ost 21, 0 Scale trains
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]//-->US $5.95• Can $7.95Display until August 31Celebratingthe art of1:48 modellingIssue #21July/August 2005Vol. 3 - No.4PublisherJoe Giannovariojag@oscalemag.comArt DirectorJaini Giannovariojaini@oscalemag.comEditorBrian Scacebrian@oscalemag.comAdvertising ManagerJeb Kriigeljeb@oscalemag.comContributorsTed ByrneBobber GibbsCarey HinchHobo D. HirailerJace KahnRoger C. ParkerNeville RossiterSubscription Rates: 6 issuesUS - Standard Mail DeliveryUS$30US - First Class Delivery (1 year only)US$40Canada/MexicoUS$50OverseasUS$75Visa, MC, AMEX & Discover acceptedCall 610-363-7117 duringEastern time business hoursDealers write for terms.Advertisers write for informationor visit our website.O Scale Trains ISSN 1536-9528www.oscalemag.comPublished bimonthly (6 times a year) byO Scale Trains MagazinePO Box 238, Lionville PA 19353-0238© 2005 OST All Rights ReservedPrinted in the U.S.A.Contributors:O Scale Trainswelcomes yourfeature articles, photos, and drawings. Such materialshould be sent to the above address for possible publi-cation. If we accept, you will be notified immediately.For more information concerning article preparationguidelines, please send an SASE to the above addressand request our “Guide For Authors” or visit our web-site at: www.oscalemag.com.Cover: Benzli & Woodard Industrial Pumps is a customscratchbuilt structure by Carl Cornish. See more of thisbuilding on page 13. Carl took the photo.Centerspread: A train pulls into Sunbury on Pete Trunk’sPhiladelphia & Erie O Scale layout. The lead Diesel is a RedCaboose GP9 custom painted and converted to a GP18by Dave Richter of the Eastern O Scalers. Pete added theweathering and took the photoFeatures491316253246606264A Simple Diesel 2-Rail ConversionAn easy conversion by Carey Hinch.Pulling Freight the Electric WayAn overview of traction freight motors by Gerald Brothers.Timeless StructuresModel masterpieces by Carl Cornish.Building a Small O Scale Layout — Part 4Mike Culham continues his excellent construction series.Scratchbuilding a Wood-Side GondolaA simple, easy rolling stock project by Tom Houle.Chicago O Meet Contest PhotosAnother fine batch of models in O Scale.Stretching AHM FlatcarsMake these inexpensive cars more prototypical. Gary Woodard showshow he does it.Spring Power TransferAn innovative way to connect motor to gearbox from Daniel L.McCaffery and Robert B. Morgan.O Scale Influences — Arthur FordRoger C. Parker reminisces about a noted traction modeler.OST Builds a Layout — UpdateWe’re making progress on the N&W Exton Division.Departments7112122343851575867686870Easements for the Learning Curve – Brian ScaceThe Modern Image - Carey HinchThe Workshop – Neville RossiterNarrow Minded – Bobber GibbsTraction Action – Roger C. ParkerProduct News & ReviewsReader Feedback – Letters to the EditorConfessions of a HiRailer – Hobo D. HirailerThe Good Old Days – Jace KahnAdvertiser IndexBuy-Sell-Trade AdsEvents ListingObservations – Joe GiannovarioJuly/Aug ’05 - O Scale Trains •OST is a proud Member of theModel Railroad Industry AssociationA Simple Diesel 2-Rail ConversionCarey Hinch“Parts Is Parts”One of the biggest hurdles for me to overcome in three-railconversions was the trial-and-error fear. I wanted to convert sev-eral models to 2-Rail for my railroad, but I was unsure of howthe parts would fit. I have custom detailed numerous Rail PowerProducts HO models over the years. That meant powering themwith various parts from Athearn and Northwest Shortline. For OScale the concept is the same. In some ways the process is thesame, but the action is much more expensive. I was afraid ofmaking a $300 junk pile.Luckily for us, several U.S. companies now use standardparts from Korea, Taiwan, and China to construct a locomo-tive’s running gear. Of the conversions I have tried, I like Weav-er two-rail trucks used in a three-rail model. A phone call toWeaver will get you to the service people and they’ll know justwhat you need. I have noticed Weaver trucks will fit most Wil-liams, K-Line and MTH models, but Atlas trucks should be usedto convert Atlas locomotives. The Atlas trucks are reversed fromthe