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Post by jmlaboda on May 21, 2017 19:00:22 GMT -5
Really sharp!!!
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Post by icghogger on May 24, 2017 8:13:34 GMT -5
Excellent Work, Thanks for sharing!!
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Post by corsair on May 26, 2017 12:51:52 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind words!
I have been looking into power options and trying to decide how much I want to stick with the R/C plan. There isn't a great reason to do it other than really liking the idea that the track is track and the locomotive is a self contained power unit. I just feel like that adds a layer to the whole thing.
Basically, the equipment doesn't fit well with the Mashima motor and the gearing is way too high for a switcher. Combine that with a depowered truck and it's worth finding another answer.
Option 1
Black beetles. This would be absurdly expensive but it sounds like a pretty fantastic solution. You can get them with 27:1 gears and there are videos of locomotives set up that way hauling dozens of cars. The whole car body would be available for gear. This is super overkill, but it would pull a prototypical train and store enough battery to run all day. SPUDS are the cheap choice, but they seem awful at low speed creeping.
Option 2
Fit a much smaller motor with a reduction gear head and hook it to the Walthers gear tower. I have to mock this up, but it works in two ways. I should be able to mount the receiver under the motor and the battery up top. On paper, something like a Mashima 1015 with 4:1 gears will out torque the stock setup with a more SW1 like top speed.
Option 3
Forgot batteries and put a large gear head motor in with a current keeper. Compensates for the dead truck by putting down way more power. Use traction tire goo on one end, pickup through the other. Still runs very slow, can pull a full size train. Layout isn't built yet, so this is still an option.
Not sure where I will land. My reasons for liking radio are up top and I like the challenge itself. We'll see
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2017 16:45:37 GMT -5
Interesting predicament you have
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Post by corsair on May 29, 2017 14:03:36 GMT -5
Good news! I found a source for 8' Stanton drives, so this whole thing just got easier. They'll be here in a few weeks at almost half the price of Black Beetles. Lucky find!
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Post by corsair on Jul 1, 2017 10:33:54 GMT -5
The Stanton drives are here and they were worth the wait! NWSL can make them on a custom basis, and can do both 8' and 8'6". It would have been better to do the conversion to a bare chassis, but I didn't know if I would like my work enough to justify the drives. Fortunately, Walthers made this really easy. There is a 3/8" groove in the casting centered around the pivot axis. The plan is to build up a styrene bolster and epoxy it in. I need to carefully block the chassis on a piece of track to make sure I get the level correct. I will get a chance to practice when I mount the sideframes.
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Post by corsair on Jul 3, 2017 9:18:21 GMT -5
The drives are installed, turned out pretty simple. Some frame clearance was needed underneath, but the conversion was mostly painless. The bolsters were installed by blocking the chassis on a piece of track with the truck underneath. The bolster dropped in from the top and was fixed in place. This picture with the hood off shows available space for ballast and gear It's technically a functional DC locomotive, so it will probably take a ride to the local hobby shop to plop on their test track and make sure the drives work before converting to DCC. The paint needs to be touched up on the frame where heat and handling damaged it as well.
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