Is the main crankpin on the above loco a part of the driver casting, or is it screwed in? On both of the units I have, the left side crankpin is oriented incorrectly - 10 degrees to the rear, instead of 10 degrees in front. It looks like they just put a right-side driver on the left side, to save effort in assembly. I would reset it, but i’m afraid to try unscrewing the thing without confirming that the crankpin is a separate part, and not part of the driver center casting.
Thanks in advance…
Do you mean the eccentric crank is in the wrong postion?
It is a seperate part and is held on by the crank screw. I’m not sure if it is “keyed” to the crank pin or just held in place by the tightness of the screw on that particular model. I would simply loosen the screw and try to move it. if it moves with the screw only slighly loose, simply put it in the correct position and hold it there while you tighten the screw.
Sheldon
Thanks, Sheldon, but yes, I know how to position an eccentric crank. The eccentric cranks on these models are keyed into position by two keys on the pin. I was hoping to be able to reposition the pin, instead of filing off the key lugs. Which I may have to do, if I can’t confirm that the pins are separate pieces. I’ve also posted the same question on the Bachmann forum, but nobody has answered yet. I’ll give it until tomorrow evening, at least.
The pin is cast as part of the main wheel.
Bob
Bachmann does show driver sets for that loco in stock in their parts department. If you can determine that yours is simply wrong, they may be willing to send you a set of drivers to correct the problem.
I personally do not own a light Mountain so I am not sure how they were built with regard to this.
Sheldon
Thanks, Bob. I caught your reply on the Bachmann forum. I appreciate the info…
I have my doubts about it being part of the driver casting, as the eccentric on the left side of mine appears to be about 20° ahead. I removed the screw and used pliers to attempt to twist the pin, to no avail. It did deform the pin somewhat [banghead], but re-inserting the screw and working it carefully in-and-out seemed to rectify the problem. The pin does appear to have slipped somewhat further out of whack, though: this may be because of the force required to re-seat the screw in the deformed pin or it may simply be due to the sloppy fit of the crank to the key.
Wayne
Wayne, are you sure it’s a Light, and not a Heavy? My Heavy has both eccentrics positioned correctly with the eccentric in the 10-15 degrees ahead position. It’s the Lights that have the bad position on the left side… The screw holding the crank does need to be pretty tight, as there is some slop in the fit of the key lugs… My biggest issue with a serious effort to reposition the pin is the probability of damaging the rod bearing surface on the pin. And, of course, if the pin is indeed cast as part of the driver center, such an effort would almost certainly result in a broken pin and a ruined driver set. I think I’ll try filing the key lugs off and securing the crank by friction, like the ones on almost all of my other steamers. I’d hate to ruin such a fine-looking model…
No, I’m sure that it’s the Light version, as it was bought quite some time before the Heavies were introduced. I was aware of the crank being “off” somewhat, but it doesn’t affect the operation, so never really bothered with trying to fix it. After reading your initial post, though, I decided to take another look, although I didn’t go so far as to actually drop the wheelset.
If the pin is part of the driver casting or, even better, if it’s a pressed-in part, it should be fairly easy to make a new one. I’d use brass tubing, and, if necessary, fill it with brass wire, then drill and tap it to accept either the Bachmann screw or a new one. It would be easy to form a simple key in the brass, and the inboard end could easily be keyed to the driver, too, if one wished.
Here’s mine, known by the owning railroad as a Mohawk:
It runs well with my Bachmann Consolidations and Athearn Mikes, too, on my DC-powered layout.
Wayne
Wow! I am so jealous, Wayne! That Mohawk looks terrific! I love the pumps and radiator on the pilot deck, and the feedwater heater in front of the stack, as well as the number boards and the Pyle headlight… The combination gives the front of the loco a much more burly and muscular look.
Yes, yours is a Light, and has the same issue as mine have. When the rods are all the way down, the end of the eccentric crank should be leaning about 10 deg. forward from the axle hub. I went ahead and filed off the little key nubs from the top of the pin on the one I’m now working on, and will get to the other one after the current one has been through the paint shop… It looks like this will work out OK - it seems to hold pretty well…
Gidday Gary, I don’t wish to hijack your thread but I am presuming that your Light is in the state of disassembly that you may be able to be of assistance to me.
Recently I was given a Light Mountain that had suffered an OFF, it was either me or the rubbish bin. I am reasonably confident that I, with the judicious use of adhesive, styrene, and patience, can facilitate the required repair. That extra detail on the pilot of Waynes Mohawk has now given me thoughts on how I could possibly hide a “multitude of sins”.
