¡Hola! The 3-Foot 6 DM Class - 4

 In which DB says, "about time". 

On Thursday, I found the courage to return to the DM project, just in time for it to head north to the train show on Friday. 

The DM provokes mixed feelings all around. Its nice to have something clean and new to photograph, but it will mean the end of the DX and DC class that we have loved for for five decades or more.

The model is also a mixed bag, so I both love it and hate it. The 3D print is very nice in places (especially the cab and headstocks), but its a bit off in the long hood detailing, not that mattered, as I printed up sides and moved the roof around. My shell has a slight bow in one of its sides. I've also found this a very challenging build, although some of that is my own fault.

Some nice etched handrails arrived from Lewis (made by Aaron Wall) a few weeks back. As known, these are gorgeous, yet a bit long in the x-axis. I believe there are new re-scaled ones available now or coming soon. This set is one of the early ones, so you have to dispense with a segment from each corner if you want to have enough of a gap for the crew to board via the side steps. You'd have to be staring at both the model and a prototype picture closely at the same time to notice. 

You also have a decision on to make on how to mount them. This may affect at what angle, and even for how long, they remain mounted. Ideally the lower ends of the pointy bits would be longer, and fit into slots pre-made in the side sill, or even better, a leaf could be taken from the Z scale playbook, and the yellow side sill itself could be an integral part of the etch. This would make mounting dead easy and provide the best chance of them being straight and resistant to being bent when knocked.

It may not be immediately apparent as the black GP above is not shown in a large photo, but the sidesill edge, the handrails (long and short hood), and the battery boxes under the cab are all part of the same etched strip here. Easy to assemble, always lines up, always stands at 90 degrees, and resistant to breaking.

But be that as it may. 

Back to NZ120land. I added some brake hoses, put in some MV Lens 'lights', and finally got around to glazing the front window. I did a much better job than I did on the back end window, including a strip between the window segments. Looks ugly, but viewing from this close is prohibido anyway.  That blue builder's plate is a bit '3d' from this angle!

I trimmed the handrails and superglued them on using some stripwood to hold them a constant distance out from the long hood until things had set. As mentioned, I'd like to have put the mounting pins into slots in the sills, but getting slots in the right places would have been a messy and time consuming job, so here they are out proud. A bit ugly, but a some yellow over the top makes them look a little better.  

The chassis is an old SD90 with a hardwired decoder. It seems to run nicely enough. A fuel tank and bogie sides come with the print, but I decided not to use them. The tank is a bit of a squeeze on the chassis, so it broke (and it was bowed anyway). I may use the bogie sides in future. 

My fuel tank is from an Atlas Dash 8 out of the spares bin, with the 'near end' being a part from a Japanese shunter top, chosen because it had a decent sized square grille that looks a bit like the aluminium cooling radiators on these. Now that I think about it, I don't think the prototype has these on both sides...!

A million other little detail things were done. Blue Stadler makers plates (under the cab on the LE's side) were added, as were silver tips to the brake hoses and taps, the four side steps, and various roof antenna. I also added a bit more detail on the cabtop air conditioning units. The inside rear of the 'good' cab wall had some 'smoke' applied, as it was a bit bright with its white styrene and yellow overspray.

I was going to tart up the bogies using the supplied sides, or even improving these SD90 ones with some sandboxes on the inner ends and parking brake units on the outboard ends, but time is short, they are dark black, and you don't really notice. 

The model could do with some numbers on the front and also the white KiwiRail logos on the Stadler design trademark black chevron, but this will do for now. 

So now that it's done (about time too, (told you I'd say that)), do I love it or hate it? I certainly like it a lot more than I did on Thursday morning.

Train Bins™ for Travel and Storage

DB picked up a few mid-sized Sistema plastic tubs when they were on special a year ago, and has been pottering away making foamboard inserts of various shapes and styles for quite some time now. 

Weights take out any natural warp in the foamboard base

My base layer is a stiff plastic floor tile as the plastic bins have a natural fishbelly depression in the centre. On top sit two or three layers of inserts. 

 The coal hopers have had little bits of plastic bubblewrap stuck between them, and there are bits of kitchen towel deployed in places too to cusion the inserts from the sides. 