Weaver trucks. The Weaver trucks, at $75 a pair, includemotors, gears, wheels, contacts, and pilot. A three-rail modelof an engine doesn’t need much (if any) modification to acceptthe Weaver trucks to make it into a two-rail model. The truckreplacement type of conversion is the easiest, though it is cer-tainly possible to re-wheel a three-rail truck with wheelsetsfrom Northwest Shortline (It is critical to electrically isolate thewheels on one side of the truck from the truck body so as not tocause a short. It is not as straightforward as what I am showinghere, but not difficult either). Note that I am using a two-axletruck. A wheel conversion is probably necessary for a three-axletruck. A three-axle two-rail truck with the correct shape to fit amotor is very hard to find from any manufacturer.Similar, Yet DifferentI am modeling some 1970s L&N equipment for my layout, sothe Weaver U-25b will fit right in with the Atlas GP35 I paint-ed. The deciding factor for a type of conversion is the fit of thetrucks. If you have ever seen an O Scale motor off the truck, asin Figure 1, you will notice the half round bottom with a turningradius stop cast into the base. This keeps the trucks from freelyspinning in the frame and twisting the wiring around the motor.It is also what determines turning radius. The shape is carriedthrough the frame. The frame sandwiches between the motorand truck. It is very obvious as to which direction the truck mustpoint to fit to the motor.Generally, by removing one Phillips screw and two slot-ted power-pickup screws, you can separate the truck from themotor and frame. Since you have a two-rail truck, the partsfrom the three-rail truck are not used. Look at them closely(Fig.2) and you will see very similar construction to the two-rail truck, with the notable exception of the wheels. That’s whatmakes this conversion easy. Now, with the motor and three-railtruck separated, you will be able to simply fit the new two-railtruck to the motor and reinstall the Phillips screw to hold themtogether. Don’t forget to lubricate the base of the worm gear inthe two-rail truck! The new two-rail truck gears will not comelubricated.“She’s Got No Power, Captain!”You are now about halfway through your conversion of athree-rail locomotive to two-rail operation! Doesn’t sound thatgreat, does it? Actually, that’s not all that bad, since what’s leftis merely the rewiring for power pickup. A two-rail truck getspower in the same fashion as a three-rail truck. The big differ-ence is that the third-rail roller is gone and a brass wiper is put• O Scale Trains - July/Aug ’05in its place, hence the need for electrical isolation in a wheelreplacement conversion. Once the truck is installed, you canpush the long slot-head screw back down into its hole. Thescrew should pass through a small plastic insulator cap on top,then a large plastic insulator underneath, the brass wiper, andthe metal bottom plate supplied with the two-rail truck. Figure3 shows the various parts of the power pickup. Next, the shortslot-head screw attaches to the top of the truck, just as it did onthe three-rail truck. If you have everything installed as it shouldbe, the wires will pass from the truck back through the frameas before. The truck now has a different wiring scheme, but isgetting the same track power to the electronics as the three-railconfiguration. You have now completed the electrical hook-upof the two-rail truck! But, there’s more.AC Theory and DC OperationThese wires will surely be attached to something electronicon the other end. The AC electronics of a three-rail engine can’ttell the difference from two-rail AC. You still have AC “hot” and“ground” feeding the electronics. I have never tried this, but youcould power the two-rail track with AC and have an engine withQSI sound or simple forward/neutral/reverse. One considerationis that the frame of the locomotive is no longer “ground”, so anywires screwed to the frame will have to be removed and con-nected directly to the electronic unit in the locomotive.The more common alternative is to simply remove the three-rail electronics. The locomotive can then be operated withconventional DC power. Snip the wires as close to the elec-tronics as possible, remove the boards, and connect the wiresfrom the motors to the wires from the trucks. These wires arenot always color-coded. Generally, the motor wires are blueand yellow and truck wires are black and red, however, thisdoes not hold true on the inexpensive Lionel Diesels and onearlier K-Line Diesels! As long as you connect the wire fromthe truck’s wiper side to the same side of the motor, you will becorrect. If you connect each motor to one another in parallel,jumping the terminals on the same side of both motors, you willgreatly enhance electrical pick-up.