EDIT: I rigged atether to connect the electrical pickup of the two units and it fixed the problems. They run smooth as silk now. Together, the dual unit pulls about as well as a single BEEP: these are not the most powerful units in the world. But they run very smoothly now.
Original posting:-----------------------------------------
"It's easy to do the second time you do it."
How true.
As I posted a week or so back about the (totally unsatisfactory) calf number one, I removed its motors to make it a dummy, thinking the powered cow would be able to pull its calf and a few cars. Not so. These little locos have minimal traction. With a dummy of its own considerable weight and friction to pull, the cow was just barely able to pull the both of them around my BEEPWorld layout by itself.
So here is: take two. I ordered a third 44-tonner and converted it this afternoon. I removed the body, wired the motors in series (I'd done that before on the cow) then modified the new body into a calf. No re-painting was involved making this calf. Armed with what I learned making the first calf, and after careful study, I cut parts out of the cab to use on the new calf, preserving the color, paint patterns, number and patina of the original body. That first time making a calf let me figure out how to do this and race through it, too. And all of it in only two hours. Very straightforward.
And VERY good looking. I like this look MUCH more than the first calf's.
UNFORTUNATELY this is not a satisfactory pair of locos to run together. Alone, either one runs reasonably well, although both will stall once in a while, or stutter. They have rather marginal connectivity: two pickups and small wheels. In this regard they are like 'Streets vehicles, at low speeds (and that's all I want to run switchers at) that means low voltage which just exacerbates connectivity issues. Occasionally when I stop them they just won't light up when I throttle up again, and I have to give one or the other a tiny nudge. I cleaned the wheels and rollers. I cleaned the track - so well that even unteathered pairs of BEEPS run acceptably. But for some reason, not these. They are more sensitive than anything else I've run. Much more sensitive than BEEPS.
Coupled together, they will move along nicely, looking good, and one will for some reason hit a switch or one of them just momentarily lose contact, and bingo, their e-units fall out of sync. Now they fight each other, one is in neutral and the other forward, and now the other is in reverse and the other in neutral. Getting them back in sync is a challenge. And then run around for a loop or two and bingo, it happens again. I have never had such a difficult time with two coupled locos.
I need to install a tether between them so they share connectivity, which I will do when I can. Otherwise this is an entirely satisfactory conversion, and great looking!
