Another Locomotive Project

One of the problems in modeling Nn3 is the lack of RTR equipment. There are a few mostly Colorado prototype locomotives but for the East Broad Top everything has to be built.

Building an Nn3 locomotive usually involves starting with a Marklin chassis. In the case of the surviving EBT Mikados the 8827 Class 41 Marklin Mikado is a good starting spot, the drivers are a touch too small but with the oversize flanges the dimensions are about right. The same chassis is used for all the Mikados, and a kit is available for them through Republic Locomotive Works.

Since some of their earlier 2-8-0 locomotives were standard designs also shared by the western roads there are kits available to build them as well, and with the new PowerMax chassis you can find kits for Brill Motorcar M1 and the dinky locomotives also owned by the road. Some of the existing Marklin chassis can also be used to create the road's Mogul and ten-wheeler locomotives as well. There is one, however, that is a bit more difficult.

This is East Broad Top locomotive 11. It is a Prairie 2-6-2 locomotive and was the road's first wide firebox loco. The design was so successful that the railroad used it as the pattern for their six existing Mikado locomotives, essentially just adding another set of drivers and extending the trailing truck a bit. I have long wanted to build this locomotive but have been unable to decide how to go about it. The choices seemed to be shortening a Mikado chassis, something that I didn't feel my modeling skills to be equal to, or modifying a Marklin 8803 Mogul chassis to accept a different motor, also beyond my skills. However, there did seem to be an alternative...

This is the Marklin 8806 chassis. I first saw this locomotive on the popular online auction site but didn't have any dimensional information for it. At first glance it looked to be a promising start, the drivers appeared to be the same as the 8827 chassis and the motor is horizontal rather than vertical as it is on the 8803 chassis. However, I had problems finding one that was in a price range I felt comfortable about taking apart for a donor chassis.

And then...one came up. No box so collectors weren't interested in it, so it was had for a bit over a C note, which is about what an 8827 chassis goes for. A few clicks of the mouse and it was on its way.

When it arrived the disassembly began apace:

Once the lid was off the mechanism looked even more promising. The motor is a bit long, but the large cab of the EBT prototype should cover it adequately. There was a light board at the back of the locomotive and the frame extended back to support it, but it looks as if the chassis can be cut off aft of the rear motor mount without too many problems. The solid bottom of the motor mount platform can be filed flat as well to get rid of the arches, and the whole thing should be covered by the bottom of the cab.

With the light boards and leading and trailing trucks removed the chassis looks even more promising. The front of the locomotive is actually going to be more problematic than the back. The cylinders are going to have to go right in front of the drivers and they are mounted on a solid bar. The two options are to cut the top of the chassis flush with the front driver edge or file the bottom of the chassis in front of the drivers up to mount the bar underneath. Either way the front of the chassis is going to have to be cut away more than the rear.

The only other issue I can see is the front motor mount. It stretches the width of the locomotive and it looks like its going to hit the bottom of the boiler just forward of the cab. I am hopeful that it can be disguised behind air piping and whatnot under the running boards. At any rate I don't think it will be an insurmountable obstacle.

So all in all it looks like my prospects of having this locomotive on my roster one day is promising.

DCC'ing

I have four Digitrax decoders.

I put one into a Minitrix K4. It doesn't work. I open it up and find the black wire has somehow gotten cut and is touching the gray wire. D'oh!!!

I have three Digitrax decoders.

I install one in a Minitrix K4. It doesn't work. I open it up and can find nothing wrong. I remove it and the locomotive still doesn't work. I clean the motor brushes and now it works. I give up on this Minitrix K4.

I may have three Digitrax decoders.

I install the suspect one into a Bachmann Spectrum N&W J class. It works. I am happy.

I have two Digitrax decoders and a locomotive with DCC.

I install one into a different Minitrix K4. It works. I am happy. I also now have four Pennsylvania Railroad locomotives with DCC; two Bachmann GP7's with factory decoders, one Model Power Mikado that I got the bugs worked out of last weekend, and the K4.

