Rabu, 21 Disember 2011
December 21, 2011 My Y6b Conversion to a SP MC-1#4002
I purchased three Rivarossi Y6Bs over a period of time on E-Bay about 5 years ago with the intent of Kitbashing them into Southern Pacific locomotives. The Southern Pacific never owned a Y6B, they had a total of 63 Baldwin built AM, MC & MM series 2-8-8-2s. I converted two of the Rivarossi Y6Bs to AC-3 Cab Forwards earlier and the last one to a fairly close version of an MC-1 this fall. I screwed up by not checking all three very closely before I started.
When I started in on the third one I was caught off guard, when I looked at it closely there was some bad heat damage to the shell. Had I seen it before I did the two AC-3s I could have used the heat deformed shell for an AC-3 and the heat damage would have been covered up in the conversion process. I tried to repair the heat damage unsuccessfully, both the boiler/cab and the bottom are badly warped. Because the shell is too far gone to be repaired I watched E-Bay for a Y6B shell and I finally got one.
So now on with my conversion from a Y6B to a SP MC-1.
This is a nude picture of my Y6B frame/chassis without it's shell.
I have completed the top shell by removing a lot of the Y6B details that aren't used on the MC-1. I installed the 1� volt incandescent Cal-Scale marker lights and applied the decals. The marker lights are powered from a diode shunt in series with the motor.
I covered the engine cab and number decals with Testors Clear Gloss then covered the entire engine with two coats of Testors Dull Coat. That process eliminates the decal backing from being seen.
Read More..
When I started in on the third one I was caught off guard, when I looked at it closely there was some bad heat damage to the shell. Had I seen it before I did the two AC-3s I could have used the heat deformed shell for an AC-3 and the heat damage would have been covered up in the conversion process. I tried to repair the heat damage unsuccessfully, both the boiler/cab and the bottom are badly warped. Because the shell is too far gone to be repaired I watched E-Bay for a Y6B shell and I finally got one.
So now on with my conversion from a Y6B to a SP MC-1.
This is a nude picture of my Y6B frame/chassis without it's shell.
The Y6B frame/chassis is in exceptionally good condition and it is a very good runner. It's a later model as it uses the driver wheels to pick up power from both rails. I used a chip bridge rectifier to power up the white LED headlight so that it isn't directional and a 1N914 diode for the tender LED backup light so that it is directional.
I replaced the Rivarossi motor with a Canon EN-22 can motor, the Canon draws much less current than the original motor and has twice as much power. I'm not going to install a DCC decoder at this time.
The new shell arrived and I have installed the chassis in the bottom half of the shell.
I replaced the Rivarossi motor with a Canon EN-22 can motor, the Canon draws much less current than the original motor and has twice as much power. I'm not going to install a DCC decoder at this time.
The new shell arrived and I have installed the chassis in the bottom half of the shell.
I have completed the top shell by removing a lot of the Y6B details that aren't used on the MC-1. I installed the 1� volt incandescent Cal-Scale marker lights and applied the decals. The marker lights are powered from a diode shunt in series with the motor.
The headlight is a 2mm white LED powered from a chip bridge diode so that the headlight remains on in both forward & reverse.
I covered the engine cab and number decals with Testors Clear Gloss then covered the entire engine with two coats of Testors Dull Coat. That process eliminates the decal backing from being seen.
This engine is good looking and a great runner. The Canon motor has plenty of power and it creeps extremely good.
Ahad, 6 November 2011
DCC Tender Modifications
Tender modifications are need to complete the Cab Forward for DCC operation also. I bought most of my Rivarossi articulated locomotives off E-Bay and most of them needed a lot of cosmetic attention as well as mechanical.
I purchased a Casting Kit from Micro-Mark and made molds for the Rivarossi details for future use down the road. Very few of the locomotives had whistles and few tenders had all four steps and grab rails. I made grab rails from .02" steel rod stock that I bought from Maximum Hobby.
The picture below is a Rivarossi Oil Tender with my DCC mods. I added an extra weight and glued the weights to the sides of the shell instead of the floor. The floor space is reserved for a speaker. I mounted the NMRA DCC connector on a 5/8" diameter styrene tube for easy access.
