I have some repairs to do and need to replace the drive shaft.

How do you remove the cylinders  from the side of the locomotive?


Stan

Quote from: bigreds on September 21, 2009, 08:59:56 PM
HI does anuone have the  part number for the Northwest Shortline gear.
Thanks
Martin

http://www.nwsl.com/pdf%20prod%20list/pdf%20prod11.htm
2226-6 12.95 #1 Fn3 Bachmann 2-8-0 axle gear 25T SGd x 15.8mm OD x .250" ID

Should a gear fail (I have six 2-8-0s and only the newest locomotive has had a main gear fail) you can get a replacement wheel with gear from Bachmann or replace the gear with a NWSL gear.  Its a simple replacement.

Stan

The Connie's are a relatively older mechanical design but still a great locomotive. We have 6 on our railroad and use the locomotive for mid distance runs that require a lot of switching.  We like the locomotive a lot.

The biggest shortcomings that users have reported on a variety of forums are a relatively small motor, the gear on the main axle and the screws holding the counterweights.  There are simple solutions to all three should you ever encounter a problem.

As Kevin has pointed out a little locktight on the screws holding the counterweights is a good idea and the newer locomotives have this from the factory. If the main gear fails you can get a new drive wheel with the gear installed for about $20 from Bachmann or you can get a new metal replacement gear from Northwest Shortline for about $12.  The only main gear I had fail to date was my most recent purchase which failed in the first few hours of operation.

New motors with a little more power can be purchased on EBAY if they ever fail.

As Barry has mentioned he has a new motor/ gear box for the locomotive which is an excellent high end addition.

I think you will enjoy the locomotive.

Stan Ames

Yes Indeed I found the second screw

I missed it the first time as well.

Thanks a lot

Stan

Jon

Thanks a lot for the photo and instructions..

Worked like a charm for the rear truck but the front truck is still tightly in place with the two screws removed.

Any other suggestions?

Stan

I seem to have misplaced the instructions for the Heisler.

Does anyone have the instructions for removing the front truck?

Thanks

Stan

Kevin

Are yuou sure of your comment that theis is a scaled up 2 ft forney.  I am not so sure.  Being in the North East I am familiar with the Maine 2 ft forneys as there were in ederville for a number of years before returning to Maine.  I have not put a caliper to one yet but there were 3 ft gauge forneys as well.  It will be interesting to compare.

Stan

If the locomotive is too fast at speed step 1 you lower the value in CV2.  if the speed is to slow at apeed step 1 you raise the value in CV2.  Since you state that the locomotive does not move till speed step 4 or 5 then the value in CV2 is to low.  Raise this value and you should be happy.

One note on ESU decoders.  They have start-up sounds and most desire to have only sounds at speed step 1 and motion at speed step 2.

As far as I know the ESU decoder only has a single chuff input.  With 1 chuff input you can get the prototypical compount chuffs ( 4 chuffs per revolution).  Often compound locomotives had an option to have simple mode (8 chuffs) to help at startup and very slow speeds.  I do this on a P5 by using both locomotive chuff outputs and use a function to switch on an off the second chuff input.  I do not believe you can do this on an ESU decoder.  What you can do is use simple mode when you want to and compound mode when you want to by using the simulated simple mode.

Hope that helps.

Stan Ames

Graham

I am a little confused by your post.

Let me try to help.

Normally the motor filter capacitors' only effect operation.  If you ESU decoder is running the locomotive smoothly then there should be no need to remove them.  If the locomotive is not operating properly with the decoder most people remove them.

The sound effects are influenced a great deal by the speaker choice. ESU recommends a hi ohm speaker for best sound effects.  Since the speaker is connected directly to the decoder the locomotive should have no effect on the sound quality.  If you are not getting the proper sound I would contact ESU directly for their suggestions.

On your Lenz System in Version 3.5 the 9 key toggles the functions and should have no effect.  If version 3.6 the 9 key is the F9 function and depending on how the decoder is set up could cause the decoder to play a sound or turn on a light function.

Let us know what you find out from ESU.

Stan

Radio shack sells a 1.4 amp one for $1.50, anything over a amp should be more then sufficient.

You can use the solder connections at the end of the board for the connections or use the wires on the plug in board, it really does not matter.

The Locomotive + and - are the right connections.   J1:6 is locomotive + and J1:7 is locomotive - or ground.  These connections are available in the socket or on the solder connections ar the rear of the board.

The Train Bus connections (J2:4 and 5) are for a future expansion and are not used at this time by any manufacturer.

Hope that helps

Stan

Mark

The 2-6-6-2 isolates the track from the internal electronics.  For the lighting and functions to work properly you need both a DC raw + and a DC raw -.

The dummy board has a rectifier on it to provide this function.

When you install a DCC decoder or RC unit you need to ensure that these connections are still made.  Many of these units have both a + and a – connection for this purpose.  Some however only provide the raw +.

If your DCC decoder does not have a ground output you can install a small rectifier using the connections on the rear of the main board.

Hook the AC legs of the rectifier to the track leads (J1-1 and J1-12), the  rectifier + to the locomotive + and the rectifier – to the locomotive -.  Once done all will work as expected.

Hope this helps

Stan

9 volts should keep the battery charged.  You might want to check with soundtraxx on what might be preventing the charge.

You can always use the LGB trick of lowering the voltage to the motor.  You likely would need one rectifier and a diode per motor.

This will drop the voltage to the motor by about 2 volts

Cut one lead to the motor.  Wire the two ends of the wire to the AC leads of the rectifier.  Install the diode  between the + and the - leads of the rectifier.  Use 4 amp parts.

But before I would go tp this step I would check directly with soundtraxx on how much voltage you need to keep the battery fully charged.

Hope that helps

Stan

Phil

I suspect the problem you are having is that the locomotive runs at a very low voltage.

This voltage is lower then the voltage the Sierra needs to recharge its batteries.

This would explain why you are seeing the battery run down so quickly.  To test this out read the track voltage at the speed you desire to operate the locomotive.  Anything less then about 7 volts and you are discharging the battery.

If indeed this is the problem ther is a very simple fix.  Lets confirm first that this is indeed the problem.  Let us know the DC track voltage that you are operating the locomotive at and we can work from there.

Stan

Actually only the speaker is in the third truck, the brains are in the coal bunker.

Try this.  Turn the throttle on your bridgeworks up to 1/2 to 3/4 throttle.

It is does not move I suspect there is a connection problem with the soundtraxx board and that the locomotive may indeed need servicing.

Stan

It is rather difficult to even guess what may be the problem with the info provided.

To help identify what may be the problem could you provide the system you are using and the track voltage being used?

Also the position each switch in the locomotive would also help.

Thanks

Stan
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