Oh & I run them on Dc not DCC yet.


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So I am working on adding better pick ups on my tenders for my rivarossi berks
Any ideas as to what I should use, or how to even go about this?? I am looking to get a bit smoother operation out of them.
I have repowered all of them with better can motors added LED lights to them. They run good , but I am wanting them to crawl like my diesels do.


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So I am working on adding better pick ups on my tenders for my rivarossi berks
Any ideas as to what I should use, or how to even go about this?? I am looking to get a bit smoother operation out of them.
I have repowered all of them with better can motors added LED lights to them. They run good , but I am wanting them to crawl like my diesels do.


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I don't know what pickups they have now, but here's some general suggestions. If the tender wheelsets have one metal wheel and one plastic wheel on a shared metal axle, then you can use a metal strip rubbing lightly against the axle to pick up power through the metal wheel. A variation on this is to pull off the plastic wheel and slip a small copper, or brass, spring around the axle. Unwind a bit of the spring at one end and solder a wire to it. Secure this end of the spring to the truck assembly so it can swivel with the truck. If the tender has all metal wheels then you can add spring wire contacts to rub very gently against the backs of all wheels. Keep them gentle so they don't act as brakes. The more pickup the better, but remember the drivers of a steam locomotive are a whole lot bigger diameter than the wheels of a diesel. One RPM on a diesel's wheels might move the loco ten scale feet down the track. The same one RPM on a steam loco with 6' dia. wheels might move it 4-5 times as far. So a steamer is going to need some serious gear reduction to move as slowly as a diesel. Rivarossis came with three-pole P.O.C. motors and fairly fast gearing. When you added the can motor did you also add a Northwest Short Line gear set?

Traction Fan

 

Thank you for the spring idea!! I will probably use that!
As far as the gear set it would still be the same that came with it. I did use a lower rpm motor on it. I will look into gears for it. Any links on part??
I appreciate any help , or feedback!


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I think I found a gear set. It will reduce speed up to 66 %. Looks like I will have to press the shaft out of the gears I have to put these on..... it will be fun! [emoji2373][emoji2361][emoji2957]


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I found that simply adding more weight to the tender improved the electrical pickup considerably.

 

65steam;

Good suggestion! Those Rivarossi tenders (and locomotives) were pretty light.

Traction Fan 🙂

 

I have found the use of capacitors in dc locomotives will help too. If you can take the positive wire off the motor and wire a capacitor in series with it that may also help. I would suggest a sizable one though. It will keep more power going through it on insulated frogs or dirty track. I bought an old y6 on eBay that had a pair of capacitors in the boiler that were almost as big as the motor. This will also possibly help it run smoother due to voltage spikes being eaten up to a point by the capacitor instead of it going straight to the motor. The main thing you need to watch with capacitors is that you don’t end up with a super capacitor which will keep a circuit alive for quite a while. The higher the farad rating the more the capacitor will hold. Also make sure you’re choosing one thats rated for the correct voltage. They come in lots of voltage ranges so say you get a 3 volt rated capacitor you can also wire them in series to make it add up to 12 volts or whatever your controller puts out. So say you’re running the track power up to 15 volts and you buy a bunch of 3 volt capacitors. Yes you can wire 5 of them in series but it may be wise to wire 6 together so you’re over the rated voltage and you are able to go to 18 volts safely. I believe the more capacitors you wire in series it also will drop the capacitance that they hold but will increase the voltage allowable. Think of it almost like a small battery. They sell current keepers or keep Alive cap banks through dcc providers. This won’t make the locomotive always run mechanically smoother but it will help it run more reliably anyway

 

Ok everyone.. update time.
I have to thank you all for the tips!
I found that taking off the old pick up from the tender & making new ones with multi tip connections helped a bit.
Also adding 3/4 oz to the loco & 1 oz to the tender has helped a lot!
Gave it a good cleaning & ran I small wire connections to the loco from the tender so it’s not just feeding off the drawl bar. This all has helped it run a lot smoother at lower speeds.

