Best Of New Brass EP-2 assembly & Mod clinic

[u18b]

Time to begin the process of tuning these two Cabs.



Notice I said "begin" since there is only a limited amount I can do at this point.

Still to come is the jumper wires through the cab which will improve electrical conductivity.

Also, the whole thing needs to be disassembled when it comes time to paint this locomotive.
So at THAT point will be when the final tuning happens.

Here is a cut-away view.

We have already reduced as much friction as we can in this locomotive.
Thus it ALL boils down to ONE spot now-- the shaft bearing in the gearbox (blue).



The goal is to get that bearing absolutely centered in the gearbox hole.
When THAT happens, then the bearing can move ever so slightly in all directions since the hole is just a tiny bit too big.

There are only two places to make adjustments.
1.  At the L-bracket motor support (red).
2.  And the gearbox itself can move around a little bit (yellow) when the screws are loosened.

Now, in this (fuzzy) photo, notice the gap between the bearing and the worm.  This gap is too big.  The bearing will rattle around too much.
so A. I try to move the gearbox outward (red).  If that does not work, then B. I could tap the worm further down the motor shaft.



The way to move the gearbox a little bit is to loosen the screws slightly....



And then I can move the box--- and re-tighten the screws.

 

When I have everything pretty much where it needs to go, I press down on the flywheel.  It moves down ever so slightly (blue).
But when I try to lift up the flywheel, nothing moves (red).  That means the shaft is too high and needs to be lowered.


In order to get the shaft/bearing to move up and down, I have to change the angle of the L-bracket (yellow).  In order to make a bend, I have to remove the gearbox.  If it is way off, I might have to remove the motor too.  But usually bending on the the motor is sufficient.



I then need to check the side to side movement.
Left...


and right...


The final goal is to be able to press and ever so slightly move the bearing in ALL directions.  When that happens, it is centered.

When it is all said and done, I should be able to easily move the bearing with a fine instrument.



When I've done all I think I can do.... time to take it for a test drive.  Adding one of the weights will help electrical pickup a bit.


I might need to do a little bit of lubricating in the trucks now.

When it has been running for a while, I touch the motor poles.
Of they are hot-- then that means excess friction that still needs to be removed.
Of they are barely warm or even cool, then I know it is about as good as it is going to get.

[peteski]

Ron, your quest for perfecting this mechanism is bordering on being obsessive.  Or maybe it has passed over that border. Mind you that I don't say this in a negative way. 

[JanesCustomTrain]

thank you Ron, I really enjoy watching, great tutorial

Jane

[mmagliaro]

Ron, I'm throughly enjoying this! 
I have a suggestion/question.
Why not put an ammeter in the line, and run the mechanism on your bench, easing the motor or gear housing
this way and that until you get minimum current draw?   No matter what the bearing may look and feel like,
you will really know you have the perfect position when the current drops - that never lies and it will also
show you if you are taxing the motor.

Anyway, I'll shut up now.   

I really to like the precise parts, firm, neat cuts, and precision assembly of this thing.
Very very professional.

[u18b]

Ron, your quest for perfecting this mechanism is bordering on being obsessive.  Or maybe it has passed over that border. Mind you that I don't say this in a negative way. 

LOL.  Thanks for the compliment.   

A couple of things come to my mind.

First, this is who I am.  If any folks have followed my articles for the last 25 years in N-Scale Mag you know that a lot are about kitbashing, but a pretty fair number are also about performance issues.
Many of them start out somewhere in the first paragraph or so saying.... "I'm kind of a performance nut..."

So guilty as charged.  In fact, those of you who were on the old Atlas board may remember when I did an extensive review when the GP15 first came out-- and I showed how to improved the electrical pickup for that loco.  That really upset some folks because they jumped to the conclusion that the GP15s were terrible.
I never said that.  In fact I said the opposite. 

The fact that some thought that I thought the GP15s were terrible just because I saw ways to improve them , I guess shows that I don't think like a lot of people.

But if an improvement can be made, I just like to do it.

In fact, at this moment, N-Scale Mag has seven articles awaiting publication from me.  Of those 7, 4 have to do with performance issues.

The other thing that comes to my mind is that these kinds of threads allow so much more than an article in a magazine which obviously has the constraints of space.  But in this thread--- or in that great thread you did on the Fox Hiawatha-- allows the author to go into much greater detail instead of having to summarize and actually skipping steps.

This way, people can actually see not only techniques, but also thought processes that lead to innovation.

[u18b]

Ron, I'm throughly enjoying this! 
I have a suggestion/question.
Why not put an ammeter in the line, and run the mechanism on your bench, easing the motor or gear housing
this way and that until you get minimum current draw?   No matter what the bearing may look and feel like,
you will really know you have the perfect position when the current drops - that never lies and it will also
show you if you are taxing the motor.

Anyway, I'll shut up now.   

I really to like the precise parts, firm, neat cuts, and precision assembly of this thing.
Very very professional.

Max,

Thanks for your encouragement.

You know, this is a skill that has just not been in my tool box (so far).  I've noticed that you, and Victor, and others refer to the current draw when tinkering with locos, but that is just not something I've ever paid attention to.

I guess my brain dwells in the somewhat subjective/tactile sensory input that I get from working with locos.

