Best Of Arnold SW1 - what's inside (technical review)

[peteski]

Yeah, thanks a LOT, social media influence.

So, can respect go lower than 0 (zero)?

PS: (funny how we still do PSes with digital media), the gauge wouldn't be too hard to correct. A drift on the end of the uninsulated side with the wheel supported suitably and sliding(?) the insulated bushing a bit. .005" - .010" ? I guess you could use the drift on both sides.

Doug

Sure, the wheelsets can be regauged, but nowhere as easily as the split-axle wheelsets from Atlas or Kato.  I would go as far as saying that average modeler will not be able to re-gauge them.

PS:  Your respect rating can easily go below zero - mine started at negative 2! 

Back to the topic:
I have again updated the 2nd post with coupler info in red again

I have also cracked open the 2nd  unit I bought.  Whoever solder the truck pickup wires heated them up a bit too long and melted some of the insulation. But I guess if you have to assemble hundreds of these per day, neatness doesn't really count.





Also, this unit is even more profusely lubricated than the first one.  The grease oozed out if the worm bearing ont the chassis and even onto the inside of the shell.





It also flowed out over the worm cover and got absorbed into the foam tape, turning the tape's adhesive into sticky goo.  I also noticed that in the first example they used only single piece of foam tape over each worm cover while on this one they layered 3 pieces of tape on each cover.





There is lots of grease under the covers!

[Doug G.]

Yes Pete, you are correct re regauging the wheels. All the more reason to support my other argument about manufacturers making their output comply with NMRA standards. As the old saying goes, it's just as easy to do it right than do it wrong. I believe Sr. Rossi (of Rivarossi and I believe is still alive) said he was told that in regard to making his models more to scale.

That second example does look pretty sloppy. When I worked for Telex and we made 8-track tape decks for Ford, the soldering had to be perfect or the deck would get rejected. Absolutely NO melted insulation and the insulation had to go right up to the solder joint. There was one lady whose hands shook pretty badly but she had those shakes timed so good that she could solder with the best of them.

Doug

[sd45elect2000]

I am honored by your memory, but for the record, it was not me.

I could be wrong, but my fuzzy memory says Randy Gufstason wrote about making an SW1.

Great Review.
Thanks.

I have an SW1 from Randgust so you would be correct Ron. It's really a well done model.

Randy

[peteski]

I am honored by your memory, but for the record, it was not me.

I could be wrong, but my fuzzy memory says Randy Gufstason wrote about making an SW1.

Great Review.
Thanks.

Thanks!  I fixed that post.

[Cajonpassfan]

There is lots of grease under the covers!

Unbelievable, I guess if a little grease is good then a lot must be excellent
Otto

[tom mann]

Reminds me of:

[MichaelWinicki]

I re-gauged mine using the "Stick the tip of the jack-knife blade in and twist" trick and it worked.  Not correcting the narrowness of the gauge was a non-starter for me on Atlas Code 55, where narrow-gauge wheel sets lead to bad operation.

Luv the detail of the switcher.  IMO the nicest looking switcher out of all that I own and I think I have at least one from every manufacturer. 

[nscaler711]

Nice review; kinda makes me want to go out and grab one...
But maybe I didn't see it but I think you left out how many cars it could pull on a straight level surface
I'd probably only get one if BN had them in the 90s...

[nkalanaga]

BN had one in the 90s, number 70, (re)acquired from the SLSF by merger, which lasted until the BNSF merger.

[Doug G.]

There ya go, nscaler711. Done deal.



Doug

[basementcalling]

So, who's mechanism can we plop that gorgeous shell on for better running and be done with it?

[MichaelWinicki]

So, who's mechanism can we plop that gorgeous shell on for better running and be done with it?

I'll give you my unprofessional 2 cents...

When it comes to the small switcher category in N-scale what I've seen with my SW1 so far, after I re-gauged it, it runs well.

We've got:

-This unit
-The MT SW1500, which is very similar to the Walthers units
-The Kato NW2
-The Walthers/Lifelike models

All of them have their warts.  Walthers/Lifelike have their funky electrical pickup system.  The Kato unit runs well and has decent electrical pickup because they're the only ones that use the standard electrical pickup system that we've all learned to appreciate.  But its startup speed is fast and it sounds like a coffee-grinder...  The gear-tower design seems to have issues. The Walthers units I have run well, but I think the startup speed is a wee bit higher than this Arnold unit.

When it comes right down to it I think it's a case of which one is the "Tallest dwarf in the circus"–and at the moment I'm choosing the SW1 from Arnold by an inch.

[Mark5]

Pete,

Thanks for the thorough analysis.

I was hoping the coupler would be a viable alternative to the current offerings, especially since they are closer to scale size in appearance. Oh well.

Mark

[peteski]

Nice review; kinda makes me want to go out and grab one...
But maybe I didn't see it but I think you left out how many cars it could pull on a straight level surface
I'd probably only get one if BN had them in the 90s...

I left that out because I didn't have a chance to do that test yet.  According to Spookshow's reliable review http://www.spookshow.net/loco/arnoldsw1.html  it can easily pull 30 cars.  That is why I'll be removing the traction tire drivers as soon as spare parts will become available.  I prefer better electrical pickup on a shot wheelbase switcher which routinely has to traverse yard switches with much fewer cars.

So, who's mechanism can we plop that gorgeous shell on for better running and be done with it?

Except for not a 100% electrical pickup (which might resolve itself after the blackening on the treads wears off or traction tires are eliminated), the mechanism is very good. Excellent slow speed too.

But it is swimming in grease (not a good thing) so I recommend a complete tuneup.  The only things I'm worried about is that the plastic gear on the driver axle might crack after few years, or that the delicate pickup wipers rubbing against the wheel backs will wear down.

Pete,
Thanks for the thorough analysis.
I was hoping the coupler would be a viable alternative to the current offerings, especially since they are closer to scale size in appearance. Oh well.

Thanks Mark.
There might be a simple fix for the coupler (to work with MT couplers. I'm going to try some trimming and I'll report my findings later (most likely in a separate coupler thread).

[Nato]

                Peteski, an excellent review, this may just tip the balance to me buying a couple and then degreasing them.The plastic gears do worry me as I owned a number of the Bachmann F-7'S with  the dreaded white gears. All of my lifelike SW locomotives were also slowly ozzing , but not their grease, light oil. Thanks again for this needed review. Nate Goodman (Nato). Salt Lake, Utah.