Guest stuartp Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I'm sure you all know the ones I mean, the red and black ones which carry the decoder wiring to/from the tender, which should/could look like water feed/vac pipes but somehow don't, and which run to two fiddly little plugs which you can't get at without taking the tender brake rigging off. I'm not on DCC and have no intention of being, but I know I can't just snip them off because they're live. Am I right in thinking that the pairs are in fact red/black from pick-ups to decoder socket and red/black from socket back to motor ? In other words, if I snip them off and connect the same-coloured wires on the loco to each other thus by-passing the tender altogether, will that work or will it all end in a pong of fried varnish ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
signalmaintainer Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I'm sure you all know the ones I mean, the red and black ones which carry the decoder wiring to/from the tender, which should/could look like water feed/vac pipes but somehow don't, and which run to two fiddly little plugs which you can't get at without taking the tender brake rigging off. I feel your pain! I'm not on DCC and have no intention of being, but I know I can't just snip them off because they're live. Am I right in thinking that the pairs are in fact red/black from pick-ups to decoder socket and red/black from socket back to motor ? In other words, if I snip them off and connect the same-coloured wires on the loco to each other thus by-passing the tender altogether, will that work or will it all end in a pong of fried varnish ? Your description is correct and the remedy should work. However, you'll lose the effect of the RF interference suppression board located in the tender, if that matters to you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stuartp Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 you'll lose the effect of the RF interference suppression board located in the tender, if that matters to you. Thanks for that. I'll try that and see if it inteferes with the telly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 The only reason I'm keeping (part of) this wiring connection in mine is that I'll be adding pickups to the tender wheels, and this will be used to take power across to the loco. The wiring will be shortened though - those on mine currently ground out on points or barrow crossings or... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevelewis Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I would think twice before removing the ability for the loco to collect power from the tender wheels, the more collection points on a loco secures a better power supply to the motor, so that if there are any odd spots on the line which may be dirty or uneven, theres a better chance of power still reaching the motor. Cant understand though why you seem so against DCC, dont dismiss it out of hand...... it brings a different dimension to Model Railway control, the difference between running a railway and playing trains!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stuartp Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I'm not against DCC but I'm not unhappy with DC - I've seen nothing so far that would want to make me change but you never know. If there were pick ups in the tender and the wires were doing something useful then I'd find a way of tidying them up, but there aren't. I might add some at some point but if I do then I'll replace the plug with something less fiddly anyway. I only ask because I separated loco and tender yesterday to shorten the drawbar. It took me longer to do the damn plugs back up than it did to do the rest of the job, and I broke one of the tender footsteps off doing it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
signalmaintainer Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I would think twice before removing the ability for the loco to collect power from the tender wheels Bachmann's 2MT, at least the version I own, does not collect power from the tender wheels. But it probably should have been designed to do so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
signalmaintainer Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Don't bother, like the Rolling Stones, Paint it Black. http://greengoscaler.../p43808819.html I made a new tender coupling making it even shorter, (still ok for Peco Med rad), painted the wires black, job done. What length did you find to work the best? I painted the wires black as well, but still need to shorten the drawbar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stuartp Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Wires all snipped now and it still works ! For the benefit of others... Plugs snipped off, twisting the wires together at this point proved it still worked so... ...the keeper plate was removed. At this point I was going to solder the cut ends, seal them up with a bit of heat-shrink tubing and stuff them back through the chassis somewhere. However, the motor is a very tight fit in the firebox and there isn't a lot of room to stuff anything so... ...the motor wires were soldered direct to the pick ups: Cutting a couple of notches either side of the rear-most screw allowed the wires to be looped back around the outside without any danger of trapping anything trying to hide them inside the keeper plate or behind the motor: Thanks to Signalmaintainer and all who replied ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
signalmaintainer Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I'll try and dig it out to measure. As I recall I drilled a hole just 'inboard' the existing hole, and then cut and filed away the existing hole. I also removed the tender-loco buffer heads, and that seemed to do the trick It looks great. Although the purists are sure to holler, removing the tender-loco buffer heads is a good idea. Hadn't thought of that. Can't see them under normal circumstances anyway. . ...there wasn't any technical stuff using a ruler ... Right on! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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