WHAT’S ON THE WORKBENCH AT THE MOMENT

How does something like that happen? Internal wiring short?

@Lou1985 posted:

How does something like that happen? Internal wiring short?

Hi Lou

It could be many different things. Hard to tell where it started because different areas are burnt up pretty bad.

Alex

I was hoping there was a main cause. I'm always interested in why things failed.

Holy poop Alex!

This engine is going for over $4,000, used, on ebay.  At that price I wonder if a call or copy of your video to Lionel would produce a good will offering?

I would think that they would want to know the cause too.

That's terrifying as an owner of one. I hope this is an isolated incident.

What a mess Alex, but that locomotive is in good hands.  I'm sure you'll have it running good as new!

It’s a very isolated incident, I work on VL BB constantly and this is the first one like this. When I take it apart I’ll take a closer look and see if I can find exactly where it started from.

Alex

Alex will have that all sorted out, good as new, ,....but first, he’s got to be a forensics fire investigator...😉...right man is on the job!

Pat

@harmonyards posted:

Alex will have that all sorted out, good as new, ,....but first, he’s got to be a forensics fire investigator...😉...right man is on the job!

Pat

Thank you Pat !

Did you buy that one at Dowsers on Dekalb Avenue

After Alex posted his response about finding the exact cause, I heard the distinct theme of Law & Order- LOL!!!!!

@bluelinec4 posted:

Did you buy that one at Dowsers on Dekalb Avenue

Yes ! It’s slightly used but it will work just like the one the guy showed me in the store LOL 😂

@Lou1985 posted:

Got this thing running. Came with no boards, minimal wiring, no motor, and no driveshaft. The only wiring in the locomotive were the 10 pin connectors on each end of the wireless drawbar. I ended up combining a spare PS2 3V harness from a Railking 2-8-0 with what was left of the Yellowstone harness. It was a bit of a PITA, and took awhile, but it works. I installed a ball bearing 9434 Pittman in the locomotive and a PS32 board in the tender. It runs well and is massive. It's larger than my Premier AC6 Cab Forward and has less than 1/4" clearance in several spots around my layout. So no more articulateds for me....

Boy  Lou , I certainly  envy your  talents.

After accumulating various doner parts and engines it must be a lot of fun getting the results that you are achieving  in your pastime.

@Alex M posted:

It’s a very isolated incident, I work on VL BB constantly and this is the first one like this. When I take it apart I’ll take a closer look and see if I can find exactly where it started from.

Alex

Let us know what you find. I'm curious how it got that burnt up.

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Boy  Lou , I certainly  envy your  talents.

After accumulating various doner parts and engines it must be a lot of fun getting the results that you are achieving  in your pastime.

Thanks. I'm not that talented. I'm just putting stuff back together. I'm not machining parts or anything crazy 😉.

Years ago in Trains magazine in an article featuring the Quanah, Acme, & Pacific Railroad there was a picture of Hubert Wells standing beside a QA&P caboose quite similar to this one.  I am still searching for that photo, but it will turn up some time.

This caboose is cast metal, and a person might be able to defend his home with it.  No decals for this project exist so I will be printing them myself.

@SIRT posted:

                          #1,904...

Your work is always nice to see. A very good  job on the pipe load build

This is has returned to the bench now. I need to add some mud flaps and paint the wheels and it’s ready to Piggyback

Working on Dad's Marx Engines.  Has five shoe tubs of them.  Here's an 1829 and a 333 apart.  Both are working great now.

Kelpieflyer, now that’s enjoying the hobby. Keep us posted.

nice  job Alex HOPE you'll show a video when repairs are all done .  nice to se a badly damaged overheated engine come back to life  as always you do a terrific job repairing any engine. I especially liked the VLBB you repaired that the guy that owned it destroyed it ! the right repair man was repairing that Lionel vision line !

Alan

@Alex M posted:

Yes ! It’s slightly used but it will work just like the one the guy showed me in the store LOL 😂

Did the guy in the store show you on this one?    You put on an attachment and it cleans upholstery

Just "completed" my first attempt at a die-cast upgrade.  It looks like I need some well-placed tape to block some of the light underneath.  I am upgrading the SuperStreets police vehicle right now.  I'll post when I get that finished!

