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#16
Wayne,

What can I say about your rebuilding project?
Highest compliment and praise!

I would be lucky If I could do similair modeling projects.
Cheers, Bernd

Please visit also my website www.us-modelsof1900.de.
You can read some more about my model projects and interests in my chronicle of facebook.
#17
Thanks Bernhard, but compared to your skills and workmanship, I'm a "hammer technician": the guy using a sledge hammer to make gravel from big rocks. Wink Icon_lol Misngth

Wayne
#18
Sorry Wayne,

I must gainsay this.
Your modeling techniques are excellent and the results are of the best what you can get.
I and I think all the other modellers also hope to see more of your fine rebuilt and kitbashed models.
Cheers, Bernd

Please visit also my website www.us-modelsof1900.de.
You can read some more about my model projects and interests in my chronicle of facebook.
#19
modelsof1900 Wrote:I think all the other moders also hope to see more of your fine rebuilt and kitbashed models.

I agree! I always enjoy them greatly. Your tutorials do two things for me: help me see how to avoid the potential problems I'll need to overcome in some projects, and open my eyes to ideas I've never thought of to improve my fleet.
Michael
My primary goal is a large Oahu Railway layout in On3
My secondary interests are modeling the Denver, South Park, & Pacific in On3 and NKP in HO
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#20
OK here i go to put foot to mouth. :?
I joined just to see the photos and learn what was done here, because I have an Athern light mikado that I am rebuilding into Nickle Plate Road 587, an engine that Is close to my heart and pocket book. as it sits I have done almost nothing to it because of the lack of up hill pulling capability. My problem is i have a lack of lead and heat. so anyone have any ideas how to get a weight cast for my project? Smile
#21
An alternative to using cast lead like Dr. Wayne, is to use lead buckshot from a shotgun shell and mix it with slow setting epoxy. You won't get as much weight as using cast lead, but something is better than nothing....

I've got a B'mann Mikado SY that is also very light on its feet, so it's been relegated to "flatland" use only....
Gus (LC&P).
#22
kb9vgr Wrote:OK here i go to put foot to mouth. :?
I joined just to see the photos and learn what was done here, because I have an Athern light mikado that I am rebuilding into Nickle Plate Road 587, an engine that Is close to my heart and pocket book. as it sits I have done almost nothing to it because of the lack of up hill pulling capability. My problem is i have a lack of lead and heat. so anyone have any ideas how to get a weight cast for my project? Smile

Well, most of the required tools and material are readily available and relatively inexpensive, too. I got my lead from a garage that does wheel balancing - the old clip-on wheel weights, which normally go to recycling. They gave me a box of about 10 lbs. of used weights, free. For heat, I used a plumber's propane torch - I think the entire kit, with several tips, a sparker, and a full tank of propane was only $12.00 or so. If you want to make simple moulds, sheet aluminum, in large or small sizes, is available in most auto supply stores - look in the body repair section. You should also be able to find it in any well-stocked hardware store. Likewise, sheet lead, in varying thicknesses, should be readily available (and cheap) at a plumbing or roofing supply. I use sheet lead to add weight to cars, such as flats and gondolas, that offer little room for larger cast weights. You can cut it with a utility knife or tinsnips, and it can be easily bent or shaped to fit into odd places.
As Gus mentions, lead shot is another alternative. Since lead is so soft, you can also beat it with a hammer to either change its shape or flatten it into a sheet of sorts.

Wayne
#23
doctorwayne Wrote:Well, most of the required tools and material are readily available and relatively inexpensive, too. I got my lead from a garage that does wheel balancing - the old clip-on wheel weights, which normally go to recycling. They gave me a box of about 10 lbs. of used weights, free. For heat, I used a plumber's propane torch - I think the entire kit, with several tips, a sparker, and a full tank of propane was only $12.00 or so.

