A couple months back, I picked up an Akane 4-8-8-2 Cab Forward at a train show. The mounting points were broken, the motor had a broken winding, and it had an awful paint job.
The paint was all brushed, and the yellow and blue were so heavy that all of the details were covered! Stripping it all off took some work…
Looks a lot better! I managed to repair the Akane motor, and it’s a very good runner, but I like top end coreless in my brass.[:)]
The new Faulhaber motor is a fantastic runner, and barely draws any current at all! I’m sure I’ll find a use for the Akane motor eventually since it is a good runner. I also replaced the stock marker lights, since they looked awful. And now, I’ve finally got it all painted and finished!
I think it turned out great![:D] The smokebox and the band on the firebox are painted with a blend of Scalecoat II black and silver, and I made the firebox paint darker since that’s how the prototypes often were from what I’ve found (went through tons of photos to be sure!). The only problem is that the Microscale number board decals were slightly too large, so I had to leave the “X” off the beginning of the top front numbers for them to fit.
To make it run on my 22" radius, I had to make a longer steam pipe to the articulated engine. It was difficult, but I think I’ve finally got it running really well on my layout.[:)] If I can ever get a room or basement for a larger layout, I’ll certainly be running this one on larger curves, because it barely handles the 22" radius even
Beautiful job, Darth—those old Akanes are great runners and powerful as all get-out. And that mechanism is simple but indestructable. My own Akane articulateds date from about 1964, and they’ve been run a lot. And they’re still smooth and powerful. They might not be the most intricately detailed brass locos around, but I don’t view them through the close-up lens of a camera, either, lol! I like the paint job, and yes, the firebox was usually darker than the smokebox and the cab front.
I rebuilt and repainted a few Akanes 15 or 20 years ago, mostly because the train shop I dealt with had them sitting on the consignment shelf. I loved working with them. As Tom said, they were all great runners and had a lot of oomph.
Darth, So far I know you for your critters, with all due admiration. This, at the other end of the spectrum shows you can run the gammut (sp?). I was relieved to see that that first picture wasn’t your “finished” picture! (before I saw your name as OP) I’d like to see that run in person, Dan
twhite, this is my second Akane steam engine, and they really are very well built mechanically. I have “top quality” steam engines more expensive than these, and they’ll have off-center drivers, poor electrical pickup, cheap tires, poorly adjusted springs, and all sorts of other issues. These Akanes will give the Energizer Bunny a run for his money!
Southgate, I may have to put up a quick video sometime!
ACY, I used the 2230 Faulhaber motor from Microlocomotion. Looks like the listing’s not up anymore, though. The 22313-9 motor from NWSL would also be a good fit. I also used NWSL universals in place of the tubing. With the coreless motor and slow stock gearing, it hits about 40 scale MPH at full speed. The NWSL motor would probably bring it closer to 45 or 50.
snjroy, I actually didn’t even use primer. Gave it a good cleaning, and the Scalecoat II went right on no problem! I just had to do 2 coats of black.
Darth: Just a note—Baldwin built the SP AC’s to be capable of 70mph in a pinch, and I know that when SP put them on the Valley run between Roseville and Gerber, they would ordinarily hit speeds of up to 50mph with no problem. So these guys were not ‘slow-speed’ behemoths by any means–they were powerful enough for heavy grades in the mountains and fast enough for crack service on the more level stretches. Incredibly versatile locomotives–they were still running when SP had abandoned just about all other steam.
Checked out your web site. The concept for your bench work is different than most. Simple, affective but takes some skill for teh design and build. What is your background to have the skills for this design?
Thanks. The benchwork took a little testing and fiddling. I did quite a few proof of concept type experiments to determine it would work. I’ve got a nice workshop in the garage so I can produce some weekend-warrior, cabinet-grade benchwork fairly quickly. There were a few additional tweaks when it was built. It works because of the closets that are behind it. That provides many great places to anchor things. If not for that and the solid top, I doubt it would have worked out so well.
twhite, thanks for the info! I figured the real ones were faster than this, so I may do something about it eventually. I got an interesting and simple idea from someone on the Tyco forum that involves using a gear tower to speed it up a bit.
I think that because we are usually running far tighter curves on our layouts (even those with wide curves as models go are comparatively tight by 1/1 standards), It’s better to run at slower speeds, not high iron speeds. The locomotives and trains just look better, unless you have one of those GIANT layouts. And if it runs smoothly, all the more reason not to tweak on it. Just me though.
OK, so my curiosity was piqued, I googled it. Tyco trains…
I’m not knocking it, by any means. I have to admit there are some tycos out there that I have a soft spot for. And One of my own favorite steamers is a Mantua mikado made in the '80s with “Power Drive” (with Cary heavy conversion WIP) I even put what I later came to believe is a coreless motor out of a Canon camera in a Tyco Prarie, it runs as smoothly and same speed range as Spectrum 2-8-0.
Plus some other Tyco-ey stuff…
Then I saw on that forum some guys shamelessly running and even repowering plasticy locomotives with big thick handrails, and acting like they’re having fun and not worrying about scale appearances? That’s scandalous. Maybe I ought to join.
Don’t knock Tyco; at least don’t knock their earlier offerings. I recently bought an old Tyco “Big Six” 0-6-0 — the one with the metal boiler. And their die cast 4-6-2 is an excellent representation of B&O’s modernized P-7c “President” Pacifics. The cab is wrong, but all you need to do is a bit of cutting and fitting to replace it with a cab from an AHM 2-10-2, 4-6-2, or 2-8-2. These all used the same B&O-design cab that was first released on AHM’s B&O 2-10-2. Of course, the tender still wouldn’t be quite right
Remember, Tyco started out as the R-T-R version of Mantua kits, a real leader in the field in their day. Later Tyco? Well, not so much.
