@ArtsModelTrains posted:Cleaning my post war NY Central F3. Purchased this engine used and this is the third time I have taken it apart to clean it and I'm still pulling the original grease / gunk out of the gears.
Keep up the good work Jet. 
( ..........third time SHOULD be the charm 
)
@Dallas Joseph posted:Keep up the good work Jet.
( ..........third time SHOULD be the charm
Thanks, think this time I got it all! The engine is running the best it has since I got it.
Looking to add a light to my MPC Santa Fe GP9 #8255. What's the best way?
1) Swap out the truck for the 8130-15 collector truck.
2) Can I add a p/u roller to the existing truck?
3) Best socket bulb choice. Think I like the clip on one wire style with the push in bulb.
4) Maybe LED?
My Santa Fe GP9 dummy never had a light so I added one. 8030-15 P/U roller/8030-13 light socket/#161 Light bulb. L
ooks nicer. My GP20 is next for a light.
So I’m playing around with leds some more, here’s another GRJ designed pcb. He uses it for ground lights. But it surely has many more uses in any number of applications you can think of(buildings, backyard lighting, out buildings, etc.). The pcb(6 per board)is from OshPark at $2.30 for batch of three, shipped(12 cents each). Way cheaper from off shore sources. I bought the 3528 smt led from the bay at $8 for a hundred. So I have 20 cents in each light. They run off 3-5vdc(however you get there is up to you). A resistor from around 220ohms to around 1k can dim them out a for a variety of lighting applications to suit your taste. One tip, I put a tiny drop of glue on the pcb, place the led, then after it’s dry, solder them. Stops me from pushing them around when I try to solder. Try em’ out if you have a need. Click for larger image.
My F3 upgrade marches on......the marker lights are installed.
I covered the back of the number boards after these pix were taken to kill the spill over.
Bob
I had some time to spend in the Train Room this morning so I decided to rebuild the motor in my Marx M10000 streamliner. It's been sitting on this shelf since it smoked up and broke down at the beginning of the winter.
With about 4 hex nuts and 2 machine screws (plus some encouragement with a wheel puller), the entire motor assembly came apart. It's very similar to some of the other prewar Marx motors I have worked on.
My M10000 set has an early manual reverse unit rather than the more typical 2-position E-unit. The ancient wires were crumbling and were in desperate need of replacement. I took this photo so I could remember what went where befoe cutting off the old wires.
I soaked all of the parts in my favorite general purpose metal cleaner, WD40, and spent an hour scrubbing off 85 years worth of grime and surface rust off of everything.
I rewired the locomotive with heavier-gauge modern wire.
I put the electrical components back together and tested the armature on the bench to make sure I had wired it correctly. The last step was to polish the wheels on my bench grinder and press them back on with my table vise.
Here's the rebuilt motor, freshly lubed with light machine oil and ready to go back into the locomotive shell.
The set runs a whole lot better now, check it out on my Marx / prewar Flyer table!
Mass assembling baggage cart kits for my current under construction diorama
Sorry for not having Pic;s But for the last couple of weeks , Its been Flat cars , 2 AllNation cast aluminum , 2 LaBelle Stick built) a Walthers refurbish (From the late 1930's early 40's) and a very unique Scratch build That hade scale details in a set of late 1930's lionel tinplate trucks, (I have about 10 reefers and box cars done the same way)
This would be considered I.M.O. heavy, as in later or last days of 80's service. Rust and color paint fading go together.
Good question, thanks!
@SIRT posted:Done
Sharp!
Recently I acquired my 2nd 682 w/ 2946w-50 Pennsylvania tender. Needed the usual maintenance, repairs and oiler gear arms.
First three pix are what it looked like prior to working on it, 2nd two pix are final product. Runs excellent, like new.
Have a Santa Fe F3 from 1948 bought as junk and needed a good home once again the famous x is on the shells I have one other 2333 with the X on both powered and dummy units, I also have a pw Wabash 2240 AB unit no X along with a PW 2344 NYC ABA no X on either powered or dummy. Have some Greenburgh's Lionel books and nobody can figure out what the X is for Anyone have a PW Lionel F unit with the X other than Santa Fe. Thanks
I have been in the hunt for over 16 years for a K-Line Colfax Tank car. I just found a American Flyer one and snagged it up. I removed the trucks from an old Lionel car and snapped them right on the American Flyer one. Perfect transition.
Working with solder paste:
I’ve been playing around with small flickering led boards designed by GRJ. Hand soldering 0805 smt resistors on these boards is not easy. An alternative would be using solder paste for mounting the resistors. Having no experience what so ever, I promptly ordered some from Amazon. A 15 gram syringe was around $15 shipped(wife’s Prime account).
