Palnut is a press on retainer that goes on the shaft of the cluster gear which is actually a paired gear that mates to the pinion on the motor staft and the drive gears that mate to the gears on the back of the wheels.
Sources:
Brasseur Electric Trains in Saginaw, MI. Very nice folks to deal with.
I am looking for an article on wiring the RS-3 motors in parallel and possibly a constant lighting circuit. When/If I find them, I’ll post that as well.
Wiring the motors in parallel is easy. Just run a wire from each terminal of the original motor to one terminal of the new motor. If the trucks try to run in opposite directions, swap the two wires.
Wiring in series, for low-speed operation, is not much harder. Remove the wire from one terminal of the original motor and connect the wire instead to one terminal of the new motor. Then run a wire between the now-unconnected terminals of the two motors. Again, if the direction is wrong, swap the two connections to the new motor.
The series-parallel switch would work just fine. In fact, this is what prototype Diesel-electrics do. The technical name for it is “transition”. Originally it was done manually; then later automatic transition came along. With four traction motors, there are three possible configurations, but usually only two are used. For switchers, the motors are all in series at low speeds and series-parallel at higher speeds. For road locomotives, series-parallel at low speeds and all in parallel at high speeds.
I’ve been following this discussion with some interest since I recently purchased a Lionel RS-3 [2006 NYC 8226]. I spoke with some experts at Engine House Hobbies and at the Wichita Toy Train Club. I also searched the web for any info I could find.
The Tinplate FAQ states that a loco with dual DC can motors should be able to pull up to 20 cars [Lionel data for my 44-Ton switcher claims 25]. This assumes new cars with needle point bearings. There was no data for locos with a single can motor, but there was a comparison between single and dual AC universals with worm gearing. A single Pulmor AC can haul up to 45 cars while a dual should haul up to 60.
The general consensus among the experts was that a conversion would not be worth the cost and would almost certainly void the warranty. My RS-3 does have geared axles on the dummy truck and pinions for the extra drive gears, but the wheels would have to be turned to accept traction tires. A better solution, I think, would simply be to purchase a second RS-3 and double head them. If you thought a conversion still worthwhile after the warranty had expired, you could swap out the trucks and have one powered RS-3 and a dummy. You could then leave the rest of the guts in the dummy RS-3 or canabalise them for spare parts.
I have also run several comparison test runs with my RS-3 and 44-Ton. If anyone is interested I will post them here.
RS3hostler has it right. You still have no traction tires on your newly motorized power truck, which will cause havoc with series wired motors(it would be like an open differential on ice) and less than satisfactory results in parallel w/o judicious use of weights.
The idler gears, if already on the dummy truck, block access to the two can motor mounting screws and will require removing the wheels from the axles & the idlers from their posts, which you will want to do anyway to get traction-tired gear wheels on the trucks.
Now, to be fair, with a puller, press, & wheel cups, it’s a VERY quick job(no quartering required, eg.) which I have done on these locos just to get carpet fuzz out of all the gears & axles for customers as part of regular service.
So, it can be done, it is easy, & is much more economical if you already have all the parts, or if you swap out the entire motor truck assembly.
The NW-2 unit with the 1994/1995 Navy set had a single motor drive. Second truck, non powered, was identical except it was missing the motor and the “missing” gears and pal nut. The non powered truck was equipped with traction tires. I did not have to pull the wheels or do anything else but add the motor and slip on the missing gears.
A lot of people don’t like the truck motored diesels.Except for the wobble problem which I fix with two small foam pads above each truck I like them.I even took two of them and and convereted two old Atlas “O” scale FM’s with them.I cut a Lionel Alco (with metal frame) and spliced in a center piece to the right dimensions to which I added the center frame from the Atlas diesel.The Atlas body mounts to four projections on the fuel tank thus I used this part.I used two Lionel RS-3 trucks and 14 Ounces of wieght,.The engine pulls a dummy and fifteen passenger cars (Lionel shorties) with no problem.This conversion is three years old and is run constantly.I can’t get my photos to uplaod to this site but there are three photos at:
I added a second powered truck to my Pennsylvania RS3 last year. Because I wanted traction tires on this truck I called Lionel and simply ordered a new powered truck which was easy to install. The original dummy truck has no option to add tires to the wheels and I felt that adding a motor to a truck assembly that would just slip wouldn’t work very well. On a level grade my RS3 will pull fifteen modern box cars with no problems. PS, I didn’t add any weight to the engine.
Well both sets of wheels have traction tires,but the one on the front has them on the 2 left-sided wheels and the one in the rear has the traction tires on the right 2 wheels.I also noticed that the front motor truck has the gears facing to the left and the rear motor truck has the gears facing toward the right side frame of the power truck.All I can say is that the addition of the second power truck dramatically improved the pulling power of the loco.20-25 cars of mixed vintage and manufacterer are no problem with this Lionel RS-3. This was a very worthwhile improvement.
Well, it looks like you’re good to go! As the front & rear power trucks are identical, the traction tires(& gear wheels too) will always alternate to the other side when the truck is faced the other way. Having all wheels powered, switching the unpowered truck from dead weight to helping out, makes a significant difference! It’s all good!
I just looked at the dummy truck for my RS-3 and it does not have,nor does it have grooves to add traction tires to it. The new motorized truck from Lionel was in the $30-$35.00 price range including shipping. Call Lionel parts and give them the Catalog number for your RS-3. The trucks are available in several colors including gray for the UP RS-3. Installation is a snap, and it is the best investment you can make for your RS-3. If you are so inclined, it is possible to order the old style metal frame and handrails to replace the plastic one on your RS-3. I’m toying with the idea of doing this,since this is the engine I let my Grandchildren run.
I just purchased a Lionel NYC RS-3 this weekend ($80 brand new). I love it! It pulls fine and the paint and graphics are excellent. My only complaint is that the horn is a little too quiet. Is there any way to boost the volume?
I noticed the same thing. The Lionel RS-3 horn is so quiet it can barely be heard above the noise of other trains running. I called the dealer and he told me the sound board may have an adjustment called a potentiometer, which will adjust the volume. Unfortunately I have no idea what it looks like. Apparently it can be adjusted with a precision screw driver. You might want to take it to a service center and have them make the adjustment. Let me know if you have any luck.
removing the wheels to place the gears on would seem like a chore. Here’s my dummy RS-3, which I’ve designated as a load until I have more time to figure it all out
This palaver interests me greatly, as the Crocodile uses a one-lung RS-3 chassis and has some difficulty getting out of its own way. Are powered trucks still available from Lionel?
I know this is an old thread, but I bought a Lionel John Deere RS-3 train set for my son for Christmas. The issue is that it has trouble with traction and slows badly if over 4-5 cars. I would love to install another motorized Truck assembly. Lionel sells them $35. Anyone get this to work?
Also, how do you take apart the RS-3 in order to do the wiring?