The DCC decoder is attached to the top of the tender shell with double sided tape.
I made the DCC pigtail 4" long so that it would be long enough for easy connection to the locomotive. I cut a 5/8" x 5/16" hole for the wires to pass through the front end of the tender to the locomotive. I started with a smaller hole but the wires would hang up and cause derails. The larger hole makes for an easier install too, the connector will pass through the larger hole. The wiring harness can be made in advanced then simply installed in one piece instead of soldering on a plug and having to hassle with the shell too.
I mounted all of my DCC connectors on my locomotives with the red wire terminal on the lower right and put a dob of red paint on the connectors for easy identification.
This tender had both rear steps missing, those steps are castings that I made with my casting kit. The Rivarossi tender trucks are not the best trucks in the world by far so I replaced them with Bowser 35107 Buckeye trucks with metal frames and brass wheels. DCC requires good uninterrupted power and the Rivarossi trucks leave a lot to be desired.
Read More..
I purchased a Casting Kit from Micro-Mark and made molds for the Rivarossi details for future use down the road. Very few of the locomotives had whistles and few tenders had all four steps and grab rails. I made grab rails from .02" steel rod stock that I bought from Maximum Hobby.
The picture below is a Rivarossi Oil Tender with my DCC mods. I added an extra weight and glued the weights to the sides of the shell instead of the floor. The floor space is reserved for a speaker. I mounted the NMRA DCC connector on a 5/8" diameter styrene tube for easy access.
The DCC decoder is attached to the top of the tender shell with double sided tape.
I made the DCC pigtail 4" long so that it would be long enough for easy connection to the locomotive. I cut a 5/8" x 5/16" hole for the wires to pass through the front end of the tender to the locomotive. I started with a smaller hole but the wires would hang up and cause derails. The larger hole makes for an easier install too, the connector will pass through the larger hole. The wiring harness can be made in advanced then simply installed in one piece instead of soldering on a plug and having to hassle with the shell too.
I mounted all of my DCC connectors on my locomotives with the red wire terminal on the lower right and put a dob of red paint on the connectors for easy identification.
This tender had both rear steps missing, those steps are castings that I made with my casting kit. The Rivarossi tender trucks are not the best trucks in the world by far so I replaced them with Bowser 35107 Buckeye trucks with metal frames and brass wheels. DCC requires good uninterrupted power and the Rivarossi trucks leave a lot to be desired.
Sabtu, 5 November 2011
November 5, 2011 Rivarossi Cab Forward Wobble
I found a fix to stop the "Rivarossi Wobble" in their Cab Forwards. The problem is enhanced because of the wear at the rivet that holds the yoke mounting bracket on the lead driver assembly.
I began by breaking the flange off the rivet with a small screwdriver between the yoke and frame. Next I removed the remaining rivet flange with a small flat metal file. Then I drilled a #60 pilot hole using the hole in the rivet as a pilot. I then used a #48 bit to enlarge the hole to 1.95mm so that it would pass the 2mm screw.
The picture below shows the rivet with the 2mm screw in place.
When tightening the screw make sure that the yoke will move freely. Use some #2 Blue Threadlock on the threads to prevent the nut from coming loose.
Make sure that the driver frame moves freely without side to side movement.
Read More..
I began by breaking the flange off the rivet with a small screwdriver between the yoke and frame. Next I removed the remaining rivet flange with a small flat metal file. Then I drilled a #60 pilot hole using the hole in the rivet as a pilot. I then used a #48 bit to enlarge the hole to 1.95mm so that it would pass the 2mm screw.
The picture below shows the rivet with the 2mm screw in place.
When tightening the screw make sure that the yoke will move freely. Use some #2 Blue Threadlock on the threads to prevent the nut from coming loose.
Next I pressed a 3mm washer on the shaft of the mounting screw of the rear driver assembly to give the screw more surface area to stabilize the driver frame and eliminate any slop there too. Again use the #2 Blue Threadlock to prevent it from becoming loose.