In fact, your post reminds my that a while back I somehow burned out the fuse on my multimeter when I think I did something wrong measuring amperage.  I still need to fix it.

[peteski]

I agree with you 100% Ron!  I am anxiously waiting to see what you brewed up for the N-Scale magazine. Whatever it is, will be a fun read, at least for me.

[nkalanaga]

Another advantage of a forum thread over a magazine is that, if the author and audience think differently, the audience can ask for clarification right then, not three months after the article is written, and doesn't have to wait another three months to read the answer.

Paper magazines still have their places, and will probably be around a long time, but in-depth how-to articles are likely a thing of the past.  Articles and information meant to be kept for years, on the other hand, will survive on paper.  After all, how many here print "stuff" just in case the computer dies or website vanishes?

One thing that may become more common is collections of articles like these.  Once the thread is "finished", edit it into a PDF or similar file, and make it available for download.  It would have the ease of use, and local storage, of a paper magazine, with the in-depth information and feedback of a forum thread.

[u18b]

I use Linux  (Mint).

And one of the features I love is when you do Ctr-P to print, you can cause it to print to file.
Then choose PDF.

Perfect for stuff like this.

[wcfn100]

I use Linux  (Mint).

And one of the features I love is when you do Ctr-P to print, you can cause it to print to file.
Then choose PDF.

Perfect for stuff like this.

Windows has that too.

edit:  Never noticed that Chrome will 'print' straight to Google Drive.  That could be handy.

Jason

[mmagliaro]

Here goes the temporary thread drift...

Yes, Windows and Mac OS/X can both print to a pdf.   The problem is that when the thread is 8 (or 38) pages,
you only get the current page, so you would have to do it on each page and then keep all the pdfs in a folder
or concatenate them into one pdf with a utility (the full-up Acrobat, not just the reader can do this).

I think it would be great if forums had some sort of "Download This Thread" button or if there were a
"Railwire on CD" - maybe someday.

The space for discussion and photos online is far better than what a magazine can afford in printed pages.
But the magazines could do what MR does - sell the paper magazine with an 8-page article, and then provide
a link for "Extra Content" online, where you could view a lot more detail and photographs.   I think that serves both
audiences well.

And now... back to Ron's engine project...
 

[spookshow]

At this point I'm wondering if any owners of the old NJI EP-2 are taking notes on all this. Based on my experiences, performance ran the gamut from mediocre to terrible... 

Cheers,
-Mark

[u18b]

After a lot of work and Thanksgiving travel, time to make a locomotive!

Reach in the parts box and get the boiler room and its floor.



Hmmm.  Unfortunately it doesn't quite fit.



Rather than making it fit and possibly popping a solder joint loose from too much pressure, I file the floor to narrow it a bit.



Now it fits better.



However, I have a new problem.  The holes don't line up properly.



I scratch the paint off in a subtle mark to note which area needs filing for each hole.



Now, I only need to file that side-- not open up the entire hole.



OK. It is all close enough to assemble now.



Tap the brace holes for the boiler room.  Use a little oil.



Screw the floor in place.



With the boiler room finished, now I move the main body shells and tap their mounting holes too.  There are three per shell.  Two at the cab, and one at the nose.



Set the shell on the chassis.



Insert a screw at one side of the cab.



Rats.  The hole does not line up on the other side of the cab.  Needs a little filing. 



And I have another problem.  Remember a long time ago, I told you this was the weak end for soldering.  Well the joint at the right side of this photo popped loose-- and I was not even applying much pressure too it.  Oh well, better now than later.  Time to fix it.



Hard to tell from this fuzzy photo, but I filed the area a bit to get all corrosion off and down to the shiny metal.


Apply just a little flux.



Use some tweezers to hold it all in place AND to act as a heat sink to prevent other portions from coming UNsoldered.



Solder has been applied.  In fact, I might as well add a little solder to the good side too.



Solder joints are filed clean and smooth.  I don't want to file all the way down or my extra solder be be gone.  It does not have to be absolutely perfect because this is the end that will face the boiler room and no one will see it when the loco is painted and assembled.



Now back to the holes not lining up.  With the soldering fixed, I use a motor tool with a very fine bit to open the hole in the walkway a little bit AND cut slightly into the frame so that the head of the screw has room.


Screw fits on this side fine.


And this side too.



You can get to the nose screw by twisting the front truck.  Actually it is THIS movement that would have broken that pickup wire the way it was originally designed by Kumata.  But with my new pickup, it is no problem.


All shells are now on the chassis.  A quick run on the test track makes SURE they both run the same direction and that I have wired everything up properly.



The boiler room can now be added.  Hook on one side....


And then the other.



NOW it is starting to look like a locomotive!  But it still doesn't run as well as I would like.
With the shells in place, I am now going to add a better jumper wire between the two Cabs.  This will double the electrical pickup to each side.

[central.vermont]

After a lot of work and Thanksgiving travel, time to make a locomotive!

Reach in the parts box and get the boiler room and its floor.

Ron,
How did you get the floor in with those ears that stick out beyond the walls?

Jon

[u18b]

Jon,  hahaha.
I actually had a little voice in my head that said "Show the steps-- remember how tricky it was the first time you did it!"

I'll add some later.