By
Ron Wenger
Forward:
The Aristo-Craft 0-4-0
introduced more of us to this hobby than perhaps some of us would like to admit.
It has an actual prototype developed for the Pennsylvania Rail Road.
0-4-0’s where used as a light yard or industrial switcher well into the early
1950’s.
My first introduction
to the Aristo-Craft 0-4-0 came in January 1994.
My wife Sue and I took off one Saturday morning on an excursion to
Williamsburg, VA and stopped in at the Norge Station, in Norge, VA just up the
road from Williamsburg. There I saw
my first beautiful little Aristo-Craft 0-4-0 with the big ugly chrome drive
wheels just sitting there on the shelf. It
was love at first sight. I bought
it and as soon as we were home I had it on the track.
It ran like a top, and when I added smoke fluid I was lost forever.
I had never seen a model locomotive smoke like that.
I have purchased four
other 0-4-0’s since that time. I
have only had serious problems with one of the 0-4-0’s; I had to replace the
monkey motion on one side. This was
the result of the piston freezing up in the air chamber that makes the smoke
puff.
Aristo-Craft in a move
to continually be innovative and responsive to customer input changed from the
chrome-plated drive wheels to chemically blackened cast drive wheels.
Albeit this made the 0-4-0 more attractive, it did nothing to improve the
long-term performance. Therefore, Aristo-Craft further improved the drive wheels by
electro-plating the cast wheels before chemical blackening to improve power
pickup and performance.
In this article I am going to show you how to replace older style 0-4-0 wheels with the improved chemically blackened electro-plated version of the drive wheels. This article not only discusses how to replace the drive wheels of the 0-4-0 but how to get power from the tender. One problem with any 2-axle model locomotive is they sometimes get held up on switches. By adding tender power pickup, this problem is reduced. The total effect is to give these locomotives a longer wheelbase for power pickup.
NOTE:
Unlike some of the other articles I have written to do
this modification you need adequate soldering skills.
If you do not have the ability to solder and do it in a tight area, then
find a friend that can. This is a rather simple project to do, but does require
soldering skills.
Tools and supplies needed:
Parts.
First of all you’re going to need a set of the new
chemically blackened electro-plated drive wheels.
They are not sold as a separate cataloged part but are available as
replacement parts. The new drive wheels come complete with axles, the gear on
the front and rear axle, and the gear housing on the front axle.
The replacement part number for the front drive wheels is P21300-62
$7.50, the rear drive wheels is P21300-32 and sell for $5.00.
They are available directly from Aristo-Craft.
Tools.
-Both an 0 and 00
Phillips screwdriver
-A small straight tip screwdriver
-Wire strippers
-A hemostat (Kelly Clamp) or two, while not necessary these are a plus
-A de-soldering tool, optional
-A soldering iron & solder, I recommend this over a gun but it is a matter
of preference, you’re going to be working in a small tight area and an iron
will give you more room.
-Any type of meter or home made rig that you can use to check continuity on the
power leads with.
-At least one pair of jumpers with alligator clips on each end to make temporary
connections.
Step
1:
If your not real familiar with the inner workings of the
0-4-0 go to the Tech Support section and download the
exploded diagrams for the 0-4-0 from the
Exploded Parts Diagrams section.
If you do not have Internet connectivity go to your hobby shop and buy
the ART-9000 printed exploded parts diagram manual.
It is well worth the money.
The next thing you want to do is make a drawing of the orientation of the wheels or take a digital photo of both sides of the locomotive
Step 2: Remove the steam generator behind the light on the top of the locomotive. This is easily broken when the locomotive is upside down on a bench.
Tip:
I used to use a foam cradle made from some packing
from a computer. However I
purchased one of those neat hands free workstations at a train show about a year
ago. Darn handy thing to have.
Remove the side action valve gear crank (monkey motion) and screws from the rear wheels. This is done by turning the locomotive upside down or on it side and removing the screw that holds the connecting rod to the rear driver. You may have to set the locomotive back on the track and rotate the wheels to get to the screws. Leave everything else attached.
NOTE:
Much of the monkey motion and driver rod system are
not interchangeable. If you do
remove the monkey motion and drive rod system completely keep them separated by
sides.
Step
3: Remove
the screw that holds the connecting rods to the rear driver.
Here you will see why I told you to make a drawing or take a photo.
Step 4: Remove the four screws that hold the cover on the gearbox. Set these screws and the cover plate aside.
Step 5: Get your soldering iron hot. You are going to have to de-solder the wires from the small contacts on the gear housing of the front axle and the small tabs on the rear axle. Exercise care here. You can damage things with a hot iron. In the 0-4-0’s I have done the wires were white and black with the same color used for each side.
NOTE: Do not do anything that would change the length of the wires. This is a tight area. You don’t want a lot of extra wire nor do you want to wires that are to short.
Tip: I do not unsolder the motor, this does not give you a lot of room to work, but may make the whole job easier.
Step
6: Using
your soldering iron, tin the small contacts/tabs on both of the new axle units.
Make sure that all four wires are well tined.
Step
7: Now
you’re going to have to remove the motor and both axles.
Exercise care here, the motor is going to be hard to remove and if you
pry up on the shaft at either end you might bend the shafts.
You have to pull straight up on the axle units and the motor. They will come out, just exercise care.
Step 8: Remove the drive rods from the front axel and reinstall them on the new front axel and gearbox. This will eliminate the need to try and rotate the wheels to get the screws in place. It is also a lot easier to do on the bench than on the locomotive. Set the old axels and wheels aside.