Make sure that the driver frame moves freely without side to side movement.
The wobble is caused by the slop in the driver rods on the wheels but the above modifications stop the engine side to side movement. The dual Canon EN-22 motors help a lot too, probably because the driver assemblies are no longer synced with the drive shaft and allows some freedom between the driver wheels.
Selasa, 11 Oktober 2011
October 11, 2011 My MDC Shays
I decided to work on my MDC Shays while I'm in the recovery mode. I have 3 MDC Three Truck Shays and 1 Two Truck Shay, I assembled one of the Three Trucks about 15 years ago. It runs but that's about it. I need to overhaul the drive lines to reduce friction.
I bought the MDC Shay Handbook after I assembled my Shay and the author does a very good job of pointing out places that need special attention. I opened a second kit and followed the author's instructions and it came out very good. It will creep at just over 1 volt @ less than 100 ma. If you are going to assemble a MDC Shay the Handbook is a MUST for proper operation.
I plan to add DCC to all 4 of my MDC Shays, there is enough room in the third truck for a speaker so three of them will have sound. There is absolutely no room for a speaker in the Two Truck Shay.
The Digitrax DH123 decoder will fit with a bit of a modification to the water tender as shown below.
The picture above shows the Digitrax decoder, it has a bump under the text "ax" that requires a cutout in the top of the tender.
Read More..
I bought the MDC Shay Handbook after I assembled my Shay and the author does a very good job of pointing out places that need special attention. I opened a second kit and followed the author's instructions and it came out very good. It will creep at just over 1 volt @ less than 100 ma. If you are going to assemble a MDC Shay the Handbook is a MUST for proper operation.
I plan to add DCC to all 4 of my MDC Shays, there is enough room in the third truck for a speaker so three of them will have sound. There is absolutely no room for a speaker in the Two Truck Shay.
The Digitrax DH123 decoder will fit with a bit of a modification to the water tender as shown below.
The picture above shows the Two Truck Shay above and the Three Truck below. Both have the old Pittman open frame motor. The stall current is a bit under 1.5 amps, full load is just under 1 amp.
The picture above shows the Digitrax decoder, it has a bump under the text "ax" that requires a cutout in the top of the tender.
The picture above shows the decoder on place with the oil tank cover in place, the third truck tender supplies the water. The Three Truck Shay is a long haul locomotive, the Two Truck Shay is for moving logs at the cutting site.
Sabtu, 27 Ogos 2011
August 27, 2011 Atlas GP-9 Basket Case
I read the Model Railroad Forms quite often. I've noticed that they rank the Atlas Locomotives very high and I've never owned one so I placed a bid on E-Bay for a GP-9 and won it.
The listing said that the locomotive wasn't in very good condition and because I like overhauling engines I went for it.
I was a little surprised at it when I received it because it was a basket case. The listing said it was a good runner, maybe at one time but not as received. Both trucks were flopping loose and the shell was a disaster. It's orange peel had orange peel.
This engine is in the worst condition for not having anything missing as any I have purchased. I have bought several engines with missing and broken parts that were in much better overall condition. The shell on this one is a goner. What little Atlas detail was there has been totally destroyed with some sort of orange peel clear coat.
I have a spare Athearn GP-9 shell leftover from an earlier project that I can use to replace the Atlas shell.
The Atlas frame, motor & drive line look good. It will be super easy to install a DCC decoder in it.
The Athearn shell has a floor that flanges out from the bottom and covers the frame, the Atlas uses the frame for the floor so I had to cut off the bottom flange of the Athearn shell.
I cut the bottom of the Athearn shell off with my X-acto knife then I put a sheet of 60 grit on my workbench and moved the shell back and fourth on the flat sandpaper until the walls of the shell were even.
The new shell now fits snug on the Atlas frame and looks very good.
