WHAT’S ON THE WORKBENCH AT THE MOMENT

@RSJB18 posted:

Pulled an engine off the shelf today that needed work. It's a Lionel MPC era (I think) Deleware and Hudson RS-3. Base model with the motors in the trucks. It has a really bad horn too.

I had re-wired the motors in series a while back and couldn't get the engine to run. I hit the proverbial wall with it so before the engine hit the actual wall....I closed it up to live to see another day.

So I pulled it apart today and started dissecting the wiring. I had a dead short across the power side so I went to the beginning and worked my way up. Dropped a truck and found the problem immediately. The motor leads and power leads are reversed from what I expected. The trucks have 4 wires, red, black, blue, yellow. Typically for all engines I've done before, red/ black are power, and blue/ yellow are the motor.

Well leave it to Lionel to reverse the pairs.......

So with that sorted out, I corrected the splices and put the engine back together. Quite a mess of wire for such a basic engine.

Runs reasonably slow at 8v for a conventional engine.

Bob

Lionel's "cheap" RS-3 is one of the more under-appreciated basic locos around. Excellent body shell tooling, OK handrails if they are the metal bversion (but oh, those pilots need some love), excellent "Alco" ( AAR) truck side frames - reasonably durable, too, if not PW anvil-tough. The motors are more prototypical in their location than any other platform of which I am aware - traction motors mounted low and transversely at the truck axles. I have owned a couple, and still want to ERR one of them (I have done a Lionel 0-4-0 with ERR, and its motor is similar to the RS-3's).

Unless I am misinformed (say it isn't so!), old Lionel PW transformers start at 6 volts, which makes it hard to run many of the basic can-motored modern locos at anything like low speed. I can run one of these conventionally at less than light speed using my Lionel Powermaster, which does not start at 6 volts. It won't creep, mind you, but it doesn't have to fly, either.

Your D&H behaves very well.

@D500 posted:

Lionel's "cheap" RS-3 is one of the more under-appreciated basic locos around. Excellent body shell tooling, OK handrails if they are the metal bversion (but oh, those pilots need some love), excellent "Alco" ( AAR) truck side frames - reasonably durable, too, if not PW anvil-tough. The motors are more prototypical in their location than any other platform of which I am aware - traction motors mounted low and transversely at the truck axles. I have owned a couple, and still want to ERR one of them (I have done a Lionel 0-4-0 with ERR, and its motor is similar to the RS-3's).

Unless I am misinformed (say it isn't so!), old Lionel PW transformers start at 6 volts, which makes it hard to run many of the basic can-motored modern locos at anything like low speed. I can run one of these conventionally at less than light speed using my Lionel Powermaster, which does not start at 6 volts. It won't creep, mind you, but it doesn't have to fly, either.

Your D&H behaves very well.

This was re-wired in series which makes a huge difference. I've done the same with all of my K-line locos.

I'm using a KW for power which starts between 6-8v.

I'm about to install a LC/bluetooth board in a Weaver RS3. It's an affordable alternative for command control in low end engines if desired. Universal remote or smartphone control with the LC app for under $100......

Bob

I'm building a platform on wheels to hold the Christmas tree and my polar express up off the floor.  The robot vacuum chews up the skirt and we lost our cat that liked to sleep under the tree and derail the train.  Without the cat, the only obstacle is the vacuum.  This should solve that and I can finally put a train under the tree.  

Keeping it simple this morning.

Greased with  Red and Tacky ,  oiled bearing surfaces  ,  backing out ground screws and adding E-Z Lube 99981 to them and pickup rollers .   Installed temporary green MTH battery until BCR2 comes in mail.

   20-3120-1 has come new in box with no wear all the way back from the early 2000s........now new to me.   Gotta treat the old girl with TLC.

God speed all.

My CEO 💖 was fascinated by this MTH 30-5228 BUMP-n-GO she found at the VFM on Friday.  She never saw one before .   So this was her turn to get desert on this Lenten Friday

The need to go along with the Christmas layout Polar Express necessitated the inclusion of elves instead of the normal window silhouettes .