Dennis

Today on my bench is the old Lionel o27 Piggyback car.

Just coming off the work bench today from an ERR upgrade is my Lionel 6-18018 Southern 2-8-2 Mikado Steam Locomotive & Tender. It came from eBay with sound and transformer control. I removed the Constant Voltage Board thinking I wasn't going to need it but soon found out I did need it for the lights on the locomotive. I had to figure out which lead was input and output and ground. It all worked out pretty good. Had to clean out the smoke unit, it was all gummed up.

I picked up my 4th MTH Premier Santa Fe 3460 class Hudson back in October. It was mint but missing boards and the motor. All wiring was there. I installed a ball bearing, rare earth magnet, 9234 Pittman. I tracked down a set of PS3 boiler and tender boards and installed them today. It's fully functional and runs very well. Pat, @harmonyards, made up a set of recessed alan bolts for the roller side rods as well.

Well I'm back at stuff again. I'm turning a MTH Premier Nickle Plate USRA Mikado into something resembling an ATSF 3129 class Mikado. Tender is done and converted to oil firing. next up is adding ATSF gingerbread (number boards, headlight, bell) to the locomotive to "ATSFize" it.

Making a Fuselage transporter following the Feb 2004 OGR article.    [url=https://postimg.cc/HVCcVzmV][img]https://i.postimg.cc/Yqv1DDyf/20210720-142226.jpg[/img][/url]

As of a month ago, I am a member of the Red Lion, PA Model Train Club. I am working applying scenery  to a carved foam back-corner piece.

@Lou1985 posted:

Well I'm back at stuff again. I'm turning a MTH Premier Nickle Plate USRA Mikado into something resembling an ATSF 3129 class Mikado. Tender is done and converted to oil firing. next up is adding ATSF gingerbread (number boards, headlight, bell) to the locomotive to "ATSFize" it.

Man got talent,..😉

Pat

[url=https://postimg.cc/DJMR5hL5][img]https://i.postimg.cc/J0rmr4nw/20210720-174546.jpg[/img][/url]

I had to extend the flat car 2.5 inches.. [url=https://postimg.cc/68Q36yZT][img]https://i.postimg.cc/9Qdqp9FP/20210721-124631.jpg[/img][/url]

Further progress..  [url=https://postimg.cc/y3NGKVS4][img]https://i.postimg.cc/D0Q3q0vZ/20210723-095601.jpg[/img][/url]

                                                     SIRTOA NJHR D.K.'s 6 pk...

[url=https://postimg.cc/kVZKNpzm][img]https://i.postimg.cc/KzcfbX5R/20210724-084821.jpg[/img][/url]

@Alex M posted:

Here’s what I’m currently working on

Boy Alex........are there any parts inside the boiler that can be saved ?

What is your best guess as to what caused this . 🤔

Well this finally made it off the bench

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Boy Alex........are there any parts inside the boiler that can be saved ?

What is your best guess as to what caused this . 🤔

It's hard to pinpoint, but seems to be a derailment and transformer breaker didn't shut the power off. Electronics cooking for a while.

Alex

The Frisco railroad passenger car roster included a lot of round roofed cars, especially headend cars.  I do not expect to find this style of car in Frisco livery, so I patiently search for bargains.  I do not know which manufacturer made this RPO pictured above.  It has a wood roof and stamped metal sides.  Actually quite realistic as compared to several other manufacturers.
It was made as 2-rail, so I had to refit it with MTH heavyweight trucks. The truck coupler shanks were hideously long, so I did some “surgery” to get the pictured results. I have some custom made Frisco decals to be added later.  It also arrived without mail hooks, but I have a set of those to apply after I am through with all the rough handling work.

Adding details to an older TMCC Lionel PA1. So far lift rings, wipers, air hoses, grab irons and a firecracker antenna have been added. Just waiting for the two single chime air horns to arrive and the everything will receive an appropriate coating of paint.

