benshell

Ray, that makes sense! The problem started on a "tight" (~19 foot diameter) curve. But on my workbench I'm using straight track, of course. Although I can still reproduce the problem with the engine grounded to the right rail, so I think I have two problems to solve to get this right. Oh well, I need to turn the tender upside down to install a Kadee coupler anyway. Any idea how to remove the coal load without pieces of coal falling out?

Maybe! But wouldn't it have to be in the engine AND tender? Just ONE of them being grounded to ONE rail shouldn't be a problem, right? And even BOTH of them grounded to the SAME rail should be okay, I think. And for that matter, if I just add an insulator between the engine and tender I'd solve the problem too, right? So far I've verified that the engine IS grounded to the right rail, but I haven't gone further. The tender doesn't seem to be grounded to either rail though, and I have never opened up the tender so I'm not even sure how.

Well, I ran the Big Boy outside for the first time this evening! I have some good news and bad news: 1) The good news is that it ran very smoothly and cleared both bridges that I was concerned about. I have two bridges on curves that are narrow and definitely need to be widened at some point. I thought sure I'd have to do it before running the Big Boy, but it clears, barely! The Big Boy is quite tall and the boiler actually swings out OVER the edge of one of the bridges while the pilot has plenty of clearance. It's a little close for comfort though! 2) The bad news is that after running about 50 feet it starting tripping my DCC circuit breaker (built into my MERG booster). I found that the engine/tender plug was loose, so I thought maybe I plugged it in backwards. But nope, that wasn't the case, although I found that there is a problem with the connector not staying in! Then I thought I'd just leave the tender unplugged, but then I found SPARKING between the engine and tender, and the circuit breaker continued to trip. With the tender removed completely the engine ran fine. I guess I need to figure out where BOTH the engine and tender frames are not properly isolated from the rails! I thought I'd checked that after Chuck's thread about his Big Boy engine pickups, but I guess I didn't check thoroughly enough, or else is an intermittant problem. After all, it did roll down the track about 50 feet before this happened.

I still don't have any MTH locomotives, or any 1:32nd scale at all, but with the lack of new 1:29th scale I will be very tempted if/when MTH starts producing reasonably priced 1:32 again. Let's just say I regret not buying some of it in the past! For re-runs, I'm still looking for an SP Daylight, but leaning more towards Accucraft at this point if the new passenger cars actually get made (I have some on pre-order). I also think a UP Challenger in gray with the smoke deflectors and a passenger train would be high on my list. For new models, an AC-12 Cab Forward would be at the top of my list. AC-9's are also a favorite of mine so buying either one of those would be a no-brainer, even in 1:32th scale. I've ever got my 4-year old hooked on wanting a Cab Forward, and frequently asking to go see the real one in the museum (only 30 minutes from home). Oh, and he also wants a DDA40X but that's off topic for a steamers discussion. I think MTH should focus a bigger steamers though, since a lot of people do mix 1:29 and 1:32 and a larger locomotive is going to look better with out of scale 1:29th scale cars. A smaller locomotive, like the new Accucraft SP Mogul I keep looking at, is just so small that it wouldn't mix well with 1:29th.

I also missed this until Raymond's reply just brought it back to an active topic. This app looks very nice! It won't work for me because I use MERG DCC equipment with JMRI and the Android Engine Driver app, but I'll be sure to mention this as another option when I talk to people! I really like the Engine Driver app, but your interface looks nicer and easier to use.

Looks great! Thanks for sharing photos of your beautiful layout!

Chuck, I started working on it last July or August after UPS came through with an insurance check and Charles Ro did not come through with the replacement chassis they quoted me. That's when I decided to fix it myself. It has been a low priority project until recently though, as I just finished my 20' diameter mainline and I'd like to run it for a big meet coming next month, if it will run reliably on my track. (I need to find out very soon!) Ray, Thanks! I know there are others who've done a lot of work on these engines as well, but it feels good to no longer be afraid to work on it. And now for the first video. Here is the chassis running on rollers with the QSI Titan installed. It has the new Q3 "Emulator" sound files that are very impressive, and it will likely sound even better outside on grades due to the "sound of power" that varies the sounds with the actual load. Here on the rollers I have the "sound of power" cranked up to about halfway, and during the test I enabled the Heavy Load function to demonstrate some of the sound variation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MU4_-sa2G4

Very interesting Ray! I didn't know USA Trains Hudsons had this issue, but I'm glad to hear you've found a replacement. This does seem like pretty expensive upgrade though. Although I have never looked into the cost of a large motor like this. I don't know if I'll ever get a Hudson, but I'm certainly getting more and more interested in repairing, kitbashing, and maybe even scratchbuilding locomotives.

