A couple of years ago I was modifying a pair Lionel NYC Alco PA-1 both powered. I wanted to use the electronics from one unit in an early Williams FM Trainmaster since it had Pittman motors and MagnaTraction. I had to modify the heatsink for the DCDR motor driver and open a path on the rear truck for the eight wire harness to exit and pass over the couplers to connect the two units. I used connectors called Dupont connectors which I ordered on eBay. They come with single pin male and female connectors on the end of multi strand ribbon cable which you pull off as many strands as you need. My method is to pull off two strands each with half as many conductors as I need and glue the two strands together at the connectors with thin CA. Note that I kept the open side of the connectors all on the outside so glue did not flow inside should I need to remove the conductor inside. Also note that I staggered the connectors to make the plug polarized so it can only plug together one way. The first five photos show how to assembled the harness the others show the modifications to the rear truck of the Alco PA-1s to facilitate routing the two halves of the harness out the rear of the locos. Something I like about the ends of the Dupont connectors is how easy it is to pull the conductors out of the plastic grip. This made it easy to swap 22 gauge wire for the power and chassis ground conductors between the units. I used silicone insulated wire for these conductors for two reasons. It has a very fine multi-strand wire inside that together with the silicone insulation makes it extremely flexible. It is also much less likely than vinyl to melt in the event of a short. Next time I make one of these I plan to substitute silicone wire for all the conductors. Come to think of it I wish I could just buy the ends. j
