Brass Repairs and Painting, Part 2 for MASSIVERALPH !

by **ACL1504** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 7:35 pm

bparrish wrote:Tom...

Try putting a six inch straight edge on the draft plate under the drivers. If the frame is bent it wills show up immediately. This is the sort of appearance of a a locomotive that has done a header to the floor at some point in its life; although the boiler and detail does not look hurt.

It is possible that the boiler structure is so stout that mis-assembly has pulled the frame into a twist, as it might be the weaker link.

see ya
Bob

Bob,

Great suggestion for checking a possible bent frame. Fortunately for me the loco doesn't have a bent frame and it doesn't appear to have taken a header like my other brass repair job. =))

The problem was solved so check the thread later this evening. I'm going to answer these other responses and then address what I found to be causing the problem. I appreciated your interest and following along.

Tom

by **ACL1504** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 7:42 pm

vzjtothalo wrote:
ACL1504 wrote:I thought MASSIVERALPH was the one and only! You of course! No one else cares about brass on this forum!

Tom

Trust me, there are still a few of us.........Were it not for the fact you mentioned otherwise, I would like to send you an NH loco that is a basket case that I got for $65.00 off of said Ebay.

Continue on, and with the Diet Pepsi.

John,

Yes, there are a few of us left! I never met a brass loco I didn't like! What is wrong with the NH loco. If it's a diesel, don't tell me! =))

However, if it's a steamer send me an email with the issues and I'll let you know if it can be fixed. I've gotten many a great deal off Ebay. Thanks for following along, I do appreciate your participation. :ymapplause:

Tom

by **ACL1504** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:06 pm

I couldn't stand it any longer so I began to disassemble the loco.

Great news, I dodged a bullet! Here is what I found to be causing the lifting of the two front drivers. The loco is obviously a used one and the last owner, maybe, took it apart and didn't know how to put it back together. They probably lost a few little screws and springs. This is my guess anyway!

Oh yes, the problem, well I removed the front pilot and found that the spring used to hold it to the track was way to large and to strong. The spring was inserted between the bottom of the steam chest and the pilot frame. In addition to the heavy spring a thick hardware washer was used as well. Even with the spring compressed the length of the spring and washer forced the pilot down and the steam chest up. This in turn caused the front of the loco to lift off the track. The heavy duty spring was removed and trashed along with the thick hardware washer.

I sorted through my spare brass parts bin and found a proper light tensioned spring more suited for the purpose of holding the pilot on the track while not lifting the loco. In the photo below, you can see the heavy spring and washer on the right. The proper size spring is on the left - quite a difference. Using this spring allowed the loco to set properly on the rails.

: Heavy spring on the right and correct size spring on the left.; key11.JPG (208.38 KiB) Viewed 216 times

by **gnatshop** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:27 pm

Just goes to show, bigger is not always better! =))

by **ACL1504** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:28 pm

The steam chest wasn't the issue nor did the loco have a bent frame. :-ss

$\:D/$ $\:D/$ $\:D/$ I'm very happy now!

The other problems are cosmetic only but I'll cover them here just for the purpose of the thread.

I mentioned the single action air pump being bent inwards and causing the side rods to jam in the up motion. I used a pair of long nose needle nose pliers to carefully and slowly bend the bracket back into the correct position. This problem now solved.

: Air pump bent back into the correct postion.; key10.JPG (116.5 KiB) Viewed 214 times

Other problems not yet fixed or repaired are :arrow:

The pipes and pipe bracket just below the running board are loose and unsoldered from the underside of the running board. The brackets appear to be in place in the below photo but they are indeed unsoldered and the front bracket is bent inwards as well.

: Pipes and pipe brackets are bent and unsoldered.; key5.JPG (209.3 KiB) Viewed 213 times

The whistle was bent over to the front of the steam dome. I carefully bent this back to being close to where it belongs but this issue will need a little more TLC as I don't want to break the steam pipe on the lower half of the whistle.

: Whistle bent and will need additional TLC for repair.; key7.JPG (189 KiB) Viewed 214 times

The bell cord has been cut and will need to be replaced.

: Brass bell cord has been cut and needs replacement.; key8.JPG (169.43 KiB) Viewed 213 times

continued in a few :arrow:

Diet Pepsi break time.

by **ACL1504** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:30 pm

gnatshop wrote:Just goes to show, bigger is not always better!

GNAT,

Well, in this case anyway! =))

Thanks for stopping by and posting a comment!

Tom

by **ACL1504** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:53 pm

Another major problem is the sloppy repair someone made on the front step on the loco. In the photo below you can see the right running board step and the glob of solder in the crappy repair. Look at the left running board step. This is how it should be soldered and this is how I'll make the repair.

: Sloppy repair on the running board step!; key9.JPG (215.01 KiB) Viewed 212 times

Once I had the boiler off the frame, I put power to the motor to see how it ran. The motor ran fine but not to my expectations. The motor is a factory installed Canon can motor and they do work fine for DC operations and DC sound such as PFM or the PBL but not so good for DCC operations.

I like to use the NWSL Sagami motors and I've had superior results with the Tsunami sound decoders using the old NWSL Sagaim motors. However, these are hard to find and NWSL no longer carries the Sagami brand motor like the round can motors. Fortunately for me I have a very nice stash of the NWSL Sagami motors to choose from.

: Motor checked along with the runing gear.; key13.JPG (164.37 KiB) Viewed 211 times

Notice also in the upper photo, the bracket on the back of the frame is bent. This bracket as two threaded holes on each side and two small screws go here to hold the back of the cab in place. This little bend was straightened as well. Another little issue fixed.

The motor to gear housing is supported by a universal joint assembly. This is quiet and more reliable than the rubber coupling used on most motors to gear boxes/housings.

: Universal joint used to connect the grea tower to the motor shaft.; key12.JPG (163.26 KiB) Viewed 212 times

I then removed the motor and gear housing from the frame.

: Motor and gear housing removed.; key14.JPG (155.93 KiB) Viewed 211 times

by **bparrish** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:38 pm

Tom.......

Sounds like this loco has been bouncing around without a box for a long time.

Good eye on the poor repairs.

My favorite pilot truck spring is the conical spring that Mantua used on their General and other heavy steam of during the 50's and 60's . I keep a bunch of them.... I can send you one if you want to try it.

Regarding Diesels......... We have a local modeler that describes them well....... dismals.

See ya
Bob

by **Vettelover7** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:16 pm

ACL1504 wrote:I thought MASSIVERALPH was the one and only! You of course! No one else cares about brass on this forum!
Tom

You gotta' lotta' brass to make a comment like that!
I've got the interest, but my old Daddy told me once "better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove it." I've got the interest, but not enough knowledge to even ask DUMB questions. And the worst part? A bunch of unpainted locos and not enough time or money to get 'em all fixed up the way I want them.
I'll just lurk in the shadows...........

by **ACL1504** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:44 am

Vettelover7 wrote:
ACL1504 wrote:I thought MASSIVERALPH was the one and only! You of course! No one else cares about brass on this forum!
Tom

You gotta' lotta' brass to make a comment like that!
I've got the interest, but my old Daddy told me once "better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove it." I've got the interest, but not enough knowledge to even ask DUMB questions. And the worst part? A bunch of unpainted locos and not enough time or money to get 'em all fixed up the way I want them.
I'll just lurk in the shadows...........

Chip,

Yea, I stuck it in my mouth this time. I really meant "There isn't a lot of interest in brass on this forum." So, your daddy, and mine and everyone else's is correct. I know, I just proved it! =))