I need an FM Trainmaster frame & just spotted one on E-Bay that is supposedly made by Williams & has DC motors? What the heck is that all about?
Most modern O gauge engines have DC motors. They have electronics to switch the AC track power to DC to run the motors. AC motors (outside of some PW remakes), aren't really used anymore in the O gauge train world.
The seller states that this frame & motors only ran when he applied dc current to it & one bidder mentioned in a question that he does not see a rectifier bridge in the auction photo. What do I have here? Looks like a straight dc product with no ac transformer compatability? Does that make any sense?
I think I found the one you're looking at. It does appear the motors are hardwired to the pickups so it can run on DC only. You could put either a bridge rectifier (forward only for AC power), or an electronic reverse unit from Lionel or other source in it to allow it to run on AC power. I think the early Williams units (which that one appears to be based on the plastic truck frames) had bridge rectifiers in them from the factory so they only would run on AC in forward. Somebody probably removed it for a DC layout.
That makes more sense now. I don't think I want to fool around with that thing unless it's a real good price to make it worth while.
i was just reading this and thought i would add,i own an 8471 PRR switcher that recently developed a bad slipping drive gear problem on main drive axle. i really hated to park this engine in the display case,so i changed the shell out with another NW2 chassis with a dc can motor to which i added a bridge rectifier...(about 3 bucks from radio shack and it worked fine...in forward only)!!! so ,i purchased an electronic reverse unit and wired it in place of the rectifier...about 10 minutes worth of wiring and soldering...and it works perfectly in forward neutral and reverse. quite a simple way to get the most out of those dc can motored locos.!!! i will purchase a few more of these...have a few handcars with trailers.that i would like to "back into" short spurs,..so i have an idea the trailer with a box crate....would make a perfect place to hide the reverse unit and the cabling will not be hard to hide... will let you know how this works out for me...thanks
That's what most modern conventional locomotives end up looking like after I strip them to prepare for the conversion to TMCC.
I also noticed that the frame in the auction does not seem to have the end mounts to take the screws from a Lionel type shell, but I see holes in the bottom deck of the frame. Did Williams have different style mountings for the shell to frame holes on their trainmasters?
I think most/all williams diesels have studs molded into the inside of the shell with screw holes so the screws can be put in from underneath the frame instead of the ends. Even my 1990's era Lionel GP9 with TMCC has the screw holes underneath. The tabs for the end screws are there though, and they might even have the holes punched for screws.
Yep, williams, MTH, and even some Lionel stuff has inside studs, not end mounts.
They must have different types of construction. I've seen Williams FMs with obviously visible end screws, but this frame in the auction doesn't have end tabs high enough to take the traditional screws. I'd say they're frames must be from different production runs.
Here's a photo: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=170768841567
This actually appears to be a chassis from an early Williams SD-45. The large weights give it away(no traction tires), no tabs for end screws. These came wired for one direction only, with only a diode wired in series with one of the motor leads(the motors ran on half-wave DC connected this way). Later, they came with a full-wave bridge rectifier screwed to the floor, still hard wired for one-way operation.
Rob
I'm glad I didn't buy it, because I need a frame that fits a Lionel FM Trainmaster from1954. Thanks for all the advice.
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