Hi:
Just got an Atlas n scale s2, my first Atlas in a while (usually buy Kato but this loco looked really neat.) Anybody know how to remove the body shell?
Also, it's a little noisy out of the box. Has anybody else had this and does it get quieter when run-in. It's a D/C model, no decoder.
Thanks all
I believe on this model you have to remove 1 or 2 screws on the bottom located under the trucks according to what I read on the spookshow website. You may also check the review that Model Railroader did in this sites review section.
Ralph
This is what it states on the Atlas site:
Removing Shells for Most N Scale Locmotives
To take off the fuel tank, just pull down on the sides until the fuel tank comes loose. Remove the hand rails from the cab and any other place where they mount to shell--do not take them off the sill just the shell. This is done so you do not break the hand rails in case the sill stays with the chassis when removing shell. Now with one hand grab the bottom of the engine where you just removed the fuel tank. Then with your other hand grab the shell in the center (watch the handrails so you don't break them) and pull upward on the shell to work it loose to remove it (don't just pull on the shell in one motion to remove the shell) and be careful where your fingers are so you don't break your handrails and detail parts.
Noise...can't help You with.....would have to hear it, to determine what may be causing it. Something may be rubbing on the shell or hitting the fly wheels.
I'm surprised, it doesn't state how to remove shell in manual.
Take Care!
Frank
BTW: In case You would like to hear one with sound....A review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UunVNUSN8lw
SP&S modeler, 1960's give or take a decade or two for some equipment.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SGTDUPREY?feature=guide
Gary DuPrey
N scale model railroader
There are two very small (aka, quite losable) screws in front of the front truck. Remove those and you can work the hood and cab off gently.I'm looking at two undecorated non-DCC units that arrived yesterday from Toy Train Heaven. I had them on order for over two years. First impression is they look pretty well made, have a little weight to them, and converting them to DCC, at least from what I see, may not be a big deal.The diagram included does not give enough information to figure out how power gets to the motor and lightboard. From what I see (and I could be wrong), there appear to be four wires carrying power from the trucks to the light board, and then two that extend down to the motor. There is a small plug-in board on the underside (I have not taken the lightboard out to examine that) that, from this angle, houses either a lone resistor or diode. I see resistors on the lightboard that I assume are to accommodate the LEDs, so the plug-in board may be what they are using to make the headlights directional. At least the traces on the lightboard that come and go to it are consistent with that. If all that is true, getting a decoder in there should just be a matter of connecting the power and motor leads to the decoder, then figuring out how to either modify the light board or wire up some other LED for headlights. There is a lot of room in there for a small decoder. According to my calipers, the lightboard is .320 inches wide. Looking at TCS's offerings, their M1 or M4 (n scale) would not work (.359 wide) without some modification or possibly mounting it on a slight angle. The Z2 would, and I doubt that the 1-amp limitation would be pushed by this loco.
I will try to post a couple of pictures of the innards of this little guy. I tried to fire up the pocket camera this morning only to find it was dead. Sorry guys, I'm not digging out the DSLR for this task, and I am as good at taking pictures with my phone as I am at performing nuclear physics or singing soprano.
- Mark
Here are a couple of pictures of the inside of the S2. You can see the plug in board under the left side of main light board on the bottom picture.
So, I asked Atlas about my interpretation of their wiring. After I inadvertently deleted their first response, they were kind enough to tell me the board under the light board can be replaced by a decoder using an NMRA standard six pin connector, such as the TCS EUN651. The $64,000 question is whether that decoder will fit within the width of the body, but I may give it a shot just to see.
If not, it will not be the first decoder to enter the walls of Green Acres only to meet a less than designed fate.
I got a TCS EUN651 decoder in yesterday, and it works and fits inside the body shell fine. If anybody goes that way, I would recommend clipping the pin leads on the decoder to something similar in length to the small board that it replaces. The EUN651 is considerably longer than the stock board, but it will fit fine leads shortened or not.
I was able to get the stock board out and the decoder in without removing anything other than the body shell, but it takes some patience. Alternatively, you can probably remove the entire light board assembly by removing the two plastic clips that hold the six wires to the board, the wires are not soldered so the can be removed, and the light board then removed. Just remember where the six wires go.
I think any decoder using a 6-pin NEM (not NMRA as I previously stated) will work, but the TCS physically is a good fit. I would probably not something try any wider.
Hi I build Australian locos and utilise USA locos and kit bash them into my Victorian Railways units. I had a Bachmann S2 but it has failed under my brass scratch built T class. I would like to use the Atlas but wish to know the motor width and height of the board so that I can retro fit my unit with a better mech. Thanks in advance Chris