Adding electrical pickup to passenger cars

[PanAmShay]

Hi there.  I'm sure this has been discussed at length over the years, but don't see any recent topics.  I am building up a 4 car OCS and want to add electrical pickup to two of the cars. (the other two are Kato that came with it).  When I started the project, adding lighting to the cars wasn't on my radar, but after seeing the new painted dark blue cars on the track, they just didn't pop without lights.

So I have purchased ESU 50718 DCC lighting boards with 50710 Power Pack and 50707 wheel wipers.  I also became aware of the Model Train Technology brass axle strips after already ordering the other parts.  However, my preference is to have pickup for both rails at each end of the track. 

The ESU wipers do an OK job, but really hurt rolling resistance. (Although it acts like a parking brake so I could do switching of them on a grade I suppose.)

One of my cars is a new Microtrains Heavyweight observation car with 6 wheel offset trucks and the others is a Rapido lightweight smooth side from ~2009.  Rapido doesn't sell spare trucks with electrical pickup (warranty only).

https://www.trovestar.com/catalog/item/225518
https://www.trovestar.com/catalog/item/107079

I have some extra Kato wheels and brass inserts and I did see the topic that mentioned filing down the trucks and cutting the kato brass strips.

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=58252.msg802519#msg802519

I am wondering if anyone is aware of any 3d printed trucks and brass inserts that would be a good drop in fit.  I thought of this after seeing unfortunate news of the closing of ATSF n scale and looking at their tender upgrade kits. 

Thanks!
-Andrew

[nkalanaga]

If you're running the train as a fixed consist, you could wire the cars together.  Use very fine wire, some of the micro connectors now available, and run the wires through the end doors.  Two cars with pickup should give enough contact for steady lighting, and all of the cars could still be disconnected for storage or transport.

[PanAmShay]

Thanks!  Good suggestion—I’ll keep that in mind

[Altoona]

Replace the 4 wheel trucks with Kato 4 wheel trucks.
Replace the MT trucks with Kato 6 wheel. you will need to reposition the king pin location.

Judd Barton

[nickelplate759]

The Kato 6-wheel passenger truck is a very different prototype from the heavyweight Pullman truck.   You could try and make your own pickups for the MicroTrains truck, but I'd consider a battery-powered light board as an option.

[thomasjmdavis]

I would argue that the MTL trucks (on the obs/business car) should be changed out if this is a modern train (which seems indicated by 'OCS').  Any management special after the mid 50s would be unlikely to have a car riding on 1920s era solid bearings.  At the very least, they should have a truck built or  modified with roller bearings (ala the 6 wheel truck that Rapido made for some models of their baggage car- although that truck did not have electrical pickup.  Or trucks from the BM-70M from the Kato Broadway Ltd set.

I would start from a photo of the car (assuming this is modeled on a prototype train), or of a similar car, during the time-frame that the model is intended to represent.

If 'OCS" is being used more generically (for a management special), and the time period is 1946...  forget I said anything.


The Rapido smoothside cars of 2009 vintage (the 'Panorama' cars as Rapido called them) came with an 'Easy Peasy' battery powered light board (I have several of the cars, and mine are all so equipped).  The car should have one,  unless they stopped including them in later releases, or it was removed by a previous owner.

[Maletrain]

How hard would it be for somebody (such as Lemosteam) to make 3D printed trucks that have recesses for axle point pickup parts made of brass? 

The buyers could cut out their own brass pickups and dimple them with a punch and die that is easily made. 

And somebody could probably make a bunch of those punches and dies to sell, too.

[nickelplate759]

It occurs to me that the trucks on the new Lowell Smith 14 section heavyweight likely have power pickups, but I don't have one handy

[PanAmShay]

Altoona--do you know if Kato made trucks with pickups in a similar wheelbase as the Rapido?  The spares I have are much longer and don't fit.

Yes, I am modeling after the prototype Pan Am Railways OCS

I am using the Microtrains for ST100:
https://www.rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/6357537

I am using the Rapido for ST101:
https://rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/6357536

Here are two videos

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I am NOT an expert on truck types but eager to learn.  I'll happily buy new rapido trucks with pickup if they would fit (or a car that has them)

I forgot to add this to my initial post, but I didn't start out planning to add electrical pickup.  But once I painted the first car dark blue, I realized that without interior lighting the windows didn't show up very well.  So after I'd purchased three cars and started machining new window openings, filling unused ones, and painting and decaling, I decided to try and add electrical pickup. 

