Track Cleaner & a Power Buffer

supagav

supagav

USA standard gauge in the late 1960's, in 1:29th.
Hi,

I have an older LGB track cleaning loco which I must admit has been a wonderful addition to our railway, so much so that I sometimes wonder what I'd do without it! I only have one very minor problem with it. As the loco has quite a short wheelbase, I sometimes find that it stalls on the frogs of our large radius pointwork, especially when it is not quite as clean as it should be.

Would it be possible to add a Massoth power buffer or something similar into this engine just to give it that little boost when it needs it? It is an older version of the loco, the yellow one, that came digital ready from LGB.

Thanks in advance for any ideas!
 
When you say digital ready - do you mean it has or does not have a decoder?

If it has a decoder then a buffer can be fitted - soldering would probably be required though.
 
Sorry, my mistake!

Yes it already has an LGB factory fitted decoder. I'm more than happy to solder & modify if necessary too. I was just wondering what would be the best choice and how best to hook it up? I've already fitted a buffer in one of our other locos so understand the basic gist...

Thanks again
 
I had a similar problem with mine, but a good friend (Neil Robinson) solved it for me. My track cleaner now tows a caboose that has electrical pick-up wheels. After removing the caboose roof, Neil ran some extra wires from the caboose pick-ups to a very small socket fitted just under the end of the roof walkway. He also ran some extra wires inside the loco from the electrical pick-ups to a jack socket on top of the rear bonnet. The loco and caboose are electrically linked by a short cable with a jack on one end and a small plug on the other. When they are not joined together, the jack socket is easily disguised with a small plastic cap and the caboose socket is to all intents and purposes invisible. By doing this, the electrical pick-up wheelbase is greatly extended and the track cleaner no longer needs a gentle push to get it over the turnouts.
 
Similar idea to above, mine pulls a flat wagon with extra pickups. Much better operating all round.
 
Yep did the same with mine. It pulls a wagon with extra pickups. Before it always used to stall on R5 points when going at track cleaning speed, now it never does.

Unfortunately there was no lighting socket on the back of the track cleaner to feed power in. It was necessary to add my own socket.
 
Cliff George said:
Yep did the same with mine. It pulls a wagon with extra pickups. Before it always used to stall on R5 points when going at track cleaning speed, now it never does.

Unfortunately there was no lighting socket on the back of the track cleaner to feed power in. It was necessary to add my own socket.
Click to expand...
Mine doesn't have an aux socket either, so I modified the screws that hold the rear bonnet down so that they are connected to the pickups. I made 'jump leads' that have magnets on the ends and they simply stick to the screws. No major modifications and if the wagon comes uncoupled the wires just pull off. I will try to upload a picture in a little bit.
 
Hi Folks,

I'm sorry to resurrect this thread but I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with fitting a power buffer to an LGB loco which came with a factory fitted decoder installed? More specifically, how and where should you solder in the wires for the buffer? If any one has any photos or pics that would be fantastic!

Many thanks again
 
supagav said:
Hi Folks,

I'm sorry to resurrect this thread but I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with fitting a power buffer to an LGB loco which came with a factory fitted decoder installed? More specifically, how and where should you solder in the wires for the buffer? If any one has any photos or pics that would be fantastic!

Many thanks again
Click to expand...

I believe there were some pics on the Massoth Forum showing how to attach Massoth power buffers to LGB factory decoders. Sorry can't check at the moment, I'm at work.
 
supagav said:
Hi Folks,

I'm sorry to resurrect this thread but I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with fitting a power buffer to an LGB loco which came with a factory fitted decoder installed? More specifically, how and where should you solder in the wires for the buffer? If any one has any photos or pics that would be fantastic!

Many thanks again
Click to expand...
Gav, can you identify the decoder? Is it an LGB 55021?

If so I've soldered power buffers onto these for Whatlep.

He sent me his decoder and a photo of where to attach the 3 wires. I sent the info back to him so you'll need to ask him for the detaails.

You will need a fine tip on your iron and a steady hand. I also used a magnifier lens with a built in light....
 
The easiest solution is to use a trail car which has pickups. To do so, you need to solder lead wires onto the track pickup connections at the driving wheels. The gearbox and wheel assembly is held in by two obvious brackets, each secured by two screws. The track pickups are the central two. Your lead can be hidden within the track cleaning loco's body and routed out at the rear via one of the gaps between body & chassis (you'll figure it out when you look). To remove the bonnet at the rear of the loco is simply a matter of pulling off the cab roof (it needs a good tug) and unscrewing the two obvious screws securing the bonnet. Use whatever plug/socket arrangement you prefer between loco and trail car., but ensure the polarity cannot be confused, creating a short.

Should you choose to fit a power buffer, remember it needs a DCC decoder fitted, even if you are only running DC.
If the cleaning loco is the old yellow type, it'll have a standard socket for an LGB 55020/55021 decoder. You can easily fit a Massoth buffer to the reverse side of the decoder.
If it is of the type that has a factory fitted decoder on a motherboard, you cannot easily fit a buffer as the cleaning loco does not use the "standard" factory decoder found on other locos. I'd go with a trail car in that case (which is what I've done on my own).

The diagrams of where to fit buffer leads are on a copy of a German magazine which runs to several Mb, so it can't be posted on GSC (not least as it would breach the German's copyright). If you PM me with an email ID, I can send you a copy.
 
Many thanks again for your help guys, much appreciated!
 
When I used to run my TCL under analogue, I used a banker loco behind to help push it over dead spots. I must admit I've not tried it since I've installed a chip. Just wondered if the Central Station would cope with three motors running at once (ie two in the TCL and one in the banker loco). If so, it seems like a less intrusive way of solving the problem.

Rik
EDIT - Just tried it and the Central Station seems to cope with the load with no problem.
 
ge_rik said:
When I used to run my TCL under analogue, I used a banker loco behind to help push it over dead spots. I must admit I've not tried it since I've installed a chip. Just wondered if the Central Station would cope with three motors running at once (ie two in the TCL and one in the banker loco). If so, it seems like a less intrusive way of solving the problem.

Rik
Click to expand...

Yes I have to admit that, being so incredibly in the dark ages when it comes to electric trains in order to prevent frequent stoppages due flat spots short ccts on the LGB frog etc, I mean what chance has a slow running little wheelbase Stainz got? I just add either more skates and/or more bogies, so double-heading is the order of the day.
 
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