I'm told by some of the local club guys that have them, the new Walthers 130ft turntable http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-2829 is pretty nice, if a bit pricey.

I've also used the Atlas 9in turntable as an under-the-table indexed drive for larger home built turntables.

Len

The Power-Loc 'Adapter Tracks' (Formerly known as 'Power-Link' tracks) are items:

21314 - Steel Track/Black Roadbed
21344 - NS Track/Grey Roadbed

You can get them through Walthers (Mfg: 433) if your LHS doesn't have them.

My grandson found they worked very well for expanding the Power-Loc oval in his Life-Like set with EZ-Track.

Len

I finally got the upgrade trucks for my dummy GP-7 and ran in to a minor problem when I went to install them.

The original trucks use a 3.5mm screw to hold the pilot/footplate casting in place. The hole for this screw on the upgrade trucks is sized and tapped for a 3.0mm screw.  Fortunately, I own a set of metric taps and was able to drill the hole out and re-tap it for 3.5mm.

But if the new upgrade truck sets are going to have a different size hole than the originals, they should really include a couple of 3.0mm flat head screws for making the change. Since most people don't own, or have a simple source for, metric taps.

Len

70's stuff is "old"?

I've still got my Revell SW-7 from Christmas 1957, and several Ambroid kit cars from around the same time period.

Len

Will these be single motor, or two motor stump-pullers like the originals?

Len

That's why I use contact cleaner w/lube and not oil. It doesn't attract and hold dirt and dust the way oil does.

If you use WD-40, be careful where the overspray goes. WD-40 can attack paint and plastics if not cleaned off immediately.

Len

The problem is Lionel put a soft start "feature" into the CW-80 a while back. On other transformers, when you hit the reverse button the power to the track is cut of, when you release it the voltage pops back to where it was. So you get a nice clean transition for the reversing unit to see.

On the CW-80 pushing the reverse button cuts off the track voltage, same as everyone else. But when you release it, the voltage comes up very slowly from zero to where it was. You can see this by hooking a light across the track outputs. Some electro/mechanical reversing units do not like this because they are looking for a hard transition from the On-to-Off-to_On state to cycle. Sometimes putting a 12V tail light across the output helps for some reason, but not always.

Len

I occasionally find the yoke is a bit too tight against the roller on cars right out of the box from all of the manufacturers. As the car runs friction heats the roller up and it expands enough to jam against the yoke and stop spinning. Dirt/dust buildup between the roller and yoke can also cause this.

Try gently spreading the yoke that holds the roller a small bit. Needle nose pliers help with this. There should be enough space on each side for the roller to move back and forth slightly.

Also, I have found electrical contact cleaner w/lubricant works well for cleaning the rollers and keeping them spinning. It doesn't attract and hold dust the way oil does.
You can get it at Radio Shack or the electrical section of most home centers.

Len

I'm thinking about using a WbB reversing board to drive the motors and lights of a water wheel on a flour mill and nearby sawmills circular saw.

Looking at the diagram of the board in the FAQs, in understand the AC in/DC out connections for the front/rear truck connectors.

A couple of questions about the other connectors:

Is the "Slave Motors" connector:

AC or DC output?

Are the "Slave Motors" and "AC Out" connector:

Fixed (e.g., does the voltage stay constant past a certain level input) or are they variable outputs?

If fixed, at what voltage?

If variable, what is the voltage range?

What are the current handling ratings for these outputs?

I really wish manufacturers would provide voltage/current info for inputs/outputs on all electronic devices/PCB sold for use in O scale. It would save a lot of nasty smell assaults on the nose when a current rating gets unknowingly exceeded.

Len

A 4-12-2 from anyone isn't going to look right on less than 36in radius curves, whether it will go around tighter curves or not.

Len

The 'Scenemasters' work fine for doing quick talgo conversions on cars that use the horn-hooks with the small pivot hole (Tyco, etc.). You don't have to use KD 212 adapters to fill the large holes of other knuckle couplers. They are especially handing for making 'transition' cars, horn-hook on one end, knuckle on the other.

Eventually you should think about body mounting your couplers, but the Scenemasters are good if you want to do a lot of Tyco style cars in a hurry.

Athearn used horn-hooks with a large pivot hole, and a KD #5, #148, or EZ-Mate should drop right in.

You should also invest in a pair of KD Trip-Pin pliers and coupler height gauge. They make it easy to adjust the trip pin so it doesn't snag on switch frogs and crossings.

Len

Having grown up along the NH I noticed one thing about the orange used. Depending on how long it had been out in the weather, the exact shade could vary drastically.

So I wouldn't get too hung up on matching an exact shade of orange unless you're modeling a loco just coming out of the paint shop. And even then the exact shade could vary with the particular lot of paint used.

Len

You don't provide enough info to offer any help.

If what you're doing is using the 90-deg crossing to put a figure-8 into an existing loop, you're actually creating two reversing loops.

They will have to be isolated from the rest of the track with insulated rail joiners, and an additional direction control switch or auto reverse unit will be needed. Otherwise you will short out your track.

There are numerous wiring books, and on-line pages, that show how to wiring this type of configuration correctly.

Len

Quote from: hotrainlover on February 20, 2009, 09:05:03 PM
Thanks for the help.  I did check with Athearn, and they wanted $7.00 just for 1 spring.  Yes I will check the parts Store as mentioned, I had not even thought of that...

Thanks again for the help!!

Something doesn't sound right about that price.

If this is for a standard Athearn HO motor, it should be PN 84014, Motor Brush Springs 36/pk for $5.40, not $7.00 each.

Len

I find the simplest way to find dropped springs, screws, etc., is to walk across the floor after dark,  barefoot, with the lights off.

Len