Large Scale Central

C.V.S.Ry. aquires Colorado & Southern coaches

General Discussion
#1

I finally founds some AMS Jackson & Sharp coaches at a reasonable price so I jumped on them. I’ve been running out-of-scale Bachmann cars with small engines and keeping them in the background of photos. I can finally bring the passenger train to the foreground!

After repairing some shipping damage, C&S #s 73 and 75 made their inaugural test run over the line today. These cars are heavy and have a lot of drag. C-19 #8 pulling the two cars and a short caboose began to slip on the steep grade passing the new planters…

Diesel M-11 was called in to help, and with the extra power I was successful at getting the train up the hill and around the wye. Here there are rounding Coal Dump Curve…

And down-grade at the same spot on the way home…

I’m planning on removing the power pick ups and adding on-board battery for lighting. Although this might help with the drag, I’m probably going to install roller bearings in the trucks. Anyone done that?

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2023: The Year in Review
#2

That are not in production any more correct?

#3

No, I don’t think so. I think Robbie at RLD may have some of the more recent ones, different roads.

#4

Jon,

I had forgotten how beautiful your railroad is! What a wonderful new home for those passenger cars!

Eric

#5

Thanks Eric. It needs a lot of work right now. Weeds have taken over most of the gardens. Only the sections in the pics above are presentable at the moment :slight_smile:

#6

More road trials today. I attempted another climb up the hill with one C-19 and just the two cars. It started to slip in the same place, and had to rescue with a diesel.

Second attempt with two C-19’s were successful.

Tomorrow will be rainy here (we really need it) so I’ll spend part of the day removing the power wipers and lubing all the axles. Once that is done I will test one more time with a single C-19. If still a no-go then I need to look into ball bearing inserts.

#7

What’s the grade your trying to climb?

#8

Average is 4%. There might be short sections that are more.

#9

I was thinking about starting to look for some to pull behind the K27 or C19 but I too will have some sections with 3-4%. So will be interested to see if the change helps. And video would be nice if possible.

#10

Rainy today. I’ll take some video tomorrow after I remove the wipers. I think the K is a better puller than the C-19 due to weight.

#11

Re-released recently:

The spec says “Metal ball bearing wheels” so they solved that problem!

Yes. The really easy way, which unfortunately is no longer available, was the ball bearing inserts supplied by Phil Dippel, along with replacement wheels. They worked great.

Most of my threads about converting these coaches are in the old files, so here’s a few photos.

The bearings came from Avid RC:
https://www.avidrc.com/product/1/bearings/367/4x7x2-Open-MR74-bearings.html

coach-ball-bearings1
coach-ball-bearings1710×720 65.7 KB

4mm axles so the4x7x2 work, though you have to drill the axleboxes out to 7mm for them. As you can see, the holes aren’t always concentric.

This is how I installed a battery for the new LED lights - wave a gas torch at the beamand then press the battery in place. I put a strap across the top to stop it falling out!

IMG_0906-battery-underfloor
IMG_0906-battery-underfloor720×435 48 KB

#12

Thanks Pete. Those trucks don’t quite look like the ones on my cars, but very similar.

I think removing the wipers and lubing the axles and bushings may have solved the issue. Road trial tomorrow.

#13

The power pick-up wipers are easy to remove so they can be replaced if desired. Two machine screws each and a touch from a soldering iron to remove the wire and they are gone.

That, and lubricating both the axles and bushings seemed to help a lot. With just this change I’m able to pull both around my nearly flat indoor with my little 0-4-0 side tank Porter. I’m pretty confident that will be enough for a single C-19 to pull both up the grade.

I need to source some Fn3 passengers, then I’ll open them up and replace the lamps with LEDs and a battery. It looks like a bunch of screws on the bottom to get inside.

Film tomorrow.

#14

Jon

All of our Accucraft passenger cars have ball bearings.

The origional Accucraft wheels have large axels. Most other brands have 1/8" ( 3mm) axles.

Aristocraft used to sell 3.1x6mm ball bearings. Today the 3.0x6mm ball bearigs are relatively inexpensive but you need to file down the 3mm axels just a little to get thtm to fit in the axels,

You simply remove the brass insert on the truck sideframes and insert the ball bearings.

Stan

#15

So I’m guessing they don’t make a new on in the combine?

#16

Sounds great Stan. Thank you!

If a single C-19 can get the pair up the grade as-is then I’ll leave them be, but I’m glad to know the tricks/sizes if they don’t. I think I might have enough Aristo metal wheels on-hand to do this. I’m thinking I could chuck one end in a drill to help with the filing process.

I did something similar with Aristo wheels to get them to fit in AMS freight trucks back when the AMS wheel profile was too fine scale for outdoor use. Had to shorten and bevel the axles.

#17

They do. RLD has several road names in stock at a really nice price.

#18

I think those are the older ones not the new ones with ball bearing wheels.

#19

I chuck the axle in my hand drill and squeeze the other axle end with emery paper. Yes, 3mm bearings and 3.1mm axles need a little tlc.

The brass inserts are newer than the trucks I had! Mine just had brass axleboxes with holes drilled in them.
A little superglue helps to keep them in place.

#20

The instructions are in my G.A.L. coach pages, which are no longer online!! Google new sites lost them. Here’s the PDF with the instructions for dismatling the old type:

Contruction Notes for GAL Combine -c.pdf (1.9 MB)

Newer ones had less of a slot in the bottom of the coach side, so it is easier to pry the floor out.

In the middle of the floor, under the seats, is a 5V voltage regulator for the lights.