Also going to use the Gunrunner's lighting module and LED strip for much needed improvement in the interior lighting.

Still need to introduced snow on the roof .

God Speed all.

Starting to scratch build a board-and-batten building.  Think it will be a background building.

@Dallas Joseph posted:

My CEO 💖 was fascinated by this MTH 30-5228 BUMP-n-GO she found at the VFM on Friday.  She never saw one before .   So this was her turn to get desert on this Lenten Friday

The need to go along with the Christmas layout Polar Express necessitated the inclusion of elves instead of the normal window silhouettes .

Also going to use the Gunrunner's lighting module and LED strip for much needed improvement in the interior lighting.

Still need to introduced snow on the roof .

God Speed all.

Dallas you are so accommodating to your wife; you really spoil her.

Jay

@Tranquil Hollow RR posted:

Dallas you are so accommodating to your wife; you really spoil her.

Jay

Jay..........if your comment is done with sincerity .................I'll see if she will give you her email address .       She loves to look at model railroad stuff as much as I do and sometimes she is as good at initiating it as Apples55.

@Scott Jackson posted:

Starting to scratch build a board-and-batten building.  Think it will be a background building.

Looking good Scott.

( I can smell hickory smoke coming from a rooftop pipe already sir. )

God Speed in your endeavors. 

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Jay..........if your comment is done with sincerity .................I'll see if she will give you her email address .       She loves to look at model railroad stuff as much as I do and sometimes she is as good at initiating it as Apples55.

Even more impressive!

........come on Polar Express December 2024.

Dallas, it looks great with the LED lighting and snow! 👍🏻

@Dallas Joseph posted:

........come on Polar Express December 2024.

That looks like a great party.....can I join in?

Nice work on the upgrades Dallas. It can be Christmas year round you know......

Bob

Great work everyone!

I wasnt going to comment, but @Dallas Joseph really hit it out of the park with his and his CEO's bump and go car! Just love it!

Couple threads running about populating the new Lionel LC+2.0 Doodlebug. I'm starting with an upgrade on a nice MPC Baby Madison coach that will get pulled behind the Bug, which will get passengers soon too.

I had repaired this car and added a second powered truck a while back. It didn't have couplers when I bought it but I found them recently.

I bought a K-line interior to use for the upgrade and went to work on it today with my Dremel and other implements of destruction....

I had to reverse the seating area so I split it in half in order to line up the walls with the window openings.

The BEEP men are a little bit tall so they will get a double leg-ectomy and a butt reduction......the women fit perfectly in a MPC coach.

RPO Cargo area was next. I did more surgery on the seating area to make it fit.

Finally I cut away the white plastic window shell and will install K-line window films with blinds. An LED lighting install will be included too with one of @Rod Stewart "s lighting regulators. I'm waiting for parts to arrive from Aliexpress to complete this.

To be continued.....

Bob

Bob, it looks like you are making good headway with cutting and fitting on the donor parts for the Madison car!

@RSJB18 posted:

Couple threads running about populating the new Lionel LC+2.0 Doodlebug. I'm starting with an upgrade on a nice MPC Baby Madison coach that will get pulled behind the Bug, which will get passengers soon too.

I had repaired this car and added a second powered truck a while back. It didn't have couplers when I bought it but I found them recently.

I bought a K-line interior to use for the upgrade and went to work on it today with my Dremel and other implements of destruction....

I had to reverse the seating area so I split it in half in order to line up the walls with the window openings.

The BEEP men are a little bit tall so the will get a double leg-ectomy and a butt reduction......the women fit perfectly in a MPC coach.

RPO Cargo area was next. I did more surgery on the seating area to make it fit.

Finally I cut away the white plastic window shell and will install K-line window films with blinds. An LED lighting install will be included too with one of @Rod Stewart "s lighting regulators. I'm waiting for parts to arrive from Aliexpress to complete this.

To be continued.....

Bob

Looking really good Bob, one day I will have to look this back up just to see how I am going to have to do the ones I bought, but never opened ! LOL

@Mark Boyce posted:

Dallas, it looks great with the LED lighting and snow! 👍🏻

@RSJB18 posted:

That looks like a great party.....can I join in?

