3rd rail new F3 diesel question

There is mention of this in the instruction manual.

Remove the two pilot screws, then remove coupler screws. The more challenging part is accessing the molex connector on the truck. Use tiny needle nose or small flathead to work connector loose, do not pull on wire.

I used Kaydee 745 medium length coupler. Installation is reverse of disassembly. The screw holes on the new pilot did not line up exactly so I used a pin vise to drill bit to open up the hole on the pilot.

At minimum you will need a set of mini screw drivers

Hope this is helpful

It is not difficult.  The electro-coupler has screws to remove it as does the 3 rail pilot.  Usually the Kadee mounting bracket is supplied with the correct screws to mount to the underside of the locomotive and the Kadee coupler box mounts to that.  I used a standard Kadee 805 for this one.  The short shank ones work well too.

I found the most challenging part is sometimes getting the pilot screws loose.  They can be pretty tight at times.

The funny part was I have two PA's and after I made this conversion, I unboxed the second one.  It has Kadee couplers installed from the factory and it is a 3 rail one.    I'll be putting the lobster claws back on it as my club layout has a few spots that are not Kadee friendly. 

Thank You Both

The pilot opening on that PA still looks large to me. Do the 2 rail models have the same size opening? Is there anything supplied to close up the opening more?

@Ryan Selvius posted:

The pilot opening on that PA still looks large to me. Do the 2 rail models have the same size opening? Is there anything supplied to close up the opening more?

Looks OK to me.  Santa Fe PA1.

It only looks bigger because model couplers stick out further than the prototype, isn't a tight-lock coupler and the steam line isn't present.

Rusty

Here’s some 3rd Rail 3 rail examples.
E6, Alco PA, E8, F3.
The E6 on left came with closed pilot. Super sharp. The rest still have the lobster claw couplers attached as I haven’t yet switched out with the 2 rail pilot and kaydee. The holes Do Get smaller when replacing 3 rail pilot with 2 rail pilot and is Much nicer  
visually !!!!!!!

Cheers 👍

@Rusty Traque posted:

Looks OK to me.  Santa Fe PA1.

It only looks bigger because model couplers stick out further than the prototype, isn't a tight-lock coupler and the steam line isn't present.

Rusty

Yes.  I need to replace the front coupler with a short shank one.  I just used an off the shelf 805.  The opening for the coupler is scale as you point out.

That explains it, thank you. A shorter coupler and adding the air lines would help finish off the look.

I’ve been trying to get a better idea of what the 3 rail diesels look like with Kadee couplers. I am not a fan of fixed pilots with lobster claw couplers; the large opening spoils the look. I also don’t like the idea of an insert either since a seam would still be visible. Gotta have a full pilot with smaller opening and scale coupler.