HOn3 Conversions All underlined phrases are links to a descriptive page.
Balboa C&S #74 (Micro Cast). This model has a chrome plated brass worm driving a brass axle gear. The gearing will quickly wear out so substitute a steel worm or better yet sell it and get a WS #74 or #75 which has a great drive.
Balboa (Custom Brass) D&RGW C-21 2-8-0 (Kumata). A marginal model but there are a lot of them out there. One run of Balboas has brass axles which will quickly wear out in the brass bearings, sell and get a CB then it is the next owners problem. The second run had steel axles, test with a Kadee magnet. The gearbox needs better axle bearings for long life. FM-1224 and flywheel may not have enough power. We have developed a complete gearbox and motor conversion that will be available when we have time to build the assembly jigs. See K-21 Super Glide Drive kit.
Balboa DSP&P Mason Bogies 2-6-6T & 2-8-6T (Kumata). Both have a brass worm driving a brass axle gear. Substitute a NWSL steel worm. A friend recently installed a NWSL 50/1 gearbox and reported stunning results. Since these models had 2.5mm axles gear he had to bore the axle gear and gearbox carefully from 2.4mm to 2.5 mm.
Far East Distributors/ Spartan Series 4-4-0/2-6-0 (Sugiyama). See our K-2 Super Glide Drive . This will make these poor runners into your best runners.
Key C&S 2-6-0 #22 (Samhongsa). A very nice model with sprung drivers. Unfortunately it also has a brass idler gear rotating on a brass shaft and a Sagami 1225 motor with high starting speed, much noise and a very high 12 volt speed. LocoDoc had NWSL cut replacement delrin idler gear stock we cut to width, just screws it in place of the original. See Key #C&S#22 Idler Gear Also available is KC-92 Kit + Conversion. Installation requires sending the old motor and motor bracket to LocoDoc for boring to fit the larger 7400 RPM Faulhaber 1319T7.4K motor and FW-130915 flywheel and the whole assembly is returned to you with the custom delrin idler gear. The reduction in 1 volt and 12 volt speeds, quietness and the added flywheel coast is truly remarkable.
Key C&S 2-8-0 #58, #60, #65 & #69 (Samhongsa) Very nice models with sprung drivers. Unfortunately the Sagami 1230 motor only allows 15 to 70 MPH speeds and the brass idler gear is noisy. LocoDoc offers a NWSL delrin idler gear conversion Key C&S#58 Idler Gear. A full upgrade kit K-11 Super Glide Drive with idler gear, smooth and slow Faulhaber 1319T7.4K motor and flywheel is available, just mount the old worm on the new motor and glue the motor to the gearbox for smooth 1 to 30 MPH running with smooth flywheel coast.
Key C&S #71 2-8-0 (Samhongsa). Has a copy of the WS C-16 HiGrade drive with brass worm, brass idler gear and a motor that often fails, See Namiki Motors. We offer KC-93 Kit + Conversion to cure all the problems and give a slow, smooth, quiet and flywheel coasting drive to this locomotive.
Key D&RGW C-18 2-8-0 (Samhongsa). The first run was #318 only, unsprung and was made at the same time as C-19 #346 (below) and each came with the tender that belonged to the other. Some models out there have the tenders swapped back. Quality was marginal, some ran smoothly, others didn't. If yours runs well continue, if not consider selling and starting again. It came with a nylon idler gear, a Namiki Motor. and some of these seize up. Substituting a Namiki 1230 (good) or a Super Glide Drive M-2 Kit (best) would greatly improve running. The second run had sprung drivers, came detailed for several road numbers and was offered in brass or factory paint. It had an enclosed gearbox, high quality and a Sagami 1230 motor, which is greatly improved with a Super Glide Drive M-2 Kit. You should find this C-18.
Key D&RGW C-19 2-8-0 (Samhongsa). The 1st run was #346 and RGS #40, had the same problems as C-18 #318 (see above)plus having a brass worm and idler gear that wears out with extended use. The second run came in several #s plus RGS #40 and #41, had sprung drivers but a frame mounted gearbox that is noisier than the enclosed gearbox in the C-18. See all other comments above.
