enginear joe Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 I just got my hands on a single PA slave unit. I thought it might be possible to run it with a spare F series that I already have. If not, I may just add a board and speaker to make it run on it's own. It has been converted for battery use so I have to add some small wiring changes back inside. I was surprised to see that the middle (blind) axles are geared on these. They spin freely on the dash 8 series, unless something's changed there to? The Dash's have regular flanged wheels on all axles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman4449 Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 On the MTH Dash-8 three axle diesel, the motor is mounted inside the motorblock thus not leaving room for gears on the center axle. (Because they use traction tires they dont need a third driven axle to get the needed pulling power) On the MTH PA engines the motor is mounted vertically (up and down) with just the end of the motor shaft with worm gear sticking down into the motorblock, so there is room for a geared center axle. The plugs on the PA and F units are different so it's not a direct plug in. You would have to change the plug or socket and confirm wiring pin-outs are correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 I have to check out that "chine drive" style. I missed it! How? I'm used to seeing it in O scale it passed me right by! I'll have to weigh whether to swap plugs or install full PS. I need to see if I can get her back to stock first. Almost everything else is already there. I do like to have the sounds from each unit though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 MTH One-Gauge Big Boy, Challenger, Triplex & VO1000 all use the same type of drive so it's not a PA exclusive design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 Oh yeah...The GG1's are also the same... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 I knew the steamers had that design ever since my first challenger blew it's board many years back. The only diesels back then were dash 8s. I tried to get the PA trucks off as the original owner removed power pickup from the track. I need to restore it to install a spare PS2 board set I got from Ray. I don't see the usual MTH motor mounting method of a screw holding the motors to the trucks? I need a parts diagram to see what is up. Off to the MTH site for help. OK, the trucks came off with the screw I had removed. it just took an extra shock to dislodge the motor from the trucks. Surprised me that the tops of the trucks are made of metal. Seems like there were plugs (matching the lighting type) that got the track power from the trucks to the pickup leads. So I guess only the plugs, wires and sliders were removed. The internal truck wiring is still inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 There's more metal in these than I expected. The frame is weaker when detached from the shell. Otherwise, I'm pleasantly surprised by how well she's built. I think I'll grease where the frame rides on the trucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Yeah I seen that loco listed on eBay (twice) and shied away from it as most battery guys butcher the wiring....leaving a real mess to straighten out. That and being the trailing A unit means the pilot has a gaping coupler hole and red marker lights. What's odd is that loco sold then like 2 days later re-appeared. When that happens I steer clear as usually means the owner was shilling his own auction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 4 hours ago, Chuck said: Yeah I seen that loco listed on eBay (twice) and shied away from it as most battery guys butcher the wiring....leaving a real mess to straighten out. That and being the trailing A unit means the pilot has a gaping coupler hole and red marker lights. What's odd is that loco sold then like 2 days later re-appeared. When that happens I steer clear as usually means the owner was shilling his own auction. Yeah, either that, or someone outbid, and then tried to stiff him. I think this guy's pretty honest so I did not suspect foul play. However it is a job getting this to running order from battery conversion. I will probably use it as a trailing engine to my SF F series anyways. So I should have kept the slave board. With a spare PS2 board sitting here, I figure I'd use it here. Then, I would buy a PS3 for the more important engines with better lighting uses. He offered to send me the sliders and wires now. I fear he didn't understand what wires I wanted. If not, I will make my own harness again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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