Proper way to convert a dead engine into a dummy car?

[dbduck]

Maybe someone else has already said it, but  sounds to me like you still have the motor hooked up. I would  cut all wiring loose.

[BroadwayLion]

LION has done this. Just remove the motors and the transmission.

LION used powerd trucks to replace the plastic trucks on some B unit dumnmies. That is to say, replacing plastic dummy trucks with metal powered truck with the gears removed.

This allows the dummy to pick up power.

 

My A-A units and my A-B-A units are all equpied with drawbars and all wheel pick up to the motore(s)

Very Necessary on route of LION where we do not bother to power crossovers.

 

ROAR

[wjstix]

Selector - It may be the OP won't have a problem, I was just making him aware it's something he'll need to test. I have an A-B set of F-units (A powered, B unit is a dummy, units connected with a drawbar) where the B unit would derail in some situations (like if it the B unit was coupled in a consist to another powered engine, so it had powered engines on either side) until I added some weight to the B unit.

BTW older model tenders generally have heavy metal floors, newer ones have metal weight inserts. A tender that's too light certainly can derail, and can cause electrical pickup issues. My old Spectrum 4-8-2's tender didn't come with the holes in the floor for a sound decoder speaker, so I removed the metal weight bar in the tender, drilled holes in the plastic floor, and installed the sound decoder. Electrical pickup was bad, and it was more likely to derail. Adding some weight solved the derail issue, but electrical pickup was bad until I installed a TCS "keep alive" gizmo, now it runs great.

[Benjamin Maggi]

If you disconnect the weight and it is still drawing a charge, I would suggest hooking up a transformer to a piece of track and just putting the "dummy" engine on it. Use a voltmeter to see how much voltage it is pulling. My bet is the old lightbulb is accounting for it. Otherwise, you should have no problems.

[BigDaddy]

Now we can see what you are talking about

I too don't understand why an engine without a motor should behave any different than any other bit of rolling stock.  There are NMRA standards for weight vs length.  Some people insist on more weight, some less.  More often than not, the factory weight is less than the standard.

 

[selector]

I don't see a good reason to keep the drive mechanism, least of all for weight.  If a heavyweight passenger car won't derail backing, even while shoving another five or six cars ahead of it, why should a diesel with a heavier frame (but no motor)?  My tenders don't derail.  

[gthomson]

Stix, thanks for the advice about the weights, I never thought of that. The base of the engine is quite heavy so it might be ok but if not, I can just add the weights until it runs well. I never thought of replacing the motor. Maybe that's a better option, especially if I can get something that runs better.

[gthomson]

doctorwayne

Are you speaking of an older LifeLike locomotive or a LifeLike Proto loco?

It looks exactly like this: http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r132/tonycook1966/Life-Like/LLF40PHGOTransit2.jpg

I removed the motor and then all the fly wheels that connected the motor to the axle so now it's just the wheels and axle snapped into the trucks, like you said.

[wjstix]

Only problem with removing all the weight is the unpowered engine might be easier to derail now, especially when backing it up.

I would suggest that before making irreparable changes that you investigate fixing the engine. As was suggested earlier, if it is cracked gears, you can get new gears for a couple of bucks; for a little more, you can get new nickel-silver wheels with the gears already installed.

If it's a bad motor, replacing it with a quiet, smooth running can motor won't cost a lot. I had an old Life-Like/Proto 2-8-8-2 sitting in the box for years because it ran poorly - if at all. Thanks to the forum, I found out mine was one of a batch that came with bad motors. I replaced the old motor with one from Micro-Mark ($18.95 as I recall) and now it's one of my best engines.

[doctorwayne]

gthomson

...I have an old LifeLike engine that died on me so I thought I would convert it into a dummy engine....

Are you speaking of an older LifeLike locomotive or a LifeLike Proto loco?

The locomotive in the photo below is original LifeLike, with only one powered truck.  One of two, both were a poor runners right from the day I bought them (new).  I removed the motors and any gears except those on the axles, then re-detailed them to run as dummies with Atlas RS-11s...

However, if your model is a Proto diesel, there's a good chance that it's suffering from cracked axle gears - replacements are available.

To make that loco into a dummy, you should remove the motor, drive shafts and couplings, and all of the gears from the trucks except the axle gears.  The axle gears actually hold the wheels together, as each wheel is on a stub axle which is pressed into the gear casting.  If you leave the other gears in place, they'll create extra drag which will, of course, require more power to keep things moving.  I don't use headlights on any of my locomotives, but I'd suggest that you also disconnect the lights, as locos other than the lead unit don't run with their headlights on.

Wayne

[gthomson]

MisterBeasley

Is this a DC engine?

I have turned a few of my 60-year-old Athearn engines into dummies.  I've taken out the motors completely.  Since these were old belt-drive engines, I just removed the drive shafts and belts, and I was done.

I run DCC, so I put sound-only decoders in a couple of the engines.  If you get the newer sound-only decoders, you also get light functions, so I put headlights in those engines, too.

These engines have metal frames, so they still pack a considerable amount of weight, even without the motors.  If your engines don't have metal frames, you'll need to add weight if you actually remove the motors and gear boxes.

 

Yes, DC engine all original, I haven't updated it. It's a brushed magnet motor I think that sits over top of the rear trucks and is quite noisy. I'm sure more experienced people can confirm they were not very reliable. Does it still need all the weight if I'm just going to drag it behind a working engine? I figured I should give the pulling engine a break by reducing all that weight.

[gthomson]

G Paine

I would start by cutting and removing the wires to the headlight, then see if there is still a current draw. Check if there is power pickup from both sets of trucks.

 

Does it do any damage or should I worry about shorting out the power pack by running this engine without a motor? I guess it would be similar to running a lit passenger car and I would expect it to draw some power but wonder if it's drawing too much?
I beleive it's just the front wheels drawing the power as they are copper.

[MisterBeasley]

Is this a DC engine?

I have turned a few of my 60-year-old Athearn engines into dummies.  I've taken out the motors completely.  Since these were old belt-drive engines, I just removed the drive shafts and belts, and I was done.

I run DCC, so I put sound-only decoders in a couple of the engines.  If you get the newer sound-only decoders, you also get light functions, so I put headlights in those engines, too.

These engines have metal frames, so they still pack a considerable amount of weight, even without the motors.  If your engines don't have metal frames, you'll need to add weight if you actually remove the motors and gear boxes.

[G Paine]

I would start by cutting and removing the wires to the headlight, then see if there is still a current draw. Check if there is power pickup from both sets of trucks.

[gthomson]

Please advise, I have an old LifeLike engine that died on me so I thought I would convert it into a dummy engine to pull behind a working engine. I opened up the motor, stripped out all the gears and the multiple steel weights and put it back together. The front pick up wheels are still pulling a charge from the track and the light still goes but I notice it’s drawing a lot of charge from the track when I have it on with a working engine.

 

Is there something I should know about converting an old dead engine? do I need to disconnect the light and/or the wires connecting back to the engine? I just re-connected them so they weren’t just dangling in the engine cover.