Comes with directions and a couple of tips for dispensing. I couldn’t get the plunger to clip into the barrel, and some of the paste eeked out around the seal.🤷♂️ No matter, forged ahead. The stuff comes out of the syringe in little globs making it fiddly to place on the pcb pads. But there again just go with it.
Placing the resistors on the paste was much easier.
Put the boards on a piece of 3/8” plywood for heating. Then came applying heat with a pretty cheap heat gun. Took about 20 seconds at about an inch+ away moving around the board for the solder to turn silver. After cooling all seems well, and I think a neater looking end result. The electronic experts may opine on the length of the heat effect on the resistors. I simply don’t know if they are impacted or not.
Over all, solder paste does a neater job but is kinda messy to start with. Experience might make the process easier and neater. My research revealed the paste has a shelf life of 6-12 months, the syringe I bought being a lifetime supply. So I’m sure some will be wasted. YMMV… Give it a whirl if you aren’t sure soldering with an iron is the best method.
A little experiment with a glob of paste, much bigger than needed to solder the resistors, placed on a strip of brass with an instant read thermometer. It takes more time for the blob to flash to silver; thirty seconds instead of ~20 for the pcb. The temperature is around 437 degrees F. Not very scientific, but is an example of what to expect.
TedW thank you for the description of your first use of the soldering paste. Yes, I would have trouble soldering those tiny resistors with a soldering iron for sure.
Steve, it appears as if there is texture to the rust above the heart as there would be with such advanced rusting on the prototype. Is that just the excellent blending of colors to obtain the rust or do you add something to give it actual texture?
Ha! Last to-do item for the mass baggage cart build is checked off!! Done! 
....Oh, wait, ....still have to paint them, ....right....rats....
@Robert S. Butler posted:Ha! Last to-do item for the mass baggage cart build is checked off!! Done!
LOL They look great already
@coach joe posted:
Steve, it appears as if there is texture to the rust above the heart as there would be with such advanced rusting on the prototype. Is that just the excellent blending of colors to obtain the rust or do you add something to give it actual texture?
Texture depends on how much paint is applied. Using 4 basic colors gives you the look and texture. 7 colors is needed for freight car roofs.
Here’s one just about to leave the workbench at last!
I had this old K-Line Pennsylvania L2S Mikado for years that I bought off a fellow forum member for a low price, and I finally upgraded its insides:
- New LED headlight
- Fan smoke w/ John’s Super Chuffer board
- 4 chuffs per wheel revolution with a 3D printed cam by Sid’s Trains
- 100 speed steps w/ ERR Cruise control
- Replaced the generic audio board with a Lionel RailSounds 5 board with the correct road name and number specific CrewTalk
Needs a bit more TLC here and there, plus a dash of weathering, but the insides are fully finished and up to date for my usage.
Some Arcade and Attica Boxcars, soon to be decaled…
Tom
The mass baggage cart construction project is finished! - They are painted and loaded...next stop the Oblivion Station platform!
Finally solved my LED marker light problem on my F3 upgrade. Now I have to take the wiring apart and replace the LED's.
I was using common anode led's. Needed common cathode instead.
Bob
@RSJB18 posted:Finally solved my LED marker light problem on my F3 upgrade. Now I have to take the wiring apart and replace the LED's.
I was using common anode led's. Needed common cathode instead.
Bob
It's always something!
I'm glad you found the problem
@RSJB18 posted:Finally solved my LED marker light problem on my F3 upgrade. Now I have to take the wiring apart and replace the LED's.
Bob
🎵Ain't no mountain high enough 🎶
@Dallas Joseph posted:🎵Ain't no mountain high enough 🎶
Seems I just heard that song on this station not so long ago. 
@Dallas Joseph posted:🎵Ain't no mountain high enough 🎶
@Mark Boyce posted:Seems I just heard that song on this station not so long ago.
😎😎😎😎
You could ask, “what did you manage to get off the workbench?”
There is still much to do on the two observation cars. A major fix on the Frisco obs was to get rid of the full diaphagm. The major fix for the FW&D obs was to blank out windows on the forward left side where a galley was located. Still need to shorten the rooftop antenna and apply vents over the galley. Maybe in September I can work on it some more.
Just finished making this McKeen passenger trailer for the Virginia and Truckee.
As with many of my creations, everything is 3D printed in sturdy ABS plastic except the wheels and axles.
That includes the trucks and couplers by the way!
Still some refinements to be made (need to add some weights to the inside and repaint the rooflines so they match better), but the opening doors work alright.
@Trainguy Ken posted:Just finished making this McKeen passenger trailer for the Virginia and Truckee.
As with many of my creations, everything is 3D printed in sturdy ABS plastic except the wheels and axles.
That includes the trucks and couplers by the way!
Still some refinements to be made (need to add some weights to the inside and repaint the rooflines so they match better), but the opening doors work alright.
Interesting, I have STD Gauge, a O Gauge McKeen and today I got an H0 kit in the mail.
Steve
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