Nice work on the upgrades Dallas. It can be Christmas year round you know......

Bob

@mike g. posted:

Great work everyone!

I wasnt going to comment, but @Dallas Joseph really hit it out of the park with his and his CEO's bump and go car! Just love it!

Thank you Mark , Bob  and  Mike. Well appreciated guys.

The lighting was begining to be a real issue for my aging gray matter until I dismantled the OEM system and remembered GRJ's solutions to dim , flickering lights.

( and Bob....the CEO 💖 says it is Christmas year round )

@RSJB18 posted:

Couple threads running about populating the new Lionel LC+2.0 Doodlebug. I'm starting with an upgrade on a nice MPC Baby Madison coach ...........

To be continued.....

Bob

Now this is a REAL use of gray matter and art appreciation.   Nice job on the photos and info.

Really good thing happening here Bob.   

I got this Premier Climax from Trainz for a great price. I was really happy to get it as this is one of the few locomotives on my must have list! This is a 5 volt PS2 model and when it arrived it would not power up, bummer, but I was going to upgrade it anyway. So, on the self it went until MTH had stacker boards in stock. Fast forward a month and my stacker board arrived so on the workbench it went! The tender is very small but the stacker board did fit with a little trimming of the mounting bracket. I can now run this loco with DCS or DCC, I wish a bigger speaker would fit as the sounds are not all that loud but it's already tight in there!

Anyway, here is the test run with the extended start up and shutdown sounds, oh, and lots of smoke!

@Darrell posted:

I got this Premier Climax from Trainz for a great price. I was really happy to get it as this is one of the few locomotives on my must have list! This is a 5 volt PS2 model and when it arrived it would not power up, bummer, but I was going to upgrade it anyway. So, on the self it went until MTH had stacker boards in stock. Fast forward a month and my stacker board arrived so on the workbench it went! The tender is very small but the stacker board did fit with a little trimming of the mounting bracket. I can now run this loco with DCS or DCC, I wish a bigger speaker would fit as the sounds are not all that loud but it's already tight in there!

Anyway, here is the test run with the extended start up and shutdown sounds, oh, and lots of smoke!

Shes beautiful! How did you configure the stacker board? Do you have a TIU and remote? I really want to upgrade my PS2 locomotive but I dont have a TIU or remote. Im not spending crazy money on eBay for one either as MTH some decade is releasing their new unit which I have on pre-order. Hoping these new units well let me/us program chips.

Unrelated, I have a Williams locomotive that I am toying with upgrading to TMCC. Ive been reading all these threads and I think ERR has everything I need to be successful.

Yes, I have a rev L TIU. Unfortunately my buttons only sometimes work on my remote, wore the poor thing out! I used to use ERR for upgrades, nothing really wrong with them. I have switched to DCC for my upgrades now , the sounds are way better and the control systems are available ( with hardware remotes no less). Once all my 45 loco's are converted to DCS PS3/DCC I will probably sell off my TMCC/Legacy systems. With PS3 you can run in DCC mode and have just one system to run the layout. Would have to keep the TIU on the workbench to load sound files and configure stacker boards, but can then run them on DCC on the layout. The DCS remote is not needed to configure stacker boards or load sound files. Those tasks are done with a computer anyway. If you want to upgrade a MTH loco with a stacker board, MTH can for a small fee program the board for you, then your upgrade is plug and play, ready to go!

The climax is great, Darrell!!  Your upgrade program makes good sense.

I decided to paint the interior parts of the MPC coach.......I seem to have found the rabbit hole that Alice fell down.......

I did a first coat last night and will post some proof of activity when appropriate.

EDIT.....PIX!

I gave the parts a second coat of paint when I got home this evening. I'm using Testors enamel. The floors are dark brown and the walls are a lighter brown. I'm going to paint the seats dark green. Been a long time since I used Testors paint. The smell brought me back to my youth building Revell hot rods...😀😀

Bob

Am I the only one working on trains at the moment??????

Making good progress on the Madison coach interior. I finished the painting last night. The first coat of green on the seats was too light so I mixed some black in for the second coat. Also painted the sinks silver. Added a few figures in the cargo side. I will do the passengers next.