The first thing I like to do for DCC/sound installs is get the speakers mounted. I'm using one Visaton FRS5 speaker and one Phoenix 2" "football" speaker. The Phoenix speaker is smaller and lower quality than the Visaton, but I couldn't fit in two FRS5 speakers. I considered a Visaton FRSW5 which is shorter, but it has a square hole pattern that didn't match up. I've been thinking about how to create baffles for these speakers for quite awhile. Originally I was thinking I'd make a rectangular enclosure for them using sheets of styrene or other plastic, as I've done for other locomotives. However in the Big Boy that'd make it impossible to use the existing screw holes for attaching the speakers. Height is also very limited, so I was concerned that a cylindrical baffle wouldn't leave much air space in the enclosure, but I decided to just try it and see how it sounds. I went on a search around the house and garage under I found that some vitamin bottles were about the right size. I cut two of them slightly oversize with a hacksaw and sanded to fit (on a full sheet of rough sandpaper). I used hot glue to seal it up. The result fits in the locomotive (barely!) I've done a sound test and it sounds great! I will post a video soon.

I sure don't see any signs of a hard winter; your layout and passenger train looks great!

In my last update I mentioned fixing one more major problem that fortunately was easy to fix. While working on other things I noticed there were some holes in the chassis that I didn't know what they were for. It didn't take long to realize there were five missing screws that were supposed to hold the chassis together! Had I ever handled another USA Trains Big Boy I would have known something was wrong! But I had just assumed the Big Boy was built a lot like a prototypical steam locomotives, where the boiler is allowed to float on the frame a little to allow for expansion. I thought the USA Trains design seemed poor and especially difficult to handle but I while I was looking carefully for bent or broken parts I somehow never considered what was missing altogether! I did, however, find some extra screws stuck to the smokebox door magnet. This explains where they should have gone! That said, two of the five screw holes where badly striped so I retapped them for 10-32 (and a deeper thread too). The other holes seem to have lost a thread or two as well, but I didn't think retapping was necessary. With the chassis properly assembled this solved the problem of the steam lines that had fallen off and didn't seem to fit securely! It also solved a problem of the rear motor/gearbox coupling slipping off. And, it partially solves the problem of this locomotive being extremely difficult to lift securely! The question now, of course, is were the original screws already loose or complete free when the locomotive was shipped? It will probably always be a mystery. I've also done a little work here and there on the chassis to reattach a valve gear linkage, reattach the steam pipes that had fallen off, and I've done a little touchup paint here and there. And with that, all known mechanical issues all solved! Next up: I've started working on electronics!

Ray, I've heard about the suspension issue as well. I haven't taken apart anything to do with the wheels or suspension, and have decided at this point to at least try and run the locomotive on my track first, but I've considered I might have to take things apart again.

Well said Raymond! I, for one, certainly don't plan to be shipping any more metal steam locomotives, especially not articulated locomotives! Better to take a long road trip and pick them up yourself, or, buy from a local hobby shop!

Thanks Jens, Chuck and Ray! Ray, it was impressive, especially seeing it the first time in the morning across the bridge leaving San Bernardino (my first few photos). It reminded me of my last chase of UP 844 which I also caught on a bridge first thing in the morning (https://www.flickr.com/photos/benjaminshell/sets/72157631645249756/). Still, not having it under steam does diminish the experience somewhat. They were blowing the whistle which was nice, but under air power it just doesn't sound the same. But it definitely felt like the historic event it is. I hope UP continues to give us updates as they restore it over the next few years!

