ATSF 2-8-0 engine 664 (conversion of a N scale MDC/Athearn consolidation)

[mmagliaro]

I would gladly give up the counterweight accuracy to get 4 flanged drivers.  I think the counterweight discrepancy would show a lot less.  But if it really bugs you, you could cut out a really thin, like .005" styrene crescent, paint it black, and glue in on there.

Oh.. and the "little holes"...  actually, I said that for a reason.  I know they are supposed to be spoked wheels, but in my opinion, they are really lousy spoked wheels and the wedge-shaped gaps between the spokes look more like somebody took a solid wheel and drilled holes through there.

In any event, it looks much better with the replacement wheels.

As for blackening, ....
Jax Chemicals work well.  But after my experience with electroplating, I don't think I'll ever do it any other way.
For about $40, you can buy a "brush plating" kit from Caswell.  You pour solution in a class dish.  You clip one power lead on the rod, you take the swab probe and just keep dipping it in the solution and wiping it on the rod (or the driver), and it will gradually electroplate a metal plating onto the wheel.   You can also just put the rod right in the solution with the lead clipped on it, and dunk the swab lead into the solution, and your part will bubble and electroplate until you take it out.

Cautions:
You need to polish the wheel or rod REALLY clean with something like 2000 grit sandpaper.
You need to be PATIENT and swab for like 30 minutes so you can get a decent thickness of plating on there. 
I used the Plug N' Plate® Nickel Kit, but you must also buy a bottle of Black Nickel solution and mix it with
   the nickel solution.  About 10% up to 25% works well, gets you weathered black appearance.
If you add too much black nickel solution, you end up getting more a too-black coating that flakes off and doesn't conduct electricity well.

I still would not try to blacken the wheels unless you are prepared to take them all out, remove them from their axles,
clean them really well, and then do the chemical or electoplate thing.

[Lesferge]

Having worked on these locos (made one into a 2-6-2) I found the drivers too close together for flanged center drivers to fit.   

[peteski]

Having worked on these locos (made one into a 2-6-2) I found the drivers too close together for flanged center drivers to fit.

Good hint.  How about if the oversize flanges were turned down? Those flanges are fairly deep.

[mmagliaro]

I always assumed I would have to turn them down if I were going to put 4 flanged drivers in there.  It never occurred to me that even with that, it wouldn't work.  I hope that's not the case.

[Simon D.]

We can't get Neolube here in the UK, and presumably also in the Netherlands (apparently too risky to ship).  What seems to make it stick is the thermoplastic resin it contains.  Does anyone have any suggestion as what could be added to colloidal graphite in water - which we can get (sometimes called Aquadag) - to make it stay on?  There is a product for iron stoves which bakes at 250C - I don't think I want to do this to my locos!

[randgust]

If ever there was a locomotive that was full of bulky and oversize detail from the 60's, and had deep-dish pizza cutters (which I DID NOT TURN as I didn't have to) the Jamco 4-6-2 is it.   What I'm showing is the difference in the appearance of the running gear 'before and after' Neolube.  That covers a whole lot of sins here.  And while it 'sticks', it doesn't stick that well.   What I've become accustomed to is touching it up before I do any photography as it only takes seconds.   Like most brass models, there's way too much semi-permanent riveting and soldering in the frame, crankpins, eccentric, etc. that makes disassembly a highly risky proposition.   This was rebuilt to be a runner, not a contest model, so any conflict between scale appearance and runs well was resolved that way.

BTW that's Dirk's excellent replacement tender, and 12x12 hot tender pickup solved 90% of the performance problems inherent on the original model.

[Dirk Jan Blikkendaal]

Nice work Randy and thanks for your comment on the tender....!!!
Trying to find a way to get some Neolube to Europe....WIP....
Otherwise painting is the only alternative.

Regarding the axle/wheel spacing on the 2-8-0: the wheelsets are too close together to accept flanged wheelsets on no 2 and 3 axle... even when you turn the flanges down.
I (we) will have to live with that......as someone stated on kitbash projects:  "If it can not be mistaken for anything else, I will go with it".

[Lesferge]

Good hint.  How about if the oversize flanges were turned down? Those flanges are fairly deep.

In think even with turned down flanges there would be hardly enough clearance.

[mmagliaro]

I measured the driver diameters and spacing.  Correct, there isn't room to drop in flanges drivers in positions #2 and #3 without serious  modifications.

All the drivers are .300" across the tread.  The drivers have .033" flanges (so you are going to have to grind down flanges anyway to run this thing on code 55 track).  The spacing from 1-2 is .050"  and from 3-4 is .050"  But the 2-3 spacing is only .020" !     So you definitely have to file and shim the bearing slots and move drivers. 

I would leave the rearmost #3 and #4 alone, since they will work when flanges are put on #3.   Then move drivers 1 and 2 forward by .030" each.  Since those are the non-geared drivers, you can do this without messing up the internal gearing.  But once you file and shim the bearing slots by .030", you will also need to make new side rods (ugh).

Yup... Not an easy task. 

[Dirk Jan Blikkendaal]

Thanks Max,

But not going to do that.....
Took some thinned Floquil Engine Black I still have and painted the tirerims and rods.
Will keep it this way.
For me it looks good enough now.
Thanks for all the feedback!

Happy Santa Fe N scale modelrailroading everybody!
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[mmagliaro]

I agree, that does make it look better.  The photos got kind of fuzzy, though.

[Chinapig]

Talking about Neolube and it's availability in the UK.  I live in England and use a product called TAAB C126/1 which is a colloidal graphite suspension in an ethanol carrier which I do believe is used in the nuclear industry as well.  I always imagine it works just like Neolube.

https://taab.co.uk/pdf-details/264_taab_products_1527065189.pdf

I've had my bottle for years - the manufacture date is 2009.  There's an email address on the label:

sales@taab.co.uk

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Ted

[Dirk Jan Blikkendaal]

thanks Ted,

looks like the same product/ingredients!
will give them a call on Tuesday.
hope they are in business.......

regards, Dirk

[Simon D.]

Me too!


I've also ordered something called Graphit 33 [size=78%]https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1486886854[/size].  Doesn't seem to be available in the US unfortunately, but appears that it could do the business.


Simon

[Iain]

If someone had access to a fancy five access cnc machine, how hard would it be to design correctly sized wheels that meat NMRA specs and fit the MDC 2-8-0?  Could it be done with nearly scale spokes?