames, which everything snaps onto. The axles ride in square notches in this frames, and on the speeder the side frames have 4 small pins, which hold the motor in place. The motor has brass contacts that touch the side frames.

My thinking is that with a speeder and a trailer, I can get a dcc decoder and a speaker inside, and also have enough track pickups for reliability.

Tips / Improvements:

One weak point in the design seems to be the contacts on the sides of the motor touching the metal sides that also have the wheel "bearings".Soldering wires from the motor to the side plates is a good idea. Of course on DCC I will be isolating the motor from the side frames.

Several people have commented on poor power pickup, suggesting some way to put wipers on the wheels, not just rely on the point of contact at the axle. I believe by connecting the contacts from both the speeder and trailer together the pickup will be good enough.

I'd like to find a way to better hold it together, with screws than the molded in "fingers" which break easily.

Goal:

DCC and sound of course. I figure a small decoder somewhere and the trailer car having the speaker.

Here's the MDC trailer I purchased:

Here's a prototype I'd like to work from: