rrinkerTurning the crew around is a trying task, they sit on little pegs and even with some right angle tweezers I have a hard time getting them back in - they pop out easily enough.
Yes, yes they are, but I got them. Turns out the mount is a square peg. Super easy to remove. Painted them up with Polyscale Conrail Blue, Poly Scale Sand Oxide Red, and Gunmetal (seats because reason).
Removal: (shell, because I already installed it) about 15 min and 3 broken tabs, a broken bell and one truck came off (1st time I almost threw this thing against the wall) Shell had to come off because I didnt install the winterization hatch earlier, and i was concerned about drilling into the decoder. (I might replace it with a Details whatever one with a see through grill, the plastic one doesnt do the rest of the model justice).
Crew removal: about 10 sec each (easy enough)
Painting: 15 min for both (including hunting down appropriate colors and a paint brush)
Reinstallation: 10 Min each (Second time I almost threw something).
Yeah Ive deviated from wiring, but getting this thing to look like the photo is important to me.
rrinker They do stick out - just the larger part though, it should seat snugly back agaisnt the body shell (or the screw won't go in on the bottom). What usually happens is the couple box/draft gear gets the uncoupling lever caught behind it, preventing the coupler box from seating all the way. I use the tip of a #11 blade to gently list the uncoupling lever when sliding the coupler box back in place. The flat of the blade, not the sharp edge. --Randy
They do stick out - just the larger part though, it should seat snugly back agaisnt the body shell (or the screw won't go in on the bottom). What usually happens is the couple box/draft gear gets the uncoupling lever caught behind it, preventing the coupler box from seating all the way. I use the tip of a #11 blade to gently list the uncoupling lever when sliding the coupler box back in place. The flat of the blade, not the sharp edge.
--Randy
Mine has two metal appendages that stick out from the chassis with 2 plastic clips that hold the coupler in place. The plastic partially sticks out, but the metal sticks out further.
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
gmpullmanYou can use a 9V battery or other DC supply below 12 volts and apply that to the motor leads for a second or so.
I might just make up a jig with a 9V battery terminal and female recepticals soldered onto the wire. That way I can stick the solder motor lead wires in and run it for a short piece to test.
I had to do a lot of re-work already on this locomotive as I couldn't get the shell on (forgot how important wiring neatness can be).
Should the coupler boxes protrude from each end of the locomotive slightly on these?
WAG is a Wild <rear end> guess
I never did get the way LL build their first gen units - the GP7's are the same way. MOST railroads in the day ran their first gen units long hood forward. Not all, but more of them would be correct if they were wired to run long hood forward. The paint schemes refelct that, witht he proper location of the F indication, but on DC and if yoou just plug a decoder in to the socket, they run short hood forward, matching they way the crew figured are stuck in. Turning the crew around is a trying task, they sit on little pegs and even with some right angle tweezers I have a hard time getting them back in - they pop out easily enough. One of mine, I never did put them back in.
I was watching this thread, as I have two tan box P2K I want to put a decoder in. They are backwards, to what I'm used to. Out of box, they look almost exactly like Athearn BB trucks and power pick-up, except the red is on the fireman's side, where the Athearn, the red is on the engineer's side, just like what Rich said. So, I didn't want to burn up a decoder until I found out what is what!
Whats a WAG ?
Mike.
My You Tube
I took a WAG while I was waiting for a response eariler. I had to wait til this evening to test it as my DCC system isnt unpacked yet (mrr club work session).
Attached Gray wire to top of motor, orange to bottom and wired pickups as long hood forward. Gray on top runs locomotive long hood forward.
The small F is on the long hood, but the figures are sitting facing the short hood end. Guess I will change that when I paint them into something other than black plastic.
Had to saw off the mounting posts for the light board so that the decoder (D13SRJ) would sit flat on the weight. Should be plenty of heat sink if that ever becomes necessary.
Here is the NMRA wiring protocol:
Red - Right Rail Power Pickup
Black - Left Rail Power Pickup
Orange - Motor +
Gray - Motor -
Rich
Alton Junction
COnnect everything BUT the motor wires - just twist those together and test run it, if it goes the right way, good, put the shrink tube on and solder the motor connections, but if it doesn't go the right way per protoype practice, swap the motor leads before soldering. Like Ed said, Life Like was never aprticularly consistent with that. Saves a lot of trouble to swap the motor leads and make it right instead of messing with CV29.
Many of the Life-Like decoder installs that I've done I found that L-L didn't much care about keeping the red-black wires consistant with the + and — of the motor terminals.
Is your SD9 set up to run long nose forward or short nose? Look for the "F" stenciled on the frame. You can use a 9V battery or other DC supply below 12 volts and apply that to the motor leads for a second or so.
With the + on the motor + your engine should move forward. Of course you have to have the red wire to the decoder to the right (engineer's) side, relating to the "front" of the locomotive and the black on the left.
The orange decoder wire would then go to the motor + and the gray to the —.
I hope that makes sense.
Regards, Ed
I picked up a P2K blue box SD9 at Springfield this year, and am installing a D13SRJ in the locomotive for now. The motor leads are black and red. Do I assume the red is positive and black is negative, and which do I connect to the orange and which to the gray.
Edit: I understand that it is just a CV change to correct it, but I would like to know for future reference, saves overall hobby time if I dont have to do re-work.
Just a side note, wire or bottom contact on the locomotive was making contact with the frame, I got continuity between the coupler box thing and the motor wire, so I removed the piece of masking tape (saturated with some sort of lubricant?) cleaned and replaced with Kapton tape. I also lost my wide roll of Kapton tape in the move...