Thanks, Mike,
Been messing with engines since the 70's. Not sure what you mean for OZ?
Mark,
The good ol' days.
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PRR S-1 6-4-4-6 final mods made.
Had four mods made which, after they were made, ran the engine a total of 850' and it ran well. (Almost 3 football fields).
Mod 1: replaced tender trucks.
Originals.
The originals (top) are sprung plus the center functioning mechanism makes the trucks wider and they were hitting the skirting on the tender. The bottom trucks are cast, non functioning. Two different shoulder bolts were also needed. The original trucks were put in plastic bags and put in the original engine box.
Mod 2:
The front truck derailed once on a previous test so I added two brass washers to raise the tender so the trucks won't hit the skirting, which solved the one derail.
Mod 3: Relocate decoder wires from tender to engine. This was the first time I've routed the wires from under the tender and it was a mistake as they interfere with the lead truck.
Had to cut all eight decoder wires and route them through a new hole drilled in the front of the tender.
All wires re-soldered.
Finished. Hole is just below the tender deck, which is where I should have, originally, put it.
MOD 4: Lead engine truck would, occasionally, derail. Normally, the screw guide is in the center of the truck but this truck is at the back so the front of the truck doesn't get as much downward pressure so it would derail a couple times. A 1/2 oz lead weight was added to the front and this seems to have resolved the problem.
Another alternative is to make a drawbar from the driver retaining plate to the truck. This is what I, normally, like but we'll leave it as is, for now.
TA DA: 850' of good running.
This engine also has sprung lead and trailing trucks.
