WHAT’S ON THE WORKBENCH AT THE MOMENT

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Alex, it's quite possible you can simply pull the pins from the one crane mechanism and put them in the shells for the other.  They look to be both JST-EH connector types.  The gears, OTOH, look like you'll have to restring those.

Exactly what I did , still a lot of work lol 

No doubt it was a lot of work Alex!  I had to restring one of those, that's all it took for me to avoid them!

@Alex M posted:

I use to file them down with a 6 inch sanding wheel. Now I send a bunch of them to Pete (Norton) and he cuts them down to size with his Metal lathe. 

Alex

 

Good to know I wasn't the only one filing them down by hand.

My lathe may arrive before I do the other Niagara.

This post inspired me to fix the one sitting on my workbench last night.

It was much easier than I thought; the second will be a breeze.

The gears were really chewed up:

I used the brass gears from Lionel but I also have the delrin gears from NWSL.

@RickO posted:

I had to go pour myself a drink after seeing that video Alex LOL! Good luck with the repair.

I'd like to see a video of your success when its complete.

Hi Rick

its actually complete , I’ll post a video later on 

Alex 

I didn’t like the universal joint coupling system in those CC Niagara’s for one second....this locomotive is just such a **** poorly engineered toilet, I took a whole different approach, I divorced the motor from the gear box altogether, then modded the gear box to be self standing with a floating spring design, this way, I could use a dog bone and coupler set up....took all the stress out of the driveline, and allowed the gearbox to float around and do it’s thing....this is just my solution, Alex & Pete have their own fixes as well.....Pat

I have 2 projects in process. The first is my scratch-built, free-lanced Union station.

The second is my custom painted and decaled Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines coaches for 0-31 curves.

Both projects are on temporary hold while I care for my elderly uncle, a train enthusiast also, who is preparing for his 3rd major cancer removal surgery in two years to take place this coming Thursday.

@Randy Harrison posted:

I have 2 projects in process. The first is my scratch-built, free-lanced Union station.

The second is my custom painted and decaled Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines coaches for 0-31 curves.

Both projects are on temporary hold while I care for my elderly uncle, a train enthusiast also, who is preparing for his 3rd major cancer removal surgery in two years to take place this coming Thursday.

Very nice, Randy, particularly your Union Station.

@Arnold D. Cribari

Arnold: Thanks for the kind words. If you are interested in a step-by-step progress report, click on https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...ess-update-1-29-2020  I have not had time to work on it lately due to my family obligations, but, it is still an active project.

Hi Rick 

Here’s the video of the crane in action. Had to cut the sound out , because I mentioned the customers name. Figured he would want to remain Anonymous. 

@harmonyards posted:

I didn’t like the universal joint coupling system in those CC Niagara’s for one second....this locomotive is just such a **** poorly engineered toilet, I took a whole different approach, I divorced the motor from the gear box altogether, then modded the gear box to be self standing with a floating spring design, this way, I could use a dog bone and coupler set up....took all the stress out of the driveline, and allowed the gearbox to float around and do it’s thing....this is just my solution, Alex & Pete have their own fixes as well.....Pat

I knew that Niagara was going to the right guy!

@harmonyards posted:

I didn’t like the universal joint coupling system in those CC Niagara’s for one second....this locomotive is just such a **** poorly engineered toilet, I took a whole different approach, I divorced the motor from the gear box altogether, then modded the gear box to be self standing with a floating spring design, this way, I could use a dog bone and coupler set up....took all the stress out of the driveline, and allowed the gearbox to float around and do it’s thing....this is just my solution, Alex & Pete have their own fixes as well.....Pat

Just swap a MTH Niagara chassis under it and be done. You know that's the best option. It's a better chassis from the start. I think you can do it .

@Alex M posted:

Hi Rick 

Here’s the video of the crane in action. Had to cut the sound out , because I mentioned the customers name. Figured he would want to remain Anonymous. 

Nice work Alex! And fast to boot! That crane looks and operates like it just came out of the box.

@Steaming Jon posted:

Fried the motor in this guy last Friday at the club...

It had been running for a while, and at some point I realized it had been too long since it had gone around... found it barely crawling along, and it was pretty hot... was hoping it would be fine after it cooled off, but nope... you can see the windings on one pole are black... Atlas’ website says they actually have the motor in stock for this!

Got this one back on the rails! Hardest part was swapping the worm gear on to the new motor...

@Steaming Jon posted:

Got this one back on the rails! Hardest part was swapping the worm gear on to the new motor...

How’d you do it??.....please share!..

Pat

In the first part of this video is a Lionel 6-18071 S.P. Daylight. It is my first and only Timko motor conversion. It along with ERR Cruise Commander runs like a dream. On my workbench in the end of the video is a Lionel 6-18045 Commodore Vanderbilt. I sent off the motor to Timko and now awaiting for another ERR Cruise Commander to arrive. 

@harmonyards posted:

How’d you do it??.....please share!..

Pat

Ok, let’s see if I can put it into words... motor removal requires removing the boiler shell from the chassis, then removing the lower cover from the frame followed by removing the drivers. The motor bracket is then unscrewed from the frame (the screws are behind the rear drivers). The motor then unscrews from the bracket, and the hole is big enough that the worm gear fits thru...

The worm gear is very securely pressed on to the motor shaft. There’s probably an appropriate puller, but I don’t have one... I used some pliers, a hammer, and a tiny screwdriver to drive the shaft out of the gear. Not pretty, but it worked... I used a c-clamp to press the gear onto the new motor. I made extra sure the other end of the c-clamp was only touching the other end of the motor shaft to avoid damage, and I carefully pressed the gear on a tiny bit at a time...

Reassembly is basically the reverse of disassembly. I found it easier to remove the side rods before reinstalling the drivers because it’s a bit fiddly to get the drivers in sync with each other due to the idler gear between the drivers...

Hope that helps!

Currently on the workbench 

of course all wiring will be trimmed to proper size , soldered, heat shrink , and wire tied 

I haven't even started on that ATSF Texas project and picked this up, a Premier UP FEF. My first non ATSF or SP locomotive, but it's a western road so it's ok. Little paint work, a PS3 kit, and a motor and it should be a runner. So now I've got 2 locomotives to work on when the weather cools off. That should keep me busy/out of trouble.

Finished the last K-Line ALCO FA AA upgrade.  MOPAC Eagle AA.  Added two power trucks to the trailing A with a tether to the leading A.  Now four powered trucks for the pull.  And a Williams ALCO soundboard.  I'll post pics tomorrow.

                                Off the bench and onto the next building...

                                                   Back in the closet for now.