Chipping old locos (again!)... LGB 2073...

[Zerogee]

Another question to those who know of such things.....

I've just picked up an old but nice condition 2073 "Eurovapor" (green) U-class, metal valvegear, no skates, metal trailing wheels with pickups, pinstriped sidetanks (I'm including this detail to try and date the particular version I have). It is pretty much unmolested apart from someone having fitted a working third headlamp in place of the stock dummy one, and it seems to run OK for its age.

Now, as with all my stuff, it's going to need chipping (and sound)...... of course it's an early split-gearbox, but more than that, it's got the gearbox moulded integrally with the complete red underframe/chassis - this is actually not a bad thing as far as I can see, because once the body is off there is a black cover plate over the motor which, when removed, allows the motor to be lifted straight out. This will enable me to solder new wires directly onto the motor terminals, and then I assume I can pick up the track power from virtually anywhere on the brass bus strips that currently (NPI*) feed the lights and smoke unit?
One specific question I have is should I simply insulate the motor terminals from their brass contact strips with some heatshrink, or should I actually cut those parts of the contact strips away to be on the safe side? Do I need do disconnect or insulate any other parts of the wiring system (which, as I said, is mainly by brass strips rather than by actual wires)?
Has anyone here ever chipped a U-class of this vintage? If so, any advice or particular problems you encountered?

As always, thanks in advance for access to the collective pool of knowledge!

Jon.

* NPI: No Pun Intended....

 

[Gareth]

Hi I,ve recently gone digital myself and I am on a steep learning curve too ! I have a Harz 2-6-2t which has the same style motor . I soldered wires to the motor tabs bent them in slightly and then added heat shrink works a doddle. and having some pins I soldered them on to copper strips so in the end just ahd to plug LGB decoder as per normal ! Loco runs a treat in fact much smoother and quieter. What ever you do dont break tabs. Hope ypou find above satisfactory. Oh is that the europer green 0-6-2 on ebay wrong box If so nice one !!

 

[Zerogee]

Hi I,ve recently gone digital myself and I am on a steep learning curve too ! I have a Harz 2-6-2t which has the same style motor . I soldered wires to the motor tabs bent them in slightly and then added heat shrink works a doddle. and having some pins I soldered them on to copper strips so in the end just ahd to plug LGB decoder as per normal ! Loco runs a treat in fact much smoother and quieter. What ever you do dont break tabs. Hope ypou find above satisfactory. Oh is that the europer green 0-6-2 on ebay wrong box If so nice one !!

Thanks for the notes, Gareth. I've done several decoder installs already on various things, including a couple of early 3-pin sandwich gearboxes, but this is the first time I've tackled anything QUITE this old! It should be fun though.....
When you say "don't break the tabs", I assume you mean those on the motor, or are you referring to the brass connector strips?

Yes, this is the one from evilBay at the weekend - I've already got a newish black Zillertal and a grey U43 from the late eighties, so I really wanted the Eurovapor green one to make a nice U-class set (yes, I know there is the pastel green U1 as well, but I'm really not keen on the colour of that ... if I ever see a good one going cheap I'd consider it, but I'm not desperate for one...). As the seller was only a few miles away (in Clacton, I'm in Colchester) I offered to collect it, but they were good enough to actually hand-deliver it here for me last night - that's good service!
Not sure if it is actually the wrong box or not - the loco has all the wiring and the switched connector for smoke, but I'm not sure if there is an element in the stack or not; it does have the gridded cap over the top of the stack, is that any clue? The loco ID label just says 2073, no "D".....
I think I got it at a good price (£155 in the end), it's in pretty nice condition, obviously used but not worn out. Needs a good clean and degrease, but otherwise it's good - no chips, scratches or missing bits, it looks like it's been well run but reasonably looked after. The aftermarket headlamp was hanging off (originally just glued to the bracket with something like UHU, by the look of it), but a pin-drill and small LGB screw soon took care of that. Now I just need to get a U-class-programmed Massoth XLS for it - I may order from Germany, they seem rather scarce over here right now - and it'll be chuffing like a good'un.

Glad to hear your 2-6-2 chipping went well - once you get started, it's nowhere near as scary as it looks when you first open the loco up, is it?
It's definitely a lot less daunting to do it to an old second-hand piece than a factory-fresh example, too!

