Show me your deadrail engines

Ron. Just finished my first attempt with a lionchief plus NW2 Switcher . I learned a lot from that experience.  Have a few cosmetic issues that need to be cleaned up. She ran awesome. No problems with deadrail or hot. I love the controll I have with coupling . Very smooth. Here is a shot I took first attempt on this photo stuff.

I hope that worked. Need to learn on how to do video also.. as you know I am not a tech guy

Very Cool Bill.  Congrats on your 1st completion.  Be careful, it's addictive.  I like the placement of your charge port.  That looks real simple.

You actually gave me an idea to try this with a covered hopper.  What a great hiding spot.

G scale garden railway no power to the rails lithium battery,charging done through a jack with Airwire control

Bob that is so cool. I have thought of garden railroad but not sure I want to run trains when it is below freezing and snowing.

RC aircraft battery and RC plane speed control.

@Ron H posted:

RC aircraft battery and RC plane speed control.

@Ron H

I suppose you are always moving forward.  Ever try RC car speed control?

Interesting track on the left.  Is that two rail track with an HO center rail?  Did you hand lay that?  How does that work?

Ron

@Bill Grafmiller posted:

Bob that is so cool. I have thought of garden railroad but not sure I want to run trains when it is below freezing and snowing.

Are you still sure, Bill, after watching this?....

Not mine...found on Google search...could be Dead Rail, which is VERY popular in the large scale realm.   Just think, you could be controlling this from INSIDE the house, cup of joe in hand, enjoying a warm sticky bun...in your jammies/robe!?!  Wellll...it's possible!

I have a Lionel layout inside for when it gets cold out. Not dead rail

@Ron045 posted:

@Ron H

I suppose you are always moving forward.  Ever try RC car speed control?

Interesting track on the left.  Is that two rail track with an HO center rail?  Did you hand lay that?  How does that work?

Ron

Honestly, it may have been an RC car speed control as I was a sponsored RC car racer years ago. However all of my rc car speed controls have no controllability in reverse. This was the only loco I converted. The track is 30 inch two rail sections with an N scale third rail. I did this on the long run straights on my around the wall RR.

For example you cannot see the little third rail from the side when sitting and watching the trains. Maintaining the N scale third rail is very fiddily. I can't say I recommend it if one does a lot of operation.

On my two rail, the first group of 8 battery R/C locos I have are Piko simple basic $100. units.    They use MTO batteries and are charged using external ports except for the Lionel 2 rail 2-6-6-2 which uses the flip up water hatch to access the charging port and on-off switch.

I find that I am only charging the units about once a month.  I regularly rotate the 2 rail locomotives.

My SS RDC uses a discrete button and charging port on the under carriage as does my RS/11

The GP-7 uses a smaller battery due to obvious reasons.  Slight dip in run time but well worth it.

All batteries are onboard, no trailer cars for the battery are used.

Most of my RR has been previously star wired for a dozen PS-2 & 3 locos running conventional. The wired mainline has the ability to run AC or DC in any power district with the flip of a switch for that particular area.  I find PS units run best on AC.

Once I discovered battery R/C the wiring stopped.  All subsequent track construction is to be used with battery only.

I have a Stenton system which is looking for a new home and plan to start with Rail Pro next week.

Am scheduled to pick up the first one or two Rail Pro kits next week to mock up speaker units to see which tenders will be better candidates to contain everything.

My three  3 rail lines are each wired, no thought to go battery there.  I just turn on the three rail trains and let them run the entire time.  Their sounds and travel motion add a lot the the overall model railroad presence.  I got the idea of mixing disciplines from the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford PA.  I had forgotten about the nostalgic joy of three rail.

The three rail has long runs, point to point weaving through the scenery  via return loops at each end.   I fail to see any advantage to go battery R/C with the constant running three rail.  YET !

All the while the two rail is running commuters and freight back into the countryside on a variety of branch lines from the mainline interchange to serve an assortment of industries and public delivery tracks.   My "operation 101" process is basically a Cliff Notes version.   True operation function reminds me too much of work.  I'm retired.

Actually plowing snow. That’s an amazing video!

@Tom Tee posted:

On my two rail, the first group of 8 battery R/C locos I have are Piko simple basic $100. units.    They use MTO batteries and are charged using external ports except for the Lionel 2 rail 2-6-6-2 which uses the flip up water hatch to access the charging port and on-off switch.

