Back on the job.  Draggin' a line of Tichy Train Group's old time wood ore hoppers up a 4% grade back
to the mine.



I may have to remove the boiler again and tweak a few things underneath because it sounds as if
something may be rubbing.

Beer #3, #4, and #5 !

EUREKA !  It's alive !  I reassembled the drive shafts and attached the trucks to the main frame for a test drive.
I runs just as steady, smooth, and quiet as the original.  Now all I have to do is disassemble it again and try to cram all that hidden detail back in that you can't see when this thing is running.  While disassembling earlier, it wouldn't have surprised me if I found heating coils inside the boiler.
Here's a few shots:











I'm sure glad that's over.  So, for those of you who want to get your old 2-truck Class B Climax running again,
all the parts are available in the 70-ton 3-truck Climax.  It also wouldn't surprise me if Backmann were already
swapping out parts to reintroduce the 2-truck Climax (with sound) in the near future.  I hope so, I want another one.

Good Luck !

Forgot to bump this back up after modifying it.

Beer #1

Disassembly:  
The first photo shows the difference between the front truck of the 3-truck Climax (left)
and the 2-truck Climax (right).  Notice on the 3-truck Climax the front truck is a little more
forward than on the 2-truck.  This is where the fiddly bits I mentioned on my earlier post
concerning the drive-shafts, you have to sort of mix and match to get the right lengths.



The second photo shows the entire drive-train from truck to truck.



Here's a close-up of the drive-train.  Note the 3-truck replacement have the newer vinyl (white)
gears as opposed to the black plastic ones that were used in the 2-truck.



At this point, the three screws holding the old transmission to the frame have been removed and
also the three screws holding the boiler and cab assembly.  Only one empty hole for the rear screw
of the transmission is visible.  The forward hole (behind the pivot for the front truck) and left-side
(just below the cab and beneath the frame) and another on the right below the cab is what holds
the boiler on.  



At this point everything is still pretty tight.  I started to wiggle things to get them separated and slowly
but surely got as far as the next picture.



I forgot to mention that the drive-rods can pried off their axle and slid out of their respective cylinder.

That's as far as I got today.  If anybody knows what the next step I should take short of cutting any wires
that might be holding things together, let me know.

Beer #2
Disassembly (cont.):

I decided to cut the wires and it turns out that they go to the headlight and taillight. 



In the above photo, the headlight wires have yet to be cut.  I won't have any problem reattaching them.

The only thing(s) holding this all together is the two screws holding the motor to the mount.  They are
located on either side of the worm gear.



That was quick !  The old transmission, motor and bottom of the boiler were all held together by the two
screws that held to motor to the mount.  The lower portion of the boiler is trapped between the motor
and the transmission.  The plastic part in the lower right of the picture is the cover for the worm gear.  It
just snaps into place.

Here's a close-up of the new transmission installed.



All that's left to now is reinstall the running gear and see if it works.

You can see a few more of my future projects.  Both are RoundHouse kits.

I'll try some pics again...

First is the Class B Climax and its parts list/schematic with the transmission from the 3-truck Climax.



Next if the same thing but with parts list/schematic of the 3-truck Climax.  Note orientation



Hopefully the next time I update this project, I'll have the Class B Climax disassembled.

And now for another project involving matchsticks and bamboo skewers...



...and the backside (no pun intended)...



...and finally, the interior of the 2nd floor.



Any questions or comments ?  I'll do my best to respond.

After replacing all the parts below the frame of my 2-truck Climax with new parts from the 3-truck Climax (from truck to truck and all parts between) it still won't go.  Sooo.....

I've completely disassembled the 3-truck Climax and have what appears to be the "transmission".  It's a complete self-contained unit that 'clips' to the worm-gear of the electric motor transferring energy to the side-rides and drive-shaft.  After studying the exploded view of the Class-B 2-truck Climax, they appear to be the same.  Now all I have to do is build up enough courage to disassemble my 2-truck Climax and swap out the transmission.  I don't expect to reassemble my 3-truck Climax anytime soon.


Wish me luck.

I decided to see if the trucks from the new Bachmann 70-ton 3-truck Climax are interchangeable with the
Bachmann Class B 2-truck Climax.  Good news !  They are.  They simply snap off just like the Class B.  The  fiddly trick is to interchange/swap out the drive shafts that are different lengths because of distance from the differential and truck spacing.  I think now I'll look into the differential itself and find one more gear to get my Class B running again.  It looks promising.  I'll keep you posted.

Ken

I'm re-scenicing my railroad and this is the general view of what I've done so far.















Thanks Hunt, I figured it out.

Ken

Thanks everybody, now if I can only remember how I did it, I'll have to take some
new pictures.

Hunt:  I'm not sure what "BB code img tags" are, much less how to insert them.
           I'll keep at it though.

Thanks again everybody for your responses.

Ken

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/945453_4679777161025_1286235915_n.jpg

Edit:  Somebody, let me know if you're able to access the photo.  I linked to my facebook page.

I believe Bachmann sells those through their parts-department.
Check it out.

HTH
Ken

NWSL does have a re-gear set for the 2-truck Climax.  I haven't attempted to install mine yet.  They have a very extensive instruction sheet.  What you get gear-wise is six (6) beveled gears and two washers/spacers.  These are for the two trucks themselves.  I'm not sure if they have any for the main gearbox.
HTH
Ken

I don't have any 'squeaking', I must've done something right.  My Rivarossi Heisler squeaks though...but I think it's supposed to.

Ken

Hi Brad,

I've done four of these re-gears and the only thing I can think of is that you may have reattached the truck too tightly to the frame.  Check to see that it pivots side-to-side and rocks fore and aft AND side-to-side.  Then make sure the drive-shaft slides easily in and out.  It takes a little "tweaking" but, it's worth the effort.

Hope this Helps.

Ken

I just received a set of gears, etc. but, have not tried to install them yet.  They are not a 'drop in' fit.  The new gears have a 'raised' ring of reinforcing plastic on the back- side to prevent splitting.  This makes the exposed shaft portion 'shorter' and won't fit into the truck.  If you plan to shave off the raised reinforcing ring then you will be right back where you started.  What I plan to do is remove a gear at one end and remove the bushings and grind the bushings down the same depth as the raised reinforcing rib.  The bushings are used to 'center' the gears and length isn't a problem.  When you disassemble the trucks you will see what I'm talking about.  BTW, it only took about 4 days from the time I ordered the gears until I received them with daily e-mail updates about the status of 'my order'.

HTH

Ken