Key RGS #42 C-17 2-8-0 (Samhongsa). The same as C&S#71 but the conversion is KC-94 Kit + Conversion .
Lambert C&S 2-6-0 (Nakamura). This very popular model needs the brass idler gear and worm replaced by a Locodoc Delrin Idler Gears for Westside and a NWSL 1313-6 steel worm. The idler shaft bearings may need to be raised slightly to get perfect gear mesh to the driver (file hole up, adjust mesh then glue bearings). A FM-1224 can motor fits perfectly with brushes foreward, pop (super glue attached) the motor shims off the frame and solder the thick one back on the frame then "Amazing GOOP" the motor in with proper worm mesh. A FW-130615 will just fit lenghtwise but requires a few file strokes of the inside edge of the cab floor behind the firebox to clear. The shape of the motor allows the boiler to be lowered which improves looks. Gauge all wheels, I found the pilot and tender wheels were narrow in gauge.
PFM Benson/ Cowichan/ Herrington/ MichCal #2 (etc.) shays (United). Biggest
improvement is adding wheel wipers for 8 wheel electrical pickup. I do this by
pre-tinning some double sided PC board and cutting 2 3/16" chips and soldering
them to the truck bolster between the insulated wheels (but the top side must
not touch the truck or pivot screw. I take 2 Kadee #5 centering springs and bend
the spring ears out 90 degrees then tin both sides of center portion and cut off
most of the center portion with the hole. Now adjust so the ears touch the back
side of the insulated wheels and solder to the PC pad. Test that the wiper is
insulated from the truck. Solder a PFM "Mini Connector" to the top of the
spring and wire the connector pin to the proper motor brush, this allows easy
truck removal.
The open frame
motors has a 2mm worm and shaft. Motors that fit have 1.5 mm shafts. The easiest
remotor is probably a FM-1224 motor with FW-130615 flywheel. Cut the old motor
shaft off even with the end of motor and use ST-15 to couple the shafts.
Haven't done it. A
Faulhaber 1319T12.2K and FW-130615
would be smoother but probably not enough to justify the cost. Later models had a
Namiki 1220 Motor
hidden in the tender (much better) but some motors run tight, squeak or
froze up because they were built with an oil that hardened with age.
PFM C&S 2-8-0, RGS #20 and SP 4-6-0 (United). These well built and powerful models came with open frame motors in the tender with a poorly designed driveshaft to the engine. Our Super Glide Drive K-9P Kit includes a Faulhaber 1624 coreless motor with 1608 flywheel, a soft universal coupling to the almost invisable .015" drive shaft and a ball universal to drive the original coupling on the worm shaft. This design eliminates the problems that gave tender drive a bad name and the bell armature motor and flywheel gives these models a quiet and smooth drive that will surprise you.
PFM D&RGW K-27 and K-28 2-8-2s (United). Great model with 30/1 gearing. Silicone in a RM-1630 can motor. Super Glide Drive M-1 Kit is even better with a ST-20 surgical tubing connection to the worm. Easy and effective. Be careful adjusting the motor mounting plate for motor alignment to the worm, the solder joint to frame sides is a little fragile.
PFM Sumpter Valley 2-6-6-2 United)(no backhead). GlideDrive C-16 is an easy conversion and Super Glide Drive M-1 Kit is much better but the gear noise remains. This requires 2 SS-1520 shaft sleave to fit the 1.5mm shaft to the 2mm holes.
PSC D&RGW C-16 2-8-0 (Boo Rim). This is a beautiful model based on the old Kemtron castings with many new details. It has a very small (probably too small) Maxon coreless motor and because of its small size and high speed the model has 2.5 mod gearing. These very small gear teeth cause the soft brass worm to wear out fast. No upgrade parts available. The first run by S. Kodama (Japan) is great, See Westside C-16 "High Grade".
