Hey guys,

I'm experiencing difficulty with my E33.    It seems like the locomotive completely blew out.


It was running on DCC in consist with another E33 on my club layout on a nice tangent piece of track,  and it just died.   I had assumed the decoder (a TCS MC2) had quit,  but after putting another decoder in,  the locomotive also failed to run,  disrupting the second decoder as well. 

When I got it home, I tested the engine on DC, and it still had problems.   The motor would not run in reverse period,  even after I disconnected it from the PC board and ran the motor direct with track power  (used a Spectrum Mangum power pack from an Acela set).   

I then noticed that even without the motor,  if I put the locomotive on the track,   the rear headlight would do weird things (Flickering, etc.) when it was on and I moved the throttle.   This makes me think something is shorted out big time.


Is there any advice?  I assume I'll have to get a new motor,  but should I bother with the circuit board,,  or just hardwire it? 

I have a small fleet of bachman Conrail E33s, and i was hoping i could renumber them and change some of the "factory decals" around.   I want to change to change the numbers and relocate the Conrail logos.


These Conrail units have a different paint scheme than the model does, and besides, they can't all be #4603.    I tried some 91% alcohol but it didn't seem to dent the white numbers. 

Is there anything that will remove all the lettering but leave the blue paint underneath untouched?

Hello!

I was told that the PC-board on the HHP8 actually slows it down and that most bachmann engines perform better when directly wired to a decoder. (at the very least, they go faster. the HHP-8 is almost laughably slow compared to the AEM7s from atlas,  and even the AEM7 only reaches 125 scale MPH.  Realistically, i'd like to make the speeds comparable if possible).

The reason i want to do this is to get some extra performance out of my engine.   I have a club open house coming up, and i wanted to run a long distance amtrak train (Baggage-dorm/lounge-2 viewliners-diner-amfleet cafe/5 coaches.   the club's westbound mainline has a long 4% grade, so this is a tough spot.   I've already made one test attempt with the HHP-8 with bullfrog snot (increases traction) applied to one wheel set, and it wasn't quite able to pull far up the hill, and couldn't really handle the full train even on level track.   

My only other option is a pair of AEM7s or an American GK E60MA Kitbash (this burte can actually pull the whole train by itself no problem when it works, lol), but i wanted to go for the attractive streamlined engine first. besides, i've hardly run the HHP8, and i've had it for years, lol.

this is a photo of the train i'm going for.

I'm going to start off by asking bachmann nicely to re-run these things before i shoot myself.

because we all know that won't happen,  I'm going to instead fix up the ones i have.  Without getting into an extensive history of the bachmann Metroliners, I will say i have the First Run, which is superior to all later runs except for the paint. 

The cars really aren't that bad for the prototype they represent.  There are parts for just about any Metroliner you want, except for the roof humps (which is only a matter of time before i come up with a plan for them. I'm looking towards useing a photo-etch kit).   

There are a couple things that need attention. 

1.) THe drive train.   Even the original All wheel drive is terrifyingly loud.  this is the fault of the gears.  I remotored my power car, and it didn't help, lol (though the thing could probably out pull any other HO model). 

Instead of using a power car, i have come up with a better solution- Motor Trucks.   These are frequently employed for the trolley/Traction  end of things, and they come in sizes compatible with the wheel base of the metroliner EMUs.  They may be about $60 a pop, but you only need one or two per pair to be able to run.  After all, these are MU trains, and they only need to be able to carry their own weight.  I have succesfully used these in some Arrow III MU kits. they are much quieter and faster than the original MU power frame.

additionaly, most power trucks actually have provisions for sideframes to be attached, so this problem is also solved.   It should be noted that these power trucks have actual can motors and worm gears in them.  these are good running pieces of equipment. 

this will require cutting out the floors under the trucks, so i'll grab a dummy unit to do this.   Using Styrene, i'll rebuild the bolster, and wire in the truck to a DCC decoder.   This brings me to my next plan-

2.) Lighting.   These units have three Headlights  (which is weird, usually the middle headlight on MUs is a red marker.   They also do have red markers in the corners.  with DCC and other electrical advance, its possible to light these.   I can save on LEDs by using Fiber Optics, which is expecially useful on the small marker lights in the corners of the cab face.


