Bachmann Announces N NYC J3a Hudson

[SkipGear]

Never heard of West Albany hill?
Freight trains usually bypassed it via Selkirk yard.
Westbound passenger trains would get a helping shove from the Albany station switcher.

I was making a joke but this kind of proves my point, they needed helpers on the grades they did face. 

[propmeup1]

No sweat, we got it. I run a mixed bag. PRR, NYC, RDG, NKP, UP and SP with a few others here and there. 13'X11'. My RR, my rules.  No proto type road. When I get board with double head big boys I go to turbines and then cab fwds.   Then I'll come home to the east coast for RDG and PRR etc.     I have seen pics of a Dreyfus on the point with a standard J3 second.

[Joetrain59]

Did the Hudson have wind deflectors, as depicted on the model?
 Joe D

[SkipGear]

None of the models come with smoke deflectors.

The Niagra's (4-8-4) had them but none of the Hudson's did that I can find.

[propmeup1]

The NKP Hudson in St. Louis has smoke deflectors.

[propmeup1]

Ok here it is. A few days ago I was complaining the J3 had no traction even with 6 smooth sides could hardly get out of her own way on a 1.34 grade.   So i put "Plasti Dip" on the 3rd set of drivers. That worked really well. Could pull 12 no problem but as I suspected would happen did happen. The rubber wore off and she sits and spins again.   
     So I decided to go for it and groove the 3rd set of drivers.   Lesson here for starters. The rods are held on by bolts. They are threaded and not push pins like some companies do.  The left side came off pretty easy but the right side did not take hardly any force at all to break the bolt head right off.  So I have a thread stuck in the crank pin on the right side.   
    So I chucked them up in the lathe and turned a groove wide enough for a Kato 2-8-2 tire. All went well with the lathe. I reassembled the wheel set and put the left rob bolt back in without issue. The right side I just put the rod back over the crank pin and glued the broken bolt head back on. I've ran it for 20 minutes now without issue and she's back to pulling 12 Concor smooth sides.
    When and if Bachmann starts selling wheel sets I will purchase a new set.  So the job can be done but you must watch for the bolt heads breaking. 
I also would like to find drive tires closer to the J# size rather then the Kato 2-8-2. I haven't dug into that yet.

[Joetrain59]

Wind deflectors, not elephant ears. Wind deflectors on the cab is what I was referring to.
 Joe D

[peteski]

Wind deflectors, not elephant ears. Wind deflectors on the cab is what I was referring to.
 Joe D

Ah, "wind deflectors".  I think "elephant ears" are officially called "smoke deflectors". I can see how things can get confusing.

[propmeup1]

Ok, got it here as well.

[SkipGear]

@Joetrain59 - I realized that later. Yes they have the wind deflector in front of the cab windows.

[Joetrain59]

I might replace them, or at least paint the edges silver.
 Oh, earlier I said it looked like an easy convert to Z905's on the tender.
 Not. There's a post that the McHenry coupler was screwed into.
 Currently pondering how to remove that post.
 Thanks Tony for confirming the cab wind deflectors.
 I wonder how the Hudsons would look if they had "elephant ears".
 Joe D

[mmagliaro]

Ok here it is. A few days ago I was complaining the J3 had no traction even with 6 smooth sides could hardly get out of her own way on a 1.34 grade.   So i put "Plasti Dip" on the 3rd set of drivers. That worked really well. Could pull 12 no problem but as I suspected would happen did happen. The rubber wore off and she sits and spins again.   
     So I decided to go for it and groove the 3rd set of drivers.   Lesson here for starters. The rods are held on by bolts. They are threaded and not push pins like some companies do.  The left side came off pretty easy but the right side did not take hardly any force at all to break the bolt head right off.  So I have a thread stuck in the crank pin on the right side.   
    So I chucked them up in the lathe and turned a groove wide enough for a Kato 2-8-2 tire. All went well with the lathe. I reassembled the wheel set and put the left rob bolt back in without issue. The right side I just put the rod back over the crank pin and glued the broken bolt head back on. I've ran it for 20 minutes now without issue and she's back to pulling 12 Concor smooth sides.
    When and if Bachmann starts selling wheel sets I will purchase a new set.  So the job can be done but you must watch for the bolt heads breaking. 
I also would like to find drive tires closer to the J# size rather then the Kato 2-8-2. I haven't dug into that yet.

How about the Kato GS-4 or FEF tires?  Might be a much better fit for the Hudson.

About that broken-off crank bolt... Do you know what size it is?  It is probably smaller than M1.0, but you can get hex-headed bolts smaller than M1.0.  They are available in M0.5  - M0.8   If you used a pin vise to drill out most of the broken-off piece, you could probably use a new stainless bolt to clean out the threads and then use it as the new crank bolt. 
Look here: 
https://model-motorcars.myshopify.com/collections/small-parts-hardware/bolts
They have them in brass and plated brass.

And here:
https://www.metricscrews.us/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=98_207&zenid=bvffmvlpdf45omn5kkh4trit21
for stainless M0.6 and M0.8 - they don't have hex-head, just screws, but you can use them to sort of "retap"
the hole, and then use the pretty hex-head bolt.

[propmeup1]

I'll pull the other side out and measure it.   Thanks for that list of hardwear.  As for the tires the Kato FEF are too big. I haven't checked the GS4. Mine is a Concor and they looked a tad big too.  I took care of my Cab Fwds today. Pins popped out after a bit of force.  Like new again. Thank you.

[peteski]

I'll pull the other side out and measure it.   Thanks for that list of hardwear.  As for the tires the Kato FEF are too big. I haven't checked the GS4. Mine is a Concor and they looked a tad big too.  I took care of my Cab Fwds today. Pins popped out after a bit of force.  Like new again. Thank you.

Kato GS-4 and FEF3 use the same TTs.
Max recommended a company that sells a large variety of TTs. I thought I had it bookmarked, but can't find it.  @mmagliaro  ?

[mmagliaro]

Kato GS-4 and FEF3 use the same TTs.
Max recommended a company that sells a large variety of TTs. I thought I had it bookmarked, but can't find it.  @mmagliaro  ?

Oh yeah,... these guys:
https://lovetrainhobbies.com/N-scale-traction-tires-locomotive-engine-replacements-steam-diesel-N-scale-traction-tires-lovetrain-hobbies-mm-N-MAIN.html

The nice thing is that they list every traction tire they have in great detail: diameter, width, and tire thickness.