Hello. I'm collecting equipment in preparation to start building a Cuban sugar cane railroad layout. My question is I can't afford HOn3 brass, so how is the quality of the Model Die Casting HOn3 Outside frame 2-8-0 Consalidation, as this is the perfect engine for this type of railroad? Thank you
With a bit of work and a few replacement parts they are pretty good. Use care in assembeling the basic kit (Watash can help you out here) , and replace the motor and gearing with a set from NWSL. Cant stress enouth that the basic assembly it the most important part of getting these locos to run well. For the price you really cant go wrong here. I think there was an article on these railroads a year or so back by Adolph Hungry Wolf. looked interesting......Mike
Jorge, Be sure to take your time and do alot of concering when you assemble the valve gear. This is where most modelers make their mistakes! DO NOT OVER tighten the rivets with presure or it will bind and not let the wheels roll freely... So take all the precaution you possibly can! A good technique in doing this is to take a 3 by 5 file card, cut in a small notch to fit around the rivet. Once the assembly is up side down, put the rivet tool on the mushroom end of the rivet and set the rivet only to the card thickness to insure it will hold, plus have the "give" between the rivet and the rods to insure its loose enough to articulate, and osciliate with the movement of the wheels and not bind and hamper the movement so its free moving. This should give enough "play" in the rivet valve rod connections to let the wheels rotate freely without any binding or hard spots in the rotation of the wheels. As for the motor and gearing, I would go with a good set of replacement gears from NWSL. And a Sagami can motor for the power plant. As for the motor, I have all my Mantua loco's equipt with Sagami can motors. And with the weight of the boilers being cast, these motor are more then enough power to pull long trains. On seting in the gears make sure the worm gear DOES NOT bottom out in an idler/drive gear. This will also make a bind, and also tear up the idler/drive gear. If their are a set of idler/driver gears such as double or triple reduction make sure they are completely true and perpendicular with each other or the wear will be to the left or to the right of each or all gears but the worm gear. This will cause the teeth to wear an not bite onto the next following gear and foul up the preformance in time. Depending on the gears themself, make sure of they are of any materials that their is no flashing or mould separation leafs on the gears. Clean all this off the gears before installation. Once the installation of the gear "tower" if their is one, being not always their are, be sure to roll the main driver with the idler/drive gears in place without the worm gear to see if the gearing rolls freely. Then install the worm gear and try to roll it with your fingers, if it spins freely, then your all set to install the motor. If you cannot roll the wheels by turning the worm gear shaft you will have to track down the spot that causing the bind that won't allow you to roll the wheels by spinning the worm shaft. Also make sure the worm gear is seated in its own way so theirs no push/pull play on it.... Make sure its stationary to the spot so it don't slide from front to back. If so, shim this up alittle at a time so it doesn't have forward and rever sliding motion. Again, do not over shim, this will also cause a bind and not let the worm gear spin. The same goes with the idler/drive gears they should not have alot of side to side play in them and should only move slightly to rotate freely. In any avent, do not drill out the mounting holes any larger then they are from factory, it is common to clean out the holes by polishing the insides with a fine round riffler file to take out any mould flash or die casting leafs from a 2 part mould. But DO NOT drill the holes out larger then the factory hole! This will only through off the centering for the gearing and foul up the motion. The same goes for the side rods and valve rods, do not drill those holes out any larger then what they are out of the box being it will cause play in them at the rivet joint and make an awkward motion to a jerk motion instead of free rolling as its made to do. IN building a kit like this, be sure to TAKE YOUR TIME! The end results will be promissing! HTH [ 08. August 2002, 01:21: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
Thank you guys for the help, but I'm thinking of taking the bull by it's horns and getting a brass HOn3 steam engine. I really don't have the time to build a kit. Thank you