My MTH Erie PA stand nearby as I just added a firecracker antenna to that engine too…

Tom

On the workbench my current 19 degree crossover track. 2 rail O scale, code 100.

nine frogs later it ain’t as bad as the last attempt ! next is gaping and wiring.

stained ties are waiting.

@Leroof posted:

On the workbench my current 19 degree crossover track. 2 rail O scale, code 100.

nine frogs later it ain’t as bad as the last attempt ! next is gaping and wiring.

stained ties are waiting.

Nice work, sir! That will look really nice when completed!

George

Just finished installing new tires on the Acela !

Alex,

That looks like a major pain in the tush! But at least the screws are accessible. How do you get the C-clips off the pins and back on them? It does not appear to be much room to work.

Chris

LVHR

@lehighline posted:

Alex,

That looks like a major pain in the tush! But at least the screws are accessible. How do you get the C-clips off the pins and back on them? It does not appear to be much room to work.

Chris

LVHR

Hi Chris,

It's a very tedious job to perform . Also these Acela's have the zinc rot issue , have to be extremely careful when handling the journals. As for the e clips have to do all work under a magnifier, and it's still a slow go trying to get the e clips back on. I use mini long nose pliers and mini screwdrivers.

Alex

THAT is one complex truck!

I would have lost at least one of those clips for sure

Zinc pest in those??? Good grief! Talk about an expensive paperweight. Are replacement parts available? If not, is there a way to make either a 3D printed replacement or resin cast the replacement? Might be worthwhile looking into, as I'll bet you are not the only one with the problem.

Chris

LVHR

If I could find some worthy flared spark arrestors and a realistic housing for a yellow beacon light then 580 would be finished. This is a Lionel Legacy GP7 formerly painted Pennsy.  This is the 4th Legacy GP7 I have repainted for SL-SF, and I think I’m done.

@lehighline posted:

Zinc pest in those??? Good grief! Talk about an expensive paperweight. Are replacement parts available? If not, is there a way to make either a 3D printed replacement or resin cast the replacement? Might be worthwhile looking into, as I'll bet you are not the only one with the problem.

Chris

LVHR

Wait til the "true collector" who bought one of these Acelas unseals it from the shipping carton for the first time in 10 years from now. Sad such an expensive item can have this zinc rot but I am not surprised. Can you imagine the look on someone's face when He finds side frames in pieces?

@jini5 posted:

Wait til the "true collector" who bought one of these Acelas unseals it from the shipping carton for the first time in 10 years from now. Sad such an expensive item can have this zinc rot but I am not surprised. Can you imagine the look on someone's face when He finds side frames in pieces?

One more reason I'm glad I passed on this troublesome set.

Whatever happened to the KISS concept? Can't charge enough for it as we add all our bells and whistles?

Watching Alex do that reminds me of a time when GM stuffed a large engine in a small body car and you had to pull the engine to change the plugs. Back when you had to change plugs. No consideration given to maintenance.

Gerry

Well I did an unnecessary repair today. My Premier PS3 SP Cab Forward came from the factory with a black painted knockoff Pittman. I had a spare ball bearing 9234 Pittman so I swapped it in. Was it necessary? No. But all my other steam locomotives have Pittmans (even if they didn't come with a Pittman from the factory), so I made it match the rest of the fleet 😉.

@Rob Leese posted:

The Frisco railroad passenger car roster included a lot of round roofed cars, especially headend cars.  I do not expect to find this style of car in Frisco livery, so I patiently search for bargains.  I do not know which manufacturer made this RPO pictured above.  It has a wood roof and stamped metal sides.  Actually quite realistic as compared to several other manufacturers.
It was made as 2-rail...

"...wood roof and stamped metal sides..." I'm gonna guess Walthers...nice. 🙂

Mark in Oregon

I finally replaced a proto coupler that's been broken since I bought the engine. Of course it was the rear one and wouldn't close, so it's like having a new engine since I can finally pull with it.

@gmorlitz posted:

Whatever happened to the KISS concept? Can't charge enough for it as we add all our bells and whistles?