Best,

Jon.

 

[Gareth]

Hi again sounds like a good buy I did a 3 pin last week found it more difficult than the Harz basically keeping pin insulated from motor. Have had two faulty chips a LGB Mts 2 and today a Massoth emotion M decoder shorting . Try Massoth decoders very good and very resonably priced. HAve stated to notice supply difficulty with massoth decoders or is just bad timing but everyone is out of stock or waiting back orders. Thinking I would like Zillertal in grey with bunker, but I hsvr to admit I loike the green one as well. At the moment due to decoder fitting purchasing new locos on hold (new Piko 260 shunter and LGBb Mallet)

 

[Gareth]

yes don,t break motor tabs

 

[muns]

If its a single motor then try a Massoth eMotion LS instead of the eMotion XLS.

 

[Zerogee]

If its a single motor then try a Massoth eMotion LS instead of the eMotion XLS.

Thanks Muns, yes, I'd considered an LS - though Massoth only list three or four generic sound versions of the LS, they can be programmed with any of the sounds from the XLS library (I know this for sure, because Jeremy at Dragon loaded one up with the pigsnout railbus sounds for me). The LS is rated at what, 2.5A peak and 1.5A continuous, isn't it? Should be ample for the single motor in a U-class, I guess. Anyone know if the older motors draw any more current than the more modern types, or are they pretty much the same?

Jon.

 

[Zerogee]

Gareth - if you're after a grey U43, keep an eye on German eBay - that's where I got mine, a beautiful condition hardly-run example, shipped over quickly and safely at very reasonable cost.

 

[Zerogee]

There's a coincidence - another 2073 (green Eurovapor, exactly the same version and vintage as mine) has just come up on eBay tonight, if anyone else is after one!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LGB-0-6-2-Tan...=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item20b1881ccc < Link To http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LGB...mp;hash=item20b1881ccc

Will be interesting to see if it goes for more or less than the one I've just bought....

 

[Zerogee]

Just ordered an LS today from Jeremy (I decided you were right, Muns, no sense in paying the extra for a XLS where it's not needed...), getting it loaded with the U class sounds. I'll let folks know how the install goes, if anyone's interested?

Jon.

 

[Zerogee]

The LS chip programmed with the U-class sound files turned up from Dragon in double-quick time as always, and is sitting here ready to be fitted. So, just wanting to recap and double-check that I know what I'm doing (hah!) before I actually start the job....

1) I need to remove the black motor cover plate and lift out the motor, being careful not to dislodge/lose the ballbearings at either end of the shaft. Then I need to solder wires to both motor terminals and thoroughly insulate them with heatshrink so that they can't touch the brass contact strips that normally feed current to the motor. Still not sure if I should actually cut the contacts away to be safe, or if simply insulating the motor tabs and bending them inwards is enough?

2) I then pick up track power from a suitable point on the exposed busbars running along the chassis which feed the lights, and connect two wires from these plus the new motor wires to the decoder in the usual way.

3) Then I figure out how best to isolate the lights from the busbars and re-wire them to the lighting plug for the decoder.....?

For the actual motive power connections (steps 1 and 2 above), do I need to do ANY other isolating or disconnecting of anything else except for making sure the motor terminals can't touch their contact strips? Any other tips and "dos or don'ts" from those of you who have tackled old split gearbox locos already?

Thanks!

Jon.

 

[muns]

Sounds like a plan to me.

Before you power up the loco after you have made the changes, take some further time to check what you have done (you dont want to blow the decoder), then check it again.

 

[Zerogee]

Thanks Muns, yes, I'll double, triple and quadruple-check everything.... though I'll still probably miss something!

One specific quick question: I've started the stripping-down of the loco this morning (I'm taking photos as I go, but haven't downloaded any from the camera yet) - I'm working from home today so will be sneaking back to it for a few minutes now and then in between what I SHOULD be doing - and under the lead weights I've found a small grey electronic component in the loom for the lighting, a block about 10mm square with three terminals, the block is marked: V30, C75, A2+, M5-. It seems to be connected into the positive feeds to both front and rear lamps. Obviously it's coming out, but I'm just curious as to what it is - I'm assuming it's a diode setup for the directional lighting. Not important, because it is redundant with the chip fitting of course, but just interested.