What I mean is like what steam engines have - the ability to pick up current through the tender wheels. Is there a way to possibly do that with steam engines? For example, soldering feeder wires to another boxcar's wheelset to better pick up more electrical current?
I've done that with HO to supply a larger pick-up area for small diesels to get through a large turnout without stalling. Never tried it with N though. It could be a bit tricky with a diesel as there's no much space in the shell to begin with, but if thin enough wire was used it could likely be done.
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Any physics issues I should be aware of? I know it can't be as simple as soldering on two extra feeder wires, routing them to a rear box car, and then connecting them to metal wheelsets, right?
Actually most of that is pretty easy. The fun part comes when you need to get those wires into the locomotive. The wires have to be insulated so they don't short out against the weight, unless the weight itself is one of those split affairs that actually conducts the power to the motor. If that's the case the wires could be attached to the weight halves. But there's still that ugly problem of getting them INTO the loco in the first place. What I do on my HO models is to drill two small holes in the pilot about where the MU hoses would be. I pass the wires through these holes so they actually connect the loco to the next loco electrically. If it's done properly it doesn't look that bad. But on an N scale loco the wire would have to be very thin so it doesn't look like a great hulking pipe between the loco and whatever is picking up power behind it. The boxcar (if that's you'll be using for extra pickup) will have to be weighted so it will have better contact with the rails. On the subject of the boxcar, the metal wheelsets that you put on must be oriented properly so the wheels of the front truck pick up from one rail while the wheels of the rear truck pick up from the other rail.
Yep, that was my plan. I have some extremely thin lighting wire that I plan on using that is the exact diameter of MU hoses in N scale that I have. I thought about the pilots already too.
I think what I need to do is to find a bad steam loco with an intact tender and get the electrical leads to the trucks from the tender.
That's a good idea.
I might have to do that! Thanks for the tip!
Try this site for some neat pick up items.
http://www.sbs4dcc.com/nscaletruckpickups.html
I was looking at those. I would just need just two trucks for a 50' boxcar to help my GP-38 with electrical conductivity.
In an Atlas GP-35, after I lift the plastic shell, where are the two engine contact leads that I need to solder the wires from boxcar? Is there any problem to just soldering them to the engine power leads, or do I need to add a resistor somewhere?
Where are the motor contacts for an Atlas N scale engine for DC? If I soldered two think wires onto each motor contact, and ran them to a connecting boxcar, one wire would go to one set of trucks on the boxcar and the other wire would go to the other set, correct? Would there be any potential problems in doing this?
Your theory is all correct. But... I believe that the pickups in any modern Atlas N scale diesel are good enough that if you think you are having issues with it, you are really trying to hide another problem. Which would probably be a lot easier to fix than performing this surgery.
Jeff But it's a dry heat!
Well, I tried to straighten out a part of my layout where the turnout is, and ended up ripping up some track. Instead of completely replacing the track, I straightened it out as best I could (looks 95% straight), I want to go this route.
I am mainly having a problem with my GP-35 and GP-38 (eight-wheeled engines). My SDs don't have the same problem. The Jeeps seem to hesitate, and, if I go slow enough, stall over this one portion of the layout where the problem was. The headlight goes out (or at least dims going over this part) and it slows down, so I want a way to increase the elctrical conductivity by running wires to box cars.
So I have come to a crossroads: either I get another left-hand turnout and then rip up the existing turnout and redo the track, or, I add power feeders to my GP-38 diesels into my box cars. I know the first option would be cheaper, but the engineer in me says to do the second option.
Maybe I'll do both.
gatrhumpy So I have come to a crossroads: either I get another left-hand turnout and then rip up the existing turnout and redo the track, or, I add power feeders to my GP-38 diesels into my box cars. I know the first option would be cheaper, but the engineer in me says to do the second option. Maybe I'll do both.
If you are sure the turnout is the problem (and it probably is), the engineer in you can fix it, and not mess with a perfectly good engine!
Well, I did not replace the turnout, but I tried the to add pickups to a boxcar. It worked, but it was only a temporary solution because they weren't coupled together (they were connected by the electrical wire). I may try it again in the very near future.