Watching Alex do that reminds me of a time when GM stuffed a large engine in a small body car and you had to pull the engine to change the plugs. Back when you had to change plugs. No consideration given to maintenance.

Gerry

Amen!!!!

@Rob Leese posted:

If I could find some worthy flared spark arrestors and a realistic housing for a yellow beacon light then 580 would be finished. This is a Lionel Legacy GP7 formerly painted Pennsy.  This is the 4th Legacy GP7 I have repainted for SL-SF, and I think I’m done.

Nice work

Right now my custom 3D printed set of Rock Island TAs (with frames and trucks salvaged from postwar Lionel Alcos) are still sitting on my workbench. I just finished building them but I want to do more. Right now they're just as simple as possible-- a Lionel Pullmor motor and LED headlights-- but I'm considering adding command control and sound to them as well. While I'm at it I could put in a flasher circuit for the Mars lights as well. Big decisions!

On my virtual workbench in Fusion 360, I'm designing some parts for a much-requested 3d-printed kit, the McKeen motor car. I'm trying to figure out how to graft some new sideframes onto some of the power trucks that I have on hand. The unequal wheel sizes of the McKeen add complexity to the design process!

edited to correct grammar

@Trainguy Ken posted:

Right now my custom 3D printed set of Rock Island TAs (with frames and trucks salvaged from postwar Lionel Alcos) are still sitting on my workbench. I just finished building them but I want to do more. Right now they're just as simple as possible-- a Lionel Pullmor motor and LED headlights-- but I'm considering adding command control and sound to them as well. While I'm at it I could put in a flasher circuit for the Mars lights as well. Big decisions!

On my virtual workbench in Fusion 360, I'm designing some parts for a much-requested 3d-printed kit, the McKeen motor car. I'm trying to figure out how to graft some new sideframes onto some of the power trucks that I have on hand. The unequal wheel sizes of the McKeen add complexity to the design process!

edited to correct grammar

This is really something Ken.   

It's hard for me to fathom how you can do 3d-printing like this.         Really nice work on those TAs.

I recently fixed a K-line MP-15 that wasn't working. I bought it used and it has been a shelf queen. The demo paint is a winner so I kept it. I decided to see what was wrong recently and it turned out to be a simple fix. After stripping out the parallel/ series switch (all of my K-line's are series wired), and sound board, I found a bad solder joint on one of the triacs. After a quick hit with the soldering iron, I have another working loco.

This Lionel observation car once lettered for the Empire State Express will be transformed into FW&D Rwy’s Silver Tray finishing its career on the Texas Zephyr.

Bunch of prewar Walthers tank cars. Three early #3560 Crestline and the Texaco is another that will get rebuilt. It is the next version #3806 from about 1942. It’s fun to rebuild these old doorstop cars and I don’t have to be concerned with ultimate scale detail.

Getting around to finishing the front stairs on my Inspection Engine.

Found some brass ladders from Precision Scale O on ebay and sectioned them.

Adding a brass plate to the pilot and will probably bolt the upper and lower ladders to it with

#0 brass screws. Then shorten the upper steel walks to match and add a brass wrap around handrail.

The 262T tender I bought for the project was missing the sheet metal coal pile. The reproduction piece I saw on ebay

( a piece of black sheet metal with some wrinkles on top ) looked nothing like the original ones I saw in photos.  So I cut and

formed some .020 in. sheet copper to fit the general coal pile area and then made an embossing tool from a large ball bearing and

a piece of pipe and an anvil area in a soft pine board to make a random pattern.

Then I bent and finish shaped the copper to fit.  Looks too nice to paint black, so I'll probably leave it raw and let it age more.

A few days ago, I returned a Marx 1666 locomotive to a friend. It needed axles, and axle bushings. A rather simple repair, with parts still available. When I returned the locomotive, he handed me a much older Marx Commodore Vanderbilt locomotive that stopped running. This is even simpler then the 1666, with the drive/reverse mechanism, and a light. When removed the drive unit, I noticed after applying power, that it wanted to run. I inspected the motor, and found the hole in the frame for the armature was rounded, causing the armature to not sit centered in the frame. The only other repair needed is one side rod, a light bulb, and a new feed wire for the bulb.

