Introduction:
Ron and Sue Wenger own and operate the Crooked & Weedy Railway, an outdoor layout they have been constructing for 3 years. The layout covers a 46 x 80 foot area and consists of about 1100 feet of Aristo Craft track and 51 Aristo Craft turnouts (switches). The Wenger’s operate over 225 cars. Most are Aristo Craft and the rest have Aristo Craft parts. They operate a stable of 37 Locomotives mostly a mix of Aristo Craft diesel and steam. Ron and Sue have been Large Scale Model Railroaders for 6 years. Ron has been a model railroader since the 1950’s. He modeled in O27, HO, and N scale before migrating to the Larger Scales. He helped plan and construct two very large modular railways. Ron also has maintained rolling stock and locomotives for a Large Scale Modular Club that he helped form. The Chesapeake, Allegheny, and Blue Ridge Large Scale Model Railroad society has several Aristo Craft locomotives that now have over 4500 hours of operating time on them.
Forward:
With this first article I would like to make this observation. Last year Sue and I were fortunate enough to visit the Aristo Craft factory in China, along with about 27 other Aristo Craft fans and Jonathan Polk and Dave Newell of Aristo Craft. During this time we were able to witness the complete production process used by Aristo Craft. The factory has the latest in injection molding, pad printing and electronics manufacturing. It has a state of the art machine shop turning out computer generated molds with the latest in laser technology and CNC machining. We also saw that locomotives are tested at least three to four times before they go into the box for shipment.
Ninety nine point five percent of the Aristo Craft products I buy come right out of the box ready to run. Occasionally a new item will come out of the box that defies all efforts of Aristo Craft to get it to you in a pristine condition. Blame this on the shipper! It was tested and packaged as well as possible before it left the factory.
Aristo Craft has in my estimation one of the best warranties in the industry. I have had to use this warranty only twice and for very minor things like a missing part. They offer a five-year warranty on items that were bought new, and a practically forever warranty on the tie strips that hold Aristo Craft track together. No one else in the industry comes close to this kind of product support.
This is not a commercial, nor was this statement solicited by Aristo Craft. It is my personal experience that results from thousands of hours of operations on my railroad and two modular railroads built by the modular club I help start. It also comes from repairing and doing maintenance on the club owned and members personal rolling stock. Most of the repairs I did were due to damage not associated with workmanship or quality. There is just so much you can do to something before it breaks.
Zero Timing Aristo Crafts Alco FA/FB
I know the first question many of you are going to ask; why is the Aristo Craft FA/FB the subject for the first tune up tip? Well, first of all is the best selling Aristo Craft diesel to date. It was the first Aristo Craft diesel offered to the public. It is the largest selling diesel of any brand and many have been running for a very long time. Also to be quite frank, a few of the first suffered from being the first. This is not an implication that the quality was bad. As the first, there were a lot of lessons learned on this locomotive that all of the later diesels of Aristo Craft and several other companies have benefited from.
Aristo Craft has steadily upgraded The FA/FB in each succeeding production run. Those manufactured in later runs are more reliable than those of the prior runs. Those in the most recent runs are outstanding. I own eight FA/FB’s that go from one of the first runs through runs manufactured in 1997. The motor blocks used in the early runs suffered from wheel problems that have long since been eliminated. Changes in technology as well as manufacturing methods and processes now allow Aristo Craft to use a machined wheel instead of a cast wheel. These changes are brought about by Aristo Craft steadily improving their product.
Aristo Craft is doing some serious upgrades to the motor block. They wanted a smoother running motor block that used less power. They got it! The new Aristo Craft Motor block is the result of a lot of good innovative engineering. These blocks are going to outlast the old by thousands of hours. They have an internal power pick up that has eliminated all of the problems caused by power pickup through side frames and journals.
The new motor block is the reason
I am going to skip the rebuilding of the older Aristo Craft Motor block or even
tuning them up until a later article. By shopping around you can get a pair of
the new motor blocks including new A frames and wiring harnesses. The wheels on
the new motor block are worth the effort. They have a better profile and run for
hours with out requiring cleaning.
