Javascript is either disabled or not supported by this browser. This page may not appear properly.
The Aristocraft Doodlebug won 3rd place by voting members of the Model Railroader Magazine.    There are two issues that were observed with this unit that requires some minor fixing. The roof warps on this unit.  It is not tied down.  There are fixes.  Check out George Schreyer's site. 

Aristocraft Doodlebug repair


The Aristocraft Doodlebug won 3rd place by voting members of the Model Railroader Magazine.    There are two issues that were observed with this unit that requires some minor fixing. The roof warps on this unit.  It is not tied down.  There are fixes.  Check out George Schreyer's site. 

Click above logo to go to ISLSMR
Click above logo to go to Home Page
Slipping drive shaft
Several days after purchase, I noticed the unit was not getting around the track. The first truck is the powered truck.There is an elbow joint that connects the armature of the motor to a front gearbox.  This gearbox takes power from the motor to power the front axle. 
The Doodlebug power truck. There are 2 screws that hold the truck in place. When turning over the doodle, you will see the 2 screws that sit just inside the truck, behind the fake springs.  After taking those out, you will need to disconnect the wires and then remove the other screws that hold the truck assembly in place - a total of 6 screws.     
 

In looking at the above photo, you can see the
two hex screws.  I used Loctite to secure
the screw.  It is surprisingly easy to
disassemble the unit.  I might suggest using Loctite purple. 
On the right, you will notice that the front part of the roof is not tied down to the Doodlebug side walls.  This is a long piece of plastic and even on a moderately warm summer day, it may be observed that the front part of the roor will bow up.  When this occurs, the baggage doors will fall in as the door is held in place by the roof.  Not the gap of the roof in the photo on the immediate right.
It was noted that the louvres on the front were unprototypical however, there are several units that had the Louvres on front.  Most notable is this Chicago and Northwestern doodlebug on the plains of Colorado. Photo is from the DPL photo library.