I find that I am only charging the units about once a month.  I regularly rotate the 2 rail locomotives.

My SS RDC uses a discrete button and charging port on the under carriage as does my RS/11

The GP-7 uses a smaller battery due to obvious reasons.  Slight dip in run time but well worth it.

All batteries are onboard, no trailer cars for the battery are used.

Most of my RR has been previously star wired for a dozen PS-2 & 3 locos running conventional. The wired mainline has the ability to run AC or DC in any power district with the flip of a switch for that particular area.  I find PS units run best on AC.

Once I discovered battery R/C the wiring stopped.  All subsequent track construction is to be used with battery only.

I have a Stenton system which is looking for a new home and plan to start with Rail Pro next week.

Am scheduled to pick up the first one or two Rail Pro kits next week to mock up speaker units to see which tenders will be better candidates to contain everything.

My three  3 rail lines are each wired, no thought to go battery there.  I just turn on the three rail trains and let them run the entire time.  Their sounds and travel motion add a lot the the overall model railroad presence.  I got the idea of mixing disciplines from the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford PA.  I had forgotten about the nostalgic joy of three rail.

The three rail has long runs, point to point weaving through the scenery  via return loops at each end.   I fail to see any advantage to go battery R/C with the constant running three rail.  YET !

All the while the two rail is running commuters and freight back into the countryside on a variety of branch lines from the mainline interchange to serve an assortment of industries and public delivery tracks.   My "operation 101" process is basically a Cliff Notes version.   True operation function reminds me too much of work.  I'm retired.

You will love RailPro.  I really like the controller and its simplicity to install, wire and connect.   The one and only downside I see is an E stop takes three different button pushes.  By the time I push one button the incident has already occurred.  Fortunately, I've only had the need to do that twice in the last 14 months since I started with that system.

There is talk of a physical red tactile button on the next iteration of the remote.

Ron

Ron,  Photos of your R/P install?

@Tom Tee posted:

Ron,  Photos of your R/P install?

Show off some engine pictures/video - Down Below

What scale? O

What are you using for power?  14.8v 3500mah Lithium Ion (LiIon) battery with Printed Circuit Board (PCB) protection.  MTO and XML

What type of charger? - MTO Smart Charger.

How are you charging? (i.e. remove battery?  In the engine/tender?  Through the rails?  Something else? - Permanent in the engine with a charging port in the engine.

What control system are you using? (Multiple systems?)  RailPro and BlueRail.  Will soon try Blunami when they make a O gauge board.

Do you still have powered tracks for some of your fleet?  Yes. Other family members still run DCS and Legacy.

Please share your experiences?  Very positive.  Never going back to Track Power.

I like to acquire MTH PS1 engines and gut them.  The RailPro board and the battery fit nicely inside the diesel shells.

For fun and because of the input of the members noted at the top of this thread i converted a low end single truck mounted motor rs3 i was using as a test bed for weathering and repainting.  11.something battery with a very low cost small low voltage wireless led dimmer control.  Hey it was cheep.  It acutally works fine in forward only.  I was hoping to use this to pull my trackman track cleaning car.  Alas, the single motor loco is too light and underpowered.   When i get time im going to try this with a twin motor frankenloco sitting in the why do i have it bin.  The controller may not be up to the task but the controllers came as a two pack.  Im not planning to covert the rest of my stuff to deadrail at this time but for maintenance this seems like a viable plan.

Just completed removing all electrical from my Legacy NW2 Switcher.  Will be replacing with RailPro system. That should be delivered by dog sled today . Will update my progress.

So far things are coming along. A little nervous on the wiring. I took out all electrical except  wires for lights and motor. Well I thought motor. The wires I thought belonged to the motor were the speaker wires. but  then I realized that there were 2 plug connectors  mounted on the motor. So found the wire that fit on one 2 prong plug  and plugged it in . Hooked up a battery and the motor ran. So that connection I hope will work. I have the battery wires connected to the module . Out of the module  are to wires one red and one green to hook up to speaker wire ,but the 2 wires coming out of the speaker are gray not sure how to hook them up. Maybe one of you can help.

