RETIRED GUY PROJECTS

ModelRailroadForums.com is a free Model Railroad Discussion Forum and photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Online since 2002, it's one of the oldest and largest model railroad forums on the web. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.


So I took the Bachmann Derby Lightweight cars apart and cleaned out the motor bogy. It was packed full of what seemed like motor grease, but it was probably that Bachmann EZ lube gear grease.
MOTOR BOGY GREASE.jpeg


I pulled some of it out with a toothpick and saved it for reuse. Then it was Dawn and warm water with a toothbrush to get as much as possible out. A quick spray with elex cleaner to get rid of the water. This pic shows how much grease there was. Some was oozing out the sides.
MOTOR BOGY.jpeg


Once this was done, then it was time to install a stay alive for the LEDs. Used a 470uF, 25V cap with a 470 ohm resistor. Found a nice spot and soldered them in.
LED STAY ALIVE.jpeg


Ran a test with a small LED board. With power.
STAY ALIVE TEST POWER.jpeg


Power removed. Works. I think it lasted about 2 seconds.
STAY ALIVE TEST NO POWER.jpeg


Stay alive for the other car.
CAR 2 STAY ALIVE.jpeg
 
Ok, just ordered one of these for the tiny tram. Hope it works. I just ran it and it is the most obnoxious thing I have. Wish we could post videos here. I really love it, but it really gets on my nerves! :)

ARUPOWER NZ12S.jpg


It has straight cut gears and metal on metal, but can't be as loud as it is now.
 


Ok, just ordered one of these for the tiny tram. Hope it works. I just ran it and it is the most obnoxious thing I have. Wish we could post videos here. I really love it, but it really gets on my nerves! :)

View attachment 260218

It has straight cut gears and metal on metal, but can't be as loud as it is now.
Are both axles geared? I'm guessing it is, but you know what they say about assuming something.
 
And, like a cat with a ping pong ball in a hallway, I started something else.

New n-scale power unit came in for my GER G15. It runs very nicely and is much smaller than the original power unit, and much quieter.
MOTOR ON 2032.jpeg

NEW OLD DRIVE.jpeg


I wasn't going to put a coupler on it, but changed my mind. Needed to design and print a mount for the body anyway, so I added a slot for the coupler.
G15 BODY MOUNT.jpg


I needed a spacer to make up the distance between the new motor bottom plate and the chassis subframe.
BODY SHELL.jpeg


The rear cowcatcher got mangled which was inevitable since I had to cut a slot for the coupler. But, the retailer/designer included spares since he knows this is very screwuppable.
REAR COW CATCHER.jpeg

SPARE COW CATCHERS.jpeg


Going to see if I can reuse this first. Printer just finished printing, so gotta go.
 
Took 5 tries to get it right.

L-R: too narrow, too wide, too short, too tall and not thick enough, just right. I ended up bringing the coupler pocket to the edge and will just glue it in. This will allow the coupler to clear the body and extend past the buffers, like I had it before. Had that revelation while sitting at my thinking place... :)
COUPLER ATTEMPTS.jpeg


Fitting looked good.
BODY ON TEST.jpeg


Coupler height looked good.
COUPLER HEIGHT GAUGE.jpeg


Starting to glue the adapters in, solder the headlamp to the chassis, and then will use blue tack to hold it in place.
 
Well, got her all put together and running. Managed to salvage the rear cowcatcher, not perfect but since it is so small, I really can't see it very well anyway.
GER15 NEW MOTOR.jpeg


Not as quiet as I hoped she would be, maybe a nut grinder instead of a coffee grinder. Greased up and getting run in.
NEW MOTOR ON THE GO.jpeg


Headlamp kinda bright, even with a 2K resistor. May try a 10K later. Will have to experiment.
 


I bought this a while ago and really enjoy running it, sometimes as just the 3 car unit, or with the Bernina Express train.

ABe 8 12 SIDE.jpg


But, it is very difficult to control with it going from 0 to a million miles per hour with just a slight change on the controller. I would have to very gingerly add more power and pay attention to the voltage on the track as it would quickly climb past 5v. I can understand why I blew a cap in one of the lightboards earlier. So, I figured it had a cap across the motor. Took it apart and voila, there it was.
LIGHTBOARD IN POWER UNIT.jpeg

LIGHTBOARD MOTOR CAP.jpeg


Easy removal and fixed!
CAP REMOVED.jpeg


Now I get speed control over 80 degrees of throttle throw. My Kato Ge 4/4 had the same issue and I removed that cap a long time ago. Since that one had a full length lightboard, it didn't dawn on me that this one would have one as well.
LIGHTBOARD CAP REMOVED.jpg


I'm not sure why they include the cap on these "european market" models. I am wondering if the controllers over there need it or not.
 
I bought this a while ago and really enjoy running it, sometimes as just the 3 car unit, or with the Bernina Express train.

View attachment 260676

But, it is very difficult to control with it going from 0 to a million miles per hour with just a slight change on the controller. I would have to very gingerly add more power and pay attention to the voltage on the track as it would quickly climb past 5v. I can understand why I blew a cap in one of the lightboards earlier. So, I figured it had a cap across the motor. Took it apart and voila, there it was.
View attachment 260677
View attachment 260678

Easy removal and fixed!
View attachment 260679

Now I get speed control over 80 degrees of throttle throw. My Kato Ge 4/4 had the same issue and I removed that cap a long time ago. Since that one had a full length lightboard, it didn't dawn on me that this one would have one as well.
View attachment 260680

I'm not sure why they include the cap on these "european market" models. I am wondering if the controllers over there need it or not.
Well done Kusojiji ! Eventhough I am european I have no answer to your question, never heard about that.
 
Snow plow work continues. Bought some .5mm fiber for a different project, but gave it a try. It fits much better than the .7mm stuff I was trying to use. Heated up the end to get a flare to fill the hole up better.
FIBER FLARE.jpeg

FIBERS INSTALLED.jpeg


Then started decorations. Painted the window frames with a silver paint pen and had drawn up, printed and painted the cab backwall and control stand.
CAB BACKWALL.jpeg

CAB CONTROL PANEL.jpeg


I guess I'll finid out soon if the power unit will still fit. Should, but who knows.
 






Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)

Back
Top