MTH SCALE HUDSON J1E

If you don't have the MTH 3-rail one yet, you could probably get a Max Grey or USHobbies brass one for a similar price that is already 2-rail.    And the brass one would have articulated (hinged) side rods (to go around curves), and a gear tower with reduction gearing to better utilize motor torque.

Thanks but I already have the MTH hudson , I thought it would not be a problem 2 railing untill  I got into  it . There are several fellows who can do the work and do a great job of it. But it does get costly

Joe Foehrkolb did my K-Line Hudson and it came out fantastic. If I didn't know better I would swear it came from the factory this way. Well worth the money IMHO...

Sometimes these posts just disappear.  I will try again:

Anybody done this?  Yes.

I thought the MTH Hudson was a worthy locomotive, but cylinders and main frame were inaccurate.  I put my old cylinder block, main frame, and drivers on the auction block for $1.99, and got a hundred bucks.  Then I machined my own frame, used All Nation Mountain cylinders, modified the heavy counterweights, added Pittman/NWSL power, and changed the tach to agree with the new gear reduction.

Another thing to worry about - insulation must be on the non- standard side, or the PS-2 will not work.

I really do like this model, and someday I shall get a "factory reset" and then the bell and whistle will work.

MTH has a 2 rail J1e in the current catalog.  Why not just sell your 3 rail model and pick up a new factory 2 rail model with your choice of 12 wheel or PT tenders?

The new versions has ProtoSound 3 so out of the box it will handle AC or DC conventional (you will want all 16 volts in the NMRA RP), DCS and DCC.  Unless you have a conventional power supply that won't go over 12 volts a new MTH J1e should perform nicely in almost any operating environment.

Yeah. - mine was sort of 2- rail right out of the factory.  The treads and flanges were sort of a 2-rail/3-rail compromise.  Maybe that's why he wants Lobaugh drivers.

ine was sort of 2- rail right out of the factory.  The treads and flanges were sort of a 2-rail/3-rail compromise.

Bob

That sounds really unusual for an MTH factory 3 rail locomotive.  What is the product number of your locomotive, does it begin with MT-?  

MTH Premier steam locomotives modeled after a North American prototypes have RP-25 wheels. I have never read a review of an MTH locomotive in OST or anywhere else that mentioned wheels on a 2 rail MTH locomotive that did not conform to RP-25.

Maybe that's why he wants Lobaugh drivers.

He wants to have oversized flanges?  Or was Lobaugh making wheels to RP-25 contours 75 years ago?  If they did they were really, really good since that would place them several decades ahead of the contemporary recommended practice! 

If my hobby was model ferroequinearcheology and miniature machining I'd go the Lobaugh rout.

If my hobby was running trains I preorder a new Proto 3 locomotive from my favorite LHS and see what I could get for an unaltered 3 rail locomotive.

Franky

What ever you choice or interest good luck with you Hudson.  They are great looking locomotives.  I'm not any NYC guy but I couldn't resist this set. 

All kinds of different hobbies.  I am a 2-railer with.172 wheel treads and Lobaugh flanges - but I do not care for 5' gauge, so mostly model in 17/64 scale.

The locomotive I modeled was from the set you pictured.  It was MTH's version of the Lionel prewar set.  Since I have all of the Lionel 700 cars for comparison, when I saw the MTH cars, I was more or less nauseated.  Sold them at a loss.  But the locomotive and tender had possibilities.  It had a switch under the tender, and could run on either 2- rail or 3-rail track.  It did just fine on .148 scale rail, but the wheels and cylinders did not suit me at all. And it was missing a tail beam.

RP-25 is ok, but narrow treads will not be my hobby.  When I was a kid, I modified some flanges to scale nubs, and they still work, but it was not worth the effort.

Frank,

To answer your original question, the MTH axles on the locomotives I have converted to 2 rail (quite a few) are 5mm.  If this engine is a newer model, it may have split axles with one side of each axle insulated from the other with a section of non conductive material.  MTH also insulates the crankpins on these newer 2/3 locomotives by insulating the crankpins from the driver centers on the fireman's side of the loco so that electricity does not have a path through the rods and cylinder block.  This seems like a lot of over engineering to me.

Be aware that if you attempt to use Lobaugh drivers the main crankpin/eccentric on the MTH, Lionel and K Line steam locos is a special part the locks the eccentric crank in the proper position on the driver center.  It will take some thinking to work around that with the Lobaugh drivers. Front and rear driver crankpins will also have to be modified s MTH uses metric crankpin shoulder screws'  Lobaugh drivers have crankpins.

I have been asked to use various other drivers to 2 rail these locos and have found that the easiest (quickest) and therefore most cost effective way to 2 rail the engines is to re-machine the original drivers with scale tires insulated on one side for 2 rail.  I machine the original centers and tires down to an overall width of 0.160".  3 Rail drivers normally measure between 0.220" to 0,250".  The axles therefore also have to be shortened to accommodate the thinner drivers.

Take a look at the trailing truck.  It probably has a spoked wheel for the larger wheel.

I re-machine these wheels to a 2 rail profile when I 2 rail a model.  Other wheels are normally replaced with NWSL products.

Best of luck with your conversion.

Joe Foehrkolb

Baldwin Forge & Machine