I have recently installed DCC in my pair of Rivarossi 4-8-4 Northerns (Union Pacific). They ran like champs until I did, now they run very poorly. I established that the motors were pulling way to many amps, so I purchased new motors for them from Northwest Short Line. Now I am having issues with attaching the drive line to the shaft of the motor. Also, finding a solid mounting point that will accommodate the smaller motor is an issue. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Plastic tubing. Rubber tubing.
But have you considered buying decoders with a higher amperage rating? In a locomotive of the 4-8-4 size there is lots of room for an O or G scale size decoder.
I switched from a Digitrax decoder to an NCE and that helped some. But still doesn’t perform as it did. There is actually not all that much space in the loco body unless I put the decoder in the tender, the way I have it set up is the wiring sits ontop of the weight and is accessable through the steam dome.
Is this an older Rivarossi with a cab-mounted round motor? Or is it a newer one with a boiler mounted motor and flywheel?
If you’ve got an older one, you can connect the motor with flexible tubing, or by using NWSL universals. The best way is with the universals, but good quality tubing will work nearly as well.
I’m assuming that these are older units, since the new versions had good can motors and were DCC ready.
What motor did you select, RJ? This is an old NWSL Sagami, and fortunately the screw holes lined up perfectly. All I had to do was widen the bearing slot in the motor mount with my Dremel. Unlike most old Rivarossi steamers, there’s room to spare in the boiler for a large motor.
This was an test run. Later, I cut another piece of 2mm shaft that spans the entire gap between the motor and the worm shaft, and used one long piece of silicone fuel line tubing to avoid any wobble, then covered the end the worm shaft with shrink tubing to keep the fuel line from slipping. You can do it this way, or just use NWSL plastic universals. Runs like a Swiss watch now.
I went with the 12270-9 as it was one of 2 that NWSL reccomended to me for the job. I actually wanted the 10203-9 as it had a higher torque and the other is a speed motor. Sadly, the screwholes are smaller and narrower than the existing holes. I think what I will be doing is taking the wide part, and removing it and then building a new one for this motor. I tried using some pieces of styrene but it was a bit flimsy. I took the existing driveshaft, and glued a piece of solid round stylrene rod in it, but when I drilled it to make a press fit the motor driveshaft is too slick to hold it. I cna post ohotos later if you want ot see.
Hi “Steamfreak”. I need to re-power the same engine (R/R 836). Could you tell me the Sagami part number and the can dimensions of the motor shown in your photo (The one that fits the existing mount and holes). I just converted mine to DCC with sound and it runs ok except that the low speed is jerky.
Thanks, Tm
Sadly I cannot help. I remotored a 2-8-4 berk and it has a whole different set of problems. Mine had a off center driveline that made it troublesome to get the drive line and motor square. After a good bit of grinding the frame I did manage to get a Tan Can motor in and a short piece of rubber tubing. It runs quiet now and runs smooth but needs better pickups and it does stall out(maybe dirty wheels and track). It was a good project and it got weathered real nice now it is ready to sell. That was my only interest was to work on it and sell it. Practice for upcoming personal projects.
Terry, the NWSL part number for that Sagami was 2027, but they haven’t been made since the plant was destroyed in the Kobe earthquake in 1995. I would look at NWSL’s site for a current equivalent. Here’s there motor comparison chart.
http://www.nwsl.com/motors-power-drives/quick-reference-chart
I still have the original spec sheet, and it looks like the 20275-9 is closest. It’s 27mm long as opposed to the Sagami’s 25.5, but I don’t think an extra 1.5mm will be a deal breaker. There’s a lot of room inside that boiler. The Sagami was rated at 9100 RPM @ 12v, and the new one is only 700 RPM faster. Sounds like a match.
Don’t know if this is useful, but you can make your own motor mounts from sheet brass and some angle. I cut a piece of brass sheet - probably less than 1/16 think to about 1/2 inch wide by about 1 inch long. Then I solder the angle to the edge of the long sides to make a cradle. Drill and tap a hole on the bottom to mount to your frame. On my PFM brass, there is a piece that the old motor sits on that is attached to each side of the frame with screws. It allows you to slightly change the angle the motor aligns with the gearbox. I just screw my cradle to that piece and fill the cradle with silicone adhesive and plop the motor onto it. The silicone holds the motor securely in the cradle and provides cushion to dampen vibrations. Use your flex tubing or universals to connect to your gearbox.
This guys website was a great help to me
http://markschutzer.com/Brass_Clinics/RebuildingBrass2006small.pdf
Chris
Thanks for the quick responses. They are very helpful. Terry M
The 22243-9 also looks like a possibility, being a little shorter & squatter at 22 x 24mm, and 10,500 RPM.