Right O Way switch being worked on.

JET

Been playing Tic Tat Toe on the work bench??

Well before I start changing the lettering on the Rio Grande JLC Challenger I picked up to UP I wanted to get the mechanicals squared up. Basically the issue was the smoke unit and number of chuffs. From the factory these had 2 chuffs a revolution and a continuously running smoke fan. I changed the chuff cam from the factory 2 lobe to a 4 lobe cam. I installed another cherry switch next to the one that generated the chuff sound to control the smoke unit fan. @Norton was able to give me instructions on how to wire the smoke fan to the cherry switch so it would short the fan motor, making distinct puffs. I also removed the sock Lionel put around the resistor in the smoke unit from the factory, repacked the batting, and enlarged the smoke fan air intake hole to 1/4". Pretty simple 4 chuffs a revolution (double chuffs at low speed because it's an articulated) and puffing fan smoke. Much better than stock.

@Lou1985 posted:

Well before I start changing the lettering on the Rio Grande JLC Challenger I picked up to UP I wanted to get the mechanicals squared up. Basically the issue was the smoke unit and number of chuffs. From the factory these had 2 chuffs a revolution and a continuously running smoke fan. I changed the chuff cam from the factory 2 lobe to a 4 lobe cam. I installed another cherry switch next to the one that generated the chuff sound to control the smoke unit fan. @Norton was able to give me instructions on how to wire the smoke fan to the cherry switch so it would short the fan motor, making distinct puffs. I also removed the sock Lionel put around the resistor in the smoke unit from the factory, repacked the batting, and enlarged the smoke fan air intake hole to 1/4". Pretty simple 4 chuffs a revolution (double chuffs at low speed because it's an articulated) and puffing fan smoke. Much better than stock.

very impressive!

doesn't that locomotive come with loco specific crew talk?

and wasn't that unit made in Korea?

@Berkshire President posted:

very impressive!

doesn't that locomotive come with loco specific crew talk?

and wasn't that unit made in Korea?

Yes it does have road specific crew talk. I never use it so changing the lettering to UP won't bother me.

It is a early 2000s piece made in Korea with a Pittman 9434 motor and a bullet proof driveline with large worm gears. IMO a much better unit mechanically than any of the later Legacy/Vision line Challengers.

I added 6 Warm White 5 mm LED'S inside my Menards 2 Bay Engine House to look more like old fashioned light bulbs. Working on making Bay doors out of Basswood for the building. Ordered some miniature hinges for mounting the doors. I am going to use Tubular Track inside the building, mating it up to Fastrack outside, wiring the sidings to the building to on/off switches. Also work in progress stacking 4 Basswood strips that somewhat look like track ties to use for end of track stops with holes drilled to have track pins fit into it and have a couple red Blinking 3mm LED's as warning lights on them.

Super 381 getting motors, PS3  board & speaker

And done.  What a pain to work on. 

I have a friend's Marx Commodore Vanderbilt that I posted about several days ago. I had a little more time to examine it again after closing the elongated armature shaft hole with a dab of epoxy. Now the armature stays centered in the hole. I applied power, and the motor still wouldn't turn. Looking at the brushes, they are a little more then halfway worn, and were quite dirty. I cleaned the brushes and the points on the armature that the brushes contact, and the motor runs fine. I need to order a side rod, and a bulb, and I'll also see if brushes are available. If not, I can make those from some brushes I saved from old drills, or from a carbon arc pencil rod. My friend was willing to pay for a used replacement motor, but the cost with shipping would be more then the value of the locomotive.

