Mechanisms for NSW diesels.
My NSW diesel fleet comprises of a few locos that need re-motoring as the original mechanisms have poor electrical pick ups with tyres – Powerline and Lima locos. I have bought five 48 class bodies that will need mechanisms. One of my priorities is to have sound in every one of my locos so quiet mechanisms are really necessary.
American loco mechanisms for our NSW locos.
Courtesy Mick Bluett.
40 class = Kato Alco RSC 2 wheel spacing spot on - side frame detail - close enough
42 class = Athearn SD 9 - close enough for me.
43 & 44 class = Have used Athearn SD 40 BUT you need to araldite Lima side frames onto bogie mechanism.
421 class = no clues BUT in light of forthcoming 49 class release; uneven wheel spacing makes it a likely candidate Next step talk to Trainorama about ordering extra bogies for general consumption
48 class = Atlas Alco RSD 4/5 wheel spacing OK. Side frames, very heavy; but correct Alco style. An option would be to attach Powerline 48 class side frames but are OK as is. These bogies are available from Atlas as spare parts
Above info does not essentially apply to Lloyds body shells but would be the starting point if I was building these kits.
For my 48s I have bought a few different mechanisms and made some up by buying bogies and motors. The 48 conversion continues and there are so many options. I checked (Dec 06) the AR Kits web site for Main West mechanisms but they are temporarily out of stock. I wonder how long this will be due to AR Kits are, “up for sale”. Hollywood Foundry may be the only Aussie manufacturer soon.
Shown below are the mechanisms with the Pros and Cons of each one.
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Hollywood Foundry Diesel Mechanisms.
Hollywood Foundry 03 5629 1100 is the newest Australian manufacturer of mechanisms. They can supply bogies with any wheel type and size and any axle spacing. This enables them to “cover” all types of locos including smaller than HO. Geoff the owner is really helpful and will help you to choose the correct bogie.
As of Sep 07, they have a complete 48 mechanism. Click here to see the 48 mechanism.
I purchased a couple of bogies, and a motor, but no flywheels and made my own mechanism shown below in 2006, to evaluate the bogies (mechanism not available then). See below.
For Hollywood Foundry’s RTR mechanism and description, click here.
My test 48. I made a suitable mechanism “plate” out of lead to give it some weight and easy to cut out. I “super glued” the motor and bogies onto this. The motor comes complete with flywheels and drive shaft kits. The drive shafts had to be cut to the correct length and fit the balls that locate in the “universal” housing. A little fiddly but there is some spare rod if you make a mistake. Another method maybe to use neoprene tubing/rod for the drive shafts as shown in the Main West mechanism below. This could also reduce the cost.
As Geoff explained when I first spoke to him, these bogies are a little noisy, similar to the K & M mechanisms due to a similar design. I ran the “mechanism” in as Geoff explains in the supplied literature, for two hours at high speed.
Fitting sound to my locos is a high priority. Fitting a sound decoder to a “noisy” mechanism makes the Alco sound like it has major gearbox problem. This detracts from the overall sound of the loco so I need a quiet mechanism. I may be left with no alternative but I have to try. I’ll let these pages know what my outcome is. In the meantime, I’ll continue with all my DCC/Sound stuff.
The Hollywood Foundry range will be able to cover all the NSW diesels, as the bogie design allows for different axle spacing. A great product and very well designed and packaged. Thanks Hollywood, I am sure they will get many orders. I will need a mechanism for my 43.
A close up of the bogie. The high speed of the shaft with the 3 worm gears for the axles is the major factor contributing to the noise. The electrical pickup is a sensational design that will give trouble free electrical operation over all those Insulfrog points and double slips.
A close up of the “reduction” gears, in this case 26:1 that gave a top scale speed of about 60 miles per hour (100kph) using my NCE DCC system with 13.8 volts DCC at the track. A 15:1 ratio was available that is a little higher that gives a higher top speed.
Pros: ANY bogie wheel arrangement and size can be provided. Cheaper at $100 but will require some work by the modeller to get it to operating stage.
Cons: A little noisy. If you need reliable and well designed bogies and a motor, this is certainly the best way to go.
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Main West mechanisms
4802 - This is a second hand mechanism that I bought that has been modified to remove the universals. Neoprene tubing and 2.0 mm rod drive shafts. Removed the early “noisy” DCC decoder. Will finish with some weights and fit DSD100LC sound and speaker
The current Main West mechanism costs $150 and comes complete with the shown weights that fit neatly into a Powerline body. Sandwiched in between the weights is the wiring harness of a very small TCS M1 that is located on top of the bogie. Fitting sound to this will require a fair bit of top weight removal but a DSD-100LC sound decoder and speaker can be fitted.
Pros: Very quiet and smooth running.
Cons: $150 cost.
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Ray Pilgrim’s 48 mechanism AMRM article.
This mechanism is made from printed circuit board and uses Austrains 421 bogies but these are no longer available and a Mashima 1630 motor and North West Short Line universal joints with 2.0 mm shafts. Ray suggested adding lead weights to give the mechanism more weight. As there is no completed Tuscan body yet, weights have not been made yet. Also no DCC decoder either.
Pros: Really quiet mechanism and smooth runner. Reasonably cheap to build.
Cons: Austrains 421 bogies are not available any more. Could use AR Kits 45 bogies instead.
Powerline 48.
The standard Powerline mechanism. Fitting a motor only decoder required removing a small amount of the light “tower” to fit an NCE D13SR decoder. A TCS M1 or T1 would fit in without any metal removal. Click here for a sound decoder installation
Pros: Cheap
Cons: Poor pickup, only 3 wheels on one side of each bogie that will cause the loco to stall. Slightly noisy.
K & M mechanisms.
Pros: Heavy weight only requires minimum of extra weight.
Cons: Costs $160, 3 wheels per bogie pick up, Too noisy for “DCC sound” and high motor will make fitting sound difficult.