Lot's of discussion about the scale size of figures. The standing figure was knee-capped to bring him down to size. Both types are BEEP figures but the standing one's are much larger than the seated people. The standing man will is positioned to be looking out the door and shouldn't be visible from the other side of the car where the seated people are.

Also built my first lighting regulator. I bought kits from @Rod Stewart a while back. It went together quickly, just 6 components to solder to the board. Once the warm white LED strips I ordered arrive, I can wrap this project up. (The other 2 boards were removed after assembly. Made it easier to handle while soldering).

Bob

Bob, the interior work looks great!  I put Rod's lighting kits and LEDs in all 11 of my passenger cars, and they are quite an improvement.

@RSJB18 posted:

Am I the only one working on trains at the moment??????

Making good progress on the Madison coach interior. I finished the painting last night. The first coat of green on the seats was too light so I mixed some black in for the second coat. Also painted the sinks silver. Added a few figures in the cargo side. I will do the passengers next.

Lot's of discussion about the scale size of figures. The standing figure was knee-capped to bring him down to size. Both types are BEEP figures but the standing one's are much larger than the seated people. The standing man will is positioned to be looking out the door and shouldn't be visible from the other side of the car where the seated people are.

Also built my first lighting regulator. I bought kits from @Rod Stewart a while back. It went together quickly, just 6 components to solder to the board. Once the warm white LED strips I ordered arrive, I can wrap this project up. (The other 2 boards were removed after assembly. Made it easier to handle while soldering).

Bob

Looks good Bob, I like your color choices. Will you be doing the same for the Doodlebug?

Gene

@Mark Boyce posted:

Bob, the interior work looks great!  I put Rod's lighting kits and LEDs in all 11 of my passenger cars, and they are quite an improvement.

@Genemed posted:

Looks good Bob, I like your color choices. Will you be doing the same for the Doodlebug?

Gene

Thanks Mark.

Gene- The doodlebug will only get the back wall painted as others have suggested. The seats will remain as is.

Bob

I’m in the process of detailing the boom car that’s paired with my DMIR X-7 Big Hooke.    The car is a wonderfully detailed metal Lionel flat car with a wood deck.   I found at a train show for $10. I have added side panels and appropriate grab irons. Had to build a new brake wheel mount and fuel tank.    This week I constructed some spreader bars, hooks, cables and various other items to fill the car. Plan to order some rivet decals to dress up the spreader bars before painting and weathering.     

The actual crane and boom car are currently owned by the Wisconsin Great Northern RR, Trego, WI. This is the RR organization that’s rebuilding the Mark Twain Zephyr.  The Zephyr should be operational in the coming year.

The Youtube video of the crane in operation inspired me to add the detail.   Check it out. Railroad Wrecking Crane, DMIR X7, Inside Tour & Lifting A Great Northern Ranch Car

https://www.bing.com/videos/ri...9CFA2C&FORM=VIRE

Cheers and Happy Easter, Dave

Nice work! The boom tender is perfect for that crane. I did a similar crane/tender set in Erie. Yours look much nicer…

Tom

Producing a short high hood for a MTH C-630. The engine will eventually be in N&W blue…

I need to tweak the vents and sand some more. Waiting for a set of five chime airhorns to arrive.

Wasn’t sure if these engines had Leslie or Nathan horns…but they were five chime…

Tom

@Krieglok posted:

Nice work! The boom tender is perfect for that crane. I did a similar crane/tender set in Erie. Yours look much nicer…

Tom

Thanks Tom.   Have any pictures of your tender?   Would like to see what you did as I have more space to fill.   Always looking for more ideas!!

Cheers, Dave

PS:  Nice job on the C-630 or might it be a C-628?  

I've previously posted on my search for replacement switch motors for my DZ1000 and DZ2500. Not bad switch motors, they just fully throw the points around 90% of the time. Well the other 10% usually cause a derailment in the most inconvenient places. For my new layout, I have used Tortoises but have a few spots where the Tortoises would interfere with the underlying yard track.

