Showing posts with label Motive Power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Motive Power. Show all posts
Monday, December 3, 2012
Piko in December
The fifth battery powered locomotive to join the Ponderosa Lines is one of the newer Piko moguls, which is starting to grow on me. I suppose I'm leading here to a short review, followed by some photos. This Sunday (yesterday) the decent weather continued in Flagstaff, allowing for an outdoor session with a short freight. Similar to the review in Garden Railways Magazine, this loco is rather noisy, and the motor actually chirps like some of my older HO-scale locos did in the past (it may be lessening as it breaks in). But it runs smoothly back and forward, unless heading down hill with a full load, when it tends to jump and hesitate a bit (also in the written review, if I recall). The tender's wheels are a disappointment, as they are plastic, but that's probably partly why the German Piko company can sell its products at less cost than LGB. It runs fine, metal wheels or not. With all the details applied - easily assembled - it's a cute engine, and it looks fine with larger or smaller cars. Its main strength is, well, its strength. It's a heavy little engine, and it pulls five freight cars easily around the challenging grades of the Ponderosa Lines. If we don't get any snow this year, looks like this scrunched-up Mogul is going to see more light of day in coming months!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Cleaning an LGB Mogul 2-6-0
Since the time I began thinking about building a G-scale railroad, I have always admired the LGB Mogul. Its 2-6-0 wheel arrangment should be perfect, I felt, for a branch-line type railroad and short passenger or freight trains. And now there is one inside our house, having arrived on the porch step the other day in used condition. My first task was to clean up the outside of the engine to remove the apparent years of dust and grime. Some light soap and water and a combination of kitchen sponge and paper towel did the trick. Looks practically like new (see photo below).
The next step involved performing minor surgery, exploratory in this case. If possible, I wanted to inspect the drive wheel axles and pickups, which in HO scale are typically the first to gather hair, dust, and grime. This case would be no different. Using a variety of handy kitchen props available within eyesight, I flipped the engine on its "back" and scanned the underside. I gathered various implements of destruction including pliers, tweezers, and various sized screw drivers. With surgery ready to proceed, it was time to reverse-engineer its "insides". The cover plate looked easy enough. All four screws came out with no problem, but they were of different sizes. I was therefore careful to keep them in the correct order on the counter for ease of reassembly later. I highly recommend this practice. As you "reverse engineer" an unknown locomotive, be careful to keep track of where the parts come from.
I heard a "sproing" when the cover plate came off, exposing the gears, contacts, and drive wheel axles. It happens that the front pilot truck is connected to a short spring that provides tension to the pilot axle as it turns. These Germans were creative! After gawking at the mass of metal and plastic (and grime), I dove in and took off the pickup shoes and long metal contact plates. Nothing seemed that complicated, and it was a pleasure to work with such large parts after dealing with HO scale in the past. I was more pleased to learn that the brake shoes pull right up out of the frame, so I organized them with the other parts so that I could tell what went where later on (see photo below). These pre-molded plastic parts were easy to put under soap and water, immediately relieving them of their years of collected hair and filth. I then gingerly toyed with the drive wheel axles to see how I could separate them from the frame for cleaning. I was not courageous enough to remove the wheels from the tie rods, and I saw no need to do so.
I took some Goo Gone to the wheels, both their tires and the insides of the wheels. Looked like a lot of grease, and the nastiest part of the whole cleaning process was the grease and oil that a previous owner had apparently applied. It became an instant mess, not unlike that of cleaning a bicycle chain. I ruined a couple of cheap wash cloths, but they had already been downgraded to "railroad cleaning" duty previously. The black stuff got all over my hands (like a bicycle, which is why I don't clean those often, either) and was tough to wash off. I can't imagine that the engine will need any more lubrication in the near or far future, as most modelers advise newbies like me to not go so heavy with the grease and oil.
Thanks to good planning, I carefully reassembled the undersides after cleaning all of the contacts and surface parts that I could easily access. Should be ready to go for its first test run on the Ponderosa Lines! Needs to be converted to battery power, first! Not willing to wait that long, a neighbor G-scaler has kindly agreed to test run the loco on his own track-powered layout. Soon after, C&S #6 will be the fourth locomotive assigned to the Ponderosa Lines roster.
The next step involved performing minor surgery, exploratory in this case. If possible, I wanted to inspect the drive wheel axles and pickups, which in HO scale are typically the first to gather hair, dust, and grime. This case would be no different. Using a variety of handy kitchen props available within eyesight, I flipped the engine on its "back" and scanned the underside. I gathered various implements of destruction including pliers, tweezers, and various sized screw drivers. With surgery ready to proceed, it was time to reverse-engineer its "insides". The cover plate looked easy enough. All four screws came out with no problem, but they were of different sizes. I was therefore careful to keep them in the correct order on the counter for ease of reassembly later. I highly recommend this practice. As you "reverse engineer" an unknown locomotive, be careful to keep track of where the parts come from.
I heard a "sproing" when the cover plate came off, exposing the gears, contacts, and drive wheel axles. It happens that the front pilot truck is connected to a short spring that provides tension to the pilot axle as it turns. These Germans were creative! After gawking at the mass of metal and plastic (and grime), I dove in and took off the pickup shoes and long metal contact plates. Nothing seemed that complicated, and it was a pleasure to work with such large parts after dealing with HO scale in the past. I was more pleased to learn that the brake shoes pull right up out of the frame, so I organized them with the other parts so that I could tell what went where later on (see photo below). These pre-molded plastic parts were easy to put under soap and water, immediately relieving them of their years of collected hair and filth. I then gingerly toyed with the drive wheel axles to see how I could separate them from the frame for cleaning. I was not courageous enough to remove the wheels from the tie rods, and I saw no need to do so.
