Quick Loco Project

[jonathan]

Taking a little break from scenery.

Here is a brass B&O S-1a (2-10-2) which I've posted about before:

DSC_0513 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

I installed a working reverse light, using some gold plated connectors:

DSC_0507 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Unfortunately, these connectors, which seemed small to me at first, turned out to be a bit bulky--awkward to manipulate, hang too low, and so on:

DSC_0505 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

While shopping for scenery material at a hobby shop, I ran across these micro connectors from "Scale Shops" in Prescott, AZ.  As you can see they are quite tiny:

DSC_0504 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

They are gold plated, there are 20 pairs of connectors for $12.  Had to give it a try.

The wide portion of the connector made it easy to clip on a heat sink and solder to the wires:

DSC_0510 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

I was able to shorten the wires and move everything in close:

DSC_0508_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Now the connection is easy and doesn't interfere with trackwork or the drawbar:

DSC_0511_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

And it works!

DSC_0512 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

OK. now I have to get back to scenery. Just made 171 new trees.  Will get back to the layout stuff soon.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Len]

Nice. If you do another loco, you could chuck the connectors in a drill and spin it against a file or sandpaper to knock the corners off.

Len

[rich1998]

Very nice work. Something I cannot do anymore.

Rich

[jonathan]

  As I get older, I try to knock out tiny work.  I know the day is coming when these little projects will get too tough. Even now, getting enough magnification to see what I'm doing, is challenging. I have discovered soldering magnet wire to SMDs is darn near impossible.

Len, I have three more brassies with the same set up.  I will try spinning down the plugs to round 'em out.

Thanks guys.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Ken Huck]

Man, if I tried something like that, I'd end up with a chrome ball
trailer hitch the size of that penny on the draw bar !  Nice work  Jon.

Thanks for the pics.  Beautifully weathered loco by the way.

Ken

[jonathan]

Thanks Ken.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Grumpy468]

I love the look of the steam locomotives, thats a cool project.

[jonathan]

Thanks, Grumpy.

I took Len's advice and tried to put a plug in a chuck and round-off the insulating plastic.  Also tried shaving it down with a razor.  Neither method was creating a good look for me.  The plug is just too small.  However....

This is a Q-4b that needed a new smaller connector for the reverse light:

DSC_0517_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

I found it pretty easy to clip off that bit of plastic insulation.  Then I could cover the whole plug with shrink tubing.  This looks okay to me:

DSC_0515 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Works:

DSC_0516_01 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Thanks, Len, for putting my noodle in motion.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Len]

Who needs a plastic insulator anyway when you have heat shrink?

Len