3.) pretty much the only Major issue is the paint.   This could be better.   However, the majority of the Metroliners did not get The paint scheme present on Bachmann's Model.  In fact, the prototypes were known as Bachmann's when they were seen in that paint.   Most had their old PRR/PC  D.O.T. stripes or had the "new" amtrak scheme (though I have photos of several strange Penn Central  Amtrak patches and repaints).   Luckily, Metroliner stripes can be had for those of use wanting to repaint the units Into PRR/PC/Amtrak Patch  with striping available through Microscale.  I've used Alclad II Chrome on my Arrow MUs, and I've seen another person use these on Metroliners.  This gives the cars that shiny look that they actually had.

4.) other considerations


There are other details present on the Metroliner EMUs.  Some early ones had large antennas on the roofs, available through IHP.  In truth, you probably wouldn't need to buy them, since they really are a triangular prism painted white.    A little internet digging reveals photos of the rear of the units, which is full of detail.  The grab irons can be scraped and replaced with metal ones (this can be done throughout the model).

Another detail on many Metroliners are the Stemman Pantographs (which are also present on most of the Jersey Arrows (Arrow I, Arrow III).  These loosely resemble to single arm pantograph attached in a diamond shape.  There currently are no Stemmans on the market, but  I am working on them.   Using brass tube and Brass 1/32 wire, the arms can be made.  Additional wire can be used to make hooks (for springs) and Equalizer bars (to prevent them from opening "to far" and folding in).    Right now, I'm working on building the base and shoes.  While its possible to cut this from brass sheet, its time consuming and requires specialized tools (dremels won't work, trust me).    I have recently discovered a metal Photo-etching kit, which I think can make the bases and shoes easily and accurately.   I'll have to get back to that when I grab the kit.

This photo etching kit might also allow for me to create my own roof humps from sheets of brass, but I'm not sure how to do the design for that just yet.  IHP did announce these Metroliners,  I've seen them in person,  but they have not sold any  since their announcement.

The only other major worry is the underbodies.  These tend to warp and crumble, and there isn't anything that can really be done.   I might be able to cast these in resin, but then I'd loose the weight (then again, it can't hurt, since if the MU has a power truck, it doesn't need to be heavy).    IHP did at one time sell improved replacement parts, but they have not been available for years.

That's about it.  It sounds like a lot, and in truth, I probably won't be done with it for years, but this is a good outline of a realistic way to get an improved Metroliner model.   Metroliners are a must if you model  the Electrified Amtrak lines from the late 60s all the way up until about 1982 when they pulled the Metroliners as MU cars.



Metroliners and Arroow IIIs getting treatment.

I went to get the three remaining regular business class cars for my HO scale Acela set, only to find that only the first class, diner, and end business class cars remained.  only one website even had them instock, let alone listed.

are they discontinued, or are they just waiting for another production run?

I have a 44 tonner i just installed DCC in. while it was never quiet ( and i haven't used it or most of my other trains in a while because of the switch to DCC) it seems much louder than before.  I know i was servicing a bunch of my locomotives, and the 44 tonner did have big glob of lubricant from the factory jammed in there (literally), and i cleaned it out.  Its still loud.

Whats more though, is that it doesn't creep like i'd like it to.  at speed step 1 its still moving kinda fast. 

What can i do to improove performance?

Has anyone had any expierience repowering a Metroliner MU set?

I've gone through alot of trouble but i've managed to gather a set of the first production run locomotives with all wheel drive, as opposed to the later Pan cake motor version. 

I was looking through my walthers reference book, and NWSL sells a motor that appears to be able to fit in the space where the current motor is now.

What should i know about motors as far as strength and speed goes?  I'd like to run a set of 4 Metroliners at a reasonably high speed. 

thanks for your advice.