I just received a little used 0-8-0 that I will convert to DCC with sound. Fortunately it’s DCC ready. It’s easy to get in the tender and I will remove the circuit boards and hard wire a Select decoder, replacing the light bulb with an LED. The boiler front just pulls out so adding a DCC headlight will be similarly easy.
I want to get inside the loco to clean and lube the gears but can’t see how to do it. I found an old thread but the guy that said he had additional info is no longer active here. I’ve shown the loco diagram below, full size and zoomed in a little. The worm gear is on the rear driver and cannot be seen from the sides. The instructions say “By extracting the body shell from the chassis, the snap on cover over the drive worm gear can be removed”. But no info on how to do that.
I’ve removed the chassis bottom cover center two screws hoping there was a small cover. But the diagram appears to show that the cover (#178) is large, with three more screws at the front (see also the photo). Two other screws seem to hold the front coupler and rear connection plug to this chassis bottom. And there are many plastic piping and brake connections from the boiler down to the chassis, so I’m not wanting to try to pull the boiler and cab upward if I loosen more screws. So, I conclude I need exact instructions from someone who knows this beast.
I’ve included the loco diagram plus two photos.
Any help much appreciated!
If I remember correctly either the screw for the wire plug goes all the way to the shell or there is a screw to the shell under the plug. Pull the injector lifters under the cab off their inserts on the frame then lift the rear of the shell and slide forward. The front of the shell rest in a slot between the cylinder saddle and the internal motor frame, with no screws.
RDG Casey,
Thanks, indeed the cab retaining screw is hidden by the connector assembly which first must be loosened. That’s got the cab end loose where I can lift it slightly. But the front of the boiler seems to be very tight to the cylinder area, not indicating any looseness nor wanting to slide forward without undue force. I thought I’d better check before trying harder.
I tried removing the center of the 3 screws near the cylinders but that does not help. Cautious about the other 2 screws there as I want to avoid totally undoing the inner assemblies inadvertantly. Any other suggestions?
EDIT: I looked at your website. You’ve done a lot of superior work. Please understand that trying something that poses no qualms for you may be somewhat scary for me. I hate breaking things when i could avoid it.
Thanks!
No offence taken at all, just trying to be helpful, the 0-8-0 I have looks quite different now. With new cylinders I had to remake a fastening system having a screw go through the cylinders into a nut glued to the bottom of the smoke box. I am pretty sure it was just smooth before I altered it, unfortunalty I didn’t take any pictures showing the unaltered shell. But I remember having to shave off the molded cylinder saddle off the bottom of the smoke box for it to sit right on the new cylinders. I also seem to remember it was rather tight, you have to lift the back so the bottom mount can slide over the internal weight/motor mount. I also can’t be the only one to have played with one of these haha.
A lot is based on memory, I did the project 2 years ago at this point.
Here’s some followup in case anyone searches for this in the future. I removed the 3 screws from the front and pulled up and saw movement of the boiler from the frame. I began to see what was keeping the boiler front in place. You will see in the 1st photo below a vertical cylinder at the bottom of the boiler that goes into a round hole in the frame crosspiece between the cylinders. You can see the frame hole in the 2nd photo. The boiler front has to be raised a considerable amount, with a fair amount of force due to a tight fit, before the cylinder clears. I think the center screw goes into the vertical cylinder hanging from the boiler.
I wasn’t sure what of the small parts had to give or could first be pried off. The pilot ladders apparently were glued…one separated at the top, the other at the bottom. Anyway, I got to lube the worm gear (essentially dry) and motor shaft. This loco is really encased when the shell is off.
Thanks to RDG Casey for pointing me in the right direction.
Here’s a shot of the tender insides prior to getting ready for DCC. I’m thinking of trying a Select micro 3/4 amp (usually use the 6Aux 1 amp) to maximize speaker enclosure room. I’ll most likely use dual 13x18mm sugarcubes. I always add real coal atop the load. Undecided whether to drill holes in the load and add the coal, or drill holes in the weight and bottom to let the sound out there. Will a glued coating of coal stifle the sound or have enough voids to allow the sound through? Or, perhaps add the cal, then drill the holes, than add a dusting of coal final layer for minimal blocking of the holes.
[IMG]http://i1305.photobucket.com/albums/s558/