- Take off the cab . . .
*Remove the two cab handrails first.
a. lift the rear of the cab to release the two rear tabs (small
screwdriver carefully inserted at bottom rear of cab will help)
*Take your time–first removal is tight. Alternate from one side to
the other with the screwdriver or exacto blade.
b. insert screwdriver at front side of cab between bottom of cab and
walkway and carefully spread side of cab away from boiler to release
small tabs at front bottom of cab (much easier to do than to describe).
c. lift cab straight up and off of boiler.
- Remove smokebox front and unplug two wires (use sharp tweezers to pull
plugs straight down).
*Take note of the polarity for later–white goes to white.
- Remove the boiler to pilot deck supports (we’ll get the correct
term for future use)
*These are the black diagonal rails between boiler front and pilot.
- Remove screw from bottom of frame that goes up into stack
*Remove the black gizmo just forward of the walkway on the engineer’s side
where the silver section starts. Pull it straight out with a needlenose. It
goes back the same way.
- Insert screwdriver at rear of boiler above walkway and carefully
pry boiler rear upward. Do this on both sides to release the tabs that
hook the boiler to the walkway.
- With a small implement push those black tabs in alternately to help release
the boiler.
- THIS IS THE TRICKY PART . . . after rear of boiler is released,
lift rear of boiler to clear the weight, then CAREFULLY slide the complete
boiler forward. May need to wiggle it as you slide it forward. Boiler comes
off, and you have the innards exposed.
- The boiler will not break, even though it feels like it will. Tip
the rear end as hard as you like until it just clears, then slide the
boiler SLOWLY forward with a side to side wiggle. At the same time
gently squeeze the front of both walkways inward to release the tabs
gripping the inside edges of the boiler front.
- To take out motor and boiler weight, there are four screws to
remove.
Two screws are at rear, with red and black wires attached. Two are on each
side near front of weight, above walkway, just behind centerline of axle of
first driver. Take out these four screws and motor/weight assembly comes
out.
*First the wiring fix. (I recommend) cut off the black tubing completely.
It’s too stiff and derails the tender. The green, yellow, and violet wires
are not connected to anything and are for optional DCC functions. Pull them
back over the DCC plug and secure with electrical tape. Tightly tape the
remaining wires with a short piece of black vinyl electrical tape. I was able
to flatten the bundle to reduce the profile.
- (Do not re-use the factory connectors!) This is a finely crafted loco but
the wire connections to the weight halves are extremely delicate and
unreliable. The solder connections on mine were both broken. When it comes
time to reassemble, clip the wire ends clean and strip enough insulation
(3/16") from each one to wrap under the screws directly, now using the
connector as a washer between screw head and wire. Twist the strands tight
and pre-form the stripped wire into a tight circle. Position the loop over
the screw hole. Insert the screw and tighten. Point the connector shanks
straight down. The red wire goes to the engineer’s side, black wire to
fireman’s. This may need the patience of a watchmaker, but take the time to
make a good solid connection or it’s disassembly time again. This is your
main connection between the drivers and motor–it’s important.
*DO NOT CUT THE UMBILICAL OFF because the red and black wires go through the
DCC plug and come back as orange and gray for the motor. Even if you spliced
these, you still need the DCC plug for the headlight directional diode built
into it.
*Remember–the black weights are electrically live so depending on
where you insert lead to add weight, it will short out the loco in any
region bordering the two halves. Either tape the weights appropriately
or wrap the lead with tape.
*THE LEADING TRUCK USES A FIBRE INSULATING WASHER BETWEEN FRAME AND SPRING.
IF YOU REMOVE AND THEN REPLACE THE SPRING, DON’T MISTAKE THE FIBRE WASHER FOR
THE METAL WASHER OR YOU WILL CREATE A SHORT!
The wiring harness of the Genesis Series USRA 2-8-2 Light contains
nine (9) wires. They are used as shown below:
Gray Motor negative
Orange Motor positive
Red Right rail pickup (engineer side)
Black Left rail pickup (fireman side)
White Forward light
Yellow Reverse light
Blue Light common
Green Function 1
Violet Function 2
*That ends Athearn’s info. Here is how I weighted my Mike, which I
guess applies to the Pacific too. I used the experience of those
before me and a little of my own added. Note: although lead is ideal,
for health reasons I used copper stock which is almost as dense.
Fill the sand and steam domes with lead shot or lead pieces or fishing
sinkers. Seal the lead in with ductape. Make sure the lead doesn’t
protrude too far out of the recesses or the boiler won’t fit on.
I didn’t feed lead shot into the cylinders out of fear of the rods
jamming. Do this at your own risk. Obviously don’t fill beyond the
level of the rods, but if the shot balls pile up at one end you risk a
toasted motor.
Seal the bottom of the steam chest (where the screw came through) with
ductape, enough to also drape up the sides, covering the cylinder access
holes. Fill this with lead shot and seal the top off with more tape
maintaining a clear curve for the boiler to rest on later. OR,
skip the ductape and shove lead sheeting diagonally into the cylinders above
the rods, then pile up little square pieces or sinkers to fill the chest. You
don’t need to replace the long screw. The tiny screws at the bottom of the
chest need to be insulated–they are common to the frame.
Cut lead sheeting or sinkers to fit between the leaf springs above the
drivers. Don’t go too thick or the boiler won’t sit right. Paint the
lead black. This arrangement is not prototypical but it’s hard to
notice. You can pile a good ounce into this area.
Likewise under the driver assembly. Flip it over. Thin lead sheeting
can slip under the brake mechanism truss rods, between the first
drivers, and between the cylinders. They need to be glued. To remove the
brakes pop them out of their pegs near the drivers. The little truss rods are
fragile and will snap if bent too far. Paint the lead
black. The two tiny screws in the middle by the manufacturer’s info
plate need to be insulated.
More thin lead sheeting can be curved and slipped under the boiler
weights after this section is mounted to the drivers. Tape the lead up
with electrical tape to prevent a short. The pieces cannot extend
above the level of the walkways or the boiler won’t fit right.
After the boiler is reassembled, lead sheeting can be curved and
shoved between the boiler walls and the weights, and around the front of the
boiler. They need to be insulated with tape first. Make sure it’s a loose fit
and accessible to pull out or the boiler will never
come off again. Leave room to re-connect the headlight and for the
smokebox front.
Before mounting the cab, glue or tape more curved lead under the cab roof.
Not too thick or the cab won’t fit right. Paint it black.
A feedwater heater can be made from lead and glued forward of the
stack. An air tank can be placed at the rear of the pilot between the
ladders. (credit goes to Hazen for these two) Or one could fashion
plastic cylinders and fill them with lead. That can add a good amount
of weight.
The Athearn Mike weighed in at just above twelve ounces out of the
box. After I was done adding just copper, I increased this to nearly
fourteen ounces. Using lead will probably give you fifteen. 2-3 ounces
added is ideal. (according to Hazen) The loco no longer slips going up even a
10% test grade.
Good luck to all.
