I am trying to get a Weaver Diesel engine going in 2 rail. Found a 2 rail conversion wheel sets but I need to figure out how to pickup the power off the wheel sets?
Anyone have any suggestions?
Does not seem to be any conductivity from the outside of the wheels. Does anyone have a Weaver 2 rail engine like this and can forward some photos of the power pickup?
Or any suggestions on how to mount something?
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The smaller scales often use wiper arms. Small arms of conductive metal mounted to the frame(isolated) rubbing on a wheel.
Usually just bend some phosphor bronze strip so that there's a little pressure on the sides of the wheels. Mount it to a slab of plastic screwed or glued (even zip tied) onto the truck. Solder on a wire.
Be careful it doesn't touch anything. If it's mounted below it can touch the switch's parts when crossing.
I believe there was a good write up of this by John S in the OGR a few months ago?
Also was a post here.
If you don't want to scratch build the wipers, you could contact weaver. They still use wipers on their locomotive and may have partst to sell you.
On the ones I have, a screw riding in an insulated bushing comes down through the truck and makes contact with the wiper piece mounted on the bottom of the truck. Then the pickup wire goes from the top of the screw to the motor. The other wire is simply connected to the truck body to get pickup from the other rail.
If adept, use a multi-meter to verify continuity on either side's wheels to the truck body. Either one or none of the sides will show an electrical path. If one side conducts but not the other, then the non-conductive side is isolated from the rest. Add wipers to that side's wheels, keeping them non-conductive to the truck body, and you may be able to route power from truck bottom to top as PRRJim describes. The other side's wheels conduct through the truck body, connect the second lead to it.
If BOTH side's wheels do NOT conduct to the truck body, then wipers on both sides will be necesary. Keeping sides isolated from each other.
There are lots of ways. For a while, Weaver was selling truck blocks in 2-rail for dirtbag cheap. Everything included, including wipers, motors, sideframes - $75. You can bet I laid in a few sets of those.
All-time easiest way - hook a tender on the thing. I have a pair of Train Masters hooked back-to-back with two leads and no wipers. I also have express reefers set up to be tenders. My Icken O1 runs that way with a PRR B50 and two P70 coaches.
All time best way - an insulated aluminum block with coil spring plungers pressing against wheel treads. We use this idea to replace the Museum MTH wipers after about two years of daily eight hour running. They press against the back of the wheel, which is almost as good.
My current (no pun intended) choice for pickups are phosphour bronze wires: The pickups you see on the front two wheels are the standard Weaver pickups. They are not as reliable
Change the poles from plus to minus and from minus to plus!
No.... Wait. That's for reanimating bodies....
Never mind.
Thankyou very much. The one truck with the gears on the blind side will be a chore to place wipes on but the truck without will try to do something as shown in the photo.
Yes another good idea is adjoining equipment and wire pickups between.
Building a helper for a steam loco that does not have much pulling power. So perhaps a jumper from the tender will work.
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