01-15-2009, 01:05 PM
For the tender I borrowed a pair of caboose trucks from a P2K Northeastern-style steel caboose. Mine was lettered for Western Maryland and I had originally bought it to run behind an aging BL-2 (not P2k) of the same road name. I was never entirely happy with the lighting flickering in the caboose so it was no major loss to use these trucks on the Shifter.
This was an 'aha!' moment after wrestling with how to add pickup contacts or wipers or something to the tender. The tender trucks already have the wipers attached. The Engine wheels will not pick up any current. The motor is already isolated and I didn't want to have to run another pair of wires (or maybe just one) back to the tender.
[albumimg]328[/albumimg]
As you can see, there are a few holes drilled through the tender floor. I made sure to deburr the holes so as not to wear down the insulation on the wires and potentially cause a short. No smoky decoders for me, thanks.
Also you can see where I milled out the frame to accept a modified Kadee coupler box. I'm beginning to think those wire whiskers have more integrity and resilience than the little brassy metal spring plates. I know there was some concern that they'd lose their springiness over time and maybe they will, but so far I like mine just fine.
In this image I had wired up the engine and tender with a decoder to test operating characteristics. At that point it was AoK, and subsequent testing has been the same. This should be a sweet little runner when it's all done.
Galen
This was an 'aha!' moment after wrestling with how to add pickup contacts or wipers or something to the tender. The tender trucks already have the wipers attached. The Engine wheels will not pick up any current. The motor is already isolated and I didn't want to have to run another pair of wires (or maybe just one) back to the tender.
[albumimg]328[/albumimg]
As you can see, there are a few holes drilled through the tender floor. I made sure to deburr the holes so as not to wear down the insulation on the wires and potentially cause a short. No smoky decoders for me, thanks.
Also you can see where I milled out the frame to accept a modified Kadee coupler box. I'm beginning to think those wire whiskers have more integrity and resilience than the little brassy metal spring plates. I know there was some concern that they'd lose their springiness over time and maybe they will, but so far I like mine just fine.
In this image I had wired up the engine and tender with a decoder to test operating characteristics. At that point it was AoK, and subsequent testing has been the same. This should be a sweet little runner when it's all done.
Galen
I may not be a rivet counter, but I sure do like rivets!