Todays subject is this Swedish State Railway (Statens Järnvägar or more commonly 'SJ') Y6 / Y7 railbus, sometimes referred to as a 'Datebox', due to the similarities in shape to the packaging Dates are often sold in. They are quientessentially swedish, which is why I want one on my Layout. You can find a full write up on these units here :- https://www.adnalm.org.uk/general-artic ... 6-railbus/
I've had this bodyshell and chassis for quite some time, thinking I'd buy a drive unit for it one day... but at roundly £150, I've always shied away, as for not much more, I could get a full running model by Jeco.
While scrolling through various YouTube videos, I came across someone demonstrating a 3d Printed bogie of a suitable size, which they were kind enough to share the designs for, along with a list of compatible components. I think they were origianlly intended for Athern bodies, so I've had to modify the bogies so they work with the chassis i've got.
The first thing I did was to design and print a new top 'Post' which sits atop the bogie. The one supplied was quite a bit smaller in diameter than the hole in the chassis. This had too much slop for my liking. The new post fits into the hole with about .5mm clearance all the way around. To hold the bogie in place on the chassis, I've used a soldering iron to heat-set a tiny nut (see image!) into the top post, and printed a large washer with a tiny hole for a tiny screw. The post pokes through the chassis, and the washer screws into the post from the top, allowing the bogie to rotate freely.
The pickups are done for both bogies, using Jouef LED contact spares. they have a 7/0.2 wire soldered to them, and then are pushed onto small lugs on the side of each bogie. The pickup is held in place by some Superglue, and also the lug us melted over like a rivet. Eventually, I'll add some copper stripboard to solder the wires to, creating an internal 'bus' of sorts for the motor, and possibly some lighting.
Just waiting for the wheelsets, motor, gears and bearings to arrive from AliExpress and I'll be able to get this unit running. As I'll generally only be running this unit on its own, It's only going to have a single powered bogie, the other will just be free rolling.
