Since Sharing seem the thing to do, I thought I'd post some pictures of my layout thus far. Scenery has not been done since I ran out of funding but The track is there. the buildings may or may not be moved, however for the most part things are how I like em. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, I'd love to hear em.
(http://i.imgur.com/Wjn39bV.jpg)
Overview
(http://i.imgur.com/YzMnk8s.jpg)
Another Overview
(http://i.imgur.com/0x0j3yq.jpg)
My Only Passenger Equipment, an IHC Pacific and some old Athearn Cars. The Pacific is one of the few locos I have that can pull the cars since they roll REALLY poorly. The 2-8-4 can pull em, as can the f-40. the 2-8-0s can barely move them while the 2-10-0, 2-8-2, and 4-4-0 cannot move them at all. I actually have a fourth, an observation car, but I do not use it since I can't fit it and I don't have a way to turn it around.
(http://i.imgur.com/BFmcybq.jpg)
The Yard
(http://i.imgur.com/nY5ORa9.jpg)
The Engine House
WHOOPS! :o
No pictures.
Ken,
Your railroad looks like you are off to a great start. You may want to explore why your Athearn cars are not rolling freely. It has been many years since I worked in HO, but I remember my Athearn passengers cars as being free-rollong.
In the top photo, it looks like you might have a reverse loop at least mostly there. That could solve your train turning problem. I use a reverse loop to turn trains on my N-scale railroad.
Les
I still do not see any pictures.
All other pictures on post show up.
Any suggestions?
odd that you don't see any pictures. They show up fine on my end. I used the imgur host, does anybody else have issues there?
I see the pictures fine.
All of my Athearn passenger cars roll just fine. You might want to pop the wheelsets out and check for dust or animal hair build up in the journals, and clean them out if necessary. A heavy duty toothpick is handy for this. It probably wouldn't hurt to use a 'truck tuning tool', available from Micro-Mark, to clean out any burrs while your at it.
I've also found using powdered graphite in the journals helps a lot. Don't use oil, as it just attracts and hold dirt, just making the problem worse.
Len
I actually have two ideas, one of which I know to be true, and the other is possible. these cars had lighting kits installed by the previous owner and I think it possible that the contact is applying too much pressure. The lights almost never work anyway. that said, that hardly acconts for the fact that they have NO free rolling ability. try to move the wheel by dragging a finger across and the moment you let go it stops. I also know that, on the baggage car, the wires inside are causing the truck to turn outward, pushing on the rails
Sounds like the light kit wasn't installed properly. I prefer the one by Mini-a-tronics over the Athearn system. Crud build up in the journals could also be a factor on top of the light kit.
Len
Got around to looking at the cars. I didnt see anything in the journals but I cleaned em out anyway. I put a tiny tiny drop if lube in each of the journals before replacing the wheels. They do run better than before (the 2-8-2 can move them now, though there is some wheel slippage) however it isnt nearly as smooth as my other stuff. I donno. I'd like to open them up to work on that botched lighing job but the previous owner glued em shut, prolly with hobby cement. no way to get them open. As for why the lighting is so on and off, the contacts seem heavily oxidized, that may be why.
I got the 4 cars for about 35 bucks including shipping so I cant complain too much
Aw man, a bit if a bummer about the passenger cars. If you are willing to sacrifice the lighting pickups, replacing stock wheels with wheels by someone such as Kadee might improve the rolling quality. Does make an attractive train.
As for the layout, sounds like it is working for ya!
And that engine house kit goes way back in the decades. Pretty sure that several companies have offered it during that time, but I can't remember which one originally created it.
Quote...but the previous owner glued em shut, prolly with hobby cement no way to get them open....
I have used the freezing technic to break glue bonds with success.
This works for many super glues, and also I have used it successfully on a structure kit glued with Testors.