Precision Scale D&RGW K-28, K-36 & K-37 2-8-2s. These beautifully detailed models unfortunately are not very strong. The gearbox has 2.5 mod gears (very fine) and the soft brass worm will wear out fast and before completely stripping can destroy the nylon idler gear, even heavy grease lubrication will not save them. The soft steel shaft also wears in the bearings. I have made some steel replacement worms that I mount on hardened steel motor shaft. Installation requires very carefull adjustment I need to do on my work bench. Contact LocoDoc
Sunset D&RGW C-16 2-8-0. Some of these models had real problems. They were made out of thin and soft brass and some frames were skewed, set it on glass to test if it rocks on diagional corners. If so remove the boiler and reverse twist the frame. Mount the boiler and retest. Remove boiler and run the model on test leads. If the model runs well thank your stars and go to last comment. If model runs with any problems watch the idler gear, the pivot shaft was soldered into the frame and this sometimes melted the idler gear and made it eccentric. If so contact Sunset as they brought in spare idler gears (glue the shaft in). Since the motor mounting plate on the frame has a hole for the motor shaft smaller than the worm, the worm must be pulled from the motor which takes some effort. Open this hole bigger than the worm diameter for easy future adjustment. When you have the mechanism running smoothly with an index finger powering the idler gear, install the motor (a very good Mashima FM-1224 that does not need any fixes) and test run. If everything runs well the last step is to put a support between the back of the motor and the frame. The frame bracket the motor is mounted to is too flimsy and under load will flex and allow the worm to disengage from the idler gear. Some C-16s had a long screw up through the retainer plate pushing up the back of the motor but there was no length adjustment so usually the motor was not properly supported. If all is well, lubricate the gears with a heavy oil and keep lubricated as this model has very fine gearing that will just barely handle the load and you don't want to strip any gears a few years from now. NWSL has no replacement gears. All this should make you want to follow my advice and buy a WS Kodama C-16 which is a much better model.
Sunset D&RGW K-27, K-28, K-36. These reasonably priced models were good buys but I have found all the wheels on the K-27 are very tight in gauge (just take an NMRA wheel gauge and a NWSL wheel puller and correct the problem). The K-28 & K-36 had overly thick driver flanges which caused the "back to back" wheel gauge to be too tight and they bobble in turnout flangeways. I laid the models upside down in a modelers cradle and ran it with a hand file against the back side of the wheels and thinned and contoured the flange up to the tip where the missing plating will not be a problem. This cured the gauge problem and is better than regauging the wheels out. If you are going to run a lot, save the idler gear by replacing the soft brass worm with a NWSL #1334-6 polished steel worm. Run the motor on test leads and adjust the worm mesh as tight as possible without slowing the motor then add a shim under the back of the motor to keep the wimpy motor mounting plate from flexing under load and allowing the gear mesh to open up. All the K-27s had the stepping down smokebox handrails of #461, redrill and mount to match photos.
Westside/PSC C & S #74/75 2-8-0 (Micro Cast). A fine model with a Namiki Motor that sometimes fail. Our K-12 Super Glide Drive Kit replaces this motor with a Faulhaber 1319 with a large flywheel for much smoother and stronger running.
Westside (Balboa) D&RGW T-12 (Micro Cast). There were at least 3 production runs, the first by Balboa is better because it has a white nylon idler gear. The second Balboa and the Westside runs had brass idler gears which will quickly wear out the reverse cut brass worm . In addition all of the runs had the axle slots cut too deeply in the frame and they "teeter totter" on the middle driver that is pushed down in its slot by the idler gear. We now offer a custom conversion for both versions, see our K-3 Super Glide Drive . This will cure all the problems and produce a great running 4-6-0.
Westside D&RGW C-16 (S. Kodama). The one with motor out the back of cab- see our K-1 Super Glide Drive.. This kit makes this good locomotive run great.
Westside /PSC D&RGW C-16 "HiGrade" with cab interior (S. Kodama) A great model but with no flywheel action and some of the motors have seized up or run poorly due to the factory using a lubricant that hardens with age, See Namiki Motors I have developed the KC-91 Kit + Conversion . that includes a Faulhaber bell armature motor and flywheel all installed in your boiler.
