#135 ~ Test, Adjust, Test, Adjust, Repeat

 Making the Necessary Adjustments to Help Make № 135 a Reliable Runner.

In the last post about № 135 we were trying to troubleshoot why it couldn't negotiate the left-hand turns.

After determining that more weight was needed, it turned out that a little more work was also needed on the frame to allow the trucks to swing more freely.

After some work, № 135 successfully negotiates a left-hand turn.

Turning the power truck with my fingers, I could just make out that one corner of the truck was rubbing on the frame. Normally I would remove the truck before filing the frame, but an extra weight I had just installed made removing the truck a bit complicated. So I kept the truck in place and carefully cleaned up after the filing. I don't want all that debris getting into the gears!

With its trucks swinging more freely, № 135 successfully negotiates a left-hand turn with № 426 making an opposing left turn, while № 9 makes a right.

№ 135 is becoming a much better runner. Occasionally it will still derail while making a left turn, so more adjustments will be needed. In some places, I'm beginning to suspect that the track itself may be the culprit and that it is what needs adjusting.

It's a constant battle: run, troubleshoot, adjust; run, troubleshoot, adjust; run, troubleshoot, adjust. Slowly but surely, things keep getting better and better.

And then one fine day, it'll all be perfect!

Yes sir! Perfect!

Dandy

#135 ~ Right Turns Only

No. 135 runs like a dream—until it meets a left-hand curve.

After a fair bit of troubleshooting, adjusting, and modifying, I’ve finally made some progress. The car can now negotiate the right-hand curves without much trouble.

But the left-hand curves? That’s a whole different story.

#135 runs beautifully in most respects, it’s smooth, steady, and reliable. It just refuses to cooperate when it comes to left-hand turns.

To get a better look at what was going on, I set up a camera trackside and ran the model past it. Watching the footage back gave me a clearer picture of the problem:

What I’m seeing is the car starting to climb the rails on those left-hand curves. That leads me to think a bit more weight might help keep it grounded and tracking properly.

The challenge is figuring out where to put that weight. I’ve already packed quite a bit into the roof, and I’d really prefer not to load up the passenger area if I can avoid it. So now it’s a matter of getting creative and finding a solution that works without compromising the look of the model.

But that’s part of the fun, right?

Yes sir! ~ It's all part of the fun!

Dandy

Gandy Dancing in the Streets

Layin' Track 

Originally the layout was built 4 feet by 4 feet. But the curves proved too tight, the streets were too tight, the city blocks too small, the sidewalk corners had to curve to clear the intersection tracks... it just wasn't working. But just by adding another 6" to each side of the layout made all the difference in the world. So the intersection was cut out of the old cramped layout and then spliced into the spacious real estate of the new 4'6"x4'6" layout. 

Then, the mainline finally began advancing forward. Soon it made a right turn, then another right, and maybe even another! Then reconnected to the intersection. Route 1 is in baby! So you know what that means...

Time to put a car on the track and take her for a spin! Yeah, sure its "roundy roundy". But after all this time were finally rolling! I'll take "roundy roundy" over "display, display" any day. And when it does finally get old, well...

With the mainline continually advancing forward it wasn't long until all four blocks were in. Now the cars can dance the "Cloverleaf", the "Double Untwisted Figure 8s", or even 4 simultaneous "Roundy Roundys" and everything in between!

Pretty neat, eh? Yes sir! Pretty darn neat!

Dandy

Niles Project ~ Gurzelin'

Installing a Hollywood Foundry Gurzeler on Niles #105.

The Gurzeler is the second mechanism that I'm trying out on these Niles cars. #107 got the half floor which has worked out just fine. And now #105 will get the Gurzeler. Each mechanism has it advantages.

This is the city. Los Angeles, California. I belong to a club here. The Southern California Traction Club. I'm a traction modeler.
Sunday, 2011, a club member who goes by the name, interestingly enough, of Fred Gurzeler, approaches me. Fred, a man of a few words, reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small object. Its an etched plate. He hands it to me explaining that its a mounting plate for mounting the Gurzeler mechanism to Suydam PE 414 cars. No mention of where it came from, or what those mysterious markings mean. Just a well manufactured mounting plate. That's how Fred operates. Who am I to argue or ask questions? Its exactly what I need. Thanks Fred. I owe you one.

Exhibit A.
The mysterious Gurzeler mounting plate.

