Ted, that is what I was wondering, is the gearing too steep for the weight and output of the motor. It seems to perform well at higher speeds which would make sense with the gearing. I put it in 32 speed step mode just to see how it performed and it was really moving on speed step 2. To cover all bases I will check the mesh by playing with the motor mount shims, but I am starting to think it just a combination issue as much as I would like it to be a binding issue.
Does anyone know where can I find specifications on the wheel spacing? I don't think it would hurt to check for a quartering issue.
As for having to have a traditional J, I don’t have to have one but I wanted to have this one operational and enjoyable. I have the whole weathered set along with a second set of weathered cars and just wanted to have a usable warhorse set. The AC motor was not ideal for running or enjoyable to me. It still runs slow enough as is to not make a lot of noise with the conversion, it just doesn’t ceep. I actually have a RailKing that was given to me that I converted to ERR and RS 5 out of the scale J that runs really well. The motor size between the two is quite a bit different with the MTH having a larger can motor. I use the traditional J for pulling the Christmas boxcars as they look silly behind my scale J or scale Heritage SD70ACE.
I really appreciate everyone’s help and input on this!