Never heard of the freezing method, may need to attempt it. Getting them open is less about saving the lights (though that would be a nice bonus) and more about fixing the baggage car issue I mentioned, that the trucks have torque applied pushing the wheels against the rail sides. This is no doubt contributing. I may look into new wheels whenever I have money again (whenever that will be) so thats an idea. I'm going to try to clean some of the contacts oxidation. One thing about these cars that I like is that they can go around my inner curve which is just 18 inch radius (though I usually use em on the outer curve), and they can still do that even after I replaced the couplers with shorter ones so the space between cars is reduced to about 5/16", looking FAR better than they did with their stock couplers.
Edit: About the engine house. I got it along with several other buildings (everything you see on there except the model power station and freight platform) as well as some unseen ones for about 15 bucks on ebay. They were in bad shape but I fixed most of them up enough to use them. you'l notice the engine house missing both front doors and a window. still, great price.
If you can you reach the wire on the obsv car, you could just clip it with a fine tip sprue cutter and shove it up inside the car.
Len
That looks like a fun layout.
The observation car goes unused as i cannot turn it around, I have no room, and it has no read coupler. it also is the only one of the four w/o lights. I assume this was done because the rear truck on the car can swivel 360 so the prior owner didnt want to risk shorts. I assume you are instead referring to the issue Im having on the baggage car. you cannot reach any wires. in these models, the light was done by soldering a wire to the knut atop the screw that held the truck in (inside the car body) which contacted pickups below that brushed the axles. Since I cannot get into the car body, I cannot remedy what I assume is a matter of wire length.
Ouch! Sounds like time to try the freezer trick to crack the glue.
In later years, some roads added a door and diaphram to the 'boat tail' end of obsv cars and just stuck them in the middle of the train.
Len
I think the enginehouse is Revell. This kit went back to the early 1960's and maybe even older. This series of building kits featured really nice, detailed die work.
Les
Quote from: Irbricksceo on July 12, 2015, 08:15:02 PMOne thing about these cars that I like is that they can go around my inner curve which is just 18 inch radius
I forget the vintage of Athearn's design for them, but it may well be late 50s, maybe early 60s when layout design practice was generally somewhat different from today's layout design philosophy and practice and tighter curves were more often used, which necessitated shortened cars. They still look good though. And like the rest of their products of that time through the early 90s were solid, sturdy items. Simple, but sturdy. Which was okay by me, the kind of person who enjoys adding at least a few extra details to good basic models.
Observation cars did-usually-have a rear coupler; like the "drop-down' mounts on the fore end of locomotives-both passenger steam and diesel. They were set up on a few different ways, most common was the "drop up" for lack of a ..... coupler, which was swung up from the underside, and locked into place. In my travels, I had seen more than one observation carting a car-or-even part of-a train astern.
I have never done it, and I've only one lone Athearn streamline observation, which almost would never be used, but like almost anything else, it CAN be done.
Rich C.
Oh I've no doubt it can be done, and I know it was done in real life, but since I really can't fit it on the layout, I see no reason to undertake it. whenever I feel like running it, I just put it on and take it off when I'm done.
well, on a hunch I tested the resistance to rolling of the observation car (which has no lights) to the others (with lighting) and the observation one rolls MUCH better. Guess the lighting kit is causing a great amount of the issue. I don't know this freezing trick but I'm pretty sure I can figure it out. I must say... I ran the full set of four earlier behind one of my 2-8-0's... It is a damn handsome train.
One other thing that you guys might find interesting before I let this all go, the layout was how I discovered that my room is not level. See, the table wasn't built for the room, it belonged to my grandfather, then it was mine many years ago, then it went to his storage when I moved to GA, and now its back with me. Anyway, I noticed that my weaker locomotives were slowing to a crawl or even stalling if they were going slow, when going around a certain section of track. More specifically, the curve that leads to the back part of the layout. It Let me tell you, if I though the chuff per revolution dissonance annoyed me off my only sound loco before, this is far worse. Anyway, I had a suspicion I knew why so I set just one car on the back part of the curve, it rolled to the front. Out came the level to confirm, yep, the foundation is higher in the back than towards the front. there is a grade and it is causing my locos trouble. I'm sure if I wanted to go through the process of leveling the track I could, I just don't have the energy to figure that particular thing out atm.
