I got mine from Wig-Wag, they are Details West parts. I am not going to buy any more of these, though, as BLMA is getting ready to release the most detailed air conditioner yet!
Hey Buddy! The track is Micro Engineering Code 55 flex track, with the weathered rail. I then got some amber/rust Acrlyc paint and hand painted with a brush each tie plate. I know it sounds time consuming....OK, it is a little!....but the paint is thick enough that if you just make an even movement over the tie plates, since they are raised, the paint stays on them, and doesen't run down to the ties. I didn't do anything to the ties. Woodland scenics fine grey ballest finished it off.
Jerry - As always, outstanding work, my friend! Your Super Fleet is looking GREAT!! Those SD40's are lookin' good - and the weathering on the GP30 is awesome. Typical Santa Fe - they never let them get too dirty Dave
I did my first installation of the MT 905 on a B'mann 4-8-2. The installation came out well but the knuckle is way to low. When the height gauge is put on the track, the coupler on the loco slides right under the coupler on the gauge. Serves me right for not using the height gauge before starting the job. Looks like some cleverness will be necessary. I'll be willing to bet that PSG has developed an elegant cure for this situation. Any ideas on this Bob? Len
Until Micro-Trains offers a trade-in program - old #1025s / #1027s, etc, for Z scale couplers - well, it looks like I'm going to have to live with the oversized couplers.
How do the Z scale couplers hold up on long n-scale trains? Some of my trains, especially intermodal trains, get pretty heavy, particularly on grades. . . . Dave
from what I've heard from other modelers, there are uncoupling problems on trains over 35-40 cars. I DO NOT KNOW if that is true, however. Also, just from my experience with N scale couplers, I would think automatic coupling would definitely be a concern with the Z scale couplers. There is much less coupler to mate with other SMALL couplers, so I wouldn't expect them to stay properly centered over the track's center. Thus, they might very well "miss" when you try to couple them without the use of an 0-5-0 switcher
Len: You can use shims to raise the #905 to the correct height. You probably started the pocket for the #905 , a tad too low. Shim the bottom of the pocket and increase the size accordingly so that it mates with the coupler of the height gauge. Sometimes you lose the reference point when enlarging the pocket for the coupler.
Hi Bob Thanks for coming back on this one. If I remember correctly (I'm at work), the top of the coupler pocket is even with the bottom side of the pilot. To move it any higher would require cutting through the pilot itself. As it sits now, the front coupler actually cleanly goes underneath any couplers it would try to mate with (sounds dirty). The differential is much to much for shims. The coupler might work if it was mounted on top of the pilot, but that would entail cutting through some of the detail work. I will take some pictures and email them to you when I get back to work tomorrow. The home connection is too slow for pictures. I intend to jury rig something to determine the exactly where the coupler box lies in relation to the pilot. No rushing into anything here. The modeling gods must have been angry last night. I installed the DN163A0 decoder in two Atlas C-630s. Both installations are problematical. The connection twixt the pads on the decoder and the tabs from the motor is insufficient to carry motor current. Prodding and squeezing would sometimes get the motor to turn a bit. The immediate thought was a good God fearing solder connection. A run through some web sites confirmed the suspicion. The pressure connect is unreliable on most every Atlas loco that uses that decoder. A couple short sprigs of #30 wire and some careful soldering cure the problem. I think its time to beat a path towards home. I will try to get some pictures that explain the problem better than words.
Len: That is the problem with the Atlas loco's. The Lenz decoders that are pre-installed in the loco's often have the same contact problem. This problem occurs more frequently when the Digitrax DN163A0 is installed.. Soldering the contact as you stated is the answer. In regards to the 4-8-2, if you install a MT #1015 coupler using the #2004 coupler box, the surgery required to fit the #2004 coupler box is extensive and extends well into the pilot detail. This was the suggested method before I started to use the # 905 Z scale coupler. I did one installation of the # 2004 on the 2-8-0 and the rest with the Z scale # 905. The #905 installation still requires cutting some detail in the pilot, but the results are much more esthetic than using the conventional MT 1015 and a 2004 coupler. What gets me, is that these manufacturer's can with a little effort install a working coupler in the front pilot's of most steam loco's. The only manufacturer's that make an easy conversion possible is the Kato Mikado and the LL 2-8-8-2.
