I drove my car this morning. Approached the seat with apprehension, but once in the seat everything was very comfortable. Thought I might have to drive with my left foot, not necessary. But didn’t stay out too long, get tired very quickly.
Barry - BBT
Glad to hear you made it through the surgery and are on the road to recovery! Hang in there.
Barry Olsen said:
I drove my car this morning. Approached the seat with apprehension, but once in the seat everything was very comfortable. Thought I might have to drive with my left foot, not necessary. But didn't stay out too long, get tired very quickly.Barry - BBT
You take care, ya hear?
My apologies, but this was starting to look like a blog.
I am the most uncomfortable I have ever been for any period of time.
Change is occurring, but nothing descriptive. Still uncomfortable.
Will see the Doc on the 8th. Basically his advise was to do what I could handle.
The wound area is covered with a clear polymer, to only advice was that if I was going to cough, to put my hand on the scar to hod the pressure in place.
Barry - BBT
Had my follow-up with the surgeon. Basically, I am released. Have a new script for sulpha and instructions to keep the wound clean and dry.
I will be in the shop tomorrow, have a couple of maintenance items, then the set up to mill the lower end for the bottom cover.
I will let you know how all this goes tomorrow.
Barry - BBT
Good to hear Barry.
Hope your recovery continues smoothly.
Ralph
Barry
Glade your doing better. Don’t over do it and stay safe.
This is the most debilitating experience I have ever gone through. Now, although getting better, a bit more each day. I can’t get it to go away fast enough. Tomorrow I will be in the shop and I will be starting my “walking program”. My friend Sam says he’ll join me.
Barry - BBT
My surgeon had put me on sulpha drus for the healing of the incision, to preclude any infection. I got 20 pills in the first Rx, went in to get a refill yesterday. The Pharmacist asked to speak with me and I said but it’s just a refill.
She pointed out to me that the sulpha might be causing an interaction with one of my BP medicines. Took the prescription, went home and read all of the possible interactions.
Mulling all of this over, I have stopped taking the sulpha pills. I have been lackadaisical and lacking any energy.
Making everything more difficult. So I am one day off of the pills and am feeling a bit better, but that could be in my head. We’ll see.
Barry - BBT
Barry,
Sounds like you have a good Pharmicist.
Too bad the Doctor didn’t catch this. He should have.
Hope you get to feeling better.
Ralph
Barry, Glad to hear you’re gettting better. Take time and heal other things can wait…thats why God invented tommorow!! Dave
I made the right move. I’m feeling better today than any day since the op.
Tomorrow the shop (maybe today, too). Got a bunch of errands done, still have a couple to do.
Barry - BBT
glade your feeling better. i will see you Wednesday.
Stay safe.
Docter’s are only human,mistakes can kill. I was getting worried. In God we trust, docter’s aren’t God.
Finally, got into the shop.
Checked out the match of the bottom of the main box and the Gear cover. The trick here is that the hole to be drilled into the main box, the lower cover and the gear cover. The bearings are on the split. This is where the gearbox is lowered onto the axle, align the axle gear properly, tighten the set screw hard. Attach the gear cover and the gearbox install is complete. The tooling is good, but I need to make a different clamp to hold the ass’y of the main box, lower cover and the gear cover. With that in place the bearing hole for the axle can be drilled.
Also tackled an old problem, for a new customer. He wanted to buy some Bachmann replacement plunger contact sets. I quoted a price of $5.00 for four. Then got to thinking I really didn’t want to sell them, know that in a short period of time they would fail. The current for the pickups travels through a very nice brass plunger, then to the spring, the backing plate, where the contact wire is soldered. The problem is and always has been that the current travels through the spring, which weakens its ability to apply pressure to the plunger and pickup current.
Well, I solved the problem for the BBT drives with track power by carrying the spring and plunger in a brass tube, the springs never fail, and th pickups have a very long life.
So the question became how to bypass the spring and collect current directly from the plunger. I enlarged a small hole in the backing plate to 1/16". Drilled a 1/16" hole in the back of the plunger. I will solder a short section of #26 or 28 wire to the hole in the plunger, thread the spring onto the bottom of the plunger, thread the wire out the back of the backing plate. Put the two screws into the backing plate and into th plastic housing. Done. The plunger can move in and out the current goes through the plunger to the wire and on to the wire harness. Feel free to use this solution and share with your friends.
One other, I have used these plungers for years as relief valves on the steam dome of a 4-6-0, the flagstaff bases on each end of Porter Pilot beams, and anyplace else it looks good.
I’ll be in the shop tomorrow.
Barry - BBT
Barry it sounds as if you doing better and Praise the Lord! I finally received the sick C-25 back from Ecuador. The drive was ok the problem was that the No. 1 counterweight on the left side was off! We will still install your new drive system to ensure that we don’t have drive problems in the future.
Best regards
Doug Hemmeter
Doug,
Good to hear from you. Appreciate your problem, I don’t know the C-25 that well. The new gearbox needs/uses .250" axles (the Connie axles measure .249"). I hope this is not a problem. Is this one of the C-25s you created from a Connie? (Just remembered).
Am having to change the tooling for the lower end. Not done yet.
Barry - BBT
Have been working on the gearbox tooling and the process. One of the tricky parts of this gearbox is that the bottom plate and the two gearbox plates have to be drilled at the same time, this makes one 3/8" hole split between the lower cover and the two gearbox plates. Also the screw holes in the bottom plate have to be drilled at the same time when the gearbox main body and the lower cover are in place.
The machining of the mainbody and the lower cover in order to accept the bottom cover is cute and tricky, this has been no fun, but I am nearing the end. I am building two gearboxes, with the thought in mind that one may fail, if not Dave (TOC) will get two boxes to test.
Hopefully, I will be ready to ship come monday.
Barry - BBT
Barry
The C-25 is indeed made from a Connie. I did five some years back. I plan to do at least 3 more of No. 375 the way she looked when the D&RGW obtained the engine from the Crystal River RR. It does not look like same engine. Two many engines to built and not enough time.
I am currently in Vicksburg, MS loading Gas Turbines and Generators onto Heavy weight rail cars. Don’t known when I’ll get out of here, between the issues with heavy haul contractor in getting the units from the power plant into the rail yard and short line railroad having track issues with the heavy cars in getting them switched over to the Kansas City Southern. Just having a great time.
Trust all is well and you are on the mend.
Best regards
Doug Hemmeter
To all,
I have sent off the first production gearbox /motor to Dave Goodson for test and the completion of his part of the installation instructions. Please be advised, I am trying to put instructions together which will preclude installation by the manufacturer (me). It is just too costly(particularly shipping). I am convinced that with a proper instruction set a “first-timer” can make this installation/conversion.
The production process is becoming more clear as I process each gear box. I am now working gearbox 2, 3,
and ?.
If the preproduction unit is any indication, this will be my best conversion unit so far.
The price point has been established and will be communicated to my customers on my list. Others later.
I do appreciate everyone’s patience and I hope the product will prove worth the wait.
Barry - BBT