Silver Tray was built in 1940 by the Budd Company for the streamlined Texas Zephyr running between Denver, CO and Dallas, TX.  It was always lettered BURLINGTON on the letter band and sublettered FW&D at the car end.  In 1956 when the CB&Q Denver Zephyr was modernized with unarticulated equipment the articulated trainsets were sent to the Colorado & Southern and the Fort Worth & Denver subsidiaries to run as Texas Zephyrs.  These trainsets were relettered TEXAS ZEPHYR in the letter band and had their own round end observation cars, so Silver Tray and its C&S mate Silver Bowl were temporarily replaced. However, the last Texas Zephyrs were again served by Silver Tray before the train was discontinued.  It is likely I saw this car in revenue service on the Zephyr going past my grandmother's house outside Chillicothe, TX.    Upon retirement from service in the US, Silver Tray was sold to Chihuahua Al-Pacifico and brought up the rear of the Vista Train which operated between Chihuahua and Los Mochis Mexico. I had an evening meal in Silver Tray in 1974 on the Vista Train.   It is a very special car to me.

The closest match I could find is this Lionel obs lettered for the Empire State Express. To improve similarities, I will need to blank out 1/3 of the forward windows on the left side to simulate the galley area. Silver Tray also had wide low-profile round roof vents over this area. The artwork included in this post includes tail sign work for this project as well as for another obs on the Frisco Meteor. The Texas Zephyr tail sign was simply red neon lettering permanently affixed to the end. I will be printing decals to place over the lighted tail sign molded onto the Lionel car. Red neon was simulated on MS Publisher as a text box using 8 point font enhanced with "text effects" creating an orange glow around the text.  Decal Venetian blinds have been ordered to apply to the middle windows.  Have not found decals to simulate curtains for the end windows.

This stock photo of Silver Tray is circa 1967.

I don't know why I have neglected responding to this topic for so long.  Maybe it is because I don't have room for a regular workbench.  I pull up whatever layout space or shelf space I can find empty to use as a workbench.  Well, since the wiring is basically done on my layout, and I put a lot of tools, screws, lugs, wire away, I am using the roll around cart as a workbench.  So, this Altoona Model Works Branch Line station kit is there right now.  It is a little farther along than in this photograph with the windows and doors installed, but you get the drift.  Drift.  Yes, it is snowing again outside. 

@rail posted:

I have a friend's Marx Commodore Vanderbilt that I posted about several days ago. I had a little more time to examine it again after closing the elongated armature shaft hole with a dab of epoxy. Now the armature stays centered in the hole. I applied power, and the motor still wouldn't turn.....

Can you describe the technique you used to close the elongated armature hole? Did you fill the hole with epoxy and then drill it? And have you done this before and can describe how long one could expect such a fix to last? Thanks!

George

Somewhere GRJ ,GGG or Stan mentioned something about extra connectors possibly in steamers boilers or tenders.........so ......I opened the tender on this Railking 4-6-2 that had zero lighting .   Always bothered me.

I found two open connectors.

I found a pair of red LED marker bulbs and then a couple of light stands in my ju-- , ah inventory box.    I also found a clear lens .    I drilled the appropriate size holes for the markers and reverse light.

The final test before screwing everything back together.

Thank you ogrforum.......again.

Wow!  That looks great, Dallas!

Backup and markers look great, Dallas! I wonder how many other tenders have open connectors!

@GeoPeg posted:

Can you describe the technique you used to close the elongated armature hole? Did you fill the hole with epoxy and then drill it? And have you done this before and can describe how long one could expect such a fix to last? Thanks!

George

George,

First, I used a small knife blade to scrape the plastic mount for the armature shaftto clean it and provide a bonding surface. I used a tooth pick to wedge the armature shaft to the top of the hole. I then mixed a small amount of JB Weld epoxy, and used a tooth pick to apply it into the elongated gap below the shaft. I don't remember what the set time was on the epoxy, but after a few hours, I turned the shaft to make sure it didn't adhere to the epoxy. I waited until the next day, and turned the motor again to check for free movement. I applied power to the motor after cleaning the armature and brushes as mentioned in the OP, and it runs fine. I'm waiting to hear back from the parts guy for brushes, side rod and light bulb.

For the first time in years, NOTHING on my workbench but a fresh coat of paint!

No mess, no woodworking projects, no household repairs, no train repair projects, no scenery projects, no test station, no engine cradle, no tools, etc.

I'm sure this will last about 10 minutes after the paint dries!

@Mark Boyce posted:

Wow!  That looks great, Dallas!

