Life Like 0-4-0 DCC project

[flyboy2610]

I have a Life Like 0-4-0 #98 Dockside steam engine. It's a decent little runner. I think I got it for a few bucks at a train show. It has Talgo style horn hook couplers which will be replaced.

I'm considering dedicating it to the Rust-Eze Medicated Bumper Ointment plant. It's probably not going to have massive amounts of pulling power, so 1 or 2 cars at a time will be the limit. It has a simple drive mechanism. The gear on the bottom is driven by a gear directly above it, which is driven by the worm gear on the motor.

Power is picked up by wipers touching the top of both drivers on each side. The electrical contact is isolated from the frame by an insulating block between the wiper assembly and the frame. You can see that block in the previous pic.

The shell is held on by a single screw in the smoke stack. Remove the screw, pull up slightly on the front of the shell, and slide it back to clear the rear coupler.

Removing the shell reveals how simple this locomotive is. There are two wires from the pickups to the motor connections, and two wires from the motor tabs to the front headlight. There is no rear light. The front of the motor is supported by an L shaped bracket. There is a single screw in the top front of the motor securing it to the bracket. You can see the screw in this pic. It appears the motor is already isolated from the frame.

Installing the decoder should be a fairly quick process, once I get the decoder. There is a train show in Omaha next week, I may look for one there. The decoder I want to get is a Digitrax DZ123PS. It's a Z scale decoder. There's not a whole lot of room in the shell. I think I'll mount the decoder to the inside of the cab roof with some double sided tape. I measured the stall current, and it came to 1.1 amps. This decoder is rated at 1 amp continuous, 2 amp peak draw. Finding a 2 amp decoder small enough to fit the space has proved fruitless. If anyone knows of one, I'd be happy to hear of it.
I'm going to leave headlight as it, at least for now. It sits in the slot in the weight. There's no room to mount it to the shell.
I'm going to give this locomotive a good cleaning and lube job. It should be fun having it on the layout!

 

[Railrunner130]

I did one exactly like that a few years back. It's a good little runner. I think I had to do some finagling to get the kadee couplers on it.

 

[flyboy2610]

I have some Talgo adapters for the couplers. I know what you mean, getting Kadee's in there can be a challenge. Getting that adapter in place can be a pain in the neck, too!

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Watching this one, Guys!
Want to see/hear how it comes out.

 

[flyboy2610]

Thanks, Sherrel! I installed a Kadee #148 coupler on each end using Kadee Talgo adapters, and they were still as fiddly as the last time I did it. Trying to get the coupler end over the center post and under the two plastic ledges took some doing, but success, while it may be delayed, will not be denied! I would have preferred to use regular coupler boxes, but there was no way to mount them. Oh, well. We do what we must. I think I'm going to cut some strips of electrical tape about 1/8" wide and about 1-1/2" long and wrap the coupler pockets. They just don't look all that secure to me. Maybe a drop of thin CA on the end of the tape to seal it.
I don't have a pic right now. The locomotive is downstairs and I'm upstairs and I don't feel like going downstairs and the locomotive won't come upstairs, so maybe later in the week when I feel like going downstairs I'll get some pics.
There's a train show in Omaha this Saturday, so I'm going to go see what I can buy that I didn't know I needed. Maybe I can find a good deal on a truck tuner. I know I can use one of those.

 

[goscrewyourselves]

Flyboy,

One phrase immediately comes to mind ... "Your NUTS!"

And I mean that in an envious way. I wouldn't/don't have the patience to pull something that small apart, install a decoder (let alone a Z Scale one) then put it all back together again. Not only don't I have the patience, I'd end up turning the engine into a coffee maker or something

Great job and hoping it all comes together when finished so we can see it chugging around your layout.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

WELL - If you find a good deal on a truck tuner - get two of them - one for you and one for me - they are expensive little buggers. Have an idea to make my own; maybe I will try it?

Have not finished, but have found your blog to be very interesting?
I'll keep reading.

 

[flyboy2610]

Flyboy,

One phrase immediately comes to mind ... "Your NUTS!"

I've heard it said that everyone has a song that describes them perfectly. Here's mine:

What I wouldn't have patience for is dealing with all the fiddly bits in N scale. My hat's off to you, Tony!

 

[flyboy2610]

WELL - If you find a good deal on a truck tuner - get two of them - one for you and one for me - they are expensive little buggers. Have an idea to make my own; maybe I will try it?

Have not finished, but have found your blog to be very interesting?
I'll keep reading.

I'll see what I can do. I'd be interested in seeing your idea for making your own.

 

[flyboy2610]

I decided to come down to the man-cave this afternoon. I cut some strips of electrical tape and wrapped them around the Talgo adapters. They shouldn't come loose now! I put a drop of CA on the ends of the tape so it won't come unwrapped.
For those who don't know what a Talgo truck is, they were popular in days gone by to mount horn hook couplers on trucks. Basically there's a small diameter center post flanked by two plastic flanges. The coupler was installed over the post and under the flanges. I'm sure there is a simple way of getting them on there, but I don't know what it is!
A picture is worth a thousand words: (Ignore the paint spill)

A Talgo adapter allows a knuckle coupler to be installed anywhere a horn hook is installed on a Talgo mounting box. There is a center post with an inside diameter large enough to fit over the Talgo post, and an outer diameter large enough to hold a knuckle coupler securely centered. This post is short enough to fit under the plastic flanks, and has a T on each end to fill the Talgo mounting slot.
A couple of pics: (there are two adapters on this sprue)

Here is the adapter installed on the locomotive along with a Kadee #148 coupler:

I just didn't feel like the adapter was really secure, so I wrapped each adapter in a strip of electrical tape. They won't be going anywhere now!

I tested the coupling of the locomotive with a couple of cars that I know have the couplers the correct height. Everything coupled properly front and back. I do wish that the rear coupler didn't droop like that, but it doesn't seem to affect coupling. (I don't use trip pins.) After the layout is up and running (hopefully by 2030) I'll use it for a while, and if I detect problems, I'll come up with a solution. I can't wrap the rear of the adapter with tape, because the locomotive's shell slides onto the two tabs back there, and tape would cause it not to fit. If it's not broke, don't fix it.