My expierience with big locos

[Schraddel]

G gauge? :?

Mike,

They model stanchoins are sold usually in this seizes:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.maritime-models.co.uk/acatalog/rail-stanchions.html">http://www.maritime-models.co.uk/acatal ... hions.html</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.westbourne-model.co.uk/acatalog/rb_models_brass_rail_stanchions_various_sizes_holes_model_boat_fittings_fixtures_.html">http://www.westbourne-model.co.uk/acata ... ures_.html</a><!-- m -->
There is no scale, there is only the lenght listed.
Here a link to prototype:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://ipmfittings.co.uk/hollow-steel-balls-handrail-knuckles/">http://ipmfittings.co.uk/hollow-steel-b ... -knuckles/</a><!-- m -->
Here too different diameters. Gentlemen, make your own scale because all constants are variable...
It seemed to me the most manufacturers of traditional handrails of any scale are seated in Great Brexit.

Cheers Lutz

[Tyson Rayles]

I'm refering to the loco, what scale is it?

[Schraddel]

Mike,
it's H0

Cheers Lutz

[Tyson Rayles]

Thanks!

[Schraddel]

Next were improvements on the trailing truck. This was unsprung an only it's own weight will keep it on the rails.


The part as original as it was created in 1962 for Max Grey and then again 1972 for Westside Imports.





Drilling out of the bores an clean them up.





It will look better when the bores are cleaned too... :oops:





The place where the trailing truck used to be mounted. Here a rear suspension was made for. A sliding shoe was made out of an tubular rivet.
N.B. for rivet counters: You have to count an additional rivet here.





The rear axle got a simple modification, so that the trailing truck has now a 3-point suspension in itself.





The front suspension.





And the whole thing mounted. Both wheelsets are now evenly loaded and all four wheels will be pemanently on the rails.
The bracket prevents the trailing truck to fall down when the loco is handled with the five finger crane.


The treatment of the tender trucks were posted here earlier in a separate thread, which has been moved and is now at the beginning of this thread.


Cheers Lutz

[Schraddel]

Here are some complements to the tender and tender trucks.


To get a stable ride of the tender, a 3-point suspension of the two truchs was made.
On the front truck a brass washer was soldered onto the upper sind of the truck. This will raise the tender about 0.3mm higher, but also enables the truck to pivot freely in all directions because it's point of support is focused by the washer near its pivot.
For the rear truck there were made two cushings left an right. Here the truck sideframes will support the tender directly. The truck can turn, but rocking only in one direction.






The mounting of the shell was altered. Two new bores were set and tapped. So the electric connections and the removabiltlty of the tender shell will be away.

Cheers Lutz

[Schraddel]

The next step was the "electrification" of the whole loco.


Here it startet out with making the additional pick ups needed for an hassle free operation. Further the loco should be disassembled an reassembled without the need for an soldering iron. Therefor all disconnection points were equipped with plugs.
The pick up wipers were made out of 0.3mm bronze wire.
Left on the botton of the photo is the rear bottom plate, the rearward end facing to the left.
Above the bottom plate of the front engine, here the rear end is facing to the right.
Above middle and right each half of a tender truck. The connectors will be explained later.
For insulating purposes stripes of 0.3mm styrene sheets were glued with CA onto. The wipers of the insulated side were soldered onto stripes of 0.15mm bronze.





Here the mounted wipers are shown. All black wires were soldered to for advanced hiding.
Making it some harder to sort the unions, but it's at least invisible. 8-)





A look onto the orderly chaos.
The white plastic profiles glued into the corners of the cutout of the boiler were to limit the turn of the front engine. This also prevents the telescoping steam pipes and the universal joints to slip out of their counterparts during handling of the loco.
The boiler also was filled with lead in every aspect. Until now a weight of 1.3kgs (app. 46oz) was reached (loco only without tender).





The hollow cab was closed with a piece of brass sheet. It is removable and not detailed yet. So perhaps when i get mad and will get the brass parts, i will go to detail the cab interior





The reassembled tender trucks.





The reassembled front engine.
In the piece of shrink tube is the resistor for the front headlight. The leads are soldered to an plug.
There also is an second plug with wires from the pick ups.





The rear engine.
A socket with wires leading to the pick ups and 2 further wires into; remember photo 2 in this post.
A further socket with wires disappearing into the mechanism.





And so it connects all together.


Cheers Lutz

[sailormatlac]

You just gave me an idea how to connect one of my problematic tender.

Matt

[Schraddel]

You just gave me an idea how to connect one of my problematic tender.

