"Dave does a real nice conversion! ... It's a great little engine and he fixes those troublesome power pick-ups which is about the only real problem that the Climax ever had!"

Can any one advise me how the power pick up problems are cured?  Mine is a great unit, but it stalls occassionally where the track has minor vertical changes, such as going into canted curves. 

Mick

Timber Tramways Down Under

  After viewing the web site suggested by Matthew (OV), I took the plunge and fully dismantled the ashpan and cylinder gear.  I found at least three obvious but simple problems, fixed them all and re-assembled.  IT WORKS!  Thanks for the help guys! 

Mick of Mt Beenak, Down Under.

Matthew,
Thanks for the advice.  I had already tightened the screws, and i had found the cylinder caps and tried adjusting them.  The caps seem to force the top contact down a set amount.  The system worked intermittently with the caps off, but not at all when I replaced them.  Again the only way to get them going was loosening the screws and holding the cylinders away from the body. 

In relation to replacing the contacts, I cannot figure how to remove the cylinder assembly from the cabin.  I could not find any further screws to remove, and one of the screws up throught the ashpan has been put in cross threaded and refuses to come out!  Is there a trick to taking the cylinders off?

Mick (Mt Beenak) in Oz.

Trainman, just read about your transistor trigger for sound boards, as I posted a request for advice on trigger switches that don't work on my 2 truck shay.     Could this be the answer to making a quality sound board work in my Shay?

Mick (Mt Beenak) in Oz.

I have a 38 ton, two truck shay. (1:20.3)  Added new style trucks after two years running, goes better than ever.  (Love the shay and the climax!)
I used a simple 'chuffer' sound circuit for years which reacted to track voltage.  I have tried upgrading to a unit which is activated by the Shay piston activated switches, but no luck.  I get a permanent closed circuit on the board.  I loosened the two screws beside the cylinders and it works intermittently, but I cannot get it to work properly.  Any ideas would be appreciated. 
Are there quality sound boards which work off track voltage, or do I go back to the 'chuffer'?