Both Atlas trucks were broken, Atlas used a 2mm plastic stud as a center pivot on top of the truck housing that fits into a hole on the frame. With both of the studs broken off the Atlas was dead in it's tracks. I drilled 1.5mm holes where the plastic pins were and tapped them with a 2mm tap. I used 2mm screws to attach the trucks to the frame. A 2mm screw 4mm long worked out very good without touching the gear inside the truck and still leave .5mm of slack between the trucks and the frame for the trucks to move freely.
My new Atlas/Athearn GP-9 is finished. I'm not sure about the Atlas design using a frail piece of plastic to center the trucks. If all the Atlas locomotives use this arrangement I wouldn't give one to a child, one good ding and it's a goner.
The Athearn has a reverse design on their truck mount, they have a metal pin on the frame that fits into a hole in the top of the truck, the top piece of the Athearn truck is metal. The Proto 2000s use a design very similar to the Athearn. That's a much better design for strength and durability.
The following pictures are of the finished GP-9
Read More..
The listing said that the locomotive wasn't in very good condition and because I like overhauling engines I went for it.
I was a little surprised at it when I received it because it was a basket case. The listing said it was a good runner, maybe at one time but not as received. Both trucks were flopping loose and the shell was a disaster. It's orange peel had orange peel.
This engine is in the worst condition for not having anything missing as any I have purchased. I have bought several engines with missing and broken parts that were in much better overall condition. The shell on this one is a goner. What little Atlas detail was there has been totally destroyed with some sort of orange peel clear coat.
I have a spare Athearn GP-9 shell leftover from an earlier project that I can use to replace the Atlas shell.
The Atlas frame, motor & drive line look good. It will be super easy to install a DCC decoder in it.
The Athearn shell has a floor that flanges out from the bottom and covers the frame, the Atlas uses the frame for the floor so I had to cut off the bottom flange of the Athearn shell.
I cut the bottom of the Athearn shell off with my X-acto knife then I put a sheet of 60 grit on my workbench and moved the shell back and fourth on the flat sandpaper until the walls of the shell were even.
The new shell now fits snug on the Atlas frame and looks very good.
Both Atlas trucks were broken, Atlas used a 2mm plastic stud as a center pivot on top of the truck housing that fits into a hole on the frame. With both of the studs broken off the Atlas was dead in it's tracks. I drilled 1.5mm holes where the plastic pins were and tapped them with a 2mm tap. I used 2mm screws to attach the trucks to the frame. A 2mm screw 4mm long worked out very good without touching the gear inside the truck and still leave .5mm of slack between the trucks and the frame for the trucks to move freely.
My new Atlas/Athearn GP-9 is finished. I'm not sure about the Atlas design using a frail piece of plastic to center the trucks. If all the Atlas locomotives use this arrangement I wouldn't give one to a child, one good ding and it's a goner.
The Athearn has a reverse design on their truck mount, they have a metal pin on the frame that fits into a hole in the top of the truck, the top piece of the Athearn truck is metal. The Proto 2000s use a design very similar to the Athearn. That's a much better design for strength and durability.
I used two 1mm lamps for headlights and installed a Digitrax DCC decoder in it.
The following pictures are of the finished GP-9
The finished locomotive is a fine runner and very powerful, it's drawbar pull measured a little over 3.5 ounces. It runs very smooth and quiet.
The total investment was $35 including S&H for the Atlas Basket Case, 1 used Athearn shell, 1 Digitraxx Decoder $20 off E-Bay including S&H, Four 1mm lamps for headlights, a bit of paint and decals printed on my Alps. Not bad for a DCC equipped good looking and good running engine.
I added the Atlas GP-9 #5625 to my fleet that now totals 6 GP-9s.
Oh yes one more thing, about 8 very enjoyable hours of my time rebuilding it. I really enjoy restoring HO locomotives.
The total investment was $35 including S&H for the Atlas Basket Case, 1 used Athearn shell, 1 Digitraxx Decoder $20 off E-Bay including S&H, Four 1mm lamps for headlights, a bit of paint and decals printed on my Alps. Not bad for a DCC equipped good looking and good running engine.
I added the Atlas GP-9 #5625 to my fleet that now totals 6 GP-9s.
Oh yes one more thing, about 8 very enjoyable hours of my time rebuilding it. I really enjoy restoring HO locomotives.