While soldering the mounting plate to the floor, I managed to unsolder one of the seats. And maybe some underbody details. No matter! Easily fixed.

I wasn't able to get the opening for the belt exactly centered because the plate has to fit between the interior bulkheads that the floor screws into. Even if I did, it later proved to be a problem. The opening needs to more towards one end or the other so that the motor is centered inside the car because the flywheel protruded into the interior bulkhead base. (Edit: Turns out that if I had ordered the Gurzeler Motor Package, I wouldn't have had this problem! DDS 10-11)

The Gurzeler is a simple yet brilliant design. The motor is mounted in place with double sided tape which also acts as a sound barrier. The belt (not an O ring, but an actual belt made to withstand the tension) replaces the noisy gear tower and also pulls down on the motor, helping to keep it in place.

Under floor view. I chose silicone tubes to transfer the power to the LowBoy trucks. Seems to me silicon tubes would be the easiest to replace should they fail after a while.

With no giant motors under the floor and those silicone drive shafts, these cars should be able to negotiate some crazy radius curves now!

This all went together easy-peasy (except for the off-centering of the motor. See below). The motor and silicone drive shafts are nice and level. I added a Miniatronics 2 pin Micro Mini Connector socket by soldering the leads to the motor and gluing the socket to the top of the motor. The other plug will connect to the decoder. This makes for a convenient way to separate the floor from the body for maintenance.

(Edit: Turns out that if I had ordered the Gurzeler Motor Package, I wouldn't have had this problem! DS 10-11) I had to cut a notch in the base of the bulkhead so that the flywheel on the motor will clear when attaching the floor to the model. For the folks who don't have their own mysterious Fred Gurzeler and have to fabricate their own mounting plate at home, the openings for the belt drive and screws need to be closer to the end of the mounting plate. We could all use a mysterious Fred Gurzeler in our lives, couldn't we? Yes sir! We could all use a mysterious Fred Gurzeler in our lives.

Its in there! The motor does sit slightly above window level. But models are very seldom viewed from this angle. All motors would be visible from regular viewing angles. So that's where populating the model comes in. Putting folks in the seats will take the attention away from the motor as was done with Birney #301. The only thing guests will notice about the motor after that is the smooth quiet operation of the model around the layout. Now if I could just get to building that layout. Yes sir! If I could just get to building that layout!!!

Dandy

Niles Project ~ Turning Radius

The Factors That Limit The Turning Radius Of The Suydam Niles Cars.

Previously I mentioned that there were a couple of factors that limit the turning radius of the trucks. Here is an illustration of that:

The side frame of the truck on the left is contacting the motor. Hopefully the new BullAnt motor will eliminate this problem. While the truck on the right, the drive shaft is contacting the wheel (or gear when rotated the other way). There isn't a whole lot I can do about that. Fortunately, this truck has a tighter turning radius than the other.

So with the new turning radius of the left truck and the possibly already sufficient turning radius of the right truck, hopefully this car will get around my curves. I'll have to keep my fingers crossed. Yes sir! Keep my fingers crossed!

Dandy

Niles Project ~ De-PE'd

Re-San Diegoifying Suydam Niles Cars by Removing their Pacific Electric Details

These Suydam cars are a hybrid between the San Diego details and Pacific Electric details. The trolley poll positions are correct for San Diego, but the trucks and a couple of details are PE.

The signboard and retriever are really the only things that need to be removed. The Point Loma car (on the left) had a different pilot, so I removed that too. As you can also see on the Point Loma car, the removal of the signboard left a mounting slot and holes on the roof.

To fill in this slot, I used Squadron white modeling putty. Its readily available, really easy to use, and dries fast. I simply squeezed a small amount out onto a piece of card and applyed with a small screwdriver. After it dried I sanded it down flush.

As for the trucks... In San Diego the cars had a 6 foot wheel base while the model sports the PE 5'4" wheelbase with 30" wheels. I'm afraid that if I go with the longer wheelbase, it might jeopardize the turning radius that the car can make. As-is, the trucks are making contact with the motor on my curves. The new BullAnt motor should eliminate this problem, but the drive shaft from the motor to the truck is what is going to limit its turning ability now. Another factor as to whether or not to change the trucks is if the side frames are available commercially. Because if they're not...

Well, the tearing down of these cars went easy enough, a lot easier than the Birney! Now its time to build them up. So far this project is moving along just fine. Yes sir! Moving along just fine!

Dandy