Hi folks. I am having some difficulty with an Atlas B23-7 and was hoping for some advice on how to proceed. First, the specifics - The locomotive is as stated an Atlas B23-7. It is factory equipped with DCC. I did make a change to it. The unit was originally a Conrail unit. I have a analog B23-7 for the Santa Fe and wanted this one to be DCC instead. So I took the Conrail shell off, swapped the silver trucks from the Santa Fe unit for the black ones, and put the Santa Fe shell on. Viola' I thought, instant DCC equipped Santa Fe loco with no decoder install on my part. Unfortunately this doesn't seem to have worked out quite as well as I had hoped. When going through turnouts, the unit is constantly shorting. I don't think it's the track because this is the only locomotive that has this trouble, all of my others run through just fine. And prior to my "conversion", the unit ran just fine. So I figure I have done something when swapping the trucks most likely, but can't imagine what that might be. Does anyone have some ideas as to how I should proceed from here? Thanks!
Try swapping the trucks... front to back. You could always paint the original black trucks silver. Stay cool and run steam......
Front to back? I'll give that a try right now. Just curious, what might that do? When it comes to electrical matters, I am "in the dark" so to speak.
If you couldn't run the loco at all, you have to turn one of the trucks around. But, you say the loco runs on straight sections. I would reseat both trucks as well to make sure they are in the proper position. Also make sure the wheel sets are in gauge. Stay cool and run steam.....
I would suspect that one of the copper or brass contact strips has gotten bent when replacing the bodyshell or the trucks. Take off the bodyshell and try to run the unit. Check to see if any contact strips on the underside or outside of the frame of the unit are bent. You can also put one original truck back into place(and vice versa) to see if you have problems. You can do this to determine if it is one of the trucks that is giving you problems. You can then look closer at the suspect truck for something out of place.
What type of track??? If Peco insul frog is being used then double check as PowerSteamGuy mentioned the gauge of the trucks. Good luck. Joe Cox Austin, TX
Yes...guage the trucks by all means. But I think that doofus is correct that swapping trucks is probably not the problem. Contact strips are more likely. Make sure the copper tabs on the top of the trucks are riding on the contact strips even on the curves.
Thanks. I took a look at the contact strips. They don't appear to be bent, nor out of shape in any way. I do need to check them as the locomotive travels through the turnouts.
Southern Rail Fan Please tell us what turnouts are you using when the unit shorts out? Still think that is the problem. Joe Cox Austin, TX
I swapped the trucks front to back and this seemed to help quite a bit, although it still not 100% right. I think maybe I just need to work with the frame and the trucks. Make sure everything is in alignment and seated correctly.
I'm glad that swapping the trucks helped correct most of the problems. Check the contact wipers and make sure the trucks are seated. Also make sure the trucks are properly snapped together. Stay cool and run steam.....