I have one Digitrax decoder...

K4

Remember when I said I wished Bachmann would do a 4-6-2? Well, they did, and not only did they do a 4-6-2, they did a Pennsylvania RR K4 in several different varieties.

Bachmann stock photo, pre-war K4 in Brunswick Green with red and gold striping

It's a bit pricy with an MSRP of $399.00, but most of the retail outlets I've seen have them for $299 or less. It comes equipped with DCC and sound, two things that I really don't need that undoubtedly run up the cost, but that's the wave of the future and one day I'm sure I will upgrade to DCC myself.

Bachmann stock photo, post-war K4 with modern pilot

These look to be very nice locomotives, and I certainly hope Bachmann takes this opportunity to put the chassis under other road names as well. There is, after all, a large hole in the market to be filled with a decent running Pacific in N scale.

I'm saving my nickels and dimes for one now.

Real Estate Disputes and Other Matters

My train room is being taken over by closet space.

Ever since the charming and lovely Mrs Hades agreed to take up space with me we've been moving things around. What was big enough for one person (me) has proven insufficient for two, so along one wall of the "train room" there is now shelving and clothing.

Everything that was along that wall has been moved to the opposite wall, where I'm pleased and somewhat surprised to report it all fits...tightly, to be sure, but it fits.  The large 4x8 N standard layout has been disassembled and all that is left in the center of the room is the uncompleted Nn3 layout.

Unfortunately it looks like that may have to find another place to live as well, or be disassembled and the parts used for something else. (Maybe I can finally do the long-planned Saltillo modules, complete with the NARCO quarry branch.) Also on the block is the proposed Z scale layout, I just don't have the room for it as things stand now.

Two things I am looking at is double decking and reducing by one the number of standard gauge N scale layouts. If I reduce the number of N standard I will be finding somewhere to put the rock quarry. I could then put the Z scale in the corner and put the Nn3 on a shelf over the top of the standard N.

Losing the quarry wouldn't be a huge blow. It has given me some experience in working with foam at least, and the performance of the Bachmann set that prompted the layout has, as is typical with Bachmann 4-4-0's, been disappointing to say the least. I can at least use the benchwork for one part of the Z scale, so that isn't a total loss either. Finding civil war era buildings for the rock quarry has been problematic as well, and the effort would be better served finishing the scenery on the other standard N scale layout.

But enough about that. Moving has been completed enough to take a little break at least, so I've been spending time in the train room tuning engines. I've finally gotten all of my Pacifics to work reliably and I've even been able to get my two Atlas 4-4-0's to run decently again (the unpainted one threw a tire after being painted and the undec didn't run well out of the box).

I've been working on the 2-8-0's as well, they don't like tight corners. The problem is some Bachmann engineer in a fit of brilliance decided that metal would be a good material to cast the cylinder fronts out of, so when the pony wheels touch it they short out. I've had to carve and cut them away to clear the pony truck wheels, they look terrible up close but after they were painted they are hardly noticeable from operating distance, and now they will actually run on the 11" radius curves like they are supposed to.

Last but not least I added a siding to the backside of the Clarinda modules.  I've been thinking of doing that for a while because it adds some operational flexibility. Now I can have a passenger train laying in wait to take a few laps while the freight train is on a siding, either in the front or in the back. I've tried it both ways and it is working as planned.

Next week I hope to get some of the scenery done on them. We'll see how that goes.

Rock Quarrys and 4-4-0's

So I started a new project just as a fun sort of thing, it started out as an experiment/test track but I'm also doing some new things with it. It's all fun and games, right?

Anyway the theme for the new layout is a rock quarry set sometime around the 1880's. The inspiration was the winning on the auction site of an old timey Bachmann 4-4-0 freight set, you know the one. You also know that the B-mann is...to put it mildly, not the best running or pulling locomotive in the world. It can barely pull its 4+caboose freight train around the layout, and when I added a combine and coach to the mix it was completely lost.

