PRR Decapod gears locking up..sigh

@Steven Michael posted:

John, explain the process with this capacitor. We have a few Legacy steam engines (and diesels) with pickup issues that I’d really like to take care of.

I’ve also thought about using wire tethers between units, but a capacitor would be less visually intrusive and less inconvenient.

Note that the capacitor fix is for the latest Legacy steam that started being shipped in 2020, the standard Railsounds-Lite board from earlier Legacy models is compatible with the YLB - RailSounds Battery Replacement (RS-Lite) module.  However, when the new LCP3 board started being fitted to new steam, they changed the RS-Lite board and eliminated the battery connection.

I wrote a whole thread on it.

New Legacy Steam Locomotive Sound Issue and Fix

I had to edit my post above about how these run since I just reread it. So far I have NOT gotten them to lock up in reverse. Maybe they caught the issue with these being a few months apart in production. I’ve got a few hours on these running in a doubleheader with no issues so far. The L1s would lock up in a lashup if I wasn’t careful running them before the shimming. Hopefully there’s no need to shim the Decs but I will check them again before they go into the shop for weathering. Still mystified about the tender grounding issue but no probs since.

@Norm Charbonneau posted:

I had to edit my post above about how these run since I just reread it. So far I have NOT gotten them to lock up in reverse. Maybe they caught the issue with these being a few months apart in production. I’ve got a few hours on these running in a doubleheader with no issues so far. The L1s would lock up in a lashup if I wasn’t careful running them before the shimming. Hopefully there’s no need to shim the Decs but I will check them again before they go into the shop for weathering. Still mystified about the tender grounding issue but no probs since.

Yes, this problem may be unique to my unit...I really don't know for sure. We will see how long the lubricant keeps it working. BTW, my son Steven handles our 3D printer. Do you still have the design for your Mikado shin, and if so, would you be willing to share it with him?

@PRRMiddleDivision posted:

Yes, this problem may be unique to my unit...I really don't know for sure. We will see how long the lubricant keeps it working. BTW, my son Steven handles our 3D printer. Do you still have the design for your Mikado shin, and if so, would you be willing to share it with him?

Norm posted the STL files on the L1 thread Neal, ….he can pull them from there….

Pat

So this could be an isolated incident? Well, I'm not betting on that. Someone posted on FB of them double heading, I indicated about the worm for the L1's and said that so far there could be a problem but not sure yet if it is as we don't have enough information. I don't think they replied to my comment yet as that was late last night.

@Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

So this could be an isolated incident? Well, I'm not betting on that. Someone posted on FB of them double heading, I indicated about the worm for the L1's and said that so far there could be a problem but not sure yet if it is as we don't have enough information. I don't think they replied to my comment yet as that was late last night.

That’s always the wish, hope & pray Dave, ……now what happens with the longevity, that remains to be seen, …..at least like the K4, and the L1, there’s out of warranty solutions …..

Pat

Neal I attached the .stls for the .3mm and .5mm shims if you need them.

I ran my Decs last night for a couple more hours with no issues. I don't think I'll have to shim the motors. I'm happy to report they'll traverse my Atlas #5 x-overs without the rollers getting hung up or twisted. I think these were a better effort than the L1s. Still wish they had the Canon drives.

@harmonyards posted:

That’s always the wish, hope & pray Dave, ……now what happens with the longevity, that remains to be seen, …..at least like the K4, and the L1, there’s out of warranty solutions …..

Pat

@Norm Charbonneau posted:

Neal I attached the .stls for the .3mm and .5mm shims if you need them.

I ran my Decs last night for a couple more hours with no issues. I don't think I'll have to shim the motors. I'm happy to report they'll traverse my Atlas #5 x-overs without the rollers getting hung up or twisted. I think these were a better effort than the L1s. Still wish they had the Canon drives.

So this may mean that these aren't going to have issues...... Almost makes me want to buy a second like I was going to do. I just don't know.

@Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

So this may mean that these aren't going to have issues...... Almost makes me want to buy a second like I was going to do. I just don't know.

If you like the model Dave, I wouldn’t let it bother you, if it ever develops an issue, we know what the fix is, and how to implement it…..although the problem shouldn’t of happened in the first place, it is pretty trivial to fix it….

Pat

There's another thread here complaining of "noise" which sounds similar to these I1/L1 problems in general.

https://ogrforum.com/...lionel-decapod-noise

@Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

So this may mean that these aren't going to have issues...... Almost makes me want to buy a second like I was going to do. I just don't know.

As I said, this may just be unique to mine, not to the entire run. I really don't know for sure.

Okay, so I bit. After I got home today from my LTS I went online to see about a second I1, and it will be on its way next week. See how things look when it gets here.

@Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

Okay, so I bit. After I got home today from my LTS I went online to see about a second I1, and it will be on its way next week. See how things look when it gets here.

Admiral Farragut would be proud! ….&@#$ the torpedoes! …..full speed ahead!

Pat

@harmonyards posted:

Admiral Farragut would be proud! ….&@#$ the torpedoes! …..full speed ahead!

Pat

Well, I have to have two PRR engines to offset the two NYC engines. Possible bad gearboxes to questionable paint color???