Sabtu, 6 Ogos 2011
August 8, 2011 Brass GP-9 Shell
I won a bid on E-bay, it was listed as a PFM SD-9 BRASS HO ENGINE SHELL. When I received it I was disappointed because it wasn't an SD-9, it was a GP-9. I recovered quickly and decided to do it to it anyway using an Athearn GP-9 chassis instead of the planned SD-9 chassis.
I used a Muriatic Acid wash to thoroughly clean it then a Rubbing Alcohol wash. After it was dry I painted it with a very light coat of Rust-Oleum Self Etching primer.
I let the grey primer dry over night then shot it with Testors Flat Black.
There was a lip on the Athearn frame that I had to remove so that the brass shell would fit flush.
I removed all of the motor, drive & trucks to grind the needed ?" from the frame as shown above.
I drilled 4 holes in the Athearn frame to use the existing mounting holes in the brass shell.
The Self Etching Primer worked very good as the shell paint took quite a beating during the fitting process.
The hard work is finished on my Brass/Athearn Geep. I ordered some Liquid Masking Tape because I can't remove the hand rails to paint the hood ends silver. After the silver paint on the hood ends dries it will be install the window glass and decal time.
The Liquid Masking Film worked but it was a disaster! It took two hours to clean it off. I only used it on the end pictured on the right above. I finally had to use a wire brush to remove it. That left me with the brass handrails broken loose. I used AC to reattach them because I figured that the heat from the silver solder would ding the good paint. I did the touch-up with two coats of flat black Crafters Acrylic thinned with water so that I wouldn't leave brush strokes.
I used the 3M Automotive Masking Tape on the cab end and now it's ready for the Black Widow decals.
The Black Widow Decals are on and the red SP stripe is on the frame. The 3M Masking Tape did the trick again.
My Alps printer does a bang-up job on decals.
The 1mm 1� volt lights worked out very nice for headlights. I used a full wave bridge rectifier in series with the motor to supply the constant 1� volts to the lamps.
It's finished and on my layout ready to go to work.
Read More..
I used a Muriatic Acid wash to thoroughly clean it then a Rubbing Alcohol wash. After it was dry I painted it with a very light coat of Rust-Oleum Self Etching primer.
I let the grey primer dry over night then shot it with Testors Flat Black.
There was a lip on the Athearn frame that I had to remove so that the brass shell would fit flush.
I removed all of the motor, drive & trucks to grind the needed ?" from the frame as shown above.
I drilled 4 holes in the Athearn frame to use the existing mounting holes in the brass shell.
The Self Etching Primer worked very good as the shell paint took quite a beating during the fitting process.
The hard work is finished on my Brass/Athearn Geep. I ordered some Liquid Masking Tape because I can't remove the hand rails to paint the hood ends silver. After the silver paint on the hood ends dries it will be install the window glass and decal time.
The Liquid Masking Film worked but it was a disaster! It took two hours to clean it off. I only used it on the end pictured on the right above. I finally had to use a wire brush to remove it. That left me with the brass handrails broken loose. I used AC to reattach them because I figured that the heat from the silver solder would ding the good paint. I did the touch-up with two coats of flat black Crafters Acrylic thinned with water so that I wouldn't leave brush strokes.
I used the 3M Automotive Masking Tape on the cab end and now it's ready for the Black Widow decals.
The Black Widow Decals are on and the red SP stripe is on the frame. The 3M Masking Tape did the trick again.
My Alps printer does a bang-up job on decals.
The 1mm 1� volt lights worked out very nice for headlights. I used a full wave bridge rectifier in series with the motor to supply the constant 1� volts to the lamps.
It's finished and on my layout ready to go to work.Isnin, 18 Julai 2011
July 18, 2011 My New Southern Pacific SD-9
I bought a new Proto 2000 SD-9 off E-Bay to complement my Proto 2000 SD-7. The plan was to make the SD-9 look like my SD-7 but there are a lot of differences to overcome. The main difference is this Proto doesn't have Dynamic Brakes. I did number it as an SD-7.