I took some Goo Gone to the wheels, both their tires and the insides of the wheels. Looked like a lot of grease, and the nastiest part of the whole cleaning process was the grease and oil that a previous owner had apparently applied. It became an instant mess, not unlike that of cleaning a bicycle chain. I ruined a couple of cheap wash cloths, but they had already been downgraded to "railroad cleaning" duty previously. The black stuff got all over my hands (like a bicycle, which is why I don't clean those often, either) and was tough to wash off. I can't imagine that the engine will need any more lubrication in the near or far future, as most modelers advise newbies like me to not go so heavy with the grease and oil.
Thanks to good planning, I carefully reassembled the undersides after cleaning all of the contacts and surface parts that I could easily access. Should be ready to go for its first test run on the Ponderosa Lines! Needs to be converted to battery power, first! Not willing to wait that long, a neighbor G-scaler has kindly agreed to test run the loco on his own track-powered layout. Soon after, C&S #6 will be the fourth locomotive assigned to the Ponderosa Lines roster.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Chasing the Forney
Following a nail-biting series of monsoonal thunderstorms sandwiching long bouts of drizzle, Flagstaff has dried out enough lately to allow for train running without major track cleaning efforts. It was a good test to see what the railroad could handle, including three extreme downpours with hail and the requisite lightning that treats ponderosa pine trees like match sticks (and, incidentally, knocked out our garage door opener, a problem still to be solved). Before the railroad's appearance in the back yard, I had always welcomed as much rain as we could get, given our consistent drought throughout the Southwest. Now I find myself torn, intently watching the right-of-way out the window to see how much ballast is floating away during a downpour. Even after all that, I re-ballasted a few sections and shored up some poorly contained areas last week, and the railroad is in great shape. Sections of it are even showing signs of being embedded into the landscape with an overgrown appearance, which is what I was hoping for in certain areas. Tonight provided a relaxing opportunity to run a couple of trains in a leisurely way before the sun went down. The action tonight featured the newest addition to the Ponderosa Lines' roster, an 0-4-4 Forney with its two-car set and an added G&RGW coach. The battery for the Forney's power is in the trailing passenger car behind the tender - a required feature due to my decision to rely on battery power rather than track wires. I am waiting for my first fusion generator, but for now I need to rely on traditional batteries. As for the sun, I noticed quickly that the lighting was great tonight, so I grabbed Linda's camera phone nearby and did some railfanning. Here are the shots.
Click on the photos for larger images. Click again on the larger images for the full-size photos, if you dare. The first image below is the actual map of the Ponderosa Lines Railway, as it now exists with place names.)
Above: Exiting White Pass (the highest point on the line, hence the name), through the "forest".
Click on the photos for larger images. Click again on the larger images for the full-size photos, if you dare. The first image below is the actual map of the Ponderosa Lines Railway, as it now exists with place names.)
Above: Just beyond the trestle for Palmer Gulch
Above: Getting close to Viterbo in the late evening sun, making the final run back home to Paradise.
Above: Station Stop at Blumenthal, one of two passing sidings.
Above: Rolling up Angel's Flight, toward (the other) White Pass
Sunday, November 29, 2009
First Locomotive Conversion to Battery Power!
On the tail end of our first winter storm this season, I ventured south to Dewey, Arizona to make a return visit to Stan Cedarleaf's G-scale empire. He had his Christmas train running steadily on his Prescott Canyon Southern railroad while he converted my Bachmann steam locomotive to battery power. While the Baldwin ten-wheeler was in the "shop," I took a barrage of photos, in case he or I wish to show the process for conversion some time. For now, a few photos from the 2-hour procedure are below, including a shot of his railroad. If there was a surgeon for locomotives, Stan would be the one! All I could really do was watch and take photos while he conducted his "surgery" in the chilly afternoon. In the end he handed over my new throttle and let me give it a spin around his railroad. It runs well and is no longer dependent upon track power! I look forward to seeing this engine run on the Ponderosa Lines in 2010. (Click on photos for larger images.)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
PLR Acquires first motive power, rolling stock
PLR News Release:
The fledgling narrow-gauge railroad museum and tourist line announced its first acquisition of equipment Tuesday, including its two first servicable locomotives purchased this summer. With the small company strapped for cash, the railroad's owner is celebrating these initial purchases as a way to get the first train rolling by next summer, 2010. The railway's first equipment consisted of a small diesel switcher (LGB) purchased from the overstocked White Pass & Yukon Route railway in Alaska, accompanied by a ten-wheeler steam locomotive with 4-6-0 wheel configuration. Both will be serviced and fitted for use in the PLR's inaugural year in 2010.
A surprise acquisition of used rolling stock occured last night, including a "bobber" logging caboose, wooden 30' flat car, and wood-sided gondola. Though needing some restoration and retrofitting, these first pieces of rolling stock will be repainted, re-wheeled, and converted for light freight and tourist passenger service.
The fledgling narrow-gauge railroad museum and tourist line announced its first acquisition of equipment Tuesday, including its two first servicable locomotives purchased this summer. With the small company strapped for cash, the railroad's owner is celebrating these initial purchases as a way to get the first train rolling by next summer, 2010. The railway's first equipment consisted of a small diesel switcher (LGB) purchased from the overstocked White Pass & Yukon Route railway in Alaska, accompanied by a ten-wheeler steam locomotive with 4-6-0 wheel configuration. Both will be serviced and fitted for use in the PLR's inaugural year in 2010.
A surprise acquisition of used rolling stock occured last night, including a "bobber" logging caboose, wooden 30' flat car, and wood-sided gondola. Though needing some restoration and retrofitting, these first pieces of rolling stock will be repainted, re-wheeled, and converted for light freight and tourist passenger service.
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