The previous owner in looking to remove the DCC decoder, dismantled the engine and has damaged wiring, he didn’t realise that the decoder was in the tender.
What I specifically would like help on, if possible please, regards the headlight wiring; looking forward from the cab what is the orientation of the wiring going into the rear of the headlight printed circuit board, and which female plug on the connector printed circuit board, under the cab, does the headlight wiring plug go into ??
Cheers, the Bear.
Thanks for your kind words, Gary. If I recall correctly, I had to lengthen the frame a little to make room for the pumps and radiator, but that worked out okay with the installation of the Cal-Scale pilot. When the Heavy Mountain was released, I was tempted (most accounts say it runs better than the Light) but I thought it might make the 4807 look puny by comparison. It’s not like I really needed another loco anyway. [swg]
Mine was noisy when new (corrected somewhat), had a bent connecting rod (which I broke while attempting to straighten it - I made a new one from sheet brass), and could have pulled better. When I did the rebuild, I added new air tanks made from lead-filled brass tubing, and found other places to add weight inside. It’s balanced now and a very respectable puller. I also eliminated the plug system, as I run DC and don’t like working headlights. The loco was re-wired to allow running without the tender, but also picks-up current from the tender - when I get ambitious, I may modify the tender to all-wheel pick-up.
Wayne
Gidday, to you, Bear! Since I’ve pretty well solved the problem I had, a hijack isn’t a big deal. As to the headlight wiring, since I just got through substituting an LED for that weird bulb that was in one of my Lights, I may be able to help: The headlight wires are red and black on mine. They’re easy to follow and track to the connector PC board, once you’ve got the boiler/cab off. One screw under the stack, and the drawbar mounting screw, and the whole business (carefully!) lifts right off. (Be sure to pull the pilot braces out of the holes in the boiler.)
You might be able to help me a bit in return: can you figure a way to pull the light pipe piece that runs from the inside of the boiler front to the inside of the headlight? I’d like to run a 1.5v micro bulb into the headlight like I’ve done on my Spectrum Connies, but can’t see a way to get at that dumb light pipe.
p.s.: What’s an OFF?
I love the way you so casually say that! As to the noise, mine were a bit noisy as well, but they’re breaking in nicely. With all metal wheels in metal trucks, you don’t really hear the engine when it’s pulling a train! [swg]
Considering the quality of the appearance of Bachmann headlights (poor to “What’s up with that??” and “Blue headlights? Really??”), I can certainly understand not running with them, but my era (1953) pretty much calls for them. I’m good with the Connies, but the Mountains have got me a bit buffaloed. Still cogitatin’ on 'em.
Ahah! That’s my problem: most of my rolling stock still has plastic wheels. [(-D] I don’t change 'em unless they cause a problem.
Yeah, most folks like working lights, but they should at least be the proper colour. I came to really dislike them as I used to do custom painting and mechanical work for others, and almost everybody who wanted brass locos painted or re-motored also wanted working headlights. In those days, I was unaware of any mini-connectors that would allow the boiler (with the headlight and wires) to be connected to the chassis (the source of the power), yet still be easy to separate. Back-up lights added to the problem, and, of course, then required a circuit board to illuminate only the light facing the direction of travel. [banghead]
I’m modelling the '30s and partially free-lancing, so my home-road locos all run without lights. My modelled prototype interchange partners, the CNR and TH&B, may or may not have used daytime headlights in those days, but they definitely don’t in my version of things. [(-D]
It’s been a while since I de-lighted [swg] my Mohawk, but by the looks of the exploded view on the paper which came with it, you’ll need to separ
Gidday Gary, Thanks for your reply.
Firstly, “an off”. Short for “an off rail excursion ranging from a simple derailment to the expensive dive off the highest part of the layout resulting in a mangled, unrepairable, pile of your favourite locomotive on the only piece of bare concrete in the train room.”
To add to Waynes last post, if you look at the left side of the motor body you should see the 3 Phillips head screws that hold the halves together.I left the body lying on its side and split them just enough to remove the light pipe, it has locating tangs on the right hand side. At the risk of trying to teach you how to suck eggs just be careful that the insulating washers go back into their correct positions between the halves. Actually a LED is a good idea,might have to try it myself.
I received my “Light” as a box of "not mangled bits, it was literally a case of “take this if you can make use of the bits or they can go in the bin !” I’m afraid the Scots part of my ancestery was horrified by that idea so here I am.