As you may also know Atlas has recently (within the last few years) released its own version of the 4-4-0, so I ordered an undecorated unit. It got here today.

First impressions, man this thing is fra-JEEE-lay! As in, the pony truck fell off as soon as I took it out of the box and one of the boiler stays was already gone, fragile. The pony truck is pretty easily fixed, but it means you have to turn the loco upside down and pry up on the base plate, which means either you pull the whistle off the steam dome or risk breaking off that fragile plastic whistle. A brass unit may have been a better choice for this part.

At any rate, with the pony truck and whistle both installed the examination went on. I compared it side-by-side with the B-mann (note: the Bachmann 4-4-0 in the pictures is not the one from the train set; this one is a newer release and was used primarily because it has a knuckle coupler installed. The dimensions are the same) and dimensionally everything actually looks pretty even although the Atlas certainly shines in the (small and fragile) details. The undec/unpainted Atlas has a clear headlight which is kind of hard to see details on, but the reason for that is this loco has a working headlight (unlike the B-mann), or at least it does when the clear unit is painted.

The tender is closer coupled, and it's cast-on (fixed, non-swiveling) trucks have bigger wheels and no copper springs showing, which also means the loco is a bit shorter than the B-mann although the tender dimensions are pretty close (I didn't break out the micrometer). The top of the tender looks a bit funny to me, too, since the fuel load (coal, cast in) only takes up the center instead of spreading all the way to both sides as the Bachmann does. From the pictures and plans I have seen the Atlas is technically correct, although the load (usually wood) was generally heaped high enough to overfill the fuel bunker and cover the tender top as on the Bachmann. An Atlas Accumate coupler is affixed to the rear.

Drivers are approximately the same size and the pony truck is attached via an arm (remarkably similar to the Atlas Pacific) rather than directly to the cylinders like the B-mann. The Bachmann actually weighs a little more, coming out on my super precision kitchen scales at 1.4 oz while the Atlas only clocked in at 1.3 oz. Also unlike the B-mann unit there is no weight in the cab, which means you can see right through it. There is no bottom or lower back wall to the cab on the Atlas (meaning there is no flat surface where the driveshaft goes through), so it looks a bit unfinished since the cab walls are just hanging out in space. The undecorated Atlas also comes with a straight stack in the box that you can add on in place of the diamond stack that is already fitted to the model.

The only real visual quibble I have about the locomotive, aside from the unfinished looking cab (that you really don't notice unless you are closely examining it due to the tighter spacing on the tender) is the driver centers, the spokes are almost not there at all. NZT Products makes the fix, but from what I understand it's not for the faint of heart.

On the track, neither pulling a train, the Bachmann takes a higher starting voltage and runs faster at all throttle settings. The Bachmann is also slightly more forgiving of track work, the Atlas derailed twice on its first trip around while I have never had an issue with the Bachmann. Oddly enough it seemed to me that despite its higher voltage requirements the Bachmann started a bit smoother, although the Atlas was not rough at all by any means. Somewhat leery of its lighter weight, I attached a train to the Atlas

Holy smokes this thing really pulls. I don't know what it is but I suspect the weight distribution is better on the Atlas despite its overall lower weight, the Spookshow article shows the split frame construction which surely makes a difference. With only 2 flatcars (I pulled the body off the tank car), the gondola and a caboose the Bachmann slips and struggles all the way around the track, but the Atlas took off smoothly with the same train and pulled as if it didn't have a train attached at all.

So I started adding cars to the smug little Atlas, and before long it was happily steaming around the track with two boxcars, three flats, a gondola, a bobber caboose, and Athern/Roundhouse Overland coach and combine in tow, nary a slip or a struggle in sight.

