On/Off Switch

[Joe Zullo]

I received my new to me Bachmann 36 ton 2 truck Shay and I need to install an on/off switch in it. This is a complicated loco, and before I go taking it apart to see what goes where, does anyone here have any suggestions? I use analog track power. TIA

BTW, it runs great. Smooth, strong, and easily goes through my R1 switches. I am very pleased with it.

[Chuck N]

 Joe:

My two truck Shay has a three position switch behind the smoke box door under the headlight.  It is "NMRA-off-LS".  At least it think the center position says off it is a little (impossible) to read.  However on the track there are no lights or movement in the center position when there is power to the track.

There are two switches.  The bottom one is for smoke "on/off".

Chuck

[Joe Zullo]

Chuck,
Unfortunately, my 36 ton Shay only has a smoke on/off switch in that location.

[Joe Zullo]

Wow, it wasn't as easy as originally planed. My Shay has the die cast trucks, and as such they have a much different top cover than in the past. I consulted George Schreyer's tips page and finally came up with a solution. It involved removing both trucks so I could open a trace on the top cover PC board in each truck, and add a wire to each one. Then I had to snake the wires through the loco to the bunker and make all the necessary connections. Viola! I have my on off switch. My switch shuts off motor power instead of track power, so the lights still work with the loco "parked".

Here is George's instructions....



"This is the new bolster after it has been modified to separate the motor and power pickups. I drilled two small holes and cut two traces. The motor wires that were already in the old bolster were fed through the holes and soldered to the, now separated, motor contacts. The wires that came on the bolster were spliced onto the original power pickups wires, insulated with shrink tube and stuffed back into the loco body. I did not have to actually open the loco body to make this change."

[Chuck N]

Joe, glad you solved your problem.  Unfortunately, some Bachmann engines have the switch and some don't.

I had to rewire my Thomas so that he would run in the same direction as all my other engines.  Thomas in sets doesn't  have (didn't) the NMRA/LS switch, but Thomas sold as an engine alone has the switch.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but at a show we have a loop where Thomas runs in one direction and James or Percy goes in the opposite direction.  The passing siding and the mainline are set up with spring switches and diodes and gaps, so that if you pull train A into the siding and change the polarity on the track train B will head off in the opposite direction.  Then when B on the mainline is sitting between the gap and diode, a polarity change will stop B and start A. 

Without rewiring Thomas it wouldn't work.  With all the other trains we have running on three different tracks, Thomas is what the kids want to see.

It would have been easier if there was a switch.

Chuck

[Joe Zullo]

It would have been easier if there was a switch.

Chuck

Yeah, tell me about it!