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Messages - Len

#3136
Williams by Bachmann / Re: Williams power upgrade trucks
February 01, 2011, 03:50:29 PM
In addition to what Joe said, did you check the wear of the motor brushes themselves. If you can see half, or more, of the brush holder above the brushes they should be replaced.

Replacements are available from Olsen's Toy Trains (PN: 622-121) for $1.00/pr+S&H. Or you can get brushes with a copper 'wick' imbedded from Lionel (PN: 6108507150) for $1.20/ea+S&H. The wick gets soldered to the brush holder with the e-unit wire so connectivity isn't completely dependent on the brush spring.

Len
#3137
HO / Re: Light Strip for bachmann rolling stock
February 01, 2011, 11:20:18 AM
There's also the Miniatronics 100YCL01 passenger car lighting kit. It's available from Walthers and Horizon Hobbies. The built in capacitor will hold the LEDs on for up to 4 minutes for 'station stops', and it can be cut down for shorter cars. There's also a kit for lighting a caboose, Miniatronics 100CB201.

Len
#3138
JP,

It may just be the motor brushes have worn down to the point the brush springs aren't maintain a good contact any more. If they're worn down to roughly half the depth of the brush holders, you should replace them.

Since you pulled the motor already, it's fairly simple to find out if you have a bad armature winding. Remove the brush plate and brushes from the motor, then use a tootpick to clean any brush residue from the slots between the armature segments.

Use a multimeter set to Ohms and check the resistance between each pair of adjacent armature segments, for three readings total. Touch the leads together to see what resistance, if any, you meter leads are adding first. You should read between 1.3 and 1.5 ohms, not counting any test lead resistance, between each pair of segments. It's okay if it's a little higher, as long as all three readins are fairly close.

If you get a reading of less than 0.5 ohms anywhere, you've got a shorted winding. If your reading an open, you've got a burned out winding. In either case the armature would have to be rewound or replaced.

These folks http://www.trainrefs.com/PartsBin/index.html do rewinding and have replacement F3 armatures for $34.95.

Len
#3139
JP,

The short answer to your question is no.

Unfortunately, there's no way to modify the Lionel frame for their horizontal mount motors to accept the WBB trucks and motors.

Question on the motor that stopped running: When it is mounted to the truck assembly, are you able to rotate the armature by hand so the wheels turn? If so, I would suspect a loose or broken wire to a brush or the field coil.

Len
#3140
You can also get them direct from Walthers: http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?quick=433-21314  Currently on sale for $3.59.

They can also be used to transition to other brands of track installed on cork roadbed.

Len
#3141
Williams by Bachmann / Re: O Gauge rail joiners
January 20, 2011, 10:21:10 AM
The good news is you don't have to move any pins around. The Lionel FT O-Gauge Trainsition Piece (6-12040) has the pins, and the AIRRB Trainsition Track doesn't. Just plug them together and your good to go!

Len
#3142
You're using the wrong plaster. This is what the Woodland Scenics site says about Mold-A-Scene plaster:

QuoteMold-A-Scene is a plaster material that can be shaped like modeling clay, but sets like plaster, without a mold.

Woodland Scenics Plaster Cloth has hydrocal plaster on it. Want you want for filling voids and smoothing things out is their C1201 Hydrocal Casting Plaster. If the Plaster Cloth has dried, spray it with a bit of water before using the hydrocal to fill voids and smooth things out.

Len
#3143
HO / Re: Testing Track (DCC)
January 19, 2011, 07:25:38 AM
Also, are the wheels on the loco clean? Odds are if the track is dirty, so are the loco wheels. Especially if they came with the layout.

RibbonRail makes a nice loco cradle, or you can make one with a shoe box and towel. Put the loco in the cradel with the wheels up, touch a couple of wires from a DC transformer to the wheels, and while they're spinning lightly hold an eraser or Brite-Boy against them.

While you're at it, make sure the loco's been properly lubed and there are no loose wire connections.

Len
#3144
HO / Re: Military cars
January 18, 2011, 10:54:23 AM
Walthers currently has the HO Herpa (Roco) AH-64 Apache in stock, item 326-741668. Horizon Hobbies has the Huey Gunship (1/100) in stock, item MDP56011. The Model Power is slightly undersize, but "close enough", as the saying goes.

Len
#3145
If you cut the plug off the end of the green wire/green extenstion cable you can use the Atlas #56 switch control button. They are available from Atlas, Walthers, Horizon Hobbies, and a bunch of other places on line.

The center wire from the cable goes to the center screw, the outside wires to the outside screws. If the direction of throw is backwards, just flip the outside wires. Using the Atlas control buttons also makes it very easy to wire two switches to one controller for a crossover.

Len
#3146
HO / Re: Bachmann #6 crossover switch
January 13, 2011, 12:53:05 AM
Another one caught in the "designed for DCC layouts" #6 Crossover trap...  ::)

When is Bachmann going to:

a. Offer these things with gaps already cut so they can be used in DC layouts out of the box? It's a lot easier to tie the two sides together for DCC than going the other way.

b. If no changes are planned, at least clearly label the outside of the box, "FOR DCC LAYOUTS ONLY" in large type to warn the unwary?

c. If no changes are planned, at least include clear instructions to modify them for DC layouts IN THE BOX?

This issue has been going on since these things were first released, and it does impact LHS's that have to deal with the product returns of "defective" crossovers when customers with DC layouts run into this issue. It's long past time for Bachmann to address it.

Len
#3147
HO / Re: Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement
January 11, 2011, 03:35:41 PM
The best thing I've found for applying Scenic Cement to ballast is one of those blunt "syringes" you can get from the pharmacist for giving young kids liquid medicine. Put some Scenic Cement in a bowl, load the "syringe", and apply to the ballast.

Len
#3148
HO / Re: Amtrak Diesel Engines
January 11, 2011, 12:28:36 AM
Yes, the Con-Cor cars handle 18in radius very well. The under body isn't completely accurate, but it allows enough swing to the trucks to let them get around the 18in curves.

One caveat though, if you have any 'S' curves include a straight section at least as long as one car between the curves that make up the 'S'. Otherwise the trucks on connecting cars will be trying to swing in opposite directions at the same time, and at least one of them will probably jump the track.

Len
#3149
HO / Re: Amtrak Diesel Engines
January 10, 2011, 03:31:13 PM
There is one thing you have to watch with the Walthers 85ft Amtrak cars, they are 24in radius, minimum.

When they first came out the boxes were marked 22in radius minimum, but they had problems with even with 22in curves. So the next run the boxes were marked 24in radius minimum, and they work fine on 24in curves.

Being able to handle 18in radius curves is the the one big thing going for the Con-Cor, IHC (if you can find them), and Athearn passenger cars. And by replacing the wheels with Intermountain 36in metal wheels, it's very easy to add a Miniatronics (Walthers: 475-100YCL01) light kit to the Con-Cor  cars.

Len
#3150
HO / Re: Military cars
January 10, 2011, 06:29:14 AM
Jim,

Predates the 1880's by a few hundred years, but maybe you could load up with a 'Davinci Ornithopter' some enterprising nut, er..., inventor is trying to make work!

Or possibly an 1843 'Steampunk' airplane (see article at: http://hubpages.com/hub/A-Steampunk-Airplane-from-the-1800s) that someone plans to improve on with a more powerful engine and actually get off the ground.

Note: We played around with the design of this thing back when I was in engineering school, and my hair was still brown. It could have flown, it was just underpowered.

Len