I started out just to improve the performance of the first FA/FB set that I bought. I was so impressed with the improvement in operation that I did the other six FA/FB’s. This winter I have three U25’s and three RS3’s that are going to get the same treatment.
Tools and supplies needed: Here
is what your going to need as a minimum.
1.Pair of the new Aristo Craft
motor block, complete with harnesses and the new A frames.
2. A small thin bladed flat tip screw driver
3. Number O and OO Phillips screwdrivers
4. A pair of wire cutters and stripers
5. A small set of metric sockets or ignition wrenches, or a very thin set of
pliers.
6. A soldering iron with rosin core solder (or small wire nuts if you do not
solder.)
7. A roll of electrical tape, or heat shrink tubing if you chose the solder
method.
8. A set of jumpers with alligator clips on each end (optional but worth the
trip to Radio Shack and they cost less than $5.00 for a dozen).
Here is How: I hate to break it to you, but you are going to have to take the locomotive(s) apart. Sounds hard? Not really! First of all I highly recommend that you go to the Aristo Craft web site and download the exploded parts diagram. This will give you a clue in case you get interrupted for a day or two. If you don’t have Internet connectivity go to your AC Dealer and purchase the book of exploded parts diagrams. It a must have. You are going to need two of the new motor blocks, which should include a new A frame and wiring harness. Depending on the age of the locomotive you may need two harnesses for each block. I did on the older pair.
Step 1: Turn the locomotive over (upside down).
Tip:
I have a cradle made of
styro-foam that I use to hold the locomotive. It helps keep the work steady and
minimized damage to the finish. If you don’t have something like this find an
old white towel or two you can place on each side and under the locomotive so
you do not damage the shell. It also will provide you with a more stable place
to work, and make it easier to find the screws your going to drop.
At this time you want to note the
orientation of the old motor blocks. This sometimes varies for one reason or
another. They should be installed with the transmission end pointing towards the
center (fuel tank). Occasionally I find one that is different. If they are
pointing in any other orientation, and the locomotive goes in the proper
direction and the lights work correctly, then you want to install the new blocks
in the same orientation. Don’t go reinventing the wheel, unless you’re
comfortable changing things.
Step 2: Remove
the side frames.
There are three screws that need to be removed. Two of the screws are at the top one on each side and one at the bottom in the center. Depending on the age of your diesel the side frames are going to have small shallow bushings or long deep bushings with springs and brushes in the journals. If you lose these in the process it is not going to hurt anything.
Tip:
If you run into a Phillips
head screw that is tight don’t force it. Put something behind it to make it
stable, put the screwdriver tip back in the screw and give the screwdriver a tap
or two with a small hammer. This will usually loosen the screw enough to allow
it to unscrew without striping. If the head is chewed up try a straight tip
screwdriver. There may be enough surface to get a grip on the screw and back it
out.
Optional:
At this point I take out the two screws that hold the journal box in and remove
the bushings. I also remove the entire pick up assembly that consists of a buss
bar with two loops on each end of an attached wire. You do not need these for
this locomotive after the conversion. I would suggest saving them for spare
parts for other locomotives. I replace the screws in the journals. I counter
sink mine by making the hole in the small flat plastic piece just a little
bigger with a file or pin vice with a drill bit in it. There have been some
reports of the wheels rubbing on these with the newer trucks.
Step 3:
Remove the motor block by lifting straight up and disconnecting the modular plug that runs to the motor. Set this aside.
Note:
If you have one of the very early first run FA/FB’s you’re going to have to
cut the wire. Try to leave as much slack on each end as you can. This is going
to be important later. You want at least a couple of inches left on the old
motor block if you want to tear it apart for spare parts or for repairing
another locomotive. Go ahead and strip off about 3/8 to ½ inch of the
insulation at this time.
Step 4:
Remove the shell.
Sorry but there is no other way to do this. You will have to remove 10 screws from around the outside of the shell. If you are doing an FA, in the front under the cab there is a section of floor that does not have to be removed. It is held in place by two screws. You also do not need to remove the fuel tank for this operation.
