Help With Rivarossi Vandy Tender

Terry I am not sure about the vandy tender, but the berkshire tender is all glued very solidly together.  Looking at the hoseeker.com page for the berk they show it as a one piece item.  I was going to do a dcc conversion on it as well but gave up.  Good luck and let me know how you fare.

Mike

If this is the same casting that Rivarossi/AHM used for their B&O 2-10-2 Big Six many years ago, then the parts diagram on HOSeeker indicates it is/was a one piece casting -- which of course does not explain how you were able to remove the back unless a prior owner had performed a bit of surgery.

 http://www.hoseeker.org/AHMRivarossiassembly/ahm2102s1pg2.jpg

Dave Nelson

Terry

I was in the process of converting a Rivarossi B&O Mallet to DCC with a Tsunami Sound Decoder and  decided I would be better off using a large Bachman Vanderbilt tender that they sell individually. It is already set up for DCC and would be easier to work with than the Rivarossi tender. That project got pushed on the back burner for a while so I can't advise how well it works but I thought maybe this would give you a alternative to the Rivarossi tender.

Hope this will be some help!

Jim

dknelson

If this is the same casting that Rivarossi/AHM used for their B&O 2-10-2 Big Six many years ago, then the parts diagram on HOSeeker indicates it is/was a one piece casting -- which of course does not explain how you were able to remove the back unless a prior owner had performed a bit of surgery.

 http://www.hoseeker.org/AHMRivarossiassembly/ahm2102s1pg2.jpg

 

Dave Nelson

No Dave I'm the orignal owner

These are not one piece castings because they have to put the combined electrical contact / weight bar down the center on the floor of the tender as you can see in the photo 

But they are the same tender    The S-1

you can see the 2 glue spots on either side on the bottom if you look closely

and i can see some seperation on the front but not all the way around

rs2mike

Terry I am not sure about the vandy tender, but the berkshire tender is all glued very solidly together.  Looking at the hoseeker.com page for the berk they show it as a one piece item.  I was going to do a dcc conversion on it as well but gave up.  Good luck and let me know how you fare.

Mike

I'm sure the Berk is doable and has alot more room

I may just pick up a berk tender on ebay to practice on

because I have a Riv Berk i want to do next

Tonys Trains has a drawing on page 11

that may help you after you get the tender apart

http://www.tonystrains.com/download/dec-installation-hout.pdf

Ok It took 2 hours of cutting with an xacto knife

Very slowly but i did manage to get the front of the tender off

I started by running the knife between the sides and the coal load

then cut down the front along the sides

The right side had lots of glue

Then I used the point of the knife to free the tabs onthe bottom

I made the mistake of cutting straight down and too deep at the back of the coal load

Which resulted in these cut marks on the under side of the coal bin

But they will be hard to see unless you turn the tender upside down

I should have cut on a shallow angle like the photo shows

Finally i cut the ladders from the deck {They have just a touch of glue on them

Then the coal load just slides out

Terry I just opened up the berk today to oil and lube it and see about a remotor project.  There is a ton of room in the boiler for just a decoder, possibly a micro sound unit as well.  I am not really thinking sound at this point and to be honest I am thinking of selling the berk for something like a 4-6-0 or a 2-8-0.  The tender looks pretty solid but I did not mess with it today as I ran out of time before my wife got home. 

Thanks again for the link to the boiler front.

Mike

 Looking at mine under magnification, it looks like the coal load, front wall, and front ladders are all part of the same casting. If you remove the front handrails and gently pry the ladders away from where they are glued to the frame, you might be able to work it loose. Be careful -- those ladders are very fragile, and we don't know where the glue points are inside, or how much was used during assembly.

Yes you are absolutely correct Nelson

I spent 2 hours with an xacto knife this afternoon and finally got

it open

I took photos but when i tried to post the here i got a hold for moderator approval message

This seems to happen every time i try to post more than 3 photos

So as soon as i get moderator approval you will get to see the photos

 That's weird... are they restricting photos now? I haven't been around much, so I guess this is a new wrinkle.

Congrats on getting it off in one piece, Terry. Where else was it glued besides the ladders? Mine feels pretty solidly attached. Having the back open had to make it easier to spot where it was bonded.

  I'm waiting on those photos. It looks like there's plenty of room for a decoder, and some extra weight.

SteamFreak

Snip

. Where else was it glued besides the ladders? Mine feels pretty solidly attached. Having the back open had to make it easier to spot where it was bonded.

  Snip

The coal load had just enough glue to tack it along the edges but the right sidewall had alot of glue and took lots of cuts to break free

the left side had no glue at all

Looks good terry.  I might just have the guts to dig into my berk tender now for a dcc conversion and remotor.  Keep us posted with the progress you make

chessiecat

Terry

I was in the process of converting a Rivarossi B&O Mallet to DCC with a Tsunami Sound Decoder and  decided I would be better off using a large Bachman Vanderbilt tender that they sell individually. It is already set up for DCC and would be easier to work with than the Rivarossi tender. Hope this will be some help!

Snip

Jim

Yes Jim in fact I had thought of that because i have a Bachman C&O Mountian with a Vandy Tender that already has sound and i thought of using that tender for both locos but i'd have to figure out the wiring harness and that scared me off the idea

Now that you did finally get into this tender, I feel that the molded coal load should be modified. Manufacturers tend to mold the loads to the overflow point. If you cut out the coal and fabricate a new removable floor, you will have future access to the sound electronics as well as building a more prototypical looking load. I guess the only concern would be keeping the integedy of the side slides for fit. Styrene side rails can be added for the load support.

 Nice job, Terry. I noticed the back of the coal load was angled when I slipped a blade in the gap, but you could easily putty in that cut you made.

 It woudn't be too hard to make a real coal bunker at this point.

Now that i have the tender open i can start the remotor job then the DCC decoder

If you want to follow along the thread is in the DCC section

http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/t/150663.aspx

bogp40

Now that you did finally get into this tender, I feel that the molded coal load should be modified. Manufacturers tend to mold the loads to the overflow point. If you cut out the coal and fabricate a new removable floor, you will have future access to the sound electronics as well as building a more prototypical looking load. I guess the only concern would be keeping the integedy of the side slides for fit. Styrene side rails can be added for the load support.

Yes your right

I figure i'll end up drilling some holes in the coal load any way

SteamFreak

 Nice job, Terry. I noticed the back of the coal load was angled when I slipped a blade in the gap, but you could easily putty in that cut you made.

 It woudn't be too hard to make a real coal bunker at this point.

Yeah Nelson i plan to add some coal as the plastic looks so fake