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Well, to start with, I used to work on the now defunct EJ&E Railroad (Eljin, Joliet & Eastern). I want to make a wall display of one of the loco's I used to ride and a few cars fromm the same railroad.
To start, the cab from the Walthers SW1 is perfect, and some engines even hat just the one stack, but none of the "J" engines had the tool box on the front. I needed to change that. I picked up a cheap Athearn SW1500 because of the double stack and no tool box.
For comparison:
This is close to prototype, but -
The SW1's frame is all one piece metal and would require a ton of "milling" to make it all work.
Sooooo-o...I will just buy a powered SW1500, which has a different cab configuration, and swap cabs.
Now - If you have a SW1 and are thinking "DCC", here is what you are up against:
The motor and wiring "DC" are easy to remove in preparation for the decoder. See two following pictures:
FIrst, I marked the "hoggers" side frame and pick-up wires with red. I have a tendency to forget something I did 3 minutes ago! Then, I lifted the motor out (Lift the end with the tube joiner first. The other end has a universal joint.) You can see the bottom motor contact, and the respective place for it on the SW1 frame. Put some tape or what ever you use on this spot on the frame. I soldered some gray & orange leads to the motor, and red & black lead to the track pick-ups. Put this aside.
The next pictures show what is in store if you want to remove the trucks in preparation for painting the frame:
Remove the two small screws on the ends of the retainer..
This is what you see:
The above step is good, if you are planning to paint the side frames. Now, you have to remove each set of wheels/gears and gently lower the driver housing out the top of the frame.
Be careful not to lose the spring between the driver housing and the retainer part of the frame!
Also, notice the two locating holes for the pins on the side frame housing, they only allow replacement of the side frames in one direction. Dont try to force them!!
This post is just a little bit of information I wanted to share with the membership. I will post some follow-up pictures later, showing the progress. I hope this helps anyone looking to convert the Walthers SW1, or use the works for a kitbash of some sort.
All comments welcome.
The Geezer
"Of all the things I have lost, it's my mind I miss the most"
To start, the cab from the Walthers SW1 is perfect, and some engines even hat just the one stack, but none of the "J" engines had the tool box on the front. I needed to change that. I picked up a cheap Athearn SW1500 because of the double stack and no tool box.
For comparison:
This is close to prototype, but -
The SW1's frame is all one piece metal and would require a ton of "milling" to make it all work.
Sooooo-o...I will just buy a powered SW1500, which has a different cab configuration, and swap cabs.
Now - If you have a SW1 and are thinking "DCC", here is what you are up against:
The motor and wiring "DC" are easy to remove in preparation for the decoder. See two following pictures:
FIrst, I marked the "hoggers" side frame and pick-up wires with red. I have a tendency to forget something I did 3 minutes ago! Then, I lifted the motor out (Lift the end with the tube joiner first. The other end has a universal joint.) You can see the bottom motor contact, and the respective place for it on the SW1 frame. Put some tape or what ever you use on this spot on the frame. I soldered some gray & orange leads to the motor, and red & black lead to the track pick-ups. Put this aside.
The next pictures show what is in store if you want to remove the trucks in preparation for painting the frame:
Remove the two small screws on the ends of the retainer..
This is what you see:
The above step is good, if you are planning to paint the side frames. Now, you have to remove each set of wheels/gears and gently lower the driver housing out the top of the frame.
Be careful not to lose the spring between the driver housing and the retainer part of the frame!
Also, notice the two locating holes for the pins on the side frame housing, they only allow replacement of the side frames in one direction. Dont try to force them!!
This post is just a little bit of information I wanted to share with the membership. I will post some follow-up pictures later, showing the progress. I hope this helps anyone looking to convert the Walthers SW1, or use the works for a kitbash of some sort.
All comments welcome.
The Geezer
"Of all the things I have lost, it's my mind I miss the most"
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