I just finished an extensive rework of the RRM Espee 4-8-2 installing DCC.
It was decided to give it the full treatment. I make the tender
self-sustaining by adding wipers to the insulated wheels & install a decoder
to run the backup light. That meant cutting grooves into the back of the
wheels.
I also made a wiper contact to use the sound cam. Of the 3 available axles
this used the 1 right under the motor with the least amount of space. I
could have made the wiper much better and more hidden if another axle had
the sound cam on it.
If I could take a slight diversion here - I am all for all the detail you
can get. But in this case it was quite the hindrance. There are safety
chains on all 8 corners of the trucks that had to be disconnected and
reconnected. Imagine your key chain but only 1/16" in diameter. Now you have
to unwind the last link in a MINI chain off and then back on - 8 times. That
was 3 hours of work not really related to the DCC installation but I did it.
My eyes are not quite what they used to be!
The 4-8-2 has more lights than a Christmas tree. It has the headlight, 2
boiler front marker lights, 2 mid-boiler number boards, a cab light and the
tender back up light. This all lead to the most involved steam sound unit
installation by far I have ever done. Lighting the number boards as they
were when the model was built took quite the effort.
Maybe Richmond Controls has been mentioned here before & I missed it. The
decision was made to use LEDs for the number boards. I was afraid of using a
bulb for fear it might melt them. I got some LEDs from Richmond Controls.
Jim Hinds was VERY nice and spent a lot of time with me before and now after
the order which turned out to be only $20.00 total. If you think you have
seen small LEDs before you have not seen THESE! On the plus side they are
amazingly small - almost the size of a pin head. And they can throw some
light! They definitely have steam loco headlight possibilities, but they
are pretty fragile. The leads are the smallest wire I have ever worked with.
The biggest problem was the lights/LEDs were just taped in place on the back
of the number board DEEP down in the boiler. There absolutely should have
been some sort of bracket - some accommodation to hold the light source in
place. So I have the LED lit and stuck to some electric tape, fishing it
down in the boiler trying to find the right spot to light the number board.
I was fully convinced I would tape them in place only to have them stripped
away when I put the drive it but somehow it did not happen.
All but 1 light had its own resistor. I install tons of plugs everywhere so
you can take it apart greatly adding to the install. All of this had to be
crammed into the boiler and not have wires get caught in the drive shaft. It
was then that I thought about how nice it would be to have a driveshaft
cover! Somehow it all happened. I am done!
I am not criticizing Boo Rim or this model. But for an extra } { effort any
model can be made with all the detail and so you CAN work on it and install
DCC.
Thank You,
Bill Lane
Modeling the Mighty Pennsy & PRSL in 1957 in S Scale since 1988
See my finished models at:
<http://www.lanestrains.com/> http://www.lanestrains.com
Look at what has been made in PRR in S Scale!
Custom Train Parts Design
<http://www.lanestrains.com/SolidWorks_Modeling.htm>
http://www.lanestrains.com/SolidWorks_Modeling.htm
PRR Builders Photos Bought, Sold & Traded
(Trading is MUCH preferred)
<http://www.lanestrains.com/PRRphotos.xls>
http://www.lanestrains.com/PRRphotos.xls
***Join the PRR T&HS***
The other members are not ALL like me!
<http://www.prrths.com/> http://www.prrths.com
<http://www.lanestrains.com/PRRTHS_Application.pdf>
http://www.lanestrains.com/PRRTHS_Application.pdf
Join the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines Historical Society
It's FREE to join! <http://www.prslhs.com/> http://www.prslhs.com
Preserving The Memory Of The PRSL