As you can see it began it's life as a Chessie System Locomotive.
The SD-9 is a much newer version Proto (2010) than my SD-7. It was very hard to dissemble the shell on the SD-9, the factory almost over glued everything. I shot the individual pieces of the shell with Testors Flat Black. I had printed up the Black Widow decals earlier on my Alps MD-1000 and only had to print the road numbers for it.
The artwork was done on my CAD program. I copied the drawings to Microsoft Paint where I colored them and then printed them on my Alps. I used an old Champ Decal set off my SD-7 as a go by.
For years I have been using Pactra Masking Tape but I had run out so I called my local hobby shop to see if he had some. I was quite surprised when he said that he doesn't stock masking tape.
He sent me down the street to an Automotive Paint Supply store for some 3M Blue Fine Line Masking Tape. He said that I will like it better than the hobby tape.
That tape is the best that I have ever used, it blows all the hobby masking tape away. After using the 3M I'll never go back to using hobby tape again.
Using the new 3M tape I was easily able to mask the shell and spray the silver ends.
It may have started it's life as a Chessie SD-9 but now it's my second Southern Pacific Black Widow SD-7(9) now.
The Chessie version did not have Dynamic Brakes. I had some cooling vents left over from an earlier project so I added them and a cooling fan cut out of an older locomotive shell.
The end result is very nice, I now have a mate for my SD-7.
I like to run my locomotives in pairs, now I can do it with my SDs. The Proto 2000 SDs are highly detailed and powerful runners too. Twenty four powered wheels will tow a pretty good load.
Numbers 5324 & 5330 will look very good towing my MOW work train with my CMX track cleaning car taking care of the rails.
I used this repaint & decal job as a breather from my kitbashed � dome car project.
It's time to return to my � dome car.
I couldn't look at this SD-9 locomotive seeing the GP-9 Dynamic Brakes any longer. I did a Buy It Now on E-Bay for a Proto SD-9 shell with dynamic brakes. It was a CNW shell and I Southern Pacific-ed it.
Read More..
As you can see it began it's life as a Chessie System Locomotive.
The SD-9 is a much newer version Proto (2010) than my SD-7. It was very hard to dissemble the shell on the SD-9, the factory almost over glued everything. I shot the individual pieces of the shell with Testors Flat Black. I had printed up the Black Widow decals earlier on my Alps MD-1000 and only had to print the road numbers for it.
The artwork was done on my CAD program. I copied the drawings to Microsoft Paint where I colored them and then printed them on my Alps. I used an old Champ Decal set off my SD-7 as a go by.
For years I have been using Pactra Masking Tape but I had run out so I called my local hobby shop to see if he had some. I was quite surprised when he said that he doesn't stock masking tape.
He sent me down the street to an Automotive Paint Supply store for some 3M Blue Fine Line Masking Tape. He said that I will like it better than the hobby tape.
That tape is the best that I have ever used, it blows all the hobby masking tape away. After using the 3M I'll never go back to using hobby tape again.
Using the new 3M tape I was easily able to mask the shell and spray the silver ends.
It may have started it's life as a Chessie SD-9 but now it's my second Southern Pacific Black Widow SD-7(9) now.
The Chessie version did not have Dynamic Brakes. I had some cooling vents left over from an earlier project so I added them and a cooling fan cut out of an older locomotive shell.
The end result is very nice, I now have a mate for my SD-7.
I like to run my locomotives in pairs, now I can do it with my SDs. The Proto 2000 SDs are highly detailed and powerful runners too. Twenty four powered wheels will tow a pretty good load.
Numbers 5324 & 5330 will look very good towing my MOW work train with my CMX track cleaning car taking care of the rails.
I used this repaint & decal job as a breather from my kitbashed � dome car project.
It's time to return to my � dome car.
Added August 24th
I couldn't look at this SD-9 locomotive seeing the GP-9 Dynamic Brakes any longer. I did a Buy It Now on E-Bay for a Proto SD-9 shell with dynamic brakes. It was a CNW shell and I Southern Pacific-ed it.
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