(Also, if you wire the motorsin series, rather than in parallel, you can reduce the maximumspeed of these types of drives if your railroad uses conventionalDC control. In this scheme, wire the two wiper leads to, say,the left terminal of the forward motor. Run a wire from the rightterminal of the forward motor to one of the terminals on therear motor. Wire the remaining terminal of the rear motor toboth non-wiper leads from the trucks. Check the motors to seeif they both run in the same direction; if not, reverse the leadson the rear motor. Then, check the drive with another loco-motive to see if they both run in the same direction. If not, tradethe wiper pickupleads on thefront motor withthenon-wiperleads on the rearmotor. –Ed)DCC and TMCCYou have nowcreated an elec-trically isolatedplatform for yourchoice of com-mand systems, beit Digital Com-mandControl(DCC), a radiosystem like Loco-linc, or TMCC.All that you DCC folks have to do now is drop in a decoderand begin programming CVs. With all that room between themotors, you’ll just have to install sound, too. Just remember thata low-amp decoder is no match for the high amperage draw ofa twin motored O Scale locomotive and 25 weighted cars.I am using AC power on two-rail track with Lionel Train-Master™ Command Control (TMCC) as my system of choice.TMCC uses a wireless command control technology withsound capability built on the board. It is the same TMCC asin the 3-Rail world. I purchased a TMCC SAW 1.5 controllerboard with Railsounds 4.0 from Train America Studios (www.tastudios.com). SAW stands for Sunset, Atlas, and Weaver con-troller board. It featured GE sound, but equal to a modern Dash9. Well, a U25B does not sound like a Dash 9, however, Lionelmakes a U30C with TMCC and a more appropriate sound forour purposes (I’ll try not to get too far off base here). Thanks tothe Internet, I was able to locate a U30C sound chip from a Lio-nel repair dealer. I pulled and replaced the sound chip installedon the Railsounds 4.0 board; just match the orientation of thenew chip to the old and gently push it home. All Railsounds4.0 boards are the same, but it’s the sound IC chip that givesthe distinctive sound. A computer chip puller is handy here.The puller is cheap, and you can get it at Radio Shack.Once the electronic surgery was over, I installed the SAWboard according to TAS’ instructions. The installation was pain-less (my fourth to date). If you can install a DCC decoder, orwire a switch machine for that matter, you can install a TMCCboard in any locomotive.FinishingThe trucks I ordered from Weaver came with new pilots fortwo-rail use. This allows you to install a pilot on the frame,which provides a mounting pad for the coupler and betterappearance. Two screws hold each new pilot in place with thecoupler at the correct height. It is possible to build a pilot frombrass or styrene for more detail, if you choose. In a locomotiveconsist, I find the level of detail I get from the stock pilots ismore than sufficient for believable appearance. In Figure 4 youcan see how I used the truck conversion method to build a two-rail Atlas TMCC Dash 8-40B. The three-rail truck has just beenremoved and the two-rail truck is a “drop-in”. Figure 5 showshow I had to remove a section of the three-rail pilot so it wouldfit back onto the frame. Figure 6 shows how the coupler boxfits into the pilot. A cosmetic spacer between the pilot and theframe gives the correct height and scale detail. I reworked theJuly/Aug ’05 - O Scale Trains • 5 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]