I decided against battery option as I don't want the batteries to die or the cars need to be regularly opened up (the used Rapido came with their battery light board and magnetic wand and it was all corroded and useless).

Once I hit 25 posts I'll throw up some pictures

[nickelplate759]

Looking at the photo of ST 100, I think the Kato 6 wheel trucks , which have power pickup,  are actually closer than the MicroTrains.

[PanAmShay]

Thanks George--I'll look for some Kato 6 wheel trucks and see what they look like

For reference:
the Rapido trucks have a wheelbase of .591"/15.0mm
the Kato 4 wheel trucks across 5 cars have a wheelbase of .702"/17.85mm
So the Kato 4 wheel are much longer

However, considering the idea of sanding the trucks wider and adding cut segments of Kato brass inserts is intriguing
The Kato trucks have an interior width of .490"/12.46mm
The MTL 6 wheel trucks measure nearly identical maybe .002"/.05mm narrower
The Rapido trucks measure .459"/11.68mm so would require sanding out .015" per side.
Both would require adding deeper pockets for the brass inserts.  Not sure how to do that easily.

3d printed trucks might be the best option (especially if no Rapido trucks with electrical pickup show up).  The Rapido rep was friendly, but didn't know what cars or years they changed to electrical pickup from battery.

[PanAmShay]

the 6:31 mark of this video has a really clear view of the 6 wheel trucks on ST100.  The link should take you right there, but doesn't seem to when I click on it after posting it.

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[peteski]

However, considering the idea of sanding the trucks wider and adding cut segments of Kato brass inserts is intriguing

I have done something like that that.  I use double-cut bastard file to file the insides of the truck and tungsten carbide single flute countersink to deepen the cone shaped hole in plastic.

As for Kato 6-wheel trucks, I don't  have one handy to verify, but I think the middle axles are not picking up power (still the other 2 axles do) and I some types does not pick up power at all (not sure if I recall it correctly).

As for button-battery power, I  will never even consider it. Not only the batteries have to be replaced, they are pretty much guaranteed to leak the caustic electrolyte at some point.  Makes no sense to me, especially that with DCC, there power available from the track.

If you are planning to utilize the keep-alive unit with the ESU light strip then even intermittent power delivery should not be a problem.  I think you could even be able to use trucks picking up power from only one rail, but of course all-wheel-pickup would  still be preferred.

[Altoona]

Altoona--do you know if Kato made trucks with pickups in a similar wheelbase as the Rapido?

Don't know if Rapido 6 wheel truck has the same wheel base as the Kato 6 wheel truck.  Kato 6 wheel truck part #800135 I believe is a Pullman prototype. Kato #800094 is a Pennsy prototype.
 
Judd Barton

[Lemosteam]

How hard would it be for somebody (such as Lemosteam) to make 3D printed trucks that have recesses for axle point pickup parts made of brass? 

The buyers could cut out their own brass pickups and dimple them with a punch and die that is easily made. 

And somebody could probably make a bunch of those punches and dies to sell, too.

I have actually done this before with tender trucks.



It's not that difficult to design.  The truck frames are the easy part.  The hard part is the electrical pickup.  In my tender trucks, I had etchings made of both brass and phosphor bronze with half-etched a pocket where the axle points go. 

I developed a printed tool die set to hold the etch while a pin in my drill press formed the pocket.  It requires speed and heat to form metal flow in a part. The pocket was OK at best, as the half etched hole tore at the bottom not ideal for an axle point and makes running quality and electrical collection marginal.

Regardless, unless you use split axles that have an isolated muff, you will only be able to pick up connectivity on one side of an axle, unless you buy or make your own non metallic separator, rendering 1/2 a cut axle useless.  I have muff designs for that purpose and they pretty much guarantee wheel gauge.

Etching is very costly and painstaking, and unfortunately not worth the effort and expense for a few sales.