N scale "What's on your workbench?"

Mark Watson Oct 28, 2009

  1. DeaconKC

    DeaconKC TrainBoard Member

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    The video looks great, well done on the restoration.
     
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  2. Sumner

    Sumner TrainBoard Member

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    Wow, that engine is small. Might be able to use the drive-train under some interesting scratch-built yard engines. Not me but maybe someone.

    Have you been able to figure out the current draw yet? I see the 1206 resistor rated at anything between 1/8 watt and 1/2 watt. I have quite a few but don't know their wattage as they came bulk from China. If you figured out what ohm rating you wanted to try let me know and I could put a few in an envelope and send them.

    I've soldered wires directly to the ends of the 1206's but under that I'd have a harder time and you probably don't need anything smaller than a 1206.

    Another alternative is a place like digikey ( HERE ) .. where there are a number rated up to 1/2 watt there.

    Sumner
     
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  3. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    These little engines make a docksider look big. Spent several hours struggling to fit couplers to them but finally got them. These will stay off the mainline being used at the brewery, the rock quarry, and the sawmill. So I may just stay with my throttle limiter for control for now while I figure out if I even want to try a resister. Since they take a T shank rapido I went with a T shank Kato coupler.

     
  4. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    They look great
     
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  5. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Scenery work started!! Start on top and work my way down I guess.

    Started with making a new River bed out mixed ballast colors. This will be topped with some Enviro-Tex and the downward flow will have an expanded cotton ball to simulate white water.
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    Here is the start of the mountain top. Just the basic multicolored foam to resemble grass.
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    It’s amazing how much better it’s already looking.
     
  6. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    Coming along nicely
     
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  7. sidney

    sidney TrainBoard Member

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    ive printed out some campers but they need a lil more work, windows ect,
    i pretty much just wanted to see if i could print them. they could be cleaned up real nice with some auto filler an sand paper, maybe a few more accessories ......
     

    Attached Files:

  8. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well just arrived from Japan my newest streamlined passenger and some more 11-098 Kato passenger trucks. Each box contains a cab car and two coaches that all need to be assembled then mounted on the underframes I have prepared ahead of time. Power will be a Bandai 8 wheel drive mechanism.

     
  9. in2tech

    in2tech TrainBoard Member

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    That's the WS N Scale Scenic Ridge you got right? Looking good!
     
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  10. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Yes it is. It was built in the early 2000’s and was in poor but running shape when my son and I brought it home. Now it runs much better and is starting to look better too.
     
  11. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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  12. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Today was testing, testing and building. The building part is easy, I finally assembled my last Masterpiece module, which is a triple. This will be my ladder to the station. I had to modify it a little, since the tracks are going to be run behind the module instead of in front, I had to make a minor change so the parts would all fit their new homes. All good, fillets are drying now, tomorrow some sanding and the blue stain.

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    Now to the testing. For most of the day I had my new Kato ALC-42 Charger running around pulling a few passenger cars and all was well, except when the loco suddenly fell over. I didn’t see it happen, so I figured a cat may have knocked it over and jumped off without me knowing it. Well it happened again and this time I know no cat was around. I tried to find the cause but it was just one spot where the front truck would just climb over the rail on one corner. No debris, no ballast, no rail joiner, it would just jump the rail all of a sudden. This is after 3 or 4 days of running with no issues. Dunno…

    So I decided it was time to try the layout on DCC and give a few of my DCC locomotives a try. Well my Digikeijs DR5000 needed some run time so out it came and I hooked it up with a UR93 for my throttle. The first loco I tested was my Bachmann ALC-44 Charger. She was lookin great on the rails, the sound was good, but she wouldn’t make a single lap without derailing. It really didn’t like the sharper corners and would climb the rails similar to the Kato version, just in a different location. Bummer, next up was my Kato Maersk SD40-2 but I found some conducting issues there, I will have to pop the shell and see what’s up. Then it was a P42, the good ole Amtrak workhorse. Well it too wasn’t happy, derailed in the same location as the Bachmann… Next… SD70ACE that didn’t like the sharp corners either. So my entire fleet of freight locomotives are all 6 axle units so I’m not having much luck. I know my older Kato SD40-2 and SD45 both will run for hours with no issue so it will let some units play… just not all. My last attempt at running DCC and freight came with my GE ES44AC, and it has been running happy for quite a while now.

    Wow, sorry so long, I didn’t realize it, I was just going through my adventures today. Here are a couple more pics before I go.

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  13. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    I have read of at least 2 possible fixes...neither for the faint of heart.

    1) You can dissemble the locomotive and with a cutoff wheel in a Dremel..lengthen the slots in the frame the truck tabs set in...just the smallest amount. This will allow the truck to turn just that bit more to make the tighter curves.

    2) Pop the trucks off and carefully file down the ends of the truck tabs...just the smallest amount. This also will allow the truck to turn just a bit more on tight curves.

    **DISCLAIMER:

    I am NOT an expert in the above procedures...but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night !

    .
     
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  14. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    I believe I am the author of lengthening the truck frame slots. Except I used a diamond bit that was the same size as the opening. Trying to use a cut off wheel would have resulted in a disaster. The loco I used it on was a Bmann 70 tonner.
     
  15. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Since I’m not keeping this layout for myself, I do plan on selling it, I’m just gonna let be what is. If I run into the same issues with my replacement layout then I will see about the modifications.
     
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  16. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    A bit of tinkering this morning brought out a nice looking weathering effect. Someone is this restaurant’s history decided to vandalize the roof by putting a $10.00 in sharpie on it. Well that’s not gonna fly with me, so I decided to remove the $10 with some alcohol and it also removed some of the paint on the roof… so I kept going to give it a nice weathered look. I know, I need to replant the bushes in the planter boxes, I will be doing that here soon.

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  17. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    No pics tonight, but I got 5 modules stained in blue and tomorrow or Friday I will sand them and give them the distressed look I use on my modules. 4 of the modules are for my station set, one is an inside corner I grabbed cheap. My station set is going to be big. It starts with a front to back (double) moving the mainline to the back of the modules, then a double that will have a crossover and a turnout to start the ladder, a triple that has the ladder for the station, a double to extend the station’s tracks for longer trains, then an extra wide triple to house the station itself, and lastly a front to back (double again) to return the mainline to the front of the layout. I will be building these here soon, and my station will be a stub ended style like found in Europe and Japan. My station building will be of my own design and prolly 3D printed.
     
  18. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Well the modules are “finished”. Well track is laid at least, but I have some spacing issues to fix but no biggie.

    it looks like I will need another module for this all to work… my longest passenger train doesn’t fit! The Century Limited fouls the first switch and I don’t even have the power attached. Another double someday will fix it lol.

    well off to fix the spacing issue and do the wiring.
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  19. sidney

    sidney TrainBoard Member

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    Started working on a control panel after my mishalp with the DR4018. (got that working again barley ) any who i needed a backup for my kato turn outs so a panel was in order and i had all the parts already. just need to solder a couple wires then figger out how to mount it.
    Found some plexy in the garage junk box , then cut that to a smaller size , cut it to the required size and drilled some holes an WALA one control panel . i didnt take pics of the DR4018 in repair but its repaired and working again.
     

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  20. jwaldo

    jwaldo TrainBoard Member

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    I told myself I was going to take a break before tearing into another major locomotive rebuild. That lasted almost the whole weekend.

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