Westside D&RGW C-25 (Nakamura). The brass worm and idler gear MUST be replaced with a #305 Delrin Idler Gear and 1312-6 worm conversion. The can motor used was very fast, our RM-1626 can motor will just fit and will slow it 50% but is still does 60 MPH at 12 volts and has no flywheel. We offer a full conversion kit K-25 Super Glide Drive. with a Faulhaber motor, flywheel and custom delrin idler gear that makes this model run smoothly with a 35mph top speed with lots of flywheel coast. Included are washers to keep the siderods from scraping the paint off the counterweights.
Westside D&RGW K-27s (Nakamura). Compound and original slide valve K-27s (also check others) MUST have a #305 Delrin Idler Gear for Westside and a 1312-6 steel worm added if the originals are brass. Our RM-1630 can motor runs considerably smoother and slower than the motors in these models and is an easy conversion. Super Glide Drive M-1 motor adds smoother starting,lower top speed, lower noise, and flywheel coasting for an extra $50. All this also applies to the Piston Valve and Modern Slode Valve K-17s but we are also working on a Super Glide Drive K-27 Kit for these K-27s versions that will include all the parts and features of the K-36 and K-37 Kits plus tips on how to eliminate shorts and make it run on tighter radius curves, mounting couplers and extra weight and up to 14 wheel electrical pick up to produce a real pulling and performing BRUTE of a K-27.
Westside D&RGW K-28 and K-36 (Nakamura). These superb models came with a fine (for a C-16) motor that is so weak it cannot spin the drivers at 12 volts and often fails See Namiki 1230 Motor. The easy conversion is our RM-1630 can motor for the K-28 and GlideDrive C-16 for the K-36 but the 24/1 gear ratio produces 60 MPH at 12 volts. A better conversion is our K-28 and K-36 Super Glide Drive Kits with a very low speed Faulhaber motor, large flywheel (2 in the K-36), all mounted on a bracket that just screws onto the gearbox trailing arm. A brass front worm shaft bearing and steel worm are part of the K-36 kit. Included are side rod washers to keep the paint from bring worn off the wheel counterweights.
Westside D&RGW K-37 (Nakamura). A fine model that MUST have a #305 Delrin idler gear and NWSL 1312-6 steel worm (brass gears will wear out both gears). Much better is our Super Glide Drive K-37 Kit. This has a Faulhaber coreless motor with 2 flywheels mounted on a bracket you screw to the gearbox trailing arm, our #305 idler gear conversion, a new front worm shaft bearing, steel worm and shaft and universal to couple it to the motor shaft and washers to keep the siderods from scraping paint off the wheel counterweights. A smooth, quiet and strong runner.
Westside NCNG#9, SP.#1 2-8-0 (Micro Cast). Angled cab drive See Balboa C&S #74. For the idler gear version we offer our Super Glide Drive K-5A Kit that greatly improves the running and looks(boiler and backhead are visible in the cab). NCNG#9 also needs a NWSL 2161 Delrin idler gear.
Westside S.P.#8,#9 and#18 4-6-0 (Micro Cast). Tender drive add our Super Glide Drive K-9W Faulhaber + flywheel motor conversion. For the cab mounted idler gear drive versions of #9 & #18 the Super Glide Drive K-5B Kit is the perfect upgrade. Like the K-5A except for some slight fit differences.
Westside W.S. Lu. Co. #8 and #10 3 truck shays, Hassinger 4 truck B-2 2 truck shays (Nakamura) These had a low speed, high torque drive down to the front axle of the middle truck. This twisted the truck right when going foreward and left when backing and under heavy load the truck would derail. A cure is to tie the truck to the movement of the drawbar. Solder a wire to the gear tower of the middle truck facing back to the tender and slide some electrical insulation on it as the drawbar is the opposite electrical polarity. Soulder a U shaped wire down from the drawbar near the tender and insert the insulated wire. This keeps the middle truck alligned with the drawbar. Put a non-sholdered screw at the drawbar mount to the tender making the drawbar like the tongue of a travel trailer and as curved track moves the tender sideways, it aligns the middle truck properly to the rails. PHOTO . Unfortunately this will not fix the 2 truck shay.
Return to Proven Conversions
Return to LOCO DOC HOME PAGE
Return to ROUNDBELL HOME PAGE
