Mounting an 0-4-0T AHM Minitrains Loco on a Lifelike 0-6-0T

The AHM Minitrains 0-4-0T's for HOn30 which were made, and widely sold, in 1964, are attractive little engines. Unfortunately, by now the plastic in the gears has cracked on almost all of them and they won't run. Kits for rebuilding the mechanism, and new and better motors, have been around for years. But here is another and simpler way to fix these locomotives: mount the well-made body on a Lifelike 0-6-0T mechanism. The little Lifelike is very inexpensive, runs very well, and is almost a perfect match for the AHM body.

 

Altering the Lifelike mechanism

Remove the Lifelike body from it's 0-6-0T mechanism, and save the lead weight which is glued into the body. Push down on both of the Rapido-style couplers on the frame and discard them. The rear coupler is part of the AHM body shell, and you need to mount a new coupler in the front pocket. I used a BEMO 3255 straight-shank coupler, and cut and filed it down to fit in the front pocket. To mount it at the proper height I set the mechanism on a piece of track, and used a piece of wood 0.156" (5/32") thick as a height gauge beneath it, then glued it in with CA.

To allow the frame to accept the front end of the AHM boiler, I chiseled a slot into the front of the deck on the chassis, just in front of the plastic 'hook' that held down the Lifelike superstructure. I used a very small chisel: I think a broken hacksaw blade might do as well. This way it is not necessary to file down the bottom of the boiler to get it to sit level on the frame.

You will need to file a little off the back end of the frame to allow the 0-4-0T body to sit down over it.

Handle the mechanism gently, and don't squeeze the side-rods. If you do accidentally squeeze them while handling the mechanism, you will have to carefully bend them back.

File a slot in the weight from Lifelike to clear the mounting screw, then glue the weight on the mechanism with Walther's Goo or some other contact cement.

Altering the AHM Minitrains 0-4-0T body

You need to glue a piece of bass wood or plastic about 3/32" square inside at the rear of the body, so that this will sit down on the rear of the frame and hold the body in place. Cut the piece just a little bit too long to fit crosswise in the rear of the body, then cut it down bit by bit with a file or sandpaper until it will go in with a little tension on it. Put the mechanism on a piece of track, and put a piece of wood a little less that 1/8" thick across the rails at the rear (actual dimension 0.118").

You will need to do just a tiny bit of trimming at the lower front corners of the cab to let it sit down over the frame. When it does, put the 3/32" square crosspiece inside it, a little below where it will end up when properly assembled, and fit the body over the mechanism, pushing it down until the rear coupler sits on the 0.118" thick piece of wood. Make sure the 3/32" square crosspiece is sitting firmly on the frame. Now, remove the body and use a little CA glue on the crosspiece to hold it in place.

Make a Mounting Bracket

Make the mounting bracket as shown in the drawing, from 1/16" thick styrene. I think you could make it from 1/16" bass wood if desired. When it is glued securely together, drill a #52 hole very close to the rear of it, on the centerline, to be the clearance hole for the #0-80 x 3/8" mounting screw. Widen out the top of the hole with a countersink, center drill or similar tool to make it into a conical-topped hole to guide the mounting screw into place when assembling the loco. If you only have handy a 1/16" drill, use that and widen out the hole a little with a round file.

At the bottom of the #52 hole, glue in a #0-80 nut with CA glue. Be sure you don't let any glue get into the threads. When the CA glue has had it's proper 2 hours to set, attach the mounting bracket loosely to the AHM body with the 3/8" long #0-80 flat head screw. Try assembling the whole locomotive. Make sure the mounting bracket sits squarely on the loco frame, and note where it sits. Try removing the body and mounting bracket, and putting it back until you are sure you can do it easily and quickly.

Now spread some CA glue on the frame where the mounting bracket will sit, and quickly put the boiler, mounting screw and mounting bracket back exactly in place. When the assembly has had 2 hours to set, tighten up the mounting screw and there is your rebuilt locomotive! On either side, some copper will be showing from the motor brush assembly. Paint it flat black where it is visible, and you are done.

Later reflection suggests that it might have been easier to make the mounting bracket much taller, perhaps to the pint where you need to round it's corners to get it to fit into the boiler. Then you could use a much shorter mounting screw.

Ed Cass