I find plenty of these weights just taking a stroll down the street. Once could potentially melt them in a soup can in a burner over a gas grill, or even a gas kitchen stove Eek - just not as fast. And if one is really pressed for money, a beer can could be used as a source of aluminum. Just wash your hands real well after working with lead!
--
Kevin
Check out my Shapeways creations!
3-d printed items in HO/HOn3 and more!
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#24
Welcome kb9vgr !
doctorwayne Wrote:Balancing the loco while maintaining the stock weight would have been preferable to simply adding weight, but still leaving the loco unbalanced.
The loco , belonging to my good friend Mister Nutbar, was severely back-heavy when we first got it, mostly due to the extremely large can motor used to re-power it. While I didn't think to weigh it before doing the conversion work on it, I knew that it would need to be balanced in order to improve both its pulling ability and its tracking qualities, as the lead drivers actually lifted off the rails on some curves.

The thing that originally got me thinking was that the Athearn "mike" and the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 were about the same weight, but the consolidation pulled far more. With the "mike"s balance point back at the third driver set, every time it tried to pull, it rocked back and removed almost all tractive effort from the front two driver sets.It effectively became a large 0-4-0 ! :o In the end, it is tractive effort, more than weight.

Oh, I checked, and the "post-it"s are still on the two Athearn 2-8-2's that will become C&O k2's, reminding me to re-read this thread before proceeding. My thought is to first balance the loco by removing as much of the frame around the motor as is possible, and then adding weight while maintaining that balance point.

kb9vgr, I started using Apoxiesculpt, for filling holes joints etc. in plastic models. It is a two part putty, that sets hard enough to machine, and can still be sanded. I'm thinking that mixing lead shot with the putty, would make a mold-able weight, that would also be "self adhesive" ( providing the surfaces are first cleaned well )
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
#25
Sumpter250 Wrote:The thing that got me thinking was that the Athearn "mike" and the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 were about the same weight, but the consolidation pulled far more

You're right, Pete. My Consolidations can still pull more than the Mikes, but I did add some weight to them, too. Wink Goldth

I have three more of them to re-do, and hope to "pump them up" even a bit more - all will be patterned after prototype locos, two from CNR and one DW&P.

Wayne
#26
doctorwayne Wrote:I have three more of them to re-do, and hope to "pump them up" even a bit more - all will be patterned after prototype locos, two from CNR and one DW&P.
Wayne

Good !! I have a few projects to do before the locos can be worked on, so I'll have time to "get more inspiration" from your "pump them up" process ! Big Grin

Hey ! I make mistakes all the time , but rarely ever in choosing some one to learn from.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
#27
Thanks, Pete, but I'm still working on freight cars (another dozen to re-build), then about four dozen to paint and letter. After that, I've a pair of Bachmann Ten Wheelers that will be first up - I finally managed to "narrow" the overly-wide tenders, a solution that had previously eluded me and held up the rest of the work. Actually, I knew the solution, but was searching for someone with a table saw. I finally got fed-up waiting and, after a "test run" using a couple of AHM stockcars and a handsaw, the tender bodies have been modified. I had intended to use the same method for the floor/frame, but in order to retain the mounting positions for the trucks, two cuts were required, one just inboard of each of the sidesills. Due to a less-than-neat bunch of cuts, I'll be making new floors for both tenders. Wallbang Misngth

Wayne
#28
Wayne - thanks for sharing your successes and foibles. Both are altogether instructive and even a little entertaining for those of us who may never get around to modifying an Athearn Mike, but just like to read about this sort of work.

I DO have an IHC/Mehano Mike and a Pacific from the same maker that are in need of overhauling...but that's a ways away yet. I still need to finish the Mantua 0-4-0 Shifter project I started years ago, then there's the 0-6-0T, and on and on and on...

Thanks again for reposting this informative thread.

Galen
I may not be a rivet counter, but I sure do like rivets!
#29
Thanks for your kind words, Galen.

I have an IHC Mogul that I intend to re-motor and probably re-gear, too, but that project is a ways off. It's my only steamer that doesn't doublehead well with the others, all of which run well in any combination. The main problem is its too-high starting voltage, which means any companion loco needs to drag it for the first 50' or so. This doesn't work too well if you're doubleheading because of trailing tonnage, though. Misngth Once underway and running at a good clip, it's not too bad, but, unfortunately, most areas of the layout have posted speed limits well-below "at a good clip". 357

Wayne
#30
Great work on the mike, I have the same problem with a n IHC Camel. I swapped out the motor, added some weight, and a new tender. that straightened it out somewhat, it could use a cosmetic makeover also.
 My other car is a locomotive, ARHS restoration crew  


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