It's been a few months since last post . Time Flys dose it not. Well completed the legacy NW2. I think I did a ok job on it. The only thing I am not fond of is having to connect a tender to house the battery. I will be looking in the near future to see if I can move everything under the nw2 shell. Here she is.

Just got done with converting a Legacy GP-30 . Still need to finish with finding a hatch cover for the charger port that is located behind the cab and kadee's need to be installed.  This one had me second guessing my decision.  Had a crazy time trying to get my wires nested under the shell. I was trying to install a 3 position 6 pin switch and it was just to much wiring to get everything in place. Pulled it out and put a 3 pin on/off switch in , that did the trick.  As said previously the charger port is behind the cab and I used the old 9 volt housing port to install my switch. I love the fact that I do not have a tender car for housing the MTO Li-Ion 14.8 / 3.0A # 19 battery everything fit nicely under the shell of the diesel.  Would like to share a picture.

Oh being a real none tech guy and with hand tremors this hobby  is so gratifying for me. I find I have to secure wires by using clamps and clothes pins. Can get a little nerve-wracking at times. Also wanted to thank Ron045 for putting up with my questions and how to's . And thanks to OGR for allowing us all big or small layouts to share and gain knowledge . You all have wonderful holidays ❤️

These two locos are  truly dead rail as their control guts have been removed.

Ron did everything go into engine?

@Bill Grafmiller

Ron did everything go into engine?

No Bill . I always put the electronics in the tenders, including speakers.

Ron

I like the looks of your cab forward . Thanks for the pictures.

I have a few deadrail engines, though that isn't the long term intent!

@Bill Grafmiller posted:

I like the looks of your cab forward . Thanks for the pictures.

Here she is alive.

Bill,

I like where you put the charge port.  It looks like its supposed to be there.  You can paint it if you want.  Just be careful not to get paint on the inside where the plug connects.

Good job

Ron

Ron045 thank you for mentioning painting it. I was trying to figure out a cap or hood to put over it. I will give the paint the first shot.

Ron that video made me jealous.  I would love to have one . Oh well maybe someday.

Yep, just hide it in plain site.

Bill,

The cab forward began as a plain jane Williams cab forward. I bought a book on cab forwards and prototype plans and added everything that was missing including the proper frame and metal under the cab and the proper air tanks and piping under the cab.

I posted some how to's somewhere on the forums years ago. Glad you like the loco.

Ron H

There is a brand new Williams cab forward on ebay right now. Cheap.

I will take a look . You did a great job on your conversion.  Thanks again for sharing. Have a great Thanksgiving.

@Ron H posted:

Bill,

The cab forward began as a plain jane Williams cab forward. I bought a book on cab forwards and prototype plans and added everything that was missing including the proper frame and metal under the cab and the proper air tanks and piping under the cab.

I posted some how to's somewhere on the forums years ago. Glad you like the loco.

Ron H

Ron . Where does one find the parts to up scale a loco?

Bill,

I think one needs to learn how the respective type of locomotive you are interested in works and how the different apparatus attached to it functions in order to make it go, stop or idle.

If one simply googles O scale detail parts one will find a plethora of detail parts manufacturers. I always collect historical pictures, books, etc. of the loco I'm gonna detail.  for example these techniques enabled me to build the brass pilots for my Lionel ATSF PAs and add brake piping to the trucks which is very hard to see .

Seems kinda dumb when I operate a 3 rail system. I was going to go all

Radio Control and eliminate the 3rd rail, but I'm turning 75 and just don't mind anymore.

I wish you the best in your endeavors.

Ron H

An interesting aspect of deadrail is where to place the on-off switch and battery access so as not to significantly affect the aesthetics of the engine. I've experimented using several approaches with the deadrail locos I have constructed.

How does the Rail Pro system work inside brass tenders? That was always an issue with TMCC (radio) locomotive conversions.

@AGHRMatt posted:

How does the Rail Pro system work inside brass tenders? That was always an issue with TMCC (radio) locomotive conversions.

From the RP website.

Will RailPro work in brass shell locomotives?

We have not done much testing with RailPro in metal or brass locomotives but several of our customers have said that they work well in brass and full metal locomotives. The Model RR News installed one in a full die cast locomotive and told us that it worked well. RailPro locomotive modules might not have as much range in metal body (brass) locomotives because the RF signal may get attenuated. We have been told that the range is typically about 2/3 of its normal range.