I just finished a one month rehab of a basket case CV. As a side note, I tried one of those new fangled screw type LED bulbs in place of the large incandescent bulb in the headlight , and I wanted to mention that it gives off a very pleasing blue tint while still protruding as the original from the casing. Sounds contradictory to tinplate but it looks more realistic, for what it's worth, just to pass this along.Should last longer tried them on accessories, dimmer than incandescent but looks good on street lamps that now don't overwhelm their setting.
I have a second CV I am pondering turning into a dummy steamer so I can double head consists..has anyone tried this? Any tips? I am thinking of gutting the motor and leave the rods as they are..Cutting into the sloped shell to get a coupler in seems to be the biggest challenge as well as mounting it square with enough swing for O27.
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
This might help.
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/p/172006/1888236.aspx#1888236
balidas This might help. http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/p/172006/1888236.aspx#1888236
Thanks. I had forgotten about David's post which is surprising because I have always enjoyed and appreciated them. In particular the videos.While it is a primer on Lionel post war double headed steam, the Marx still seems somewhat more intimidating due to the amount of tin work needed for the project.
I've pondered adding a coupler to the front of a Marx CV, too. I'm all tab-n-slot couplers, so really it would be just a matter of making a bracket to go under the screw at the bottom of the pilot. The bracket could just be sheet metal bent to the proper angle so one part is level with the rails at the proper coupler height. A TnS coupler could be riveted or bolted to the bracket to allow it to swing. Any other type of Marx coupler might be a bit more of a challenge. As far as making the loco a dummy unit... I've never done it, but there isn't any reason it won't work. My reason for double-heading would be for more power, so I probably won't ever de-power one of my Vandys.
You've got me thinking... I may go out to the shop and try to add a coupler sometime soon!
- James
JamesP I've pondered adding a coupler to the front of a Marx CV, too. I'm all tab-n-slot couplers, so really it would be just a matter of making a bracket to go under the screw at the bottom of the pilot. The bracket could just be sheet metal bent to the proper angle so one part is level with the rails at the proper coupler height. A TnS coupler could be riveted or bolted to the bracket to allow it to swing. Any other type of Marx coupler might be a bit more of a challenge. As far as making the loco a dummy unit... I've never done it, but there isn't any reason it won't work. My reason for double-heading would be for more power, so I probably won't ever de-power one of my Vandys. You've got me thinking... I may go out to the shop and try to add a coupler sometime soon! - James
I have slot and tabs as well. I have rivets and the eyelet tab coupler but I wish I had a resistance soldering outfit as I did not want to deface the shovel nose.Right now I'm pondering on modifying the headlight bracket that held by a small slot screw at the bottom of the nose, that leads up toward the stack. Hmmm..and then theres that pesky tin work through the nose to fit the coupler through. I was thinking perhaps a faux coupler cover as used for drop couplers on the prototype might hide poor snip work..seems overly complicated. Let me know if can how yours works out if you give it a shot. If I did not have the 027 curves to contend with I could just have a rigid mount without any swing to it. Thats why I was asking if anyone had tried this modification. Two red CV's at the head end would be worth the hastle..maybe..
A drop coupler would be very cool! While I might be tempted to do that on a custom CV, on the rest of my steamers I would prefer a coupler that could be removed if desired. Anyway, after a quick trip to the shop, this is Version 1 of the CV Front Coupler (beware, it's crude, but functional):
Pros: It's simple, easy and removeable.
Cons: It's ugly and a bit too high. Also, since it mounts on the front, it tends to skew the loco toward the inside rail under a hard pull... if you run two powered units, that might not be as much of a problem.
Since I run clockworks without headlights, I could make a bracket that would fit inside the shell, which would move the pivot closer to the center of the loco, reducing the skewing under a hard pull. The TnS coupler would have to be custom made (not a problem, just more work) since it would have to be longer and would need a vertical offset to get it up to the right height. I suspect that it would look better than the monstrosity above! But, I don't know how hard it would be to make such a critter with the electric's headlight bracket in the way.
If I make the other type of bracket anytime soon, I'll post a picture. I have plans to customize a CV this winter... I may have to adopt your drop coupler idea for it!
One more thing - although it's an ugly coupler... when two wind-up CV's are running double-headed around the layout at warp speed, it doesn't matter what the coupler looks like! Time to drag out all the cars I have for a run...
Put the dummy ahead of the powered unit.
Bob Nelson
One thing that is an important part of the coupler as you put it on the engine is that it does not swing from side to side, so how does it perform on 027 curves? I was thinking that it might derail whatever is coupled ahead of it. The CV I restored has a weighted tender that eliminated the tendency to tip over when pulling a longer consist. and I don't want to solve one problem while having created a new one. It sounds like a rigid rather than swing mounting might be the way to go..Thanks for the response.
Bruce
This is a picture of the Vandy coupled to the 551 tender of another CV:
I haven't actually run it around an O27 curve - my mainline on the layout is O42 - so I don't know how it will actually perform on a tight curve. It works just fine on the O42. Depending on if the lead loco is the powered or dummy, it can exert a fair amount of leverage on an O27 curve that may make the second loco prone to derail. I think the previous suggestion to make the lead loco the dummy would probably work best, or leave both locomotives powered. No doubt about it, if you can get the coupler pivot closer to the front axle, it should work a lot better.
But, this was really quick to make... give it a try and see if it works for your situation!
The one on the left is done, the one on the right is what the other looked like before rehab. This is the candidate for the dummy engine.
Thanks..I can see by your helpful photo a rigid coupler mounting will be an issue on O27. It looks like a swing coupler is called for. I think a bracket using the bottom mounting screw that is already there for the headlight bracket will have to be modified behind the nose and the nose will have to be removed to cut a slot into it using similar slots on tab cars to set the horizontal length. I like the idea of a drop coupler that is short enough not to cause a short circuit on the third rail. but I think the slope of the nose rules this out. I still have to clean the shell so I will do the mod first and then strip and paint. Thanks for all your help. I will post the final product so we can compare notes.
The refurbished Commodore looks great... can't wait to see the doubleheaded pair. I think you will be a lot happier with the operation of the coupler you are planning, and the slot in the nose shouldn't be too noticeable. I'm looking forward to the "after" pictures!
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