Track and Motorised Thomas Mini's?

Having recently got hold of some new batches of mini's as you all know, even though I'm not actively getting back into collecting these.  My mind was pondering the other night if anyone has actually motorised a Thomas Mini?  Well it appears not based on my google searches to date, but I'm thinking of having a crack at it.  You can get miniature motors, gears and stuff that should fit in the body of a mini, however I don't see how you could get batteries in there also.  But it occurred to me maybe you could put some button cells in one of the carriages or wagons and have wiring going to the mini loco, fit it with a miniature plug/socket and you could also get away from having a switch as well.  This is something I'm continuing to look into and if I can find suitable components I'll have a go and let you know how I get on.

Then of course the next challenge is track, is there any out there already that you could use?  Of course 3D printing track is possible, but it means designing it, printing it in quantity and at the moment I've got 2 lovely little kittens who are so curious using a 3D printer is almost out of the question as they tend to climb all over them even when they are idle, once moving they would be too much of a temptation for the little darlings and I'd hate them to get squished by the platten which moves or burnt by the melted plastic and the hot end (yes they would likely try to catch it as it moves).  So I hoped that the would be something out there.

Well on this front I've been a bit more successful as it seems that 'Power Trains' track is pretty much a perfect gauge for Thomas mini's as shown in this video, what's more it even looks pretty realistic as track for these little trains.  So if I can motorise some I could have a genuine Thomas Mini's train set lol!

[Super]

Quite the ambitious project Nigel. I didn't think the Minis were hollow.

Small Thomas World converted several MINIS to run on N gauge track, with the engines themselves being motorised. Not quite what you're looking for, but I have yet to see any other attempts. Here's an example with Thomas, Annie and Clarabel:



They made two motorised variants of him: this one has the power bogie in Thomas, while the other has it in Annie (which could be helpful in cases where it can't fit in an engine). Once the bogie could be converted to battery power, an A23 (12V) battery would likely last longer than individual button cells.

If using the original wheels, the loose rear axle would have to be replaced with a rigid one (with a gear or pulley on it) and the wheels modded to fit traction tyres; or replaced with a custom wheelset with grooves for tyres.

[Super]

Very interesting, thanks for the video LaG 👍

Hey Dala,

Thanks for that info, I hadn't really thought about buying complete N gauge running chassis and then retro-fitting the mini body to that, for a start I didn't even know they made one that small to be honest. Having checked though it seems the TomyTec HM01 which they used in that video is no longer available, the few posts I could find about it were dated 2015 and entries on jp1999 and ebay are old or 'out of stock'. I should maybe have thought about this as I have used similar chassis made by Kato, except they were larger than that and therefore not really suitable for mini's. I'd used those previously on special 'N' gauge model kits from Bandai called "B Train Shorty's" which sort of resembled Tomy trains in terms of shortened length in comparison to the real things. I did post about those previously, although the graphics don't show on that original post as they were on photobucket or something instead. The other downside to going N gauge using these motors is that they cost something like £20/$20 each just like the Kato ones do.

My plan was a bit simpler and to use micromotors as used in these pocket size drones. These are small enough that they could be made to fit inside the body of a mini reasonably easy, you can also get pinions that fit those size motor shafts and then use a similarly sized worm gear on the axle of the mini. So basically I would fit all this onto the normal Mini chassis - albeit with a bit of modification of it. As these motors generally run between 1.5 and 6v depending on the model you get I figured a couple of small batteries would work and hence why I was thinking button cells. But if I were to use those 1/3rd length AAA types you can get they should fit in a wagon or coach, although I'd have to check the size, who knows maybe even some of the small lithium camera batteries would be ok - assuming they can still be bought in this world of digital cameras

Mind you maybe a pcb mounted small rechargeable would be another power source option? If I used some small wires with a socket/plug arrangement between the engine and the coach/wagon you could use the same plug or socket to connect it to a power source to charge it. My main concern though is how fast these motors run, if they are too quick there's probably not enough room to make a gearbox to change the ratio, although that is another good reason to use a pinion/worm gear arrangement. Mind you if I took a leaf out of the old Triang OO models you would put the worm gear on the motor and the pinion or equivalent on the axle, it used to work for them so maybe that would gear it down enough to work in the way I'm imagining it.

On the other hand maybe I'm just being too ambitious seeing as it seems nobody else has thought of or tried it lol!

[Super]

😊

Just to keep you up to date, I've found and ordered a micro motor, it measures 6mm x 12mm so should fit with ease. I've also got a pair of brass gears in the form of a pinion and worm gear. When they arrive I'll have a look at how its best to mount them on a mini chassis and how much needs to be trimmed off a mini body to get it on successfully. Then I just have to worry about a power source

[Super]

Wow, I can't wait to see this super small motor. What voltage?

I happened to keep two of that type (+an even smaller one for the tail rotor) from my first RC helicopter, which I have yet to find a use for 'because' they're too small for me and most of my gears are too big to mesh with them. They could work for something like opening doors on a modern passenger train, but are otherwise underpowered and too fast even on 1.5V. Here they are next to one of my average motors for scale:



One advantage they have is they all magnetise to each other (as well as other motors), making them a bit harder to lose. Wonder how this will go for you when it arrives.

Wow, I can't wait to see this super small motor. What voltage?

It is anything from 1.5v up to 6v, so pretty flexible, I would probably want to run it at 1.5v partly due to wanting to keep the battery as small as possible, partly as I don't want it running at full speed as it will be fast, these things can apparently suspend a small drone (well 4 of them that is) or power a 'foam' plane.  This may all end up a fools errand, but I just fancy trying it, first I'll just figure how to fit the pinion/worm and then where/how to mount it on the mini chassis and clip on a button cell in a holder and see if it runs at all.  One thing the motor may lack is torque, but a mini is pretty light so I'm hoping it will still be fine.

---

I happened to keep two of that type (+an even smaller one for the tail rotor) from my first RC helicopter, which I have yet to find a use for 'because' they're too small for me and most of my gears are too big to mesh with them. They could work for something like opening doors on a modern passenger train, but are otherwise underpowered and too fast even on 1.5V. Here they are next to one of my average motors for scale:
One advantage they have is they all magnetise to each other (as well as other motors), making them a bit harder to lose. Wonder how this will go for you when it arrives.

Hi Dala,

Yes, thats the type, as I said in my reply to Super I'm not sure if they'll have enough torque and of course they will likely want to run far quicker than I need, hence the pinion/worm arrangement.  But, these things are never solved in a day, I'm happy to spend a couple of £'s on components and sacrifice a duplicate mini as a test bed.  If it works then I'll be over the moon, if it doesn't because its say too fast then I'll have to figure out a better gearing arrangement.  To start though I'll try with what I've ordered and see how it goes