The trouble is that I have no idea which socket the motor plug is supposed to fit into. Tried the Bachmann site with no luck, perhaps my query is lost in the interweb.
Cheers,the Bear.
Hi, Bear!
I’ve found these bits from the NMRA RP9.1.1 to be helpful:
RED from right-hand rail power pick-up (or center rail, outside third rail, traction/overhead wire) to motor or interface
ORANGE from interface to motor brush (+) connected to right-hand rail (or center rail, outside third rail, tractionwire)*
BLACK from left-hand rail power pick-up to motor or interface
GRAY from interface to motor brush (-) connected to left-hand rail *
WHITE front headlight(s) power sink
YELLOW rear headlight(s) power sink
BLUE common (+) headlight(s)/function(s) power source
BLACK with WHITE stripe common (-) power sink
Bachmann doesn’t always follow these exactly, but this color code can help.
To directly answer the red wire query: Red is always the “positive” lead - that is, a lead common with the right-hand rail when the locomotive is moving forward. For the wires where they were broken, it wouldn’t matter which is which, since it’s an incandescent bulb. If you put in an LED, then be sure to connect the positive side of the LED to the red wire, or your light will go on only when you’re going backwards. BTW, my locos do not have a PC board for the headlight. Just a plastic holder for the bulb.
I’m almost (99.95%) certain the motor will plug into the right-hand socket on the top of the connector PC board, but I don’t have either of mine open at the moment.
Note: The terms “right-hand” and “left-hand” or “right” and “left” are used with reference to a viewing position from behind the cab, looking forward.
I’ve had several of these locos apart, so yeah, I know about he washers…[:)]
Light Pipe(s): These engines have two (2) light pipes: One in the chassis/boiler weight, and the other fr
Between my poor note-keeping and haphazard parts-storage system, it’s difficult to figure out the solution to your problem. I’m not having much luck determining which circuitry parts are from my 4-8-2, but my notes indicate that the plug from the light (the one with the broken wires) plugs into the printed circuit board at the rear of the loco on the fireman’s side (left side if you were in the cab). Therefore, it would seem that the wires from the motor would plug into the receptacle on the engineer’s side (right) of the cab. This seems to match an unidentified single set of wires/circuit boards in my parts bin, even though some connectors have been removed (I save them only for parts useable on DC-powered locos).
The issue of the broken wires at the light should be resolved once everything else is plugged-in, as the headlight should light only when the loco is moving forward. Set the controller so that that loco will move forward, then, with a little power applied, touch the wires to the soldering-points. If the bulb fails to light, reverse the wires, then solder them in place.
EDIT: Since the headlight is a bulb, it should light regardless of which wire is soldered where. However, I believe that one of the circuit boards controls the “OFF” function when the loco is reversed. Either way, it shouldn’t hurt to try both ways. (And people question my dislike, on my own locos, of lights.) [(-D]
Wayne
Gidday Gentlemen, Thank you both for the info, should be able to sort the wiring out, “famous last words!”
Gary, Got all confused, somehow thought, (don’t know why ?, the onset of senility perhaps ?) you were referring to the fire box and actually started writing a detailed how-to when I actually read your post properly [oops] [banghead].
I am not game to try it on mine but I’d be tempted to drill out the headlight light pipe starting with a 1/16 drill bit working up to a 9/64 drill, drilling it to the depth of not more than 9/64 from the front of the headlight. Sorry can’t be more precise as my fine measuring gear is at work.
Silly question though, would it not be o.k to place the LED in the front of the chassis/boiler weight replacing that light pipe ??
Cheers, the Bear.
Hey Bear,
The idea is to get a bulb into the rear of the headlight housing itself, eliminating light pipes altogether. The light pipe from inside is s separate piece from the clear plastic inside the headlight housing, and can be removed, if you have the room to grab it with a pair of needle-nose pliers. If you pull that out (from inside the boiler), you have a nice-sized hole in the back of the headlight to slip a 1.5v micro bulb in. The wiring gets a bit more complex, but it’s doable. When lit, it lights up the entire inside of the headlight housing, instead of just a dot in the center of a dark housing.
As to moving the LED down from top center of the boiler weight to the front of the boiler weight, it would work, but you don’t gain anything by doing it. You’ve only eliminated one of the two light pipes, and you’re still piping the light from there into the headlight, and you’re still stuck with that dot in the cen