Update…
Being at “all stop” for want of the correct idler gears to repair Gustav, our LGB m2071D ( LGB 0-6-2T: BadMotor, Bad Gears, Both, or Something Else?) , I turned two on this, the next item on the Triple O - 2023 Plans & Objectives list, but only after I did some M.O.W. work to get trains rolling. I find I work better with the rolling motivation in the background!
Once that was done, I reread this thread. I also did one last cost-benefit analysis of adding a battery and, possibly, an R/C system. I decided to just fix the cable as I would need that for a battery conversion, anyway, and a battery system beyond a DPDT switch would destroy my budget for the next 6 months. Maybe I can get some Lithium Ion batteries my next run to CONUS, as the shipping is outrageous.
O.S. was working on his plane, so I had his company. Other than that, it was just the 1:24 gang, the tech manual, and I. I retested everything to make sure I understood the problem then proceeded to break down Nuernberg.
There are some tricky screws, but nothing like North Star, our venerable B’mann 4-6-0!
I checked one more time for broken soldering points…
…while the paintshop added a dollop of white to the female connector in the tender to make sure I didn’t short the motor (note: ultimately this was the wrong side!).
From there, I clipped off the old cable and soldered on the new one.
Naturally, at least one solder joint failed.
The one guy in the lower right of the picture had just passed out after thinking I made a soldering joint without screwing something up. Fooled him!
I fixed that and decided to give the motor box a thorgough cleaning. There was some “gear-fetti.” I used Q-tips and alcohol to remove the old grease before adding a smidge of fresh gear grease. I also took the opportunity to oil the running gear. While beginning reassembly, I noted that one of the bus bars had come out of alignment. Closer inspection indicated both may have been kapakahi for some time. I also noticed the springs in the pick-up shoes had long ago lost their springiness! New shoes are now on my parts list. After getting everything back in place…
…reassembly was pretty easy (I did drop one screw…a small one…naturally). I tested as I went to make sure that I had not knocked anything out of place. My test track decided to give me grief, so the 1:24 gang and I took Nuernberg out to the tracks, and gave him a run…
Video: Nuernberg on the Blocks
It has since dawned on me that this tested nothing since, of course, the drivers picked up electricity from the tracks via the test rollers. Not to worry! Remember those unspringy-springs? Because of this, the pickup shoe dipped under the flange of the closure rail on a switch that is partially disconnected from the ties. I assure you, all now derailed drivers turned mightily with only the cable from the tender providing power!
I jammed a bit of HardieBacker under the switch mechanism, and all was well. It was nice to see how slowly and smoothly “he” could pull with all wheels sending power to the motor. To be honest, this is the best Nuernberg has run in years. All that was left to do was to let the crew high-ball
back to the shops and Pu’u’oma’o…
Video: 1:24 Crew Heading Home
…and celebrate my success!
Thanks for all the tips! On to the next project!
Eric