Alco C-430 kitbash - with new contact strips.

[mandealco]

Hi Tim
When I said I had done away with the contact strips, that's all I've done so far.  Though I do have a plan.  As I have no operating layout at present, I wasn't too worried about getting it operating yet, just concentrating on the body work for now.

However, my plan is to make 4 "L" shaped contact strips with a tail that would be pressed between the 2 frame halves.  Each pair of strips would mirror each other with an insulated spacer between.  They would be held in place by the pressure from the 2 frame halves.  From the short section that would be squeezed in the frame, they would then go across the frame to the edge, then travel at right angles to the truck contact point.  Some tensioning would be needed, and this is only a concept at this point.

Daniel's method is also worth looking at, but I was hoping to come up with a method that didn't require drilling holes.  It could also be applied to a conversion kit, making the conversion a little easier. 

Cheers
Steve

[PGE-N°2]

The other project that has sat around as long as the C-430 (2 years!!!!!) is my C-636P.  A model proposed by Alco to compete with EMDs FP-45 as a dual service unit in 1967.

This looks like a very handsome locomotive. It seems to have some similar body styling to the earlier Alco PA units. Too bad they never actually were built.

While I`m making observations: how did you measure and drill the holes for the ladder steps on the nose end? I assume you would be using wire for the stirrups and handrails.

[jmlaboda - RIP]

"This looks like a very handsome locomotive. It seems to have some similar body styling to the earlier Alco PA units. Too bad they never actually were built."

While I followed the thread on your building of this model for some reason when I first saw this photo my thoughts went to what it would look like in D&H Warbonnet and Amtrak colors (phase II would be great)... sad that it was never built.

[choochin3]

I would like a C430 in Penn central please!
Very nice work!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Please finish this so Atlas will announce theirs!

[Bob Bufkin]

+1.  Could use the 2 the Reading had.

[mandealco]

Bob, the Reading ones would be a lot easier.  They don't have the modified air intake box that was on the NYC units and they had AAR type B trucks.

Jerry, I have decals for the Alco demo colours, which was a likely scheme, had they built one.  They would look great in the D&H PA scheme, or even that other war bonnet, which is where they were intended.

This link is to a painting of a Southern Pacific version of the C-636P.  It looks real cool, but doesn't actually follow the profiles of the plans produced by Alco.  The C-636P would have been a brute of a locomotive.
http://gilbennett.com/Anatomy_of_a_Painting.php
Cheers
Steve

[jmlaboda - RIP]

Wouldn't mind seeing someone doing the C430s but I would prefer to skip any in L&N paint... when L&N got the units from SCL they really ruined the look of the engines, making major changes to the air intakes...
http://rr-fallenflags.org/ln/ln2244aga.jpg
http://rr-fallenflags.org/ln/ln2247aga.jpg

[mandealco]

I short changed you guys with the contact strip theory I had, by not showing what I had in mind.  So here are the photos to show the method I used to replace the fuel tank location of the strips.
1- Cutting each strip and soldering at right angles, at each end.

2-The strip is cut into the 2 halves with a short length bent to insert into the frame space.  Also the small piece of 0.01" styrene that forms the insulator.

3-The complete set of contacts for one end, with the styrene glued to the strips.

4-Sitting in place awaiting installation of the truck.

5-Sitting ready to test.  Now where's my test track?  Doh! Don't have one!  The set up looks a little clumsy, but with a bit of refinement, should work well.


I'm sure someone out there can improve on the concept, I see this as a prototype for other projects to follow.
Cheers
Steve

[BCR 570]

Steve:

I got to see Jeff's experiment with removing the contact strips today.  His method is to drill vertical holes right through the chassis above the trucks.  The contact strips inside the trucks are glued in place and flexible wire leads are soldered to these.  The wires are fed up through the holes to the top of the chassis where they can be soldered to the PC board or decoder.  The vertical holes are enlarged at the bottom to provide extra clearance for the trucks with wires to swing.  This method has yet to be tested but it looks promising.

I took a photo but am having trouble transfering it from my iPhone to my computer - hopefully soon.


Tim

[BCR 570]

More information directly from Jeff:

"The hole that goes straight through is 1/16". The enlargement at the bottom is 1/8". The wire is NWSL Very very flexible wire, black. I drilled about halfway between the inboard axle and the fuel tank weight bulge."

And a photo (taken on a restaurant table with my phone so please excuse the poor quality):




I need to see this tested on curved track before giving it my blessing, but it looks promising.


Tim

[peteski]

I prefer not to hard-wire trucks. Besides, those large holes drilled in the chassis reduce the models weight. We all know that it is best to keep N scale locos as heavy as possible.

What exactly is wrong with Steve's modified pickup strips?  I think it is a clever idea. I would have probably fastened them directly to the chassis halves using 00-90 screws (instead of relying on simply pinching them between the chassis halves).  But then I seem to over-engineer my models... 

[BCR 570]

I prefer not to hard-wire trucks. Besides, those large holes drilled in the chassis reduce the models weight. We all know that it is best to keep N scale locos as heavy as possible.

What exactly is wrong with Steve's modified pickup strips?  I think it is a clever idea. I would have probably fastened them directly to the chassis halves using 00-90 screws (instead of relying on simply pinching them between the chassis halves).  But then I seem to over-engineer my models.

Nothing wrong with Steve's method once it has been tested and proven to work.  As Daniel had done before me, I was merely contributing another potential option to what had become an interesting discussion on the subject of pickup replacement.  For the application Jeff is working on, complete removal of the contact strips is desired.  His method is also un-tested as yet.

Tim

[peteski]

 For the application Jeff is working on, complete removal of the contact strips is desired.  His method is also un-tested as yet.

Tim

Untested? Maybe by Jeff, but hard-wired truck pickups have been used successfully for years on many old N scale Mehano, Roco, Model Power Life-Like and probably several other locos I forgot about.  It works but is is a pain to service and it can become unreliable if the wire used is not flexible enough (and it breaks after few years of operation).

[BCR 570]

Untested? Maybe by Jeff, but hard-wired truck pickups have been used successfully for years on many old N scale Mehano, Roco, Model Power Life-Like and probably several other locos I forgot about.  It works but is is a pain to service and it can become unreliable if the wire used is not flexible enough (and it breaks after few years of operation).

Interesting - I have not seen an N Scale locomotive with what you are calling hard-wired trucks, but my oldest locomotives are the Atlas/kato RS-3s which likely came along after the mdoels you describe.  Jeff has used very flexible wire (I was surprised at how flexible it is) and has also enlarged the holes at the bottom where the wire could potentially chafe and/or restrict truck movement.  These two features should help make it a successful approach.


Tim