N Scale Hi Rail - Retro Hollow Core Door Layout

[peteski]

Just a thought, but have you contacted Northwest Shortline to see if they have any gears that would be a replacement fit?

Not just a gear. It is the nylon axle tube with integral molded gear. I don't believe NWSL makes anything remotely like that (and from plastic).

[wm3798]

Peteski is right.  It's sort of a specialized thing. It would be nice if Bachmann would re-run the parts in a more durable material, but I suppose their job is to sell new models, not keep old ones running.

The other idea I've toyed with is reworking the wipers to contact the back of the wheel rather than the axle nub.  If the contact is contingent only on the wheel, and not the axle, then the possibilities open up to use other wheel sets.  I have a slew of old Trix geared axles from their F units, which also happen to be centered on the axle and are close to the right diameter.  Modifying the truck frame so those axles can drop into place and moving the wipers so the axles are isolated would leave us only with getting idler gears that are the right diameter...

Dammit.  I should have bought the other E-60 so at least I'd have one to part out...

Hmmph.

[peteski]

Okay, so the trick is to sleeve the female fitting molded into the gear, right?  So the correct diameter brass tube would be snug enough to close and hold the crack stable enough to allow the gears to mesh properly, even when the axle is pressed into the gear opening. 
And since the brass sleeve is located on either side of the gear, there is no problem with creating an electrical bridge via the axles...  Am I missing anything?  If I'm off the mark, I would appreciate a photo of the correct configuration for the repair.

Lee

Exactly.  I don't have a photo of such repair, but I had a photo of a cracked axle. Here is is with simulated brass rings which shoudl close up the crack and keep it closed.  That will also close up the gap between gear's teeth.

[Doug G.]

Yup, that's exactly it.

At various insane moments, I have thought about converting the Bachmann arrangement to be like the more typical locomotive set up with slots for the drivers and a bottom plate to hold them in. Actually, if a fellow had machine shop equipment, it wouldn't be all that difficult. Milling machines are wonderful things.

Doug

[peteski]

The other idea I've toyed with is reworking the wipers to contact the back of the wheel rather than the axle nub.  If the contact is contingent only on the wheel, and not the axle, then the possibilities open up to use other wheel sets. 

I don't know if that is needed.  I don't own any of the E60s, but I looked at http://spookshow.net/loco/bache60cp.html. While I don't see the wipers, the loco seems to have a similar design to other Bachmann locos of that period (like a GP40 I own.  If the wipers are thin brass plates loosely inserted behind the wheels, and they have a thin "bow" shape on top which contact the frame, then they aren't only touching the axles. When the truck is seated in the loco then the pressure from the "bows" makes the wiper plate to be in positive contact with the backs of the wheels.  That pickup system is not as crappy as it seems.

[narrowminded]

Years ago I used CA soaked thread wrapped repeatedly around the hub, pulling it tight as you go.  The repeated wraps closed the thing right up tight and the CA hardened and held it all in place.  You may find it's a little tight going back together which is probably why it split in the first place.

OR.. if you have a gear with the right teeth I could bore and make a delrin sleeve for it.  Delrin bar will hold for the duration.

[peteski]

Years ago I used CA soaked thread wrapped repeatedly around the hub, pulling it tight as you go.  The repeated wraps closed the thing right up tight and the CA hardened and held it all in place.  You may find it's a little tight going back together which is probably why it split in the first place.

Yes mark, the sewing thread soaked in CA is an excellent repair technique!  And it uses items which most households already have. I have used this technique numerous times on household items.  I fixed this broken clothes-dryer knob probably about 15 years ago, and it is still holding up.  And before it broke, the dryer was already about 20 years old!



In this example it wasn't just split - piece of the sleeve broke off. So I was able to put it back in its place, then wrap heavy string around the area, then soak it with CA.

But considering the very small size of those N scale split axle tubes, and the fact that they are just cracked (and will not close up when  the metal axles are removed, I think it would be very difficult to use this method to fix them.  You only have around 1/8" of area to wrap the thread onto, and you would have to put a lot of pressure on the axle to close up the gap.  A metal sleeve seems like a much easier solution in this instance.  But you you can successfully use a string/CA fix on this type of defect then more power to you.

[diezmon]

Well.. Lee and I had a plan.  i was going to send my dummy Bman axles from an old F7 dummy.  it the planets aligned, they'd be a match.

I opened up two units.   Sorry @wm3798 , every single axle is cracked!  sheesh. 

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[wm3798]

Thanks for trying, Tim.  But it looks like the diameter of those gears is a tad small just the same.

Lee

[wm3798]

I dug out a long dead Bachmann F7, the really old brass gear version, tried this out for giggles...



The wheel diameter is right on, and the gear seems to be correct as well.

I had to trim slots to drop in the solid axle, and open up the hole in the truck frame for the beefier gear, but it seems to work.  I'm going to treat both trucks, then see about remotoring with a Life Like lead sled 5 pole and see if that doesnt do the trick...

Lee

[wm3798]

While digging around the parts bin on behalf of the big E60, I came across the replacement light board I had bought some time ago to get this engine back on the active roster.


Some of you older people might remember this locomotive appearing in my earliest posts to the Atlas Forum back in the Aughties...


While not entirely retro, this is the first version of the Atlas VO1000, which was manufactured in Korea, and was replaced with a later design that rendered this one obsolete.  It's a little wonky to take apart, but it's not a bad runner, and I took advantage of some extra room under the hood to add some weight, so it tracks well and can handle a reasonable cut of cars.  Now that it's back to DC power, I can deploy it on Switcher Night, or Western Maryland night.  It's the only Baldwin I have in the fleet (other than my 2-8-0) so I'll have to do some more accumulating before I can run an all-Baldwin diesel night...  Anyone got a pair of B&O sharks laying around?

Lee

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Is that the VO you used to use to shove empties up to Vindex?

[wm3798]

The very same.  I could never get it to run right after I put the decoder in it.  So it's nice to simplify and have it running the loops again.

Lee

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Well damn, a lady of that pedigree deserves a good life.

[wm3798]

Misted some grime and weather on the truss bridge, and also painted the pier and abutments.



Now I can fill in a few blanks in the scenery and maybe start some ballasting.

Lee