Did you ever have one of those projects that you knew was so simple and straightforward that nothing could possibly go wrong (yeah right). I had an old Atlas RS-3 that was probably 20 years old. It was made by Kato so it was a good runner. However, it was sitting on the shelf in pieces, I can’t remember why or what I had planned to do with it, but it had been sitting there for a few years. So with the price of new locomotives getting pretty high I figure I’ll drop a few bucks on this one and it will be as good as new. I check it out and order new parts that are broken or missing along with a inexpensive decoder and I go to work on it, HOW HARD COULD IT BE! I replace the parts and install the decode and put it on the track and nothing. It says it can’t read the CV values, then it does, then it runs backward instead of forward, then it can’t read the values again. OK, no big deal I’ll take it apart and see what’s wrong. Turns out it was a piece of stranded wire coming off the truck was shorting from time to time. Anyway, I put everything back together and give it a try. Now it’s working better but still needs some tinkering. I’m several hours into this project now. So, I have to install LEDs because it didn’t have directional lighting originally and that means more soldering, more wiring, and more components. Plus I gotta fit all this stuff into a body with very close tolerances. So, while I’m fiddling around with the body I accidently knock the chassis onto the floor. Make no mistake about it, when a plastic and metal train hits a concrete floor there is only gonna be one winner and it ain’t gonna be the train! So, now the engine is sitting back on the shelf (in more pieces than it was when I started, Plus I’m out the money I spent for the parts). I figure the time I spent plus what I spent on parts, a new locomotive wasn’t such a bad deal after all. Oh Well,the heck with it, I’m going to go out and get something to eat. I don’t dare try to cook anything after this! Thanks for letting me vent!
So, I would walk away too. However, I would come back to it for two reasons.
One would be to hone my modeling skills and see if I could put it back together and get it running.
And two, so it wouldn’t beat me and answer the challange.
When I did put it back together, I might make it look like a wreck. By that I mean old, used, worked on by many shops, and still moving. Some rust to be sure, and lots of grime.
At least it wasn’t a new loco you were working on.
Now you have an excellent candidate for a wreck scene.
Keep the faith, sometimes shells come up for sale and you could go through the same bit all over again. (Leave out the knock to the floor, I think you’d be happier).
We’re not permitted by forum rules to print, or to even signify with symbols, what came out of my mouthy, rather loudly, when I knocked three locomotives off a shelf about 14 months ago.
Nuff said.
Well, okay, I’ll add this: I send one away and fixed the other two myself with little problems or time. I got off lucky, except in the case of the one I had to return to BLI, the metal Y6b.
I’ve done several of the Atlas RS-3s. For installign LEDs, the trick is to cut down the light pipes, leave the first clip that holds it to the shell and a little extra. Use some extra fine sandpaper to smooth the cut side. I used some shrink wrap, a coupel differnet sizes, to attach the LED to the end of the light pipe. Plenty of room for all this. To keep the light pipe in place, use a dab of caulk or soem white glue, it will hold in place to it won;t fall out during operation but you can pop it loose if you ever need to.
I have 3 more undec ones that need some detail modifications and painting, one of these days I’ll get around to it, especially since RS-3’s are my all-time favorite locomotive.
Every General has a plan until the first shot…or, as we say in the construction business, it takes however long it takes - that’s why it’s called an “estimate”.
I was thinking about shrink wrap tubing or some other type of small diameter flexible tubing, maybe Tygon or something similar. I’m finding that updating these older locomotives isn’t as easy one might think. This early Kato stuff was very high quality but electrically very simple. It’s easy enough to replace the original circuit board (if you can call it that) with a decoder, but getting the lights to work again requires a fair bit of ingenuity. Anyway, I ordered new parts to replace the newly damaged ones. I’ll get it fixed eventually.
The Kato locos are ones I usually make an exception to my “just use a basic wired decoder” rule and throw in a board repalcement type. Super simple, the conenctors ont eh ends of the wires that Kato uses do slip over the circuit board traces - at which point I then solder them for reliability. The light pipes are a bit of a hassle but you almost certainly have to leave at least the ends because they contain the lenses for the headlights. Once you do one after the fashion I mentioned, yo’ll see it’s not actually that difficult or hard to deal with. Very few of my other locos get board replacement decoders, do far I have TCS T1’s in everything else except my 44-tonner (need an MC2 there) and my Stewart AS16’s (DP2 works easiest there). Otherwise I generally strip out any factory lighting board and hard wire a T1 and add LEDs for the lights. Some Proto 2000 light boards are a complete mess, especially the ones that have all these traces marked to cut when installing a decoder. SO much easier to bypass all that junk. I try to take pictures of differnet ones, you cna get to them on my web site. Of course I don;t have pictures of the Atlas RS-3. I’ll try to get some when I get around to doing the others.