I love my two Athean MP15ACs. Their flimsy plastic handrails? Not so much!
Any suggestions for replacements (preferrably with brass wire of some type)?
Also, I run these two either nose to nose or back to back using my Digitrax Zephyr. I have them consisted. I have been looking (in vain so far) for a way to make sure that only the lead locomotive light would come on - when traveling in that directions.
I was wondering if simply disconnecting the rear headlight would work, and if doing so would have a negative, possibly damaging, effect on my decoder?
What kind of decoder? There should be instructions with the decoder to do this.
I use TCS decoders. I set mine up so that the front headlight is F0, the rear F1. I use the dimming capability. I can set the decoder so that the light is bright in the direction of travel, dim when stopped or reversed. I also set CV 19 for a consist address (on Digitrax, add 128 for an engine going the other way in a consist) and set CV 22 to enable turning the lights on with the consist address.
Disconnecting the light will have no adverse effect on the decoder. You might have some words for yourself when you decide to hook them back up, though. The MP15ACs are pretty tight inside.
As far as reconnecting the lights, that is not a problem. My soldering iron and I are old friends! I was helping my dad solder his homebrew ham radios before I ever got into model railroading! [(-D]
Besides, reconnecting the lights seems like it would be a snap compared to figuring out Digitrax’s CV system!
Those flimsy handrails are also quite strong. Try gluing them into the holes with MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) that you can get at Lowe’s or Home Depot and a needle bottle. I can also use a toothpick but you have to work fast because the MEK can evaporate quickly.
About the locomotive and the DCC - set up the consisted locomotive with the light on before consisting it to the lead locomotive. That should work and the lights will come on and off depending on the direction of travel between the lead and consisted locomotive. The only thing is that both locomotive’s lights will come on and off depending on the direction. If that is a problem, then in that case, than like was said, the soldering iron is your best friend. …chuck
Actually, I was thinking along the lines of the old Smokey Valley Staunchion kits, but I think they are out of business and I don’t know if they ever made a kit for the MP15AC/DC.
For many years a vocal group of model railroaders has lobbied for things like scale-sized handrails, grab irons and stirrup steps, along with ditch lights, sound and a whole host of improvements designed to make our hobby more “realistic.” But a price has to be paid, the first of which is the actual cost of the hobby, and in this particular case, the durablity of the models.
The good old Athearn handrails (and those of Atlas and others) may have been oversized and a pain to assemble, but they were straight, not wavy, and they were strong. Progress is never cheap nor easy.
Thanks! I think I will be able to cobble something together from what they have available that will suit my purpose. Glad to see that they are still around.
And, DesertDog, I totally agree! It has always been my philosophy that all I want from a model company is a good basic model, at a good price. I’ll add the extras and superdetail it - add sound, add DCC, etc it (if I want to) myself!
