I had mentioned in a previous post that I was wondering about repowering some old AHM “Big Steam” locomotives. It would appear that I may have a larger, more fundamental problem in that they don’t seem to pick up power all that well. The 2-8-8-2 likes to hang on switches even though it appears that four drivers on each side of the loco handle the power pickup.
Is anyone familiar with basic pickup problems that these engines might have and simple solutions to those issues? It appears as though at least one of the engines has had some pickup shoes added to it so someone has tried to address this problem previously.
Do any manufacturers still make the pickup shoes? I kind of remember a company making them a long time ago… was it Tomar or Taurus… something like that?
Any solutions that you may have for the pickup problem would certainly be appreciated. These locos belonged to my late brother so I have no intention of replacing them.
I know of it all too well. The springs inside the contacts have lost their “spring” and don’t make contact with the inside face of the flanges. I wish I could tell you how to fix the problem as it has resulted in my Big Boy being sidelined.
Another problem is the the brushes in the motors. Their crap! tried cleaning them, intensifying the spring to them and nada, no go.
Hard to believe Rivarossi was the priemer Locomotive at one time.
As to the pickup shoes, Tomar is the manufacturer, I use them on all of my brass locos. I don’t exactly know how you’d get them to work on the Rivarossi locos, but I would think that since each driver set is insulated from the other for the pickups, it should be a pretty easy installation, with one shoe on each non-insulated side of the drivers. The Tomars come with very easy instructions for installation. All you need is a #60 drill bit and a #90 tap (which you can get from Walthers) for installing the screws that hold the Tomar tabs on.
Another option is to add electrical wipers to all or most of the tender wheels and wire the tender to the engine. I did this with my Rivarossi USRA 0-6-0, and it helped a LOT. Kadee centering springs work very well as electrical wipers, and they’re easy to solder wires to.
Darth is on the right track, so to speak. [:-^] Earlier versions of the 2-8-8-2 had the drivers pick up power from one rail, and the tender picked up the other. That lengthened the pickup wheelbase enough that power problems were rare, so wiring the tender for all-wheel pickup and adding some weight would make it bulletproof. Is this the newer red box version with the motor in the boiler?
Fergie,
Do the brush springs have any corrosion on them? A soak in white vinegar or penetrating oil will loosen that up. If that’s not it, then you may have a shot commutator, or an open winding. I’ve found those motors to run forever with basic maintenance, but I often replace them for performance reasons. CD tray motors work well in place of the standard motor, and All Electronics has a Canon motor that’s a perfect fit for the old Big Boy and Challenger.