Thanks Mark.    Every once in awhile I get some extra time on my hands when Judy is snowblowing the sidewalks and driveway.

@Artie-DL&W posted:

Backup and markers look great, Dallas! I wonder how many other tenders have open connectors!

And thank you Artie.     I had no idea what as available in this tender except for a little piece that I remember the wizards of tech riting about.     

This tender was pretty plain so I didn't think anything was going to work.......but since it was a Ps 3  engine and all my other Ps3s have reverse lights on the tenders  , well ....I thought ............. hmmmmm?

@Alex M posted:

Here’s what I’m currently working on

        .........my condolences Alex.

@Mark Boyce posted:

I don't know why I have neglected responding to this topic for so long.  Maybe it is because I don't have room for a regular workbench.  I pull up whatever layout space or shelf space I can find empty to use as a workbench.  Well, since the wiring is basically done on my layout, and I put a lot of tools, screws, lugs, wire away, I am using the roll around cart as a workbench.  So, this Altoona Model Works Branch Line station kit is there right now.  It is a little farther along than in this photograph with the windows and doors installed, but you get the drift.  Drift.  Yes, it is snowing again outside. 

I like the idea of a role around cart for a workbench Mark.    It beats going back and forth between the work area and inventory bins.

Snowing here again too but I bought one of those battery operated snow blowers.      Judy loves it .

@Dallas Joseph posted:

I like the idea of a role around cart for a workbench Mark.    It beats going back and forth between the work area and inventory bins.

Snowing here again too but I bought one of those battery operated snow blowers.      Judy loves it .

Thank you, Dallas.  I can roll the cart between two shelves under the layout too.

it’s snowing here too.  I got a snowblower this year too

I really need to get at it.  My workbench is a mess.  I have a Legacy PRR F3A and two TankTrain cars in a pile after the cats knocked them off the layout.  There’s also two older Atlas SD35s that I upgraded to cruise and then the LED marker lights burnt out on one (wired series) and the other one is getting all the steps and hand rails replaced since the previous owner must have been picking the thing up with oven mitts.  

What else…  Oh, a MTH C&O Greenbrier that needs a BCR and a new speaker as the current one has the typical flaking magnet.  Then there’s an MTH R50b that needs a hanger step glued back on.

I dare not take a picture of the mess.  You all will shame me for it!

AND… I heard a “bump in the night” a few days ago.  Went down this afternoon to put away some tools.  Found a shelf I had installed on the floor along with bench scope and 5 disc CD changer that it held.

I didn’t have the heart to look closer.  I just turned the light out, about face, and out the door.

For the first time in years nothing.  No schedule mods, only minor maintenance.

On the workbench at the moment is…

K-Line AA NYC E-8s getting a full ERR upgrade.

Also Lionel VL Big Boy getting smoke units rebuilt.

Lastly VL Big Boy Tender depleting coal load repair.

Thanks, Alex

@Alex M posted:

On the workbench at the moment is…

K-Line AA NYC E-8s getting a full ERR upgrade.

Also Lionel VL Big Boy getting smoke units rebuilt.

Lastly VL Big Boy Tender depleting coal load repair.

Thanks, Alex

I'd like to see some detail for the smoke unit rebuild as I suspect I'll have to do mine in the near future.

Dallas the tender likes look great.  I'll have to keep this in mind.  I've got 3 MTH steamers I haven't run in a while so I don't even remember if the tenders are lighted so I may be looking at this in the future.

Alex are the smoke and coal load repairs on the same Big Boy?

@Alex M posted:

Lastly VL Big Boy Tender depleting coal load repair.

You're getting a lot of practice on those repairs!

@coach joe posted:

Dallas the tender likes look great.  I'll have to keep this in mind.  I've got 3 MTH steamers I haven't run in a while so I don't even remember if the tenders are lighted so I may be looking at this in the future.

Alex are the smoke and coal load repairs on the same Big Boy?

This was a first for me Joe.   I don't  know if they all have to be Ps3 s or not.   

Sure was fun to do instead of trying to rattle my brain to find out why a non functioning unit has died.

