Need some help on a brass project

[Woody Elmore]

Do you have the auxillary tender? My Westside Q4b included one.

[jonathan]

Yes. However, I am tempted to install a suitable set of plastic trucks as the brass trucks are not the best rollers in the world.  Haven't studied them, yet, to determine the right style of trucks to use as a replacement.  

Regards,

Jonathan

Addendum:

Right now, I'm knee-deep in the reverse light installation.  The light can is tiny... can barely squeeze in the surface mount LED.  Drilling the hole was tricky, but got it done without breaking anything.

[jonathan]

Happy Thanksgiving!  Today, the holiday season is upon us.  I tried to get a little more modeling done before  Christmas shopping, and cooking, over take my life.

Here's the motor all ready to go:


The motor sits on a rubber sheet material I found.  The top portion has a small piece of electrical tape.  Those two things should protect the motor from my crude, but effective, mounting strap.  Test went well.  Mechanism runs smoothly.

More to the point of this thread; here is the reverse light with smd LED installed:




The light works, but doesn't photograph well... perhaps after the lens is intalled...

I painted the inside of the light can with silver paint... just seemed like the right thing to do.

One wire is soldered to a brass nut on one of the truck screws.  The other wire will connect to the locomotive via a 2mm bullet plug, just like the pros do it.  

Regards,

Jonathan

Addendum:

Fear not!  I put a 1K ohm resistor in the circuit. 

[J3a-614]

Looking good!  Best part seems to be that you'll be saving what looks like a decent paint job, may only need a bit of touch-up.  And that rear LED is tiny!  How do you see what you're doing?

[jonathan]

I wear progressive lens glasses.  On top of that I put on some +3.25 reading glasses.  Then for really tiny stuff like those smd's, I have a lit magnifying glass on a stand and some bright spot lights.  Even then I seem to be working on the edge of what I can see and manipulate with tiny tools.

Gotta do it now while I have steady enough hands.

Yes! I believe I will be able to save the paint job.  AND I intend to weather heavily.  It will take a while to finish, but I already completed the hard stuff (mechanism and lighting).

Thanks.

Regards,

Jonathan

[jonathan]

Here's the reverse light working, with a lens installed.  The white glue is still drying:

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

Nice! 

[WoundedBear]

jonathan........

You do some nice work, sir. Always a pleasure to see your project photos.

Sid

[J3a-614]

Just noticed an interesting detail--the model is equipped with steam and signal lines for passenger service on the tender.  That would make this a Q-4 modified for passenger service (which is prototypical), often for mountain service or passenger helper service. 

In fact, there is a photo of a Q-4 substituting for a streamlined P-7 on the Cincinnatian, which for a while was one of B&O's fastest trains!  Wonder how well that low-drivered freighter kept to the Cincinnatian's time!

[Doneldon]

Jonathan-

Your rear light couldn't look better.

                                            -- D

[Woody Elmore]

Jon - once again you have shown the readers that most any little problem can be sealt with. It's too bad that there are so many "shake the box" modellers out there.

My biggest triumph with Brass engines was when I found an Empire Midland Southern Ry mountain at the Timonium show. Somebody had disassembled it becasue the frame pieces had become unsoldered. Cold soldewr joints were a big problem with early Korean models.               

I bought the thing (it was cheap) and completely stripped it. I made a form to hold the frame pieces (after removing the gold colored paint)and resassembled it with a Bernzomatic torch, plumbers flux and solder. It was quite a task putting the thing back together becasue the wheel bearings didn't quite fit the openings and the springs for the driverswere too stiff.  Also the frame was not square - I had to do a lot of filing prior to soldering,

I junked the cheap, undersize motor for  the biggest can motor I could find. I put the assembled mechanisn (less valve gear and boiler) on the tracks with a tender. Lo and behold the mechanism ran smoothly, quietly and slowly. I was very pleased with myself as other club members thought the engine was junk and suggested I go to counseling as I was obviously deranged!

I eventually finished the engine and sold it to a SRy fan at a later train show.

I always found tinkering with brass engines to be very enjoyable.               

[jonathan]

Thanks guys.  I fear you are too kind. I just follow instructions written by others. 

Regards,

Jonathan

[electrical whiz kid]

Jonathan; not advocating you becoming a glutton for punishment, but remove them-or just install new brass parker lamps; and instead, use optic fibres.  They will be more pliant, and will also conduct light, which if you really want to push, can be lit by coloured LEDs.  Using optic fibres is a relatively easy task.  First heat a portion of fibre until it bubbles out, cool it, then cut it with a sharp razor.  Polish the cut bubble lens using a fine crocus, graduating to lapping compound; then insert them fibre first, into the cavity of the (new) marker lamp.  The whole process isn't as intimidating as this post.
Rich C.

[rogertra]

Jonathan; not advocating you becoming a glutton for punishment, but remove them-or just install new brass parker lamps; and instead, use optic fibres.  They will be more pliant, and will also conduct light, which if you really want to push, can be lit by coloured LEDs.  Using optic fibres is a relatively easy task.  First heat a portion of fibre until it bubbles out, cool it, then cut it with a sharp razor.  Polish the cut bubble lens using a fine crocus, graduating to lapping compound; then insert them fibre first, into the cavity of the (new) marker lamp.  The whole process isn't as intimidating as this post.
Rich C.

The lamps either side of the smokebox, which I assume you are discussing, are NOT "marker" lamps but are "classification" lamps.  They display two colours.  White for an extra train, and white flags during daylight and green for a section, with green flags during daylight.  For timetabled trains, the lamps are not lit and no flags are displayed.

Marker lamps are carried on the last car of the train.  According to the rules, it's not a train until the markers are applied and ceases to be a train when the markers are removed.

Hope this helps as we do need to use the correct terminology so we are all on the same page.  

[jonathan]

Whilst I have considered the light fiber option for my "classification" lamps, I have not been brave enough to attempt it... yet.  Also, the jewels were already in place when I purchased this model... Hence, the incorrect red jewels in the side spots.  I'm fresh out of jewels right now so the red jewels will stay in place until a later date.

OK, to finish up, here are some final shots.  While the loco is not quite done, it's close enough to satisfy the illumination topic on this thread.

Wiring the headlight:


Before current applied:


Current applied with drivers turning... no shorts (whew):


As you might be able to see, there is not a spare millimeter of space in the motor cavity:




This is where I will connect the reverse light... if the 2mm bullet connectors will ever arrive from China:


Finally, some gratuitous shots of the near completed loco.  Still need a few decals, window glazing, crew figures, etc.






Thanks for all your help, kind words, and attention.  

Regards,

Jonathan