What would have to be done (or could be used) to turn a Proto-48 truck into a Hi-rail truck? Could the sideframes still be used with a wider/longer bolster and wheels?
Are his trucks in kit form or assembled (can they be unassembled)?
Bob,
As a Proto48'er, for once, I won't have to convert a new product. 
Before thinking about what needs to be done to convert the truck, send Norm and email and try to convince him to make them in O scale also. He has imported O scale trucks also, not just Proto48 and has a nice selection of O Scale trucks on his site at:
Gene D posted:In P48 only George
Gene,
Can't we tease the O Scale crowd with a new Proto48 product once in a while?
How often do we get a new Proto48 product and it's not offered in O Scale?
Besides, I wasn't sure if the "In P48 Only" applied to the whole paragraph. The 100-Ton Barber S-2 roller bearing, freight arch-bar, and 50-Ton National B-1 trucks have been done by Protocraft in the past.
Thanks George...and done. Just sent the email with photos and a drawing.
My problem has always been trackwork. The .115 wheels will work fine for a while, and then the temperature changes. Admittedly, I do not put four spikes in every tie. My minimum tread width is about .155, or wider than the current 5' standard.
I forgot to mention that Norm did get back to me, here's his response:
Hi Bob - the layout of capital is huge to begin with and if I added O gauge it would be double. Protocraft is primarily a shop to provide for and simplify for the people who want to model in prototype scale. Norm
Understandable, but still hoping someone offers these trucks soon.
I had Bill Lane (formerly 3D Model Tech) make some 3D louvered vents for me a while back, but he's since got out of it (new job duties). But his partner Brian Jackson is apparently still in the business:
Thing is you need a digital drawing done in Solidworks to give him. I have the downloaded 2D drawings I found on the internet, but they would need to be converted into digital 3D drawings, which means a complete redraw in a computer program. Even if I could find a way to scan the image into a 2D digitized form it would still have to be turned into a 3D form, so the thing to do IMO is to start fresh and draw it in Solidworks from the start. Being the cost is $4000 plus $1300/yr I would need to win the lottery first. Then it would be like learning a new language so chances are it "ain't gonna happen" at my end.
Update time! The Dalman trucks are in and posted on Norm's web site!
Yeah, but Proto48 only from what i can tell 
:
Bob Delbridge posted:Yeah, but Proto48 only from what i can tell
Never too late to reform your life and change to P:48! 
(insert the I'm going to hide under the chair emoticon here).
I think Norm did say he was only doing P:48 for some of these. There are some nice trucks offered by Bill Davis but unfortunately they don't offer those in P:48 for us darksiders (or is it bright siders).
Perhaps someone can convince Norm to ask his builder about doing them in Ow5 for a future run.
Rob,
I hit up Norm, Bill, and Rich Yoder about doing these trucks in Ow5, Norm appears to be the 1st to at least make them (besides Auel and the Keil Line trucks I currently have).
Don't know squat about Proto48...what would it take to turn a pair of these P48 Dalman's into a pair of Ow5 Dalmans??? I would think a longer bolster and some wheels, the side frames might be usable. I'd hate to spend $60 and either mess them up or to have Norm come out with the Ow5 version in 2 months (probably both scenarios would happen at once for me).
Here's a (partial) list of RRs that used these I found online:
ATSF
CN
CP
CNJ
CB&Q
CNW
IC
MP (and subsidiaries I-GN and StLB&M)
NP
RI
SP
and of course SAL!
Bob Delbridge posted:Rob,
I hit up Norm, Bill, and Rich Yoder about doing these trucks in Ow5, Norm appears to be the 1st to at least make them (besides Auel and the Keil Line trucks I currently have).
Don't know squat about Proto48...what would it take to turn a pair of these P48 Dalman's into a pair of Ow5 Dalmans??? I would think a longer bolster and some wheels, the side frames might be usable. I'd hate to spend $60 and either mess them up or to have Norm come out with the Ow5 version in 2 months (probably both scenarios would happen at once for me).
I tried to do a conversion on some of the Bill Davis ARA type Y trucks to make them P:48 so I guess we would have similar issues.
They require a wheelset with the right kind of outer bearings, which in both cases are a micro ball bearing. And they need a bolster. There you may be in better luck than me since there is currently no conversion bolster for the Bill Davis Ow5 trucks.
Norm might be able to have his builder supply him with some of the Ow5 bolsters or some Ow5 wheelsets. The conversion would be up to you which includes re-springing the trucks and that can get tricky. I'd suspect that more people want Ow5 wheesets than P:48 but I'd think that somewhere out there would be someone who would want to take a few P:48 wheelsets off of your hands if you successfully finished the conversion to Ow5.