On Monday I took a father/son road trip with my 4-year old. We chased the Big Boy from San Bernardino to Barstow, over Cajon Pass. Last night I processed the 340 photos from my DSLR and uploaded 55 of them. The rest can be seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/benjaminshell/sets/72157644437231362/ I haven't looked at my video yet, or downloaded my [few] cell phone photos. At most stops I had my video camera on a tripod while I took stills. However there were several cases where stuff happened like I had the camera aimed poorly, or another train passed in front of the Big Boy just as it reached the camera, or someone ran into my shot and starting dancing (for their own camera, not mine!--but I'll upload if it turns out to be entertaining!).

Thanks Chuck! The milling machine is a Little Machine Shop mini mill. I've only had it a few months, but it sure comes in handy even for the simple stuff I've done with it so far.

So, now that I've piqued your interest, I won't want too long to share the rest of the story on the front steam exhaust return. While re-assembling the chassis I realized this part was bent. I tried to bend it back, and not surprisingly it snapped. I looked at older photos and found that it was not bent before, so it must have happened during disassembly. It did take me awhile to figure out how to disassemble the chassis, and it's odd how weak the design is of this part. So here's what I did. I drilled the tapped the part that goes up into the smoke box for a 4-40 screw, and I drilled a through hole in the other part. I connected them with piece of steel, which then I used JB Weld and Loctite on as well! It's difficult to remove this part (you have to remove the front platform, both pumps, and the cylinder block casting first!) so I really don't want to fix this part more than one. Structurally this part doesn't seem to be too critical, but it should be a lot stronger now! Finally I sanded the JB Weld and painted it. It's hard to get a picture of the part with the chassis assembled (which is a good thing for my repair!) so I've included quite a few: Next I'll share a few more details related to chassis issues, including one more major problem that fortunately was easy to fix. However in 12 hours I'm headed to Southern California to go chase the full-size Big Boy moving over Cajon Pass on Monday! So I'll get back to this next week, probably after sharing UP 4014 photos.

Yes, give those two conditions (clean rough metal and decent surface area) JB Weld seems to be working well. Still, I wouldn't rely on it for anything too structurally important.

I'm way overdue for another update, but I have been working on the Big Boy here and there, while also completing my 500 ft mainline before an open house on April 12, and working on some house projects before family is coming for my a four year old's birthday this weekend! The most major repair I needed to make was to find a way to hold the gearboxes in alignment after the little protrusion from the casting fell off: My first attempt was to glue it back on with JB Weld. But, not surprisingly, that didn't hold. There just wasn't much metal to grip on. It's really a terrible design: Fortunately, this protrusion is only used when the Big Boy is in reverse. So, you can pull a long train, but I wouldn't be surprised if pushing a long train in reverse has caused this protrusion to break off for others. It's hard to believe it wouldn't! So, I realized there was space and some small holes on the other size of the gearbox, so I cut aluminum angle brackets to fit and prevent the gearbox from pushing back too far. I used existing tapped holes (M2.5-0.45) which had a little room on the top (backside) for these screws: For the most part this worked. However later I had to disassemble one of them because I needed to completely remove the gearbox, and in the process the threads stripped (which were holding by less than 1/4" in very soft metal). So for the rear casting I ended up drilling and tapping a single new 4-40 hole in the middle. The bracket is pressed up against running gear brackets so one screw should be enough. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of this while the locomotive was so disassembled. By the way, the M2.5 screws from the upside are holding copper brackets that pickup wires are attached to. Another option would have been to replace these with a through hole bolt, but it would have been more difficult to assemble and disassemble. The next gearbox related issue was that there was now a hole through the gearbox, where the protrusion ripped out some metal. I wanted to be sure it wouldn’t leak oil or grease, so I JB Welded aluminum plates in place: Unfortunately I later realized I must have gotten a little JB Weld inside the gearbox, so eventually I had to figure out how to remove it and disassemble it. It turned out to be easy; I should have done this much sooner before trying to JB Weld in place! You just have to remove four screws from the bottom cover of the gearbox and then pull it up and out. Once opened up (which required a little filing on my overly aggressive JB Welding of the cover place) here’s what it looks like inside: And that concludes (hopefully!) the story of the gearboxes. Next up, look what happened while trying to reassemble the chassis:

I've made plans to chase the Big Boy over Cajon Pass on Monday! Yes, there will be pictures, and maybe video.

