enginear joe Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Ooops. I need to delete this. It has rubber tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Isn't that a good thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted December 20, 2014 Author Share Posted December 20, 2014 I wrote a long paragraph on how good the engine pulls thinking the wheels were just knurled and didn't have tires. The tires are knurled and it's hard to see they are there. They fit so snug there are no gaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 Well after some quick testing I was wrong about the pulling power. The engine only handles about eight large G scale cars on small inclines and ten on the flat. I added some weight and brought that up to fifteen cars pretty reliably. For comparison I put a MTH VO1000 with pretty fine scale treads on the same track. It pulled all the 30 cars I had on the track reliably. It slipped a little pushing them up a small incline. It did it though. I will play further with getting the engine weight correct to maximize pulling. It is just a switcher so I'd shoot for twenty some cars at the most?? I don't wish to tax the motors or the boards though. I didn't notice much slipping when the weights were added and I don't want to totally stall it. The only places I can add much weight are higher up on top of the chassis. I would prefer it to be lower. The new gas tank is totally full with the speaker. Maybe I can add some to the pilot backs after the steps are built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 I noticed those knurled K-Line tires...definitely a different design than what we're used to! Load them up until the amps start rising...then back off a bit. To much weight will most likely peel the rubber tires off before you tax the boards...just keep an eye on the amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 Ok! I loaded it up with weight and she kept pulling more. I never saw the amps go up and she eventually slipped even with all the weight on her. The problem is I might not be able to fit all the stuff I was using for weight under the shell! I'll back it down and pack the lead I can fit in her. Seems she'll be in the twenty five~ish car range on level track. She'd do thirty if I filled the shell up! I'm not sure how MTH gets them so heavy & I'm using their weights!! (from a F series) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 Hmmm. I spread the weights out lower and above each axle. Remounted the board on top of the weight. I crammed a large speaker in the custom fuel tank to fill it up. Put the shell on with that bit of extra weight and the smoke unit, she pulls thirty large cars on level track. That's more than I expected. I'm re-routing the wires lower against the frame so they don't touch my smoke unit. I still have to make pilots and steps, mount the electric couplers, and attach the shell. Seems weird to see her out running around the layout. She was on the bench for so long. Nice to see them leave the bench!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 PS2 boards are tuff...I've never yet in over 10 years of doing conversions seen a set burn up from being overloaded. Congrats on getting it to pull how you want it to! Can't beat using lead for weight...like lead gunshot for tight spaces Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry B44 Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 I'd put some brass tubing around the gears. Those K-line gears break just like the USA ones do and replacements from NW Short Line are pricey. I got a new K-line GP-30 in Army OD and it had broken gears right out of the box. The wheels could be slipping because of the cracks and that is why you don't get much pulling power. Take the bottom off the block and take a look at them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 In a older thread Joe stated he replaced the gears with NWSL ones...So load those babies up!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted December 25, 2014 Author Share Posted December 25, 2014 Thanks Jerry, Chuck is right. My wheels were so bad that they were out of gauge. The engine would derail at any chance. I asked the seller and he claimed he didn't know that. You could spin the wheels so freely it was stupid. I put the NWSL gears in and they are now solid. I was afraid they wouldn't be worth the investment because of the price. The trucks seem like they are great pullers and if they hold up, it will be well worth the upgrade price! I would factor that in with purchasing any more used K-line trucks. One key thing, you have to separate the wiring inside the truck to isolate the motors for command control with a decoder. I did this by snipping off the wire from the pickup on the bottom side, and running a wire directly to the power pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted December 25, 2014 Author Share Posted December 25, 2014 Look at what she can pull in the video down the page. I could add more weight and I didn't add enough cars to stop her with the weight she already has. http://www.gscaletrainforum.com/index.php?/topic/172-switcher-build/page-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 What was that? 29 - 30 cars? Not bad at all for a switcher!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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