Anyway, just something neat.
Quote from: Irbricksceo on July 14, 2015, 03:40:59 AM
I don't know this freezing trick but I'm pretty sure I can figure it out.
If you do, let us know. I am curious to learn how the freezing trick doesn't cause the plastic to become so brittle that it does not break when you are trying to separate it. The freezing trick did not work for me when I tried to remove a stubborn flywheel from its shaft :'( (In fairness, I say this not knowing what, if any, adhesive had been used, an Ebay buy after all ;)).
Freezing is the wrong method for flywheels. For brass flywheels you want to use a hair dryer, or heat gun, to warm up the brass so it expands. That opens the hole, making it easier to remove with a small gear or flywheel puller.
Len
Funny, that is what someone suggested, would have to look up to see whom. Somone else suggested heat. That didn't work either, but life went on. The only reason I was looking to remove it in the first place, was to clean the slots in the commutator with a #11 Xacto blade and be able to chuck the motor portion only in a drill to properly clean the commutator with a softer version cleaning block. The motor still runs great even for not being able to do that part of the cleansing process.
When my shop was still open, I used one of those Woodland Scenics heat guns (gets VERY hot) to heat the flywheel. I clipped leads to the motor to make it spin so it would heat evenly. The heat would loosen the flywheel glue, if any, and expand the brass enough so the flywheel came off fairly easily using a NWSL Puller. Definately need the heat resistant glove that comes with the heat gun to handle the motor while it's hot.
Len
Thanks for the info Len. What brand motor was this? I know about the wheel puller, could not justify the cost for one flywheel. If I had a paint remover heat gun, I would try that but don't have one; can't justify buying the WS gun, again, for just one flywheel.
As this was part of my repair shop business, before I retired, several brands of motors were involved. HO mostly involved Athearn, pulling the flywheel for remotor jobs. But also some 'S' and 'O' can motors with flywheels I had to pull for reuse. Mainly because the customer didn't want to pay the extra few $$ for a new motor with a flywheel already installed.
Len
QuoteI am curious to learn how the freezing trick doesn't cause the plastic to become so brittle that it does not break when you are trying to separate it.
Yeah the plastic does get brittle and probably everyone that attempts freezing to separate parts has experienced broken plastic away from the joint. It happens, but just once or twice before you can pretty much know how much stress you can inflict on it before that happens.
I generally freeze about 2-3 hours, although I have left parts in the freezer for days.
I find that when frozen its best to try to break the bond rather suddenly rather than by a slow bending or flexing.
The object of the freezing is to get the plastic not to flex.
I've tapped on parts with a nylon rod, a sharp strike, but nowhere near hard enough to crunch or crush something.
I've also dropped parts, from about a foot, onto the workbench or a kitchen counter.
Prying, twisting, flexing at the joint as needed.
If you don't break the bond within the first minute or so, re freeze it before trying again.
In Irbricksceo situation, were it me, I would remove everything possible off the car, couplers, trucks diaphragms and any other detail parts ladders, grabs, etc.
Then I'd freeze it for a couple hours after which I would take it out and drop it on its roof, and/or sides to start.
QuoteI don't know this freezing trick but I'm pretty sure I can figure it out.
You will and in short order.
Good luck
Quote from: Len on July 14, 2015, 04:05:19 PM
...several brands of motors were involved. HO mostly involved Athearn
Thank you
Len. I was hoping to gain some insight from your answer into this statement:
Quote from: Len on July 14, 2015, 12:25:33 PM
I clipped leads to the motor to make it spin so it would heat evenly.
But I am not following which part of the motor (or which kind) you are referring to here.
James, thank you for the explanation and information :).
I removed the motor from the loco and connected wires with alligator clips from an MRC power pack to the power connections on the motor. Then applied enough voltage to get the motor spinning slowly so the flywheel was rotating when I applied the heat. That way the flywheel heated evenly, instead of only getting hot on one side.
Len
Got it thanks. I was interpreting "clipped" to mean "cutting" as opposed to meaning "connected to" :-[ , as in clipping brush springs down a little.