Aloha,
Today, I scored...My family from out of town joined us on an excursion on the Hawaii Historical Railway and, as it happens, they host a model railroad group, which happened to be disposing of a large amount of donated LGB. Just knowing I am not as alone out here as I thought I was would've been good enough; then they showed me what was on the sale rack...When Dad put in half, I walked out with a pre-1991 LGB 2018D.
An external inspection showed:
I am anxious to put this old lady back on the tracks while my folks are still in town BUT I have learned from my own previously mothballed fleet that some pre-inspection may be advised.
I am planning to:
Given the above:
My brother and I practically lusted after this thing when they rolled off the line in the '80s. As such, she will not undergo the knife or the spray can. I just want to see this old girl doing what she should be doing...pulling trains in a garden!
Pretty stoked to FINALLY have some local connections...and a cool kaa ahi ike (little fire coach)!
Have a great week!
Eric
Traction tires will prevent massive wheel slipage. A quick but SHORT TERM fix, completely expose the wheel. Take the engine to your local auto parts store and have a look at their "O-Ring" selection. Find one as near the original size as possible. I know, you gonna say "o-rings are round, traction tires are square." Like I said, short term fix.
A short 5~19 minute run should be fine. If something breaks in that short tine, it was going to break kater anyway. Yes to the lube job.
Tom Trigg
correction 5~10 minutes
Thanks, Tom!
I should mention the mogul's arrival sparked a spirited "discussion" about a name for the old girl, but I'll not ask anyone here to take sides in that "discussion!"
Lucky horse
I've used small rubberbands, don't last long but work
Lubed her up, put power to the rails, and, after a gentle push, got her going. Then, right on schedule, the motor seized at the end of the 10 minute run...On the upshot, assuming this is a "mission kill," I have an excuse to order proper traction tires sooner rather than later.
Before I would shoot the motor I would have a set of # 62007 idler gears available as usually dried grease or worn gear will do same thing, either or it will need the gears sooner or later, Bill
Idler gears are now added to my growing list of "bits & parts" for the grand order. History has provend them fickle things, anyway, that cost the same as shipping. Thanks, Bill.
Update...
Got her apart, and, yes the after idler has some wear and there was a good bit of "gear-fetti" in the compartment that houses it. This was stuck in globs of old gear grease. I cleaned it out and...no noy...I should mention, a broken tab and snapped mounting cylinder indicates the old girl had been cracked open sometime in her past.
Next up was some connectivity tests. The motor was fine (it had responded to my throttle), but there was no connectivity from port to starboard across wheels or pick-up shoes. My 0-6-2T had suffered some distortion of the brass busses that connect pickup shoes from ill handling at some point, so I stripped teh chassis a bit further to see if that was the case. Naturally, both brass busses slipped out as I cracked open the lower hull, so I cannot say if they were improperly mounted. I cleaned off "gear-fetti" from the cylinders housing the pick-up springs coming from the after drive wheels and cleaned the buses. I then remounted them, ensuring that the pre bent "hooks" on either end hooked over those brass cylinders with the springs. This also ensured the busses made conctat with the contact mount for the pick-up shoes. Popped the lot back together, had oldest daughter jump across the posts that would connect the motor to the control circuits in the cab and viola! We then popped the motor back in, plugged the chassis to the cab, and got the chassis to respond to the throttle. The whole loco did the same upon reassembly. Now to see how she runs on the "real" railroad if it stops raining.
My theory here is:
1. The brass busses were mounted upside down, so they made incomplete contact with the various pickup points.
2. "Gear-fetti" had accumulated in sufficient quantity to block the transfer of electric power.
3. Factor #2 exacerbated Factor #1.
I'll try to get some photos up if it is helpful to others.
Oh, and I'll still order those idlers gears.
Back to preparing for guests!
ALoha,
Update:
5 hours of grilling, eating, reminiscing, and farewelling later, I am declaring this repair a success! We did have to regrade a turn that has a sligth "corkscrew" to prevent slipping, but I am OK with that. The old iron horse has left her box for the rails for what will hopefully be a long, long, time!
Certainly glad to hear that she is up and running and that all is well, has she got a name yet?, Bill
Mahalo (Thanks), Gents! And Bill, as to the name, funny story about that! After I recover from guests, I'll post it as part of an update to my "Progress on the Triple O" thread, as it is more in line with that running commentary on our road as a whole.
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