Tom, The exchange rate varies, but the order I just placed last weekend for a serial computer interface, command station, booster, and extra IC for my USB computer interface (less than $1) came to £56.34 GBP, or $96.78, shipped to California. That's not bad for a complete 10 amp DCC system! The USB computer interface is much more expensive, £25 instead of just £8.75.

Chuck, Yes, I have built an MERG DCC system, and have a second on order. I run trains using JMRI and the Engine Driver app for Android. It works great!** **Now for the gotchas: It works great when it works! I've had two major problems, both with the USB module: 1) The first problem was that I was powering it from a separate 5V input (from the command station) as recommended, but the system was very unstable. Trains would run for a few seconds, and then JMRI would crash! Finally I tried changing a jumper so the USB module got its power from USB, and that has worked great. 2) The second and current problem is that last week (right before an open house!) my system has stopped working altogether. It seems to be an issue with the USB module. And that would make the most sense because I'm constantly plugging and unplugging the USB cable, and the USB interface board plugs in on top of the board in a way that's not secure at all. It's always lifting up on me, and causing the board to lose power and communication. Also, I'd just taken my system (all mounted in a big box) to a friend's house right before it stopped working. It worked there, but not back at home again after once again unplugging and plugging in the USB cable. So, as long as you get things working and don't wiggle the connectors too much it works great! It's inexpensive enough that I just decided to order a second complete system (and a replacement IC that likely went bad on the USB board) just in case something like this happens again. The new computer interface board I'm getting, however, has a RS-232 serial interface! The old desktop computer I primarily use has a physical serial port. Still, I hope to get the USB interface working again too so I have a backup, and the ability to use a backup computer (my laptop). Next time around I think I'll mount the USB interface in a box with a USB hub, so I never have to unplug the USB cable again. As for the booster, I talked to Mike Bolton who designed it about overrating above 10 amps. He was very helpful and encouraging, however ultimately I've decided it's not worth it. There are too many challenges for me at present. For example, if I remember correctly the connectors on the booster on only rated for 12 amps and the circuit board itself is limited to around 15 amps. Instead I've decided to divide my layout into three booster districts. They are currently out of boosters (I think I ordered the last one this weekend) so I still have one more to buy, but it does take awhile to build the booster anyway. I built the USB and command station in one evening each, but the booster took about three evenings. On, one more thing you should know: the command station doesn't support DCC accessory decoders. I've been looking into how to power switches and I learned than DCC switch machines are not an option. Instead the recommendation is to use the various CAN modules they have and run separate wires to switches and other accessories. That's probably best anyway, in case I ever want to temporarily run DC or even DCS on the rails. I hope this helps with your decision. Let me know if I can help in any other way. I'll hopefully be back in business with my MERG system in the next couple weeks.

Looks great!

Hi everyone, I finally got around to opening my Mallet back up to take another look at the mysterious MTH smoke unit unit. Ray, you are correct, there wasn't a short. However I felt a lump of something around one of the elements. I removed the wicking material and it was a little charred around one of the elements. I found that was mostly the element itself that was charred though. After rubbing most of the charcoal-like stuff off with my finger, you can still see in the picture below how the element is charred. I unsoldered one end of it so I could test and it is 1.8 ohms by itself. The remaining two in parallel are 7.5 ohms. This is why the total resistant with all three was about 1.45 ohms. V=IR, so at 5 volts the smoke unit is going to be pulling 3.45 amps! The other two good elements would have to be about 7.5 ohms each. I'm guessing this element could have been damaged when I first tested this smoke unit, by not putting enough smoke fluid in. At the time I had no idea how much smoke fluid they needed! But the confusing part is that Ray has said that if an element burned out the overall resistance would be higher, whereas mine is the opposite. Any other ideas? I did buy this smoke unit used from eBay so I don't really know anything about its original condition. I'm tempted to try and replace the wicking (I've heard tiki torch material works well) and just run with two elements, at least as a test. But Ray, if you do have replacement elements I'd be more than happy to buy one (or more!) from you. Or I could just send you the smoke unit, but I like learning how to fix things if it's not too hard to do.

I didn't know a real one once fell on its side! But I Google'd for the story and found it: http://www.forneymuseum.org/News_BigBoyWreck.html