Some progress on UP 3951 has been made. I managed to remove the cab for backhead detailing. Not so easy. There's a lot of work going into that locomotive, PCS parts are ordered and the Demko helical geared gear box is in place. Turns out I need a geared motor since the mechanism runs too fast. I aim for a 25:1 ratio or higher. There are many options for motors out there, Faulhaber, Maxon, Pittman and Assunmotor of China.
Since the Demko gearbox is not self locking like a worm drive, I might investigate the possibility of an electrical motor brake. That would surely add to realism a lot. Huh, big project!
I was always scared of soldering around an expensive brass engine but now I really enjoy it.
