N Scale Hi Rail - Retro Hollow Core Door Layout

[jpec]

Good to see you put the spikes back on Lee.

Jeff

[Point353]

Regarding the amount of track, I think you missed a spot.    Oh, and don't you dare give me crap anymore about the minimum radius of the curves on my HO layout. 

You must be flattered to see that he's using the same style of bridge (where the siding off the upper level crosses over a lower level track) that you have on your layout.

[davefoxx]

You must be flattered to see that he's using the same style of bridge (where the siding off the upper level crosses over a lower level track) that you have on your layout.

Hahaha!  Touche!

DFF

[wm3798]

So I have had this old Bessie floating around for some time.  It was good for about 4 cars on a zero grade, and prone to stalls on those good old plastic frogs I'm using on the retro layout.
Trying to be as faithful to the concept as I can, but taking advantage of what I've learned over the years, I did a little surgery to improve her performance.
First I added some weight by tucking chunks of lead wherever they would fit.  This includes in the cab roof, under the walk boards, and a couple of added tanks and appliances made of cast white metal.
I also swapped out the original equipment tender for a new Bacmann model with all wheel pick up.  I had to rig some wipers from the loco pickups to the king pin, but that turned out to be pretty simple using some scavenged parts from an old Life Like lead sled.
Now the Little Engine that Couldn't Do Much can pull a 10 car train around the retro loop, and can successfully be used for some switching in a relatively stall fee environment.

Of course now that it runs so nicely, it has me wondering where a decoder might fit...
Lee

[peteski]

Of course now that it runs so nicely, it has me wondering where a decoder might fit...
Lee

The tender, the tender! 
But then the layout is no longer retro.

[davefoxx]

The tender, the tender! 
But then the layout is no longer retro.

Meh.  Don't be afraid to go "restomod," i.e., restored and modified, which often equates to better than new.

DFF

[wazzou]

Meh.  Don't be afraid to go "restomod," i.e., restored and modified, which often equates to better than new.

DFF

Someone's been watching the Barrett Jackson auction. 

[wm3798]

Now that I'm happy with the performance of the restored Pacific, it's time to start coloring it in.



The boiler color is close enough to my eye, and the blue is pretty spot on.  I have some touching up to do, then I'll spray the tender tomorrow.  Then it will be time to whip up the art for the decals.
Lee

[wm3798]

So in all the excitement of taking the President apart and putting it back together, I have lost the screw that holds the eccentric rod in place.  You know, because I'm me, and that's how my relationship with N scale steam goes...  hopefully there's something in the body bags that will fit...

[peteski]

So in all the excitement of taking the President apart and putting it back together, I have lost the screw that holds the eccentric rod in place.  You know, because I'm me, and that's how my relationship with N scale steam goes...  hopefully there's something in the body bags that will fit...

It is likely a metric screw and, I have a sneaking suspicion that @mmagliaro might have something that would work for you.

[wm3798]

I jammed a styrene rod into the hole and hot-knifed it into a rivet...  It's doing the job for now, but I would like to source a proper replacement...

The paint job is coming along nicely... still have to touch up the tender a bit after the spray booth, but overall I'm pretty happy with it!
Lee

[wm3798]

So now the family portrait.  Just need to do the decals to letter it.





Here's how she looked when she arrived from the Rescue...



As I pen this missive, she's over in the corner faithfully hauling an REA Express car, a baggage, three Pullmans and an observation around the code 80 Retro Loop.  The new Bachmann motor seems to have a bit more torque than the old 3-pole can, and also runs a bit quieter, although the old brass gears are still doing a fine job masking my tinnitus.  I added a gob of lead to the chassis to improve her capacity. She's got a new brighter warm white LED showing the way, and of course, a devilish handsome paint job now.  She is still wired for DC operation only, although conversion to DCC could follow the methodology I used on the K-2 project.  Given the "surface noise" of the drive, I doubt adding sound would be worth the money.

Remaining to be done are replacement stirrup steps for the tender, a new screw to permanently repair the eccentric arm, and of course, the lettering.

As I've noted before, I've been enamored with this engine since I was a kid.  I couldn't be happier to be watching it run now.

Lee

[davefoxx]

Not sure which president will get the nod.  A lot will depend on whether it runs in the right direction or just blows smoke...  We'll leave it at that!

How about naming that 4-6-2 as the "President Skroob"?   

DFF

[Doug G.]

What did you use to couple the motor to the worm shaft?

Doug

[wm3798]

What did you use to couple the motor to the worm shaft?

Doug

I used my Dremel to cut the worm off the Bachmann shaft (I don't have a proper worm puller ... oh no, did I just hear DKS enter the room?)  and pressed the original delrin universal right to it.  I had to cut the shaft back about 1/8", but it snugged on with just the right amount of friction, and the motor pulls in to just inside the cab.  I mounted it sideways, which did require some routing out the inside of the shell, with a little bit of breach needing to be repaired... but otherwise it fit nicely.



I suspect I could have mounted it vertically... especially after the notorious Rivarossi zinc frame crumbled from above it, but that would have required a bit more gymnastics with the wiring.  I also probably could have held the motor back an 1/8" and left the shaft be, but that would leave the motor hanging out the back of the cab.

Lee