Rivarossi berkshire remotor

[rs2mike]

Hi all I have an older Rivarossi 2-8-4 Berkshire that I would like to put a new can motor in.  Has anyone done this before?  And if you have what did you use and how did you do it.  I would eventually like to put a decoder in it. 

From what I can see I have pickups on the tender wheels that goes to the drawbar(not sure where it goes from there.)  Then I have pickups on the trailing truck wheels.(again not sure where that goes.)  I am guessing one is right rail pickup and one is left rail pickup.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

mike

[rs2mike]

Does bigger mean more pulling power.  The motor is on the round style from Riv, and is not all that big.  But I will remove the shell again and measure it.

Thanks david

[fwright]

Does bigger mean more pulling power.  The motor is on the round style from Riv, and is not all that big.  But I will remove the shell again and measure it.

Thanks david

David

A bigger motor is generally more powerful.  But locomotive weight is generally the limiting factor on how many cars a locomotive can pull, not the motor's power or torque.  A model steam locomotive drawbar pull is usually 20% or less of the model's weight unless traction tires are used.  Almost any practical motor will have enough power for a locomotive with a plastic boiler/superstructure.  In the old days, one weighted a locomotive until the motor current just before the drivers started slipping was at the maximum allowed for the motor.  This prevented motor burnout - the drivers would slip first.  Nowadays, there is seldom space and inherent weight to get close to that point - the drivers slip well below max current.

A bigger motor will generally run slower and cooler for a given load than a smaller motor - both good things for our models that run too fast.  But as long as the smaller motor has sufficient power to slip the drivers below it's maximum safe current, either is acceptable.

hope this makes sense and helps

Fred W

[rs2mike]

Does bigger mean more pulling power.  The motor is on the round style from Riv, and is not all that big.  But I will remove the shell again and measure it.

Thanks david

David

A bigger motor is generally more powerful.  But locomotive weight is generally the limiting factor on how many cars a locomotive can pull, not the motor's power or torque.  A model steam locomotive drawbar pull is usually 20% or less of the model's weight unless traction tires are used.  Almost any practical motor will have enough power for a locomotive with a plastic boiler/superstructure.  In the old days, one weighted a locomotive until the motor current just before the drivers started slipping was at the maximum allowed for the motor.  This prevented motor burnout - the drivers would slip first.  Nowadays, there is seldom space and inherent weight to get close to that point - the drivers slip well below max current.

A bigger motor will generally run slower and cooler for a given load than a smaller motor - both good things for our models that run too fast.  But as long as the smaller motor has sufficient power to slip the drivers below it's maximum safe current, either is acceptable.

hope this makes sense and helps

Fred W

Yes it does thanks fred

Mike

[rs2mike]

Here is a great page to get you going...

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/model/remotoringbigboy.shtml 

David B 

thanks for this link!!