I ordered the parts from the river company, so now we will find out just how badly I can screw this up! At least if it fails, I'm only out about $20.
Con Cor Streamlined Passenger Cars What size wheel sets are on these cars. Want to switch out plastic for metal. 33" or 36" Thanks
I believe they come with 33". I replace all mine with Intermountain 36" plastic wheel sets. Works for me.
My latest project to add to my ATSF San Francisco Chief. M&R etched sides on an American Limited core kit. Kato trucks. Now I have the difficulty of choosing what name to give it.
I was kind of leaning toward the geographical names, a few of those other names may not be deemed "politically correct" these days. My great grand mother was native American so they would not bother me at all. Anyway, I shall name it Indian Mesa.
Yes, from the Microscale 60-114 "Super Chief" set. At one time, years ago, that was about the only set you could get for Santa Fe light weight passenger cars.
Lots and lots of decoder testing. Need to find out what still works and what doesn't. That way I can develop a plan to fix what I want to keep and sell off what I don't want to fix. For example a Kato Alco UP RS-2 #1291 with a bad decoder. Not sure I will or won't fix this one. First sample is 1 out of 30 is bad.
I got this building at a train show last month. It was in a bag of 3 structures for about $20. I am going to use it on one of my T-Trak modules. One side of the building has the base extended and there were nubs that looked like that supported a loading dock but there are no doors on that side so a loading dock doesn’t make sense. I decided to make this a walled courtyard. I removed the nubs and found some spare parts to make the wall and put some crates and barrels inside. I started on the wall with gates. More to come as I make progress.
These bad boys were beat-up. I've touched-up paint, reattached railings, adjusted gauge, rebuilt trucks and the SD60 is waiting for installation of some new trucks from Atlas. The tunnel motor looks awesome now though, and runs spectacular. I expect the SD60 will as well shortly. Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk
Hi I found a way to adapt my drill press to be an endmill. I use the Dremel end cutter, a very heavy vise (Harbor Freight, https://www.harborfreight.com/4-in-drill-press-vise-59111.html ), and patience. Pull into the bit rotation so it does not snap. Cut slowly- you can hear the bit working. I found that using the highest speed on the drill press works best. I set up an initial height, cut as needed. Then add sheets of manila folder paper and folded printer paper under the vise body to create the depth changes. Wear goggles, too. If there are irregular edges on the frame, I just add a thin strip of balsa between the vise jaw and the frame metal to hold it firmly. Touch up with regular files to remove the sharp edges.
This simple project is done. The photo shows that whoever assembled this building didn’t do a great job. It’s not as obvious in person and good enough for a module that will be used at shows.
Update: Number of locomotives tested? Answer - 317 Number of dead decoders? Answer - 8 Number of locomotives with no decoder and no light board misshelved - 3 This included all my Denver & Rio Grande, and my assorted oddball Lease fleet. Still a lot more to go. Next up: All my Amtrak locomotives with decoders
Have you thought about getting a x/y milling table to clamp on the drill press bed? For as much as you are doing I'd consider that. You are right in running the drill press as fast as it will go. I've found decent small end mills on eBay for not much. Sumner
David, not too bad on the failure rate. You make me feel good as I have a "significant" loco roster and have no fears of ever catching up. I have 15 KATO locos and ESU sound decoders on the shelf waiting for me to get the install "itch" and then I'm done with what I have and want to convert to ESU. I'm working on making corn and soy bean fields and thinking about doing some more ballasting (can't wait....) Recently retired and I like to do a lot of thinking...........not in a hurry but do have a ton of projects to start and finish. Brian
