Perhaps this post should appear on a different forum, but I decided I’d start here. I have a brass (?) body plated E5 (Hallmark) for the CB&Q that is numbered and ID’d for the Sam Houston Zephyr. It has a serious problem of shorting across the rails on certain portions of the layout where the track has a slight grade change and the front touches the rails briefly. I think the problem is that it simply sits too low.
Question obviously is, what is the proper solution? If the resolution is to raise it by adding spacers where the trucks attach to the frame, what are the correct kind of spacers, etc. Is there a way to insulate the front of the body so if it momentarily touches the track, it won’t make an electric short?
It sounds as if the pilot of the E-5 is touching the rails–I have a lot of brass and they are built to VERY close tolerances. One solution would be to paint the very bottom of the pilot with a thin coating of clear epoxy, which would insulate it whenever it comes in contact with the rails. Also, have you checked to see if the pilot has perhaps become bent down a little? If so, VERY gently pressing up, you might obtain the proper clearance. I don’t know how the lead truck is attached to the frame, but another solution would be to use a thin brass washer as a shim, which would lift the pilot just enough to clear the rails.
How sudden are your grades? With brass locos, it’s always a good idea to have a short ‘transition’ track 1/2 the percent of the grade it’s climbing to ease it into the climb. Usually between 4 to 8 actual inches will do the trick.
These are some ideas. Hope one of them might work for you, that Hallmark E-5 is a beautiful locomotive.
I don’t have an brass engines, but I have read of this problem with some of them. I feel that the pilots were mounted a bit low, perhaps by error, by design, or by a combination. As Tom suggests, a thin styrene shim epoxied to the nether side of the lower lip of the pilot, or a coating of clear nail polish, or the epoxy itself, will help until any of these problems recur because of wear.
You do do a bit of any of the following: file away about 6-10 thou of the pilot’s lower lip (yikes!), add the thin shim/cover/coating, and alter your grade transitions… It sounds to me as if the lion’s share of the blame for your predicament might be in the state of your tracks. It is to your credit that “…contact is usually simultaneous on each rail” because that suggests good skills. But I would guess you have problems where you change grades, including inadvertently. If you find a way to have an eased transition about 7" per half-percent of grade change, you should be fine.
A ‘sometimes’ problem with Japanese-made carbody type powered units is the use of a single, rather light piece of strip brass for a body bolster. If your diesel has that configuration, see if it has been bent upward. I’ve found the same problem on catenary motors and even DMU cars - if they get soundly bumped, wheels down, the body bolster WILL yield. That results in low couplers, low pilots (your symptom) and even truck swing interference in some cases.
The best solution is to stop the pilot from touching the track!! Either you need to remove/revise your grades so they are gradual enough that the pilot doesn’t come in contact with the rails, or modify the pilot - either file/sand the bottom edge enough so it doesn’t touch, then touch up the paint, or remove the pilot and replace it with a higher-sitting aftermarket one.
I’ve taken another close look at the problem and the clearance on a truly flat track between the bottom of the pilot and the track is simply too close to allow for operation with any grade change at all. I may be able to raise the entire body about 1/16 inch (maybe less) and solve the problem.
The engine has another problem that I’d also like some feedback on. It is unbelieveably noisy. It runs great, but sounds like someone is grinding up buckets of nuts and bolts. At first, I attributed this to the plated metal body providing no sound insulation, but quickly realized that it was more than that.
Question is: Has anyone had experience with this model, now out of production 30 plus years? If so, did you have the same noise problem? Is remotoring the only reasonable solution?
. I would replace the original motor with a Mashima (A-Line) snd a couple of flywheels, that willcut down about half the noise. I would also add Labelle’s 108 Teflon grease to the noisy metal truck gears which also will help to quiet it down. It will also run a lot smoother.
The only real option with the pilot is to shorten it. If you don’t care about its “brass collector’s” value and you want to run the engine it’s worthwhile to file/grind down that pilot by 1/16 or 3/32" so it will operate better. The scale-height pilot is fine if you’re just going to stick it on a shelf. If you going to run her then some compromise and modification may be in order.
Not to hijak mikes thread but I have a brass sd-7 by hallmark. It too has a short problem. My problem is that the rear truck tower touches a lip on the inside, it is about a 1/4 in wide all the way aroung the rear truck tower. I want to grind it back but i am afraid that the solder joints will break. I though about electrical tape around the area but it also limits the truck travel imensly so the best would be to grind. Any suggestions on how to remove this lip without destroying the train.