Does anyone know where I can find information on rewiring 3 rail o scale rolling stock with electronic equipment for 2 rail operation?
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For 2 rail you MUST have insulated wheels on one side of the rolling stock. You pick up one side of the current from one rail, and the other side from the other rail.
If you have metal trucks and use axles with insulated wheels on one side, the entire truck picks up from the rail with uninsulated wheels.
Then for the other side you need to make some sort of contact on the insulated wheel to pick up from the other rail. I generally do this with a phosphor bronze strip or wire mounted in a plastic channel screwed to the truck bolster. The phospher bronze is springey so it maintains contact.
the existing wiring from the outside rail should still work for the uninsulated side picking up through the truck. Connect a wire from the new pickup on the insulated side to the what was the center rail connection in the old 3 rail wiring.
Be sure that the insulated wheels are on the save side in both trucks and that both trucks are installed with the insulated wheels on the same side of the car. Otherwise you get a short.
If you mean rewiring to retain the fancy stuff - all you have to do is move the wire from the center rollers to the insulated wheels - oh, and use the 3-rail power setup.
@bob2 posted:If you mean rewiring to retain the fancy stuff - all you have to do is move the wire from the center rollers to the insulated wheels - oh, and use the 3-rail power setup.
Does the same apply to a Lionel freightsounds boxcar?