3 Rail to 2 Rail Locomotive Conversions

@Justin Acuna posted:

Been meaning to ask this for a few days but life has kept me busy.  How would one go about readjusting the drive gear? I hadn't thought of the extra space created by replacing Hi-rail wheels with scale wheels.

If it’s got 2 piece motion hangers, just scoot them in, drill and tap new holes, …If it’s got a one piece motion hanger, section it, scoot it in, drill and tap new holes…..as mentioned before, this stuff is not rocket surgery or brain science…..you just have to know how the materials that your working with are going to react to the tools/machines your using……die cast is a funny material, most of the times, no two pieces are of the same density or composition…..testing and sneaking up on how to work the material is a must,…..some components are hard as steel, and some are soft as butter…..sometimes when I begin a boring process, the softer castings will actually re-melt and clog any bits up, that’s when you gotta back up, and redo your process…..I’d suggest practice on some scrap parts, drilling, tapping, cutting and filing on busted broken parts to develop your techniques, …..

Pat

@Stephen Bloy posted:

Yes, It was mentioned ( further up ) that there would be a difference in locomotive frame width between 3 rail and 2 rail, but most frames Ive worked with are around one inch wide. So as Bob is saying the rest is washers.   cTr....( Choose the Right ) This was a Sunset 3 Rail model, has since been lowered ( for two rail ) at the cylinders as this is to high and raised in three rail models for clearance purposes. The reason Ive embarked on conversions is that 3 rail models are more readily available and at a lower price than 2 rail models. I live in Australia so the difference in price, after taking into account the exchange rate, and sales tax, adds up to a lot of $$$$$$.

Nice locomotive !

@harmonyards posted:

If it’s got 2 piece motion hangers, just scoot them in, drill and tap new holes, …If it’s got a one piece motion hanger, section it, scoot it in, drill and tap new holes…..as mentioned before, this stuff is not rocket surgery or brain science…..you just have to know how the materials that your working with are going to react to the tools/machines your using……die cast is a funny material, most of the times, no two pieces are of the same density or composition…..testing and sneaking up on how to work the material is a must,…..some components are hard as steel, and some are soft as butter…..sometimes when I begin a boring process, the softer castings will actually re-melt and clog any bits up, that’s when you gotta back up, and redo your process…..I’d suggest practice on some scrap parts, drilling, tapping, cutting and filing on busted broken parts to develop your techniques, …..

Pat

Yeah, I was thinking that if I go down the conversion path, then I should first try a relatively inexpensive model.

@Justin Acuna posted:

Yeah, I was thinking that if I go down the conversion path, then I should first try a relatively inexpensive model.

You can hit me up if you decide to go down that road, I’ve got plenty of scrapped MTH chassis that are no good but for experimenting…..good way to get your sea legs, ..and join the rest of us looney tunes doing this work …..😉

Pat

@harmonyards posted:

You can hit me up if you decide to go down that road, I’ve got plenty of scrapped MTH chassis that are no good but for experimenting…..good way to get your sea legs, ..and join the rest of us looney tunes doing this work …..😉

Pat

I very much appreciate the offer.  I might just take you up on it.