UPDATE: Upgrade Complete - Scale PRR T1 with Whistle Steam

Is that a full legacy conversion Ryan?……let’s see how you plumbed it please?…very nice work!!….that’s not an easy job to do!

Pat

Nice work.  Can't wait to see it on the rails!

I also would be interested in seeing more photos of how you arranged things under the hood.

Great work though! Please post updates!

Now that looks like something great waiting to come down the tracks.

👍👍

@harmonyards posted:

Is that a full legacy conversion Ryan?……let’s see how you plumbed it please?…very nice work!!….that’s not an easy job to do!

Pat, yes full Legacy. I'm using the RCMC of Bruk's suggestion. Originally I wanted to go GRJ's route and use a Legacy DCDE that didn't require a flywheel sensor. However, I couldn't get Lionel to provide me with a functional one.

I will post some pictures of how I mounted it, but basically, I used an existing whistle smoke funnel from the LionMaster T1, and cut it down to fit more closely to the  boiler ceiling. Then I cut a foam gasket to provide a seal between the funnel and the hole I drilled in the boiler. Then I bent the smoke unit mounting bracket from an F unit that was garbage and then drilled and tapped a hole for a screw in a thick part of the boiler.

I'm still finishing up the wiring - and working on speaker mounting and baffles in the tender. This is my first upgrade like this, and It's definitely not perfect, but I was happy how the whistle smoke looked once I got it all mounted.

The bonus of using the RCMC is you don't need the separate smoke controller board, it's on the RCMC.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

The bonus of using the RCMC is you don't need the separate smoke controller board, it's on the RCMC.

AND I might have room for some "other" features later using the SFC2 or SFC3.

@harmonyards @BillYo414

Here are a few pictures of how I mounted the whistle smoke unit.

Looks like it ain’t going anywheres Ryan, …..looks good!!

Pat

Very well done! @rplst8 this is going to be awesome when it gets on the rails!

I did my first full test fit with all the essentials wired up. Everything moves nicely and the wires don't rub anywhere on the motor.

Final steps for the boiler will be:

• Wire the ground lights (curious if this board even supports that feature
• Wire the firebox glow and cab light
• Put the final dressing on the wiring

I'll take some more thorough pictures before I button it all up.

For the Tender I have more work:

• Crafting a wooden enclosure for the Visaton speakers
  • I'm hoping that like real speakers this will round out the sound and avoid that "tinny" sound
  • Mounting the volume pot in a more reasonable spot
    • it's near impossible to get at from the original location, Lionel really borked that.
  • Cleaning up the wiring

Very nice whistle steam is a hit on this engine.  Sounds and runs great.  Can’t wait to see it completed.  👍👍

You’re hired!!…..great work!….looks and runs like it should!…

Pat

Great work Ryan!

Very nice Ryan - One of my favorite steamers!  You really captured the look of 'steam' rather than just smoke. :-)

Final wiring on the boiler before I close the lid...

Very tidy work!  Is that a PTC you added for over current protection?  Did you sneak in a TVS too?

So I buttoned her up and took it out for a shakedown run.

In this one below you can see the whistle smoke really well.

Beautiful work!!!👍👍

Runs great Ryan!!…..building your own locomotives is a sure way to beat the QC problems of nowadays, ……..you have to be your own QC guy!!….your work looks nice & tidy!!

Pat

@SteveH posted:

Very tidy work!  Is that a PTC you added for over current protection?  Did you sneak in a TVS too?

Hey Steve, sorry I missed your question before. I actually didn't add the PTC nor did I add a TVS.

I guess Lionel puts them right on the board now with these RCMCs.

The reason I didn't put a TVS diode in is, truthfully haste. I had been wanting to get this thing completed and it was drawn out because of, well... I won't go into it because I don't want this thread shut down, LOL.

Excellent work Ryan. I really love that whistle as well as it smoking.

@rplst8 posted:

Hey Steve, sorry I missed your question before. I actually didn't add the PTC nor did I add a TVS.

I guess Lionel puts them right on the board now with these RCMCs.

There is no TVS on the RCMC, and the PTC you see on the board is just for the smoke power, it doesn't protect the whole board.  I'd prefer the PTC be in series with the motor, that's the thing that kills RCMC's!

@Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

Excellent work Ryan. I really love that whistle as well as it smoking.

Thanks. It took way too long to do, cost more that I had planned, but I’m pretty happy with the result. Also, it might end up being the last scale T1 with the proper T1 RS 6 sounds!

@rplst8 posted:

Thanks. It took way too long to do, cost more that I had planned, but I’m pretty happy with the result. Also, it might end up being the last scale T1 with the proper T1 RS 6 sounds!

Ryan, do you know what whistle that engine should have? Soundtraxx offers 90 choices. One should be correct.

Pete

Really awesome stuff! Makes me want a T1 asap!

@Norton posted:

Ryan, do you know what whistle that engine should have? Soundtraxx offers 90 choices. One should be correct.

I believe it's a Pennsy 3-chime.

@rplst8 posted:

I believe it's a Pennsy 3-chime.

Its listed. “PRR Round Top 3-Chime”.
I mention it as Blunami might be an option for those considering a Legacy upgrade.

Some aspects of the installation are easier. Others, not so much.

Pete

@Norton posted:

Its listed. “PRR Round Top 3-Chime”.
I mention it as Blunami might be an option for those considering a Legacy upgrade.

Some aspects of the installation are easier. Others, not so much.

Can the Blunami/Soundtraxx boards accept the serial data signals from Legacy boards?

@rplst8 posted:

Can the Blunami/Soundtraxx boards accept the serial data signals from Legacy boards?

No, its DCC but via bluetooth. Its a third system that can now run with the other two, Legacy and DCS. It offers a lot of potential and could be a replacement if the rest go away.

Pete

@Norton posted:

No, its DCC but via bluetooth. Its a third system that can now run with the other two, Legacy and DCS. It offers a lot of potential and could be a replacement if the rest go away.

I'm glad there are options out there besides the proprietary systems, but Bluetooth is a nonstarter for me. I can't name a single Bluetooth device I own that works reliably.

It's fine for music or phone calls, but it's too finicky for command control.

Nice work.  Thanks for sharing.

Amazing work!  I am impressed!  I have to admit I'd never really given much consideration to a PRR T1, but after seeing your work I have spent a lot of time scouring the Bay and other pages looking at them.

Good job!