I will look at a cap for it next. That just might help with a few other locos & maybe my coach lights.


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Ok not sure if anyone is really paying attention to this post, but thank you for telling me about the gear replacement!!!
I have done one now & this rivarossi berk just became my favorite once again!! With the new can motor I put it it, a LED update on the light. My smoke unit I added( I know not everyone like it) my update to my tender pick ups & now this gear reduction kit!! Holy cow!!
It pulls better than my big GE diesels!! So smooth! No cutting in & out! Just very nice!
So nice I will be ordering 5 more sets! 3 more berks & my mallet will all get this!!


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Ok not sure if anyone is really paying attention to this post, but thank you for telling me about the gear replacement!!!
I have done one now & this rivarossi berk just became my favorite once again!! With the new can motor I put it it, a LED update on the light. My smoke unit I added( I know not everyone like it) my update to my tender pick ups & now this gear reduction kit!! Holy cow!!
It pulls better than my big GE diesels!! So smooth! No cutting in & out! Just very nice!
So nice I will be ordering 5 more sets! 3 more berks & my mallet will all get this!!


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IronManStark;

It sounds like you have a BLI premium locomotive made by Rivarossi! 😄
Glad to hear it's running so well. You're welcome for the suggestion about replacing the gears. Back in the day Northwest Short Line www.nwsl.com made gear replacement sets, can motors, and complete gearboxes, for just about every HO locomotive on the market. They closed the business and then re-opened it under new ownership, so I'm not sure what all they have available now. At least you were able to get the parts you needed to make it run much better.

Have Fun;

Traction Fan 😊

 

Who else makes gear boxes other than Nwsl? I’ve had issues within the last year with their tech support and have had about enough of it unfortunately

 

I don't know of another source.

Traction Fan

 

I will look into the website. I found this one on eBay for $35. It’s a bit pricey to do 4 more locos. However I want them all to run like this one!!


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Just a short video of my new gears. This is at 3/4 throttle. Moves good. Looks more normal. Not racing like most rivarossi locos [emoji6]


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It looks like the quartering may be off a little bit but does run pretty good for an old locomotive

 

Next purchase from www.nwsl.com a quartering tool, 😄 and the spending continues.

Traction Fan 🙂

 

That’s precisely why I have yet to change a gear box. I haven’t bought a wheel and gear puller or a quartering tool yet. I sure do like buying new tools though. Maybe one day I’ll pick one up and get a few done

 

Yeah this one is still on the table .... the motor actually causes it to hesitate like that... it’s a old cannon motor. May have a bent shaft on it. At the time I did these I was very new to the hobby & a bit crude in my techniques. Lol

After the other one tuned out so well. I have a new motor coming for this one. I feel with the gears that is the only way to go now!!
A new set of gears with a good can motor!
The cannon motors worked good, but I feel the bachmann cans are so much better!

Also a capacitor has really made life better!!


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I was looking and there are a range of different sizes for quartering tool. From small n scale all the way up to g. I think the tool you use is depicted by the size of the drivers you’re quartering as well as the size of the pins for the drive rods.

 

Thanks all.

Looking at the tool it looks like the alignment is on the same plane, not 90 degrees off. But it's missing an application picture, so I don't know.....

 

It looks like there is a 90 degree angle built into the tool. A real steam locomotive can't run if the crankpins, drive rods, & pistons didn't have a difference in position.

Traction Fan

 

I've got one of those quartering kits, if you want to borrow it send me your address via private conversation.

 

Thanks, I tried that once and it didn't work. Most forums have a PM (private message) icon. If this one does, I can't find it.

I appreciate the offer, but with todays iffy mail situation it would probably get lost. My Cab Forward is still sitting in Mississippi and it should be here today. Not a chance. Would have been if it went North instead of South.

Bob in West Virginia

 

Up to you. Private messages are called Conversations on this platform and you access them by clicking on the person's name under their avatar and then choose "Start Conversation".