This weekend these splendiferous Train Bins™ will make their first trip north in anger to visit the Christchurch Train Show.

Loco Testing, 1...2...3...

 DB powers up:

In the past few days, I've repainted 5 tarpaulined four wheelers and a KP, added another layer of decals to the ZH, made up/recycled three new container wagons to 40-foot boxes, replaced a broken Peco chassis and half a dozen broken couplers, oh, and made those two extra AOs for the TranzAlpine. A few missing handrails and broken headstocks were re-attached or refabricated on some of the diesels.  There's nothing like the chance to run a few trains in a few days to motivate some action.

In fact it feels like I've been doing everything and anything that I can to avoid cranking up the Digitrax to see if anything actually works. 

Yesterday I started some testing. I didn't bother testing the DXCs, as they are pretty reliable. 

The DGs were up first, as old-cab 2376 was also such a great performer at the start of the year when I was planning Elmer Lane. I figured that new-cab (once 2330, now 2007), with the same Kato PA-1 chassis and clip-in Digitrax decoder would operate identically. Nope. Couldn't even detect the decoder. Disassembled and reassembled. It looks like I'd put the copper strips in upside down. These transmit track power between the bogies and decoder, so they were not making contact with the latter. Eventually I got it going, but 2007 wasn't working nearly as well as the original cab. Much slower, and a bit erratic.

At this stage, I needed to look up the Digitrax manuals online, as its been a dozen or more years since I have tried programming and couldn't remember how to get it into programming track mode (run/stop+F0 if anyone else needs to know, then Disp and Set).

With that figured out, I checked that I hadn't set the VelicityMax and VMid CVs on 2007's decoder. Nope.

It was time for another pull apart. I seems the driveshafts and worms aren't seating that well on the bogie gears. After comparing the two locos innards, 2007 was reassembled carefully and everything clicked into place.  Finally! Progress. The two ran beautifully. They had no problem pulling the 30+ wagon 4-wheeled coal train around the ballon loop, and then pushed it back. I then tried this pushing and pulling with the engines at the back end of the train (flipping the positions of the locos and van). All good, so it seems this curve behind the roundhouse should be OK. 

The Atlas SD-35 based locos were up next. I vaguely remember these being a bit reluctant, skitzy and slow, and 4559 and 4421 certainly didn't achieve many millimetres on our last outing. 

DBR 1213 was first. It unexpectedly ran really well!  DC 4421 was stubborn and erratic, but after some running in and wheel cleaning ...ah the smell of carbon brushes and oil takes me back to Hornby models of the late 1970s...  After five minutes, this was running nicely. Sweet.

Ideally DC 4559 should pair with DFT 7132 on the Tranz.  Again it was similarly hesitant, but with the same treatment was soon humming after a few minutes. 

So that means it should run nicely with 7132, but alas 7132 was only running about half as fast as 4559. After some prodding into the Digitrax, it seems I had set the VMax and VMid on this one to slow it down. I'm not sure why. For some reason I thought the SD 35s had the Altas slow motors, but that wasn't the reality here, so I moved those two CVs up on the DFT a few times until the two MU'd together nicely. 7132 is a Kato SD40-2 dating from about 2010, so runs well, but periodically has that annoying screech that some Katos have. I might try oiling the worm bearings. 

DA 230 was the last of the Atlas SD35s, and it ran quite well on its first go without needing much encouragement. 

Old DFs 6277 and 6064, both Kato SD40-2s with hardwired decoders, wouldn't do anything other than sit there humming, but I'm not sure whether they are worth digging further into further, but I might have a look tomorrow.

DJ 3067 is a tough one. It was decodered just before I stopped with NZ120 in about 2013, and I couldn't get much out of it at all. Periodic flickering of the lights but nothing more than a quarter of a second of action out of it.  This was the big disappointment of today's testing, because the loco top will have to be pulled apart to get into the chassis and decoder. Obviously there is a wire or contact that isn't doing its job.

DI 1843 has a frankenstein chassis. It runs quite smoothly, but is pretty slow. The way the body twists when the direction changes makes me wonder if there isn't something binding in there.