The only thing the Bachmann has going for it now is price. So you can't get the Atlas for 15 bucks apiece at the train shows, so what, they have just made the brand new Bachmann 4-4-0's overpriced at any level. The Bachmanns in my collection that don't immediately go on permanent display will either be converted to Nn3 or sold off (I don't need very many Nn3 4-4-0's after all...in fact I have all I really need at one) and the Atlas has found a permanent place on the Rock City layout.

In my opinion, if you want to run 1880's era 4-4-0 locomotives the Atlas is the only way to go.

Motive Power, Part 3

It has been a long time since I have updated the site.

The Pennsy L1 is done, the paint just went on it this last weekend. It is a beautiful loco and a strong puller. It won't stay on my current horrible trackwork, but all of that will change when I get the new layout up and running.

Speaking of the new layout, I have finalized the plan for the PRR portion of the Path Valley. The PRR portion is just a double loop that incorporates an interchange with the SR&W at Duncannon PA, not prototypical at all but it will suit my needs. It will be built on a 3x7 door. I'm hoping to have construction started soon, but I have been hoping to have construction started for quite some time now.

The Atlas locos have both been re-motored and they are running fine. The Mikado does not like my trackwork any better than the Kato, but the Pacific does just fine. Both of these have to be run on a transistorized throttle that I built from an MRC unit, they ramp to full speed and don't have any fine control on a rheostat throttle. Just as well, I suppose, since I was planning on building more transistorized throttles anyway.

I picked up an Arnold Pacific as well, so now I have three Pacifics and two Mikados. The train set Consolidations have been shipped off to a new home where hopefully they are providing their new owners with good service and much enjoyment.

The train table has been cleared of trains and the track is being pulled up a little at a time. When the track is all up I will dismantle the table and hopefully be able to use it's pieces for the new benchwork. I don't know what I will end up doing with the roundhouse and turntable, but they will be stored away for future use or sale depending on what happens.

I also picked up another J class, but it is the older model and does not run. I am investigating the possibility of sending it to Bachmann for replacement, we will see how the warranty goes with the new warranty policy.

Three Little Locos

The L1 lacks only paint and finish. It doesn't like the tight corners, but should run OK on a 15" minimum radius. I modified the drawbar connection by removing it from the locomotive and attaching it to the tender, it now hooks downward into the trailing truck to prevent contact between the loco's metal frame and the brass hook. I also hard-wired the tender to the LED light board in the locomotive, so it picks up on both sides from both locomotive and tender. The tender now needs a little weight to improve the contact, but this locomotive is as stall-free as the Bachmann Spectrum F-7's are.

The Atlas Mikado and Pacific have both received new gearmotors. They run well, but because they only pick up on one side of the locomotive chassis they can be a bit balky over turnouts. There doesn't seem to be any way to fix this, the original design had the tender picking up on one side and the loco on the other. The Bachmann tenders allow pickup on both sides, but since the Atlas frames still only pick up on one side of the locomotive a stall can occur if both tender trucks hit the same dead spot. Fortunately that doesn't happen often, and when it does a bit of track cleaning has so far taken care of it.

The Atlas locomotives run well with each other, but due to gearing differences they are both slower than the Kato mechanism under the L1. I haven't tried double-heading the Pacifics, but I will be surprised if the Model Power runs at the same speed as the remotored Atlas. The remotored Mikado isn't a very good puller when compared to the Kato, but that is no doubt due to the heavy pewter shell of the L1.

The Class J, by the way, has had it's drawbar shortened as well. Turns out that Bachmann supplied two holes to attach locomotive to tender, and it was at the furthest hole. The fix was to simply attach the locomotive to the closer of the two connecting holes.

So at this point the Atlas locomotives are complete and ready for service, and the L1 shell and tender will be painted as soon as I have time off from work to do them, along with the white metal bits on tender and loco mechanism. The Class J was ready to go from the time it came out of the box, but has now had it's minor quibble repaired. All of these locomotives have received Micro-Trains couplers on their tenders and all but the Class J has a Z scale Micro-Trains coupler in it's pilot. The fleet grows (but will soon contract by two train-set Northerns and two train-set Consolidations), so it's about time to give them a place to run.