Matt!

The plugs and sockets are made out of these here:
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One of the advances is, you can use them either as plug or socket. The spacing is 2.54mm. You can separate them with sharp knive.

Cheers Lutz

[Schraddel]

Completing the electrification furthermore:


The 7-pole socket is the connector between loco and tender, so they can be easily separated. From this point onward the wires are insider the tender shell, so i used the NMRA colour code for wiring. A 8-pole socket according NMRA rules was made and so it is possible to plug simply in the decoder of your choice.
The 2-pole socket is intended for a back up light.





A first test running on the workbench. First in anlalogue mode, then a decoder was plugged in and in DCC mode.
The only additional device at this stage is the front light.





When comparing this modell with prototype photos, a lot of details were missing. The black markings on the boiler show things to come.






What i have done were four footboards beneath the crossheads out of L-shaped and rectanguler profiles.
And then going mad, my attempts to make moveable lube pump drives















My first attempt for the lube pump drives were out of 0.3mm bronze wire. But this is rather hard and here my possiblities to form a lug out of it were limited. The lugs were bend with an very pointed tweezers and this was the smallest diameter which i resulted. There are 4 lube pumps, one further is not mounted yet.
And here the question is, will this drives stay attached when the loco is running under layout conditions :?:


Cheers Lutz

[Schraddel]

Now intensive test runnings were made:


On the layout easy runing onto the main.





On the other end of my switching layout.
But wait a little bit, there is a Atlas Customline Code83 #4 switch in the foreground.





Later the spacing between loco and tender will be closed by an diaphragm. These are the movements a diaphragm will have to cope with.





So it looks alike when running over a #4 switch. That is a extreme value for the L-105 Challenger, but it negotiated it.







A Peco Streamline US Code 83 #6. Much easier to negotiate.







A Peco Streamline US Code 83 #8.










Negotiating the vertical kurves from main to industrial tracks. The loco tackles it too.





Here was the very end. These Challengers are not made for switching in tight eastern industrial areas.
I resume the D&RGW L-105 Challenger sucessfully completed the test running. The 1300g weight of the loco forces the rather stiff springs to work really. The loco floats rights on it's spring suspension and there is really springing action. The tender has it's own weight of ca. 200g, so the complete loco with tender tips the sum weight of 1500g (app. 53oz) on the kitchen scale.
But this is not the end, there is much of work still to do.


Cheers Lutz

[Schraddel]

And not forgotten, the 4-8-4 D&RGW class M-68:


Here the trailing truck is excellent detailed and the axle bearings are sprung. But the trailing truck tends to wobble, especially when backing at slow speeds. The the lateral motion has had then a wiggling motion.





To cure this, the truck got a horizontal springing system in addition to the vertikal one.





The tender trucks underwent just the same modifications as the ones of the L-105, described at the beginning of this thread. Here of course the tender is from Max Grey and has slightly different truck mountings.





The loco itself got the well proven pick up wipers.


Cheers Lutz

[doctorwayne]

Very nicely-done modifications, Lutz, and your tests of the modified articulated certainly proved the worth of your efforts.


Wayne

[Schraddel]

Thank you Wayne and here is a look under the bonnet:


It is astonishing which evolution has taken within a few years. The L-105 Challenger is from 1972 and this M-68 Northern from 1979.
The L-105 had an traditional open frame motor and rubber tubes as substantial parts of the drivetrain.
Here the M-68 have an Canon coreless coil motor and a real brass cardan shaft with massive unviversal joints. Bernhardt (a'ka modelsof1900) will like them






The drivetrain was demounted, old grease removed, nothing was found sticky or faulty. So after an application of fesh grease into the gearbox and fresh oil on alle bearings, the drivetrain was remounted. As it is of the nose bearing type, nothing has to be altered.







A closer look onto the compressors. O.k. there is some plumbing missing, but it is only visible from this angle. When the boilershell is mounted, you will see nothing missing. Thus causes me not complementing the plumbing here, simply because the work will be invisible when the shell is mounted.


Cheers Lutz

[Schraddel]

Found two screws which hold the cab. After removing the the cab could lifted out:


This was the very completest cab interior i ever have seen. :o





Seats and brake stand are mounted here.





There is something to straighten and loose parts to resolder.





Should i ever decide to detail the cab interior of the L-105, this will be the style sheet.




Even the roof hatches are movable.
The removable cab will make painting and glassing jobs much easier. Too beautiful to hide it in darkness and so in any case this cab interior will be lighted.


Cheers Lutz