Not on the work bench, but on the test track. This 627 was given
to me with stripped gears and full of dirt. After cleaning and replacing
gears it ran good so conversion to TMCC was begun. Electrocouplers were
installed and an old LCRU was installed. This model did not com with  
lights so LED's were installed. The locomotive ran good and the
electrocouplers worked but the headlights did no work to well. The LCRU
headlight circuits change polarity at random times. This does not bother
incandescent lights but LED's don't work on reverse polarity. A bridge
rectifier and filter capacitors were added and the LED's then worked.
Now back to the work bench to make a clean version of the added
electronics.

@David Nissen posted:

The LCRU headlight circuits change polarity at random times. This does not bother incandescent lights but LED's don't work on reverse polarity.

I learned this lesson a number of years ago.   I tried to use the LCRX to add command to the Hot Box Reefer, I had one in the parts box.  I worked occasionally, and then it wouldn't work, drove me crazy!  I finally put a meter on it and found out about the polarity reversals!  I never ran across this with the LCRU as I always had incandescent bulbs back then, so it never came up.

I admire the kind of work you do on this kind of project Dave

@David Nissen posted:

Not on the work bench, but on the test track. This 627 was given
to me with stripped gears and full of dirt. After cleaning and replacing
gears it ran good so conversion to TMCC was begun. Electrocouplers were
installed and an old LCRU was installed. This model did not com with  
lights so LED's were installed. The locomotive ran good and the
electrocouplers worked but the headlights did no work to well. The LCRU
headlight circuits change polarity at random times. This does not bother
incandescent lights but LED's don't work on reverse polarity. A bridge
rectifier and filter capacitors were added and the LED's then worked.
Now back to the work bench to make a clean version of the added
electronics.

.

Hi Guys,

Marty, I already rebuilt all the smoke units on this BB, if you look up my past threads i have a few pictures and videos of some i did in the past.

Coach Joe, the tender is different from the Big boy.

GRJ, yes i've been getting quite a few lately! LOL

Thanks, Alex

Well the work on the JLC Challenger is done. Started out as a coal fired Rio Grande version.

Relettered to Union Pacific 3977 and changed to oil fired. Installed a 4 lobe chuff cam, extra switch to control the smoke unit fan, and rebuilt the smoke unit.

@rail, thanks for the info!!

George

Well I finished up the COLA E6 AB set that needed boards. I picked up the trailing A unit and B unit from the MTH Premier COLA set that came out in the early 2000s. Both pieces were mint but the A unit lacked any boards but had wiring for the slave board. I have a bunch of PS2 5V harness connectors from other projects in my parts bin so I combined them with the harness in the locomotive along with a tach sensor. With a little repining and some soldering I was able to cobble together a harness. I added a PS32 board with 5V connectors and a speaker. I modified a Premier PS3 E unit sound set with COLA PFA announcements and ta da it was done.

@Lou1985 posted:

Well I finished up the COLA E6 AB set that needed boards. I picked up the trailing A unit and B unit from the MTH Premier COLA set that came out in the early 2000s. Both pieces were mint but the A unit lacked any boards but had wiring for the slave board. I have a bunch of PS2 5V harness connectors from other projects in my parts bin so I combined them with the harness in the locomotive along with a tach sensor. With a little repining and some soldering I was able to cobble together a harness. I added a PS32 board with 5V connectors and a speaker. I modified a Premier PS3 E unit sound set with COLA PFA announcements and ta da it was done.

Boy , I wish I  could " cobble "  together something like this !

REALLY Nice Job Lou .

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Boy , I wish I  could " cobble "  together something like this !

REALLY Nice Job Lou .

It's not so bad when you have a bin full of scraps from prior projects 😄.

I have 30 locomotives, all of which have PS2, PS3, TMCC, or Legacy. Only 12 of them were fully functional when I got them. The other 18 either needed boards, wiring, or complete rebuilds. I've become proficient at buying stuff cheap and building it.

I've got 3 more locomotives (so I really have a total of 33) that need boards, wiring, or both and paint work. So I'm not done yet.