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Added TCS Decoder to my On30 Davenport critter Journals/Blogs
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Frequent poster 890 posts Verne Niner Frequent poster 890 posts
Verne Niner

 

I installed a TCS KAM4P-MH decoder in my favorite On30 Davenport critter today, and just had to shoot some photos:
 
Estrella & Sonora Grande RR #23 is backing a loaded ore train down the 4% switchback from the Cielo Incline. You can see two ore cars coming down the incline in the background. The spooky face in the rocks (above the headlight) is called 'La Boca del Diablo' by the miners, which translates to 'The Mouth of the Devil' in Spanish.
 
The locomotive is stock Bachmann, with the exception of the decoder, new front and side grab irons made from brass wire, operating link and pin couplers and an engineer with a custom cowboy hat.  
 
Here the train has reversed and is now passing the coke plant at Apache Wells. The backdrop is still in progress on this section of the layout.
 
With San Lorenzo yard in sight, the train rattles around the sharp curve below the sagging retaining wall. The wall is made from 2,200 travertine blocks.
 
This decoder has transformed its performance from rough and shaky to smooth and silent, and the onboard Keep Alive capacitors allow it to run on my slightly dirty track with no dropouts or stalls - I haven't cleaned track in more than a week. See Bruce Petrarca's article in the March issue of MRH for all the details of this Keep Alive technology...it turned this shelf queen into a star performer.

ne-alt-1.JPG 

See my website here: The  Maverick Canyon Branch of the Rio Grande Southern 
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Prof_Klyzlr Moderator 7,950 posts
Prof_Klyzlr

Looking good, Grandt skip Q

Dear Verne,

Glad to hear the Davenport is hauling it's share of ore, and the layout is looking great

A question if I may, I was just looking at a few Grandt On30 Koppel cars I have in stock, and I couldn't work out the wheelsets. In the kits I have, the "axles" appear to be tiny plastic "half-axles", which fit in the wheels, but show no obvious way of "staying in position" in the subframe. Seeing your Koppels reminded me of this oddness, can you advise how the wheels/wheelsets/axles are configured under yours?

Many Thanks,

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr
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Verne Niner Frequent poster 890 posts
Verne Niner

New Trucks are the Answer

Thank you, Professor! Those funky delrin wheels and frame sections from Grandt Line aren't really up to operating reliably, but they make grreat fodder for the parts bin! I use a very simple solution in their place...the old MDC HO express reefer trucks with metal frames and wheels. Perhaps an unusual selection, but they were available on the cheap as they were discontinued when Athearn absorbed the MDC line, and the long upper sideframes provide a good surface for gluing to the underside of the car.

I just glue them under the car with Walters Goo. Very inelegant, but they operate very well considering their short wheelbase. They roll smoothly, and the extra weight really helps them track better.

ne-alt-1.JPG 

See my website here: The  Maverick Canyon Branch of the Rio Grande Southern 
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Prof_Klyzlr Moderator 7,950 posts
Prof_Klyzlr

Dear Verne, Thankyou soo

Dear Verne,

Thankyou soo much, all becomes clear Maybe some B'mann On30 passenger trucks with smaller HO 36" wheelsets might work, I think I have some lying around here someplace...

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr
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pacbelt New member 27 posts
pacbelt

Nice Verne!

You never cease to amaze me, Verne!! That Davenport is DEFINITELY on my to-do list. Also, I have a few packages of Intermountain 38" HO scale wheelsets. I think they will translate well to On30! LOVE your articles - and website!! Carmine
Carmine A. Owner/Creator/Operator - the Pacific Belt Model RR
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splitrock323 Prolific poster 1,364 posts
splitrock323

Keep alive decoder

Did it help a lot to add that to a smaller diesel? I need to add one to a few steamers I have with 0-6-0 wheels and thinking about a track mobil too. Thomas G.

Thomas W. Gasior MMR

Modeling northern Minnesota iron ore line in HO.

YouTube: Splitrock323      Facebook: The Splitrock Mining Company layout

Read my Blog

 
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