I start at the front of the locomotive to remove the shell. On several I had to pry the sides away to get the floor out. Be careful. This is a tough little locomotive, but there is a limit. I use a thin flat tipped screwdriver and slide it from one end to the other. This will usually loosen the shell enough to get it off. If you have a locomotive that has been custom painted the paint may act as an adhesive. It is not necessary to remove the brass hand rails. However, the two flaps and the two hand rails in the rear may have to be loosened to get the floor out.
Depending on the vintage of your locomotive there will either be a wiring harness that goes to the rear section with the switches or metal tabs that act as contacts. On some of mine the floor came right out with the back switch panel in place. Others the panel stayed in and had to be pulled out by hand. If yours has the metal tabs that act as contacts you might want to gently pull them out a fraction of a inch to make sure they make good contact when the locomotive is reassembled.
Step 5: Remove weights.
There are two sets of weights, one at each end of the locomotive. They sit on top of the screws that hold the old A frames in place. Each weight is secured by three small machine screws and metric nuts. Most of mine had a dab of red adhesive on them. I used a small socket and screwdriver to remove them. There is one under the plastic motor assembly that is particularly hard to get to. I used a metric ignition wrench to hold it while I loosened it. Save these screws, they have to go back in later. Remove and set aside the weights.
Remove the two screws that are on the metal or plastic disk that holds the A frame in place. Remove the old A frame. Put it way out of sight or toss it.
Step 6: Install New A Frames
Take one of the new A frames and install them in reverse order of what you did to take the old one out. Make sure that the notch in the A frame lines up with the notch in the hole that the wiring harness uses.
Tip:
This is a good time to add a little light plastic compatible white grease to the
swivel area of the new A frame. This will help it operate a little smoother.
Step 7: Replace the weights and machine screws and nuts.
This is a good time to add a little extra weight if you want. I would not exceed 6 oz. over each A frame.
Step 8: Install the old side frames on the new A frame.
Use the screws that you removed to take them off.
Step 9: Install new motor block.
Install the new motor block by using two screws (Not Supplied with the motor block) to secure it in place. These screws can be they type supplied with the hook and loop couplers that come with most Aristo Craft Rolling stock and locomotives. Insert the two plugs and wires on the new motor block through the oval hole with the notch. This hole is the one next to the fuel tank and goes through the weight.
Step 10:
Wiring new motor blocks to locomotive.
Here is the only difficult part that you’re going to run into. Depending on what version of the FA/FB you have this step will go one of several ways.
10A.
Oldest version (Hard wired to the motor and sideframes): You will have to use
four wiring harnesses. Two will go to the power pickups and two will go to the
motor in the new block. The red and green wires always go to the motor. This is
standard on all of the new motor blocks.
The harness supplied with the new motor blocks has a plug on each end. The flat oblong shaped plug keyed to fit the plug on the motor block will be retained. The plug on the other end of the harness will not fit anything on this locomotive. Cut it off as close to the plug as you can. Strip about 3/8th to ½ inch of the insulation off of each wire. You will have to do this to all four harnesses. Go ahead and insert the plug for the red and green wire on the motor block into the plug with the red and green wire on two of the new harnesses. At this point you can make a temporary mechanical splice or if you’re confident go ahead and solder the wires together and insulate them with heat shrink or tape. If you use wire nuts, you might want to tape them to ensure they don’t come loose. Personally I don’t like mechanical connections, but not everyone can solder or wants to solder so do what you are comfortable with.
You will have to mate the other two harnesses to the black and white wires that formerly carried the power from the side frames to the locomotive. Here is where you will to have to do a little thinking. I have found locomotives that where not standard. This is where the little jumpers are going to come in handy. The black and white wire should go to the black and red wire on the motor block. The configuration should be
Black to White
Red to Black
You will have to keep in mind that the red and green on the new harness correspond to red and black respectively.
Since the harnesses that come with the motor block only come in red and green you are going to have to improvise. The wire plugs are keyed so that they can only connect one way. Go ahead and insert the two together. I used a dab of paint to make these plugs a different color than the plugs to the motor. This will keep you from confusing them. Use the jumpers to make a temporary connection. Make sure that the uninsulated parts of the jumpers do not touch. Try the red to black and the white to black combination first. Now set the floor assembly with all of your temporary connections on your test track and verify that it is going in the proper direction. You may also want to temporarily reinstall the back panel to make sure that the head light functions.