Blue DX 5448, on a Kato U30C with a hardwired decoder was a surprise, moving well on its first try. This used to sit on a Bachmann Spectrum Dash 8, so it has no rear headstock. Given its success in the Moving Department, this and some rear brake pipes, were added...

DC 4939 is sitting on the same Kato SD9 chassis that it had on Otaki to Cass, also with a hardwired decoder. These hard-wired jobs were DCC'd about 1997 for my wee Wellington layout. This ran perfectly too. Unexpected!

DXR 8007, made a screeching sound. It turns out this Atlas Dash-8 chassis, with its modified DXR fuel tank, has no decoder! As I use two digit addressing, there will be an obvious issue as '07' is now taken by DG 2007. Its a trivial task to add a decoder, but this really needs some bogie work as well. I might concentrate on the DJs instead.

So today I did. I had 3067 running 'moderately well' after a few minutes, so then started to decoder 3021. Seems like a long time since I pulled it apart. It is. 

After about 5 straight hours without a break I still didn't have it going. Initially the new (Digitrax Z decoder from 2002) couldn't be seen by the programming track. Pull apart, check. No luck. Try again. No luck. 

Decided that my chassis-to-decoder link, via the old mini headlight board, wasn't connecting. Drilled holes for screws and made up some brass tabs.

Still no luck. Touched the chassis to the programming track and could finally see the decoder. Aha the bogies are filthy, covered in black gunge inside. 

Pulled them apart, cleaned them thoroughly. Put them back together. Shorts. Pulled apart. Checked a few bits, put some Kapton tape around the motor leads.  Shorts. 

Pulled apart, put electrical tape around the whole motor. Shorts. So far the DJ has taken up 5 hours of my time with no success. Bloody hell. 

I put it aside (before I threw it across the room).

Instead, I decided to add a decoder to my 'third DJ chassis'. Borrowed one from DF 6064. Modified the chassis and applied the decoder in about 20 minutes. It works!

But it has a different style of motor runs about ten times faster than 3067. And I didn't succeed in slowing it down. I slowed down the DGs so they run about the same speed as 3067, but that DJ is pretty noisey and sometimes erratic. It probably needs a clean, but that would take a pull apart.

The DI runs about ten times slower than everything else. So much for the South Island fleet!

AO11 - Encore!

 DB adds:

Back when my TranzAlpine saga started, I had high hopes for a really long Tranz. The longest one I photographed was 12 cars and two vans. 

I stopped at 4 cars and my two vans. But I've always kept a few spare cars in reserve, retaining the best 4 of the solid resin 56 foot car blocks made way back when. 

This week I decided to give them a coat of blue.

After a count up of my spare Kinki bogies, I figured I could only do three additional cars, having just used a set of bogies under the FM van. Further availability of parts and time made me scale this down to two. In the picture below, there are some decals, reflecting mirror windows and dark window outer materials that have been sitting in the ziplock bags behind for a dozen or more years. Here the underpieces start to go on. And then the windows.

Within a short few days, these two new AOs had their unders done, bogies and windows installed, and decals applied. The final step was the addition of the hokey inter-carriage connections made from basswood. Finally, a decent length TranzAlpine for Greymouth!

Just need to sort out some detail for the back end carriage now. I should probably put a Microtrains coupler on that end too to allow it to be hauled both ways.

New Feet for Old Vans 2 - the FM

 DB 

As mentioned, my classic old FM van was also sitting on clunky 40 year old fat-tyred bogies, complete with stuck on bits of bolts that represented the springs. 

These and their mounting pads were prised off revealing the unseen work of 'art-meets-engineering-meets-illusion' that makes this crusty old model. 

You may see the underframe tanks made from resistors (back in the old days that's what pre-surface-mount resistors looked like), the liberal use of balsa (side sills and roof guts) and still a fair bit of that old dark grey brittle Plastruct styrene (which was the bees knees before the white stuff came along). 

Those obvious square holes were filled with new floor pieces levelled up to the bottom of the bolster sills. A hole was drilled, and Kato Kinki bogies installed with a washer and chunky screw each. This was a much easier job than the 30 foot van.

