@gunrunnerjohn posted:Just wrapped up this PS/3 upgrade, this has been sitting on my shelf for several years, I thought I should get it in a position that I could run it.
John,
That is one impressive engine! Awesome job.
Thanks guys, I do love the big iron, and when I first saw this one I knew I had to have it. 
I finally got tired of seeing it on the shelf.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Thanks guys, I do love the big iron, and when I first saw this one I knew I had to have it.
Much better on the rails John. Looks and sounds great.
Bob
@RSJB18 posted:Much better on the rails John. Looks and sounds great.
Bob
And I wonder how John got it to smoke so well! 😆😆
@Mark Boyce posted:And I wonder how John got it to smoke so well! 😆😆
Easy Mark, I wished it was a good smoker. 
Caboose completed.
One more hopper to go.
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This was a pretty easy project. I bought a Lionel 17302 Boxcar with an ETD. I was unimpressed with the plastic collector assembly, and the ETD light was a weird color (IMHO). The cheap plastic collector didn't really hold the center rail well, so the light was flickering a lot. I took the thing apart and rebuilt the innards. The purple box shows the wires coming out of the collector and ground. I replaced the original wires with some Kynar wire, and tried to make the collector a little more responsive. The green box shows the output terminals for a small on/off switch I put in, and is easily activated from the underside. The yellow box shows some weights I added to make the car a bit heavier. The red box shows the LED lighting regulator I bought from Hennings. That is the key to making the light less 'flickery'. It is sitting in the modified housing that held a small PCB to make the factory installed LED blink. I ran the Evans blinking red LED (grey box) from the lighting regulator through the ETD hole. The ETD (white box) was removed and I have it sitting on the roof. I drilled out the factory light that was in it, and will use CA to glue in the red LED. It is super bright. I will reattach the ETD to the shell, put the shell back on, and chalk up another successful project!
UPDATE:
After putting the ETD back, I noticed there was some light bleed around the back. I filled the space inside the ETD, around the LED bulb, with some cotton swabs and painted the fluff that was exposed black, to match the unit. Also, I had to do a lot more work on the poorly designed collector assembly so that it made better contact with the center rail. I will never buy another car with this type of collector.
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Started on a Labelle Open Platform Observation. This will be heading to the Strasburg when completed.
Pete
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Pete, looking forward to the LaBelle build. I have a combine to do at some point. I built a baggage car first. A lot simpler build just to practice on. The hard part is understanding the instructions and sorting out the parts.
Agreed Dave on the instructions. I have a combine to build as well. This will take a while as I don’t spend a lot of time with trains this time of year.
Pete
I've had a beater 2328 Burlington GP7 since I was a kid. I think I paid $45 for it at a show in the late 1990s. I repainted it to Santa Fe zebra stripes when I was about 11 years old. It's been kicking around so I decided to give it a make over. I repainted/decaled it, swapped out the postwar plastic fuel tank for a larger modern diecast tank, installed an ERR AC Commander, Railsounds Commander, and all LED lighting. Way over upgraded, but what the ****. I've had it probably close to 25 years.
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Lou....Very nice work. Thanks for showing us.
Richard
@Lou1985 posted:I've had a beater 2328 Burlington GP7 since I was a kid. I think I paid $45 for it at a show in the late 1990s. I repainted it to Santa Fe zebra stripes when I was about 11 years old. It's been kicking around so I decided to give it a make over. I repainted/decaled it, swapped out the postwar plastic fuel tank for a larger modern diecast tank, installed an ERR AC Commander, Railsounds Commander, and all LED lighting. Way over upgraded, but what the ****. I've had it probably close to 25 years.
Worth the investment IMHO.
Nice work Lou.
Bob
That’s a dandy job, Lou!!
@RSJB18 posted:Worth the investment IMHO.
Nice work Lou.
Bob
If I didn't already have the model and the electronics I probably wouldn't have done the project. The cost is probably close to buying an already done modern locomotive, if buying everything now.
Fantastic rescue of a beater giving you the road name and color scheme . Adding the modern electronics is gravy. Now take a MPC era dummy unit and make a match to go with it possibly adding electronics to that too
Getting near the end of my Std Gauge Glenn FA engine.
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STEVE Your standard gauge FA looks really good. Once it's completed could uou post a picture of it beside some common SG locomotive like a 318 or a 380? I'm curious how the Glenn toys items.compare.size wise.
STEVE Your standard gauge FA looks really good. Once it's completed could uou post a picture of it beside some common SG locomotive like a 318 or a 380? I'm curious how the Glenn toys items.compare.size wise.
Here it is with a 384.
Steve
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