I have ordered a new shed to be built and brought to the house, this will give me the much-needed storage space to de-clutter my "train room" and so give me the room I need to start building the new layout. First things first, the carpeting will come out and be replaced with a hard-surfaced floor of some sort. I have stick-on simulated wood strips that I will use if I have enough of them, and if not I'll see if I can find some more. If not once again, I'll look into some engineered wood floors.

I have also obligated myself to building a pair of Nn3 modules based on the East Broad Top Railroad's operations in Saltillo PA for the National Narrow Gauge Convention to be held next September in Hickory NC. To that end I have ordered the Fast Tracks Nn3 turnout kit for a #6 turnout, so I'll get to try my hand at building turnouts. If all goes well I'll get one for the standard gauge as well, and maybe I'll get crazy enough to get the ones for dual gauge. On top of that, I am trying to finish the dollhouse for the granddaughter before Christmas.

All in all I will be very busy for the next year.

Update on Motive Power

Almost all of the pieces have arrived.

The kit for the L1 Pennsy 2-8-2 is going well. At first I thought I would not be able to use the tender casting, but when I took a good look at the Bachmann tender I found that it's shell pulls straight off the top and has what looks suspiciously like a decoder in it. At any rate, with a bit of judicious trimming of both tender floor and the casting, including removing the coal bunker floor and replacing it with a piece of styrene cut to fit just a bit higher, the Pennsy casting will work fine on the Bachmann floor.

I had to modify all three of the tender drawbars by gluing in a piece of styrene and drilling a hole to connect to the locomotives. On the Atlas locos I drilled a hole in each of the trailing trucks and bent a thick piece of brass rod as a connector. On the Kato I bent a piece of the same brass rod to fit in the existing trailing truck hole. All three tenders will now connect to their respective locomotives, but I might have to rethink the Kato as it is a bit too close for operations on tighter curves. I'm planning on running a minimum of 15" on the standard gauge, but I'm not sure if the Kato will make a curve that tight with the current coupling distance.

I also modified the slope-back tender for the 0-6-0 by clipping the part of the old tender's drawbar that connected to the locomotive and trimming it to fit inside the new tender's drawbar opening. Now I have a good tight fit and a better contact system than before so this locomotive, already a good performer, is now a great performer. It is very difficult to stall this locomotive now since it picks up from both tender trucks as well as from four of the six locomotive wheels. It still won't pull a full length freight train, but the prototype never did either. It does just fine with a cut of four to six cars, I haven't tried it on anything more than that but this will likely be it's standard train length anyway.

The worms have been removed from the Atlas locos along with their enclosures, they will be sent to the Motorman to be installed on the gearmotors that are being built for them. At present the only one of the three locos that run is the Kato, and it is a real jewel. I have to finish detailing the L1 shell and it will be ready for paint and decals. It is a running locomotive that needs cosmetic work, the Atlas locos are good cosmetically but don't run. All that will change when the new motors get here, but there is no rush since I don't have an operational pike for the moment.

There has been one final addition to the roster, and this one is completely non-prototypical. It is a Bachmann Class J Norfolk and Western 4-8-4 with auxiliary water tender. I have to install couplers to close the gap between the tender and aux tender, and I would also like to close the gap a bit between the loco and tender, but it is as beautiful as it's prototype counterpart. It is road number 611, which is also the only surviving prototype of it's class. In my opinion, the N&W J class locomotives were the most beautiful steam locomotives ever produced.

So what is a N&W J class doing on a PRR themed pike? The story I'm making up is that it's leased with an option as the "PRR" contemplates a switch to diesel. In the real world, it's my railroad and I'll run what I like.

Nowadays of course the N&W and the PRR are combined into the Norfolk Southern on the part of the Pennsy system that I'm modeling.