Upgrading the Lionel General 8005 from the Starter Set

Porter09 posted:

Question,  I'm actually to going to do this to a general . Does it matter what volts it is? I'm looking  at one for 50 and 100 volts. Which is better?

Either really. They are rated at twice what you'll normally feed them. Safe and very safe.

The minimum amps are almost more important. I like using 6amp, but 4a sneaks it's way in places.

In general, overating a bridge rectifier will only make it stay cooler.

Question, would a single pole double throw switch work?

Charlie, your work looks great on these 4-4-0s!  The biggest thing that bothers me about these Lionel engines is that the drive wheels aren't spoked or even appear to look like they are spoked. Talk about a first world problem, ha!

Anyway, if I had one of these 4-4-0s, I'd be tempted to paint the spaces between the spokes a flat black to give the illusion of spoked drive wheels.

@Porter09 No, double pole, double throw to reverse.

You need 2 circuits/2 position or 2 circuit/3 pos (on#1/ off/on#2)... With 3pos sw. you just skip over that "off" or use it as neutral so the lights and/or smoke stay active while parked. (connect smoke/light at motor for off/on by switch, connect at rollers for full time.)

@Porter09  here is Charlie's notes with the dpdt sw. in black so you can see how to wire and why you need the 2p2t.  The lower pics are examples of what happens internally in the sw. by position of the button.

I did eventually get my stack out but I havent finished yet.  I've figured out how to replace the resistor vs the whole stack too  (it's buried and requires resistors long legs to get it in, then trim the legs)

Charlie,

Looks great!  I put TMCC in mine (in the tender with a tether).  One other thing I did is order new rods to connect the wheels since the existing rod only goes to the rear set of drivers.  I put the Coupling Rod ordered from Lionel from their General Engine (I also ordered the 2 extra wheel screws needed from them) on first.  Then I cut down the existing Connecting Rod to fit to the front drive wheel.  This is a cheap upgrade and makes the engine look more realistic.  Of course you can't order anything until Lionel moves their parts center and re-opens.  I'd get you the part numbers, but their site is down.

Compare it to the engine in 6-82442:

James Gang:

To drill the hole on the Connecting Rod, I rolled the wheel screws to the point where the Connecting Rod would be the farthest forward, then pushed the Connecting Rod into the piston all the way.  Then I pulled it back slightly to set where to drill the hole and then cut the rest off so it looked normal.  

Very nice work !!

Excellent. Thanks for sharing this.

Porter09

It is well worth the effort to add weight to the boiler and leading truck with the 4 wheels.  This engine is very light with a small DC motor and needs the extra weight ( I used old tire weight) to have more traction.  It now will pull four cars plus tender now. 

I found mine had trouble with derailing the front wheels and adding a couple of washers helped keep it on the rails.  I glued the tire weight in the boiler and washers on 4 wheel truck with clear silicone caulking.  Alieens glue will work too.

Charlie