As with the shorter van, there is a knuckle coupler on one end and a Rapido on the other for operational flexibility.

While the van was in surgery, some glue mess and scratches on the roof was painted over and the end handrails given a touch up. 

This doesn't look that impressive in these pictures, but looks fine from the recently intituted five-metre viewing distance that will be mandated for observing veteran models out of respect for the aged. 

 
At least it rolls down the track nicely now, rather than being dragged.

AO 10 - TranzUnders

DB prattles on:

Back in 2010-13 I made four TranzAlpine AO big window cars (scroll down this ten years and you will find how they were made).

But I never got around to finishing off the underframes. I've pondered this for a long time. Being solid resin, the cars are heavy, derailments are inevitable, so their truss rods can't be too fragile.

Some time ago I purchased some square brass rod from Russell at Trackgang thinking that might be a piece in the puzzle. In the end the solution ended up being the usual blend of realism vs pragmatism.

To add strength, the vertical supports are solid across the car, being solid rectangles of styrene, with small notches in the corners for the truss rods, and larger ones for the existing underframe sills.

Then it was simply a case of folding the brass rod into the right shape, filing an angle in the ends and glueing it on straight.

The it was time for some underdetails. Of course who can remember what they are! Fortunately there is a nice picture on this blog showing what are probably water and toilet retention tanks on one side.

Some leftover slightly oversize wooden dowels from the dollar store were used for those. 

It took some digging around the hard drive to find some pictures of the other side. Most cars had what I assume is an air conditioning radiator and a few boxes on that side:

On the prototype trains, viewing car AG 90 was in the 'middle' of the train, and it looks like the cars 'west' of it all had the tanks on one side (north) and on the east end of the train, the cars were the other way around, with the radiator sides facing north. Here are some pics of both sides of the model:

My 'radiators' are radiator inserts from dash-8 shells cut down the middle and trimmed slightly (ex my DXCs).

And a splash of paint later: 

Not bad for an evening's work. A little weathering and touch ups to the windows and the blue might come next. Maybe more. 

New feet for old vans

DB says:

My FM van dates from the Otaki to Cass days, but still looks as decent as it did then.  The 30 foot van below is newer, so its a nicer model. 

Both have ugly feet.

Holy Rollers, Batman.

Despite these elephantine rims, the van can be dragged through pointwork, but rewheeling it has been on the agenda since it was built. The bogies have always looked quite appropriate, but unfortunately the wheelsets have an odd axle length that I've never found replacements for.

Never fear, for new shoes are now in hand from Dr Kato-san's Orthapedic Bogie Shop. 

Outer brake shoes removed and the top copper tabs and supporting plastic filed down:

The brake pipes/headstocks are a nice idea, but too 'far out' for use on this short van. They might look good under a 44 foot wooden car where the bogie mounts are a little further inboard. One of these Kato couplers will be retained, and a Peco/Rapido/Arnold one added to the other end.

Little angle irons were placed in the bogie sideframe corners (white unpainted styrene on the near one, and painted on the rear one):

When asked whether this was worth the effort, or whether these are likely to survive the first few seconds of operation, the writer was uncharacteristically evasive. 

Note the white plastruct tube in the background above. As these bogies have large mounting holes, this will be a pivot for the bogies to swivel on, and being a tube, will take a small screw easily.

Old mountings removed, holes drilled for the plastruct tube:

Mounted up:

The washer was needed because the screw head was a bit narrow. Adds a few micrograms of low-down weight too.

The Peco coupler, at the end where the white XC wagon is, has been moved further back under the body after this was taken. The Kato knuckle at the back end sticks out a bit far, but will couple to MicroTrains knuckles. Although its unlikely this will be attached to a set of modern coal hoppers.

The end of the UBC cement wagon is visible at right too. A little more white weathering helped hide those rings, but what really made the difference was a coat of  Tamiya Flat Clear. The Dullcote left a semi-shiny surface, whereas the Tamiya made it quite flat, so the ring doesn't catch the light nearly as much.

Work to re-bogie the FM will be similar, with replacement Kinki-eqsue bogies having been purchased a long time ago as part of my TranzAlpine experiment, way back when.