During my search I learned about an MP series of switch motors that operate like the Tortoises but have a low profile and they turn off after reaching their full motion. So far I am positive on these motors. And I am able to use the Touch Toggles from Berrett Hills (previously posted in these).

Just a couple of short videos showing operation. They throw slowly. Their throw is adjustable from 6 to 12 mm. Factory default is 6mm, but I think 9mm may be optimal to provide enough pressure on the points.

The motor is attached to a thin plywood base (purchased separately)  and that is attached to the plywood roadbed. Both have adjustable screws to enable fine tuning of placement.

@darlander posted:

Thanks Tom.   Have any pictures of your tender?   Would like to see what you did as I have more space to fill.   Always looking for more ideas!!

Cheers, Dave

PS:  Nice job on the C-630 or might it be a C-628?  

You’re welcome, Dave. Here is my wrecker set. It was modeled an actual Erie crane and tender that is preserved here in NJ…

The spreader bar is a cable type and some cribbing added. Your bin for the actual model control pins is a great idea!

As far as the engine, I am not 100% sure how they differed, but the N&W had both. The 628s went to the C&NW while the 630s stayed with the N&W through out their career…

Tom

I finished the MPC coach yesterday. Some minor touch-ups to do but I'm happy with the results.

The K-line window films didn't work out so I used some clear sheet I had left over from a building kit. I did use a couple of them on the single windows.

The lighting looks good, the spill out into the vestibules was an added bonus.

Bob

@ScoutingDad posted:

I've previously posted on my search for replacement switch motors for my DZ1000 and DZ2500. Not bad switch motors, they just fully throw the points around 90% of the time. Well the other 10% usually cause a derailment in the most inconvenient places. For my new layout, I have used Tortoises but have a few spots where the Tortoises would interfere with the underlying yard track.

During my search I learned about an MP series of switch motors that operate like the Tortoises but have a low profile and they turn off after reaching their full motion. So far I am positive on these motors. And I am able to use the Touch Toggles from Berrett Hills (previously posted in these).

Just a couple of short videos showing operation. They throw slowly. Their throw is adjustable from 6 to 12 mm. Factory default is 6mm, but I think 9mm may be optimal to provide enough pressure on the points.

The motor is attached to a thin plywood base (purchased separately)  and that is attached to the plywood roadbed. Both have adjustable screws to enable fine tuning of placement.

Those motors look nice Jeff. How high are they? Looks like they have dry contacts for signals etc too?

Bob

Bob, the interior of the car looks great!

Jeff, the motors do look nice!  Nice movement of the switch points.  I have noticed the same thing as you with the DZ1000s that they are not as consistent as I would like.  On the other hand, all of my derailments have been because of user error! 🤦‍♂️

@Krieglok posted:

As far as the engine, I am not 100% sure how they differed, but the N&W had both. The 628s went to the C&NW while the 630s stayed with the N&W through out their career…

Tom

Tom, ALCO C-630 produced more horsepower and had greater tractive power over the C-628.     As I understand it, this required modification to the blower system. The C-630s had a reconfigured venting system on the hood bulge south of the cab. The Union Pacific sold 10 of their C-630 to the DM&IRR in the 70s as they experienced a power shortage due to EMD back logs on new power. I was able to find an MTH UP C-628 and did a little modification to turn it into a C-630.   Your engine is a C-628.  No problem since N&W had both.  Nice job on the modification.     I was determined to convert my find to a C-630.  

Before:

After:

You can check out my modification if you want more of the story:

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...5#147690501401785585 6/23/20 8:43 PM

Cheers, Dave

Thanks Dave.

The intake grills are very obvious once you pointed the out. I will use your article as a guide to do the mods on my C-628. The larger intakes really add to the look of the engine. Thanks again!

Tom

@RSJB18 posted:

I finished the MPC coach yesterday. Some minor touch-ups to do but I'm happy with the results.

The K-line window films didn't work out so I used some clear sheet I had left over from a building kit. I did use a couple of them on the single windows.

The lighting looks good, the spill out into the vestibules was an added bonus.

Bob

That turned out very nice Bob. That’s going to look cool doodling behind your doodlebug.

Jay