BIRTH OF A 3 TRUCKER

[Rick_Marty]

Making some real progress now, The wiring is going in well.

When I first started this project I contacted Jonathan at Electric Steam ModelWorks and told him what I had in mind. I knew I wanted the AirWire G3 and the Phoenix P8 but was open for suggestions as to what battery. I have used NIMA batteries in everything up to this time and have been perfectly satisfied with their operation. Jonathan suggested that it may be time to switch over to Li-Ion technology and listed all the pros and cons of doing so. Though it meant buying a new charger as well I decided to go with the Li-Ion for the 3 trucker.

Not to overdo it but I have to say it is a real pleasure working with someone as professional and helpful as Jonathan. He emailed me a list of everything I would need and the price I would pay, no shipping charges, no back orders, no substitutions.

I placed the order and within a few days it was in my hands. Everything checked and tested, patch cords pre-wired, sound card programmed, and ready to install, all done by Jonathan so that it was ready for my use.

I sat and studied the books on the G3 and the P8, developed and drew a complete wiring diagram of the 3 truck installation. I then scanned it and sent it to Jonathan who checked it over and found one mistake on my part and emailed me the corrective information and more helpful advice.

I now felt confident to proceed with the actual wiring install without worrying about setting off the smoke alarm.

By my design thinking everything had to go in the water tender, it sure looked plenty big enough until I actually started trying to fit everything in there, suddenly it started looking pretty small. But by making a few adjustments to the tender layout and my thinking I managed to just squeeze it all in. Sure glad I went with the smaller Li-Ion battery pack now! Here is a test fit of the main components.

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/rick_marty/3truckbuild/3TBA46.jpg)

The biggest problem with all components being in the water tender was that 10 wires had to run forward to the main locomotive chassis. This took a little head scratching to come up with an idea that would actually work without glitches. I decided that the plug ends on the water tender would be mounted solid to the frame as seen here. The plug and wires would slide in the mounting brackets on the main chassis.
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http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/rick_marty/3truckbuild/3tba47.jpg)

The Idea being that the water tender would pull away from the main chassis far enough to get hands in between to do the hookup then the wires would slide up into the oil bunker on the main chassis and the draw bar pin could be dropped in. This idea is shown in the next two pictures.

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/rick_marty/3truckbuild/3tba48.jpg)

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/rick_marty/3truckbuild/3tba49.jpg)

OK, enough for tonight, more to come.

Thanks for taking a look

Rick

[Rick_Marty]

Finishing up the wiring.

Once I got the frame together and the plugs sorted out I thought it would be a good idea to see if it would actually function on the tightest curve on the railroad. I jury rigged the wiring and test ran the chassis on the Smith Camp siding (7 foot radius entry curve) and had some derail issues between the second and third truck. By lengthening the draw bar 1/4 inch it solved the problem.

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/rick_marty/3truckbuild/3tba50.jpg)

I also ran it through all the s-curve cross-overs in the Humboldt Yards and with the longer draw bar it moved through flawlessly.
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http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/rick_marty/3truckbuild/3tba51.jpg)

OK everything connected (except the hot leg from the battery to the BIK) double checked and re-double checked. Make the final connection and close up the tender shell.
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ttp://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/rick_marty/3truckbuild/3tba52.jpg)

OK, up on rollers and ready to check, test, and start. This is when I sent Jonathan (Electric Steam ModelWorks) an email asking when he would be available by telephone to walk me through this. I recieved an email back with a suggested time so I gave him a call a couple days later. Jonathan patiently led me by the hand through the programming and we tested each phase and then did it again to be sure I understood how to do it. Even so I told him to expect another phone call because I will most likely forget how before long.
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ttp://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/rick_marty/3truckbuild/3tba53.jpg)

Now on to the detailing and weathering and putting it all together.

Thanks for following along.

Rick

[jake3404 (Jake Smith)]

Looks great Rick, Your wiring is a lot cleaner than mine.

[Rick_Marty]

In service!!

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http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/rick_marty/3truckbuild/3tba54.jpg)

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/rick_marty/3truckbuild/3tba55.jpg)

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/rick_marty/3truckbuild/3tba56.jpg)

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http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/rick_marty/3truckbuild/3tba57.jpg)

Thanks for following along.

Rick

[Noel_Wilson]

Look great. Nice work and detail.
Like the way you mounted the water suction hose. But, why are there hoses around the compressor?
Oh… maybe fire hose. I now see the steam driven water pump.

[Bart_Salmons]

Nice job! And I see you have a proper hard suction on the Firemans side…instead of the limp firehose everyone seems to want to hang there…

[Ric_Golding]

Very nice

[Rick_Marty]

Bringing this to the top, enjoy the pictures.