Charles Smiley
cspmovies
I picked one of these up knowing that it was a generic Pacific (4-6-2). I'm in the process of making it look more like an SP Pacific as used on the SF Peninsula.
I need it for a Fast Mail train with all Harriman style dark-olive colored cars that I built up. On flat ground these things were like Saluki dogs - fast as any Gazelle and still fairly powerful.
The things that needed changing right away were...
1. The headlight needed a visor over the lens. Later I'll replace it later with a brass one and relocate it more below the smoke box centerline as
the SP style dictates.
2. The bell is normally between the stem and sand dome. And it was never brass colored! That was an easy move - air-brushed to black.
3. It needs large, angled number boards bracketing the smoke stack. I used some parts I had that are OK for now, but I'll find better ones when the shops open again.
4. I need to fit it with a fatter stack that is more tapered.
5. The SP front pilot/cowcatcher didn't have spokes. It looks like they made it out of some heavy corrugated steel. hat's a futre poriject.
6. SP steam and sand domes looked like Bowler style hats compared to what this model has. That would be very ard to fix.
This model ran very poorly out of the box. It derailed and stalled (reset shutdown) every 10 feet on even 36-inch radius curves and number 8 turnouts. Most of this was front wheel/truck lift on the lead tender truck due to poor routing of the wire from the brass truck frame - and two other problems.
a. The slip-fit on the connecting drawbar was binding. I burnished the hole to polish it smoother using a round hardwood toothpick in a drill motor.
Now it's fine.
b. The tender's brake cylinder had projections (bell cranks) that interfered with the trucks pivoting. I snipped them off since they can't be seen unless
you turn the tender upside down.
Now it runs just fine mechanically. I would say somewhere between very good and excellent. But it likes to reset going over gaps on loops that have DCC polarity reversers like the Lenz model LK-200. It stalls, resets the decoder but quickly recovers. It needs a TCS "Keep Alive" added.
There is no useful info or wiring diagram on the generic-OEM decoder in this thing -- it has lots of empty connectors for unused things with no info. Has anyone ever put a Keep-Alive module on this loco decoder? Or has anyone junked it for a preferred decoder brand?
Some of my plans will need to wait for local hobby shops to open back up.
I need it for a Fast Mail train with all Harriman style dark-olive colored cars that I built up. On flat ground these things were like Saluki dogs - fast as any Gazelle and still fairly powerful.
The things that needed changing right away were...
1. The headlight needed a visor over the lens. Later I'll replace it later with a brass one and relocate it more below the smoke box centerline as
the SP style dictates.
2. The bell is normally between the stem and sand dome. And it was never brass colored! That was an easy move - air-brushed to black.
3. It needs large, angled number boards bracketing the smoke stack. I used some parts I had that are OK for now, but I'll find better ones when the shops open again.
4. I need to fit it with a fatter stack that is more tapered.
5. The SP front pilot/cowcatcher didn't have spokes. It looks like they made it out of some heavy corrugated steel. hat's a futre poriject.
6. SP steam and sand domes looked like Bowler style hats compared to what this model has. That would be very ard to fix.
This model ran very poorly out of the box. It derailed and stalled (reset shutdown) every 10 feet on even 36-inch radius curves and number 8 turnouts. Most of this was front wheel/truck lift on the lead tender truck due to poor routing of the wire from the brass truck frame - and two other problems.
a. The slip-fit on the connecting drawbar was binding. I burnished the hole to polish it smoother using a round hardwood toothpick in a drill motor.
Now it's fine.
b. The tender's brake cylinder had projections (bell cranks) that interfered with the trucks pivoting. I snipped them off since they can't be seen unless
you turn the tender upside down.
Now it runs just fine mechanically. I would say somewhere between very good and excellent. But it likes to reset going over gaps on loops that have DCC polarity reversers like the Lenz model LK-200. It stalls, resets the decoder but quickly recovers. It needs a TCS "Keep Alive" added.
There is no useful info or wiring diagram on the generic-OEM decoder in this thing -- it has lots of empty connectors for unused things with no info. Has anyone ever put a Keep-Alive module on this loco decoder? Or has anyone junked it for a preferred decoder brand?
Some of my plans will need to wait for local hobby shops to open back up.