Tip: Once you have removed the old wheels, cut the axles off and use the wheels for scarp loads or junk to be littered around an engine shop. If you can remove the helical gear it is the same one used in diesel motor blocks on the RS3, FA/FB, U25, Lil Critter, Doodle Bug, and the new RDC1. Throw nothing away; you will need it the day after you do.
Step
9:
Now it is time to install the new drive wheels.
This is where everything gets busy. You
have to insert the axles with the wires attached or attempt to re-solder them
while they are in place. At the
same time you must make sure the gears are engaged and the wheels in the proper
position for the rods to go back on. This
is critical. You’re going to lock
up the mechanism or strip the helical gears on the axle if not in the correct
position.
Solder the wires to the small contacts on the front axle gear housing first, then the contacts on the rear axle. Make sure the short end of the metal tabs that hold the axle in place is down in the pockets where they belong. The metal tabs are slightly longer on one end than the other and must be inserted short end first. They will only fit one way. If your gears don’t mesh or you can’t get the cover plate back on then you have the axles upside down.
Tip: I held the wires in place with a hemostat using the tinning on both the contact and the wire to solder the wire back in place. This eliminates dropping of solder down into an area where sooner or later it could come back to haunt you.
NOTE: Aristo-Craft has taken the work out of quartering the wheels. This is a critical element of operation. They have pressed the wheels on the axle in the proper configuration. However you want to make sure that the new wheels are installed as close as possible to the old wheel’s original configuration.
Step
10:
Now is a good time to add a little light plastic compatible gear
grease before you replace the cover and reinstall the four screws.
Be sure to add a little oil to the bushings on the axles.
This is also a good time to put the locomotive on your test track and
make sure it is operating without binding.
Step
11: Install
the cover plate. Replace all of the
side valve gears and connections (monkey motion).
Retest to make sure the locomotive is operating correctly and the side
valve gear are not binding. Best to
go slow and add a little power at a time. If
the gear is bind, try open the cover plate and rotate the rear axle one tooth
and check it again. I put mine on
my main line and ran them at different speeds observing both sides of the
locomotive to ensure that all was operating correctly.
Adding
additional power pickups
In order to add power pick up to your tender you will need connecting wires. Aristo-Craft produces a power connector, part number ART-29511 M.S.R.P $6.00. The ART-29511 consists of a male plug on about a six to eight inch lead and a female plug on a shorter lead.
Step 1:
Remove the two screws that hold the locomotive cab in
place. The brass side rails can be
pulled forward until they disengage from the holes in the front of the cab.
You may have to remove the screw that holds the headlight in place.
Turn the locomotive over. In
front of the motor/gear box you will see a single screw, you may need a light to
find it. Remove this screw and lift
up on the top of the boiler.
Step
2: You will notice two screws at the back of the
boiler next to the light that illuminates the firebox.
These two screws have several wires soldered to the connections they
secure.
Tip:
I do not believe it would be a good idea to add any
additional solder. I have soldered
several and I have made the connection mechanically with the same results.
Strip the leads of the
longer male connector of the ART-29511 and tin them.
Insert the leads through the left hole of several holes under the back of
the locomotive. I made an underwriters knot in the connector leads just inside
the hole the leads go through. Secure
the leads mechanically under the screws.
NOTE:
The ART-29511 connecters I had have two black wires and no way to
identify polarity. The connector
has two small letters that will help make sure you keep the polarity the same.
This is important. If you do
not keep polarity the same between the locomotive and tender you’re going to
short out the whole works.
Step 3: Remove
the tender body shell by removing the four screws that secure it to the tender
chassis and lift up on the front of the tender. Disconnect the modular plug for the light.
Remove the two screws that hold the soundboard in place.
You may or may not be able to remove all the modular plugs from the
board. If you can it is best to set
it aside.
I drilled a 1/8th inch hole in the
front of the tender body shell about one half inch from the Aristo-Craft model
number on the right side. The reason I did this was so the connecting wires come
out from the bottom of the locomotive and goes up and over the coupler and then
to the right side of the tender. This
keeps the umbilical cable out of the way of the coupler.
I did not try to hide these wires. It
was tempting, but the first thing that you end up with is a connection that is
hard to make. If you go out and
look at a real steam locomotive you will see all kinds of connections between
the locomotive and tender.
Insert the two leads from the female end of the
plug through this hole. Make a knot
in the leads just inside the hole. I
also added a 6-inch section of stranded white and black wire to these two lead.
I did this so the leads correspond with the white and black wires that provide
power from the trucks to the sound system.
On my tenders the black wire comes up from the left side and the white
from the right side (with the tender facing forward).
NOTE:
If your tender comes free of the locomotive the
knots will keep the connections from being damaged.
You will notice some heat shrink. Three of
the heat shrinks connect near the off and on switch of the sound board.
Remove this heat shrink. This
is where the female lead’s new white and black wires will attach.
Caution!
Step
4: Once you’re sure of all of your
connections, solder and insulate all of your connections.
Replace the top of both the locomotive and the tender.
Tip:
One way to be absolutely sure that your modification
is working is to place locomotive next to the track with the tender on the track
and turn the power on. If your
wheels start moving you did good.
Finish reassembling your locomotive and tender.
Be sure to reinstall all detail parts including the steam generator on
the locomotive that you removed. Then
go enjoy your upgraded 0-4-0.
I have done this on all of my 0-4-0’s with
tenders and it was worth the little bit of time it takes.
This project extends the running time between cleaning wheels far beyond
what you had to do before. In fact
the fist I did last summer still has not had the wheels cleaned on it.
If you have any questions of comments feel free
to contact me at wengerr@ix.netcom.com