If the floor assembly does not function properly, then try re arranging your wire connections. Jumper the black to black and red to white wire connections. If this wiring combination works you’re ready to make the connections permanent and reassemble the locomotive.
10B.
Later version (Modular plug for the power and motor): This version is going to
be a little easier. You will most likely still have to remove the female plug
from one end of the harness. Be sure that it is not the oblong plug that mates
to the plugs on the motor. This version is only going to require one harness for
each motor block. The original hookup for the motor stays the same.
The harness supplied with the new motor block has a plug on each end. The flat oblong shaped plug that is keyed to fit the plug on the motor block will be retained. The plug on the other end of the harness will not fit anything on this locomotive. Cut it off as close to the plug as you can. Strip about 3/8th to ½ inch of the insulation off of each wire. You will have to do this to both harnesses. Go ahead and insert the plug for the red and green on the motor block into the plug with the red and green wire on two of the new harnesses.
You will have to mate the other two harnesses to the black and white wires that formerly carried the power from the side frames to the locomotive. The black and white wires should go to the black and red wires on the motor block. The configuration should be
Black to White
Red to Black
You will have to keep in mind that the red and green on the new harness corresponds to red and black respectively.
Since the harnesses that come with the motor block only come in red and green your going to have to improvise. They are keyed so that they can only go in one way. Go ahead and insert the two together.
Occasionally you will find one that is not standard. Use the jumpers to make a temporary connection. Make sure that the uninsulated parts of the jumpers do not touch. Try the red to black and the white to black combination first. Set the floor assembly with all of your temporary connections on your test track and verify it is going in the proper direction. You may also want to reinstall the back panel temporarily to make sure that the head light functions in the proper direction for forward movement.
If the locomotive does not operate in the proper direction, then switch the jumpers. Try the black to black and red to white connection wiring combinations. When the locomotive works properly, you can make the connections permanent and reassemble the locomotive.
Note: Don’t get overly confident. This is a fantastic time to make sure that everything is working right. Place the locomotive on your test track and make sure it is going in the right direction and that the lights are working correctly. I.e. showing to the front in forward and off when in reverse. If everything is satisfactory, you can now replace the shell.
Step 11:
Reinsert the rear panel with the switches in the rear of the locomotive. Make sure that the clear plastic hose on the smoke unit is in its proper place. Reinsert the bottom of the locomotive into the shell. Take extra care that the wires are not pinched between the shell and the bottom. Check and make sure that the shell is all the way in. Sometimes it will be a little difficult to snap it right back in place.
Step 12:
Replace the 10 screws that you removed from the bottom of the locomotive. Retighten the flap screws and two rear handrails on each side in the rear if necessary.
Last Step:
Go out and enjoy your brand new FA/FB. You will notice that this unit now starts moving at about ½ amp less that it formerly took, run smoother and draw a lot less amperage than it did with the same load before conversion.
I hope that you enjoyed this article and got some useful information out of it. This is a project you can start now and enjoy the end results in the spring. If you run indoors you can start to enjoy the results now. If you have any questions or wish more information you can contact me, Ronald Wenger, at: wengerr@ix.netcom.net.
Acknowledgments:
A lot of my knowledge was passed on to me by Bill Frank. He is a friend, neighbor, and a long time model railroader who retired from Aristo Craft as their Customer Service Manager several years ago. Another individual who has contributed to a very high level is George Schreyer. The rest of my knowledge I came into like many of you, by years of experience or trial and error.
George Schreyer operates a free web site and database with more tips on all brands of large scale than you can read in a day. He does this as a service to all Large Scalers. He spends a lot of time doing it. It is used by many large-scaler’s for reference. George also does new product reviews that are frank, honest and without any bias. His tips go from quite technical in nature to tips that are very simple. George’s site can be found at html//trainweb.org/girr it is well worth the time to visit.