Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

G`day Folks,
I have had a little Lima Prairie for a couple of years now.
It came from Ebay and was in first class condition. I have given it a couple of services and it runs very nicely, however I still need to work on it`s smooth start.
I don`t know whether I can remedy it`s starting characteristics, but it`s worth a go at some stage. At the moment, when power is applied, it just goes....no thinking about it......it just goes.
Anyway, it came with huge D shaped couplings as per below, and I decided yesterday to remove them and fit something less offensive.








I removed the offending D`s, which was a fairly simple exercise, and replaced them with a short U shaped wire which is push fitted into the bogie ends.
The U has to be angled downward to line up with the center of a tension lock, but I think it looks far better. The loco is meant to be dual purpose, so I have also fitted magnets to the buffer beams for my 3 link coupling system.
Speaking of magnets, they are also fitted under the loco for my TLS ( Train Location System )













The next job will be to paint the wheels and linkages and add a crew.




Anyway....all in good time.....but it just goes to show what a visual impact those old large tension lock couplings had on what is essentially a very nice model.

Gormo

 

Yes Phil,
Makes `em easier to count.......
Gormo

 

G`day Pete,
Yes it`s the standard motor and I have DVD motors waiting in the background for such a project, however, if I can free up the Lima motor and achieve a smoother start I will be happy with that.......we`ll see.?
Gormo

 

Thanks Mark,
Yes I think it is fundamentally a good model.
It has wheels with the larger flanges etc. but that`s how it was a long time ago when it was made.
New models have better detail these days, but they are not as robust as these older models.
Gormo

 

Yes Chris,
It could be any or all of the above..........won`t know until I strip it down.
A CD / DVD motor would bring it into the 21st century, however that`s the last resort at this stage.
These Lima motors should be able to creep along at low revs, and this one can crawl along once it starts and gets moving, so I suspect there is some minimal resistance somewhere in the gears as well.........as the Doctor said " We won`t know until we open him up "........
Gormo

 

Thanks Paul,
Noted and logged for future reference.
Gormo

 

Yes Phil,
I like the Lima products......very reliable.....it`s a pity they got taken over / bought out.
Gormo

 

G`day Tony,
Some folks will force a pinion onto a shaft and it will work for a while until the nylon decides it`s under too much stress and it fractures.
If pinions don`t fit the shaft from being too tight.....it`s better to gently drill them out and have a snug fit rather than a forced fit.
I think the motor will have to be dead before I go down the conversion route, but if I do convert the motor, it will be a calculated and measured approach......do it right...do it once.
Gormo

 

Well folks,
I opened up the motor this afternoon on the Lima Prairie.
It was a bit nasty in there, but before I cleaned the commutator, I cleaned the gears and ran a needle file through the teeth just to tidy things up a bit.
No great problem or issue stood out with the gears, and when they were refitted they were meshing nicely and smoothly.
There appear to be no issues in the drive train.





The commutator on the other hand needed a good clean. It`s actually surprising that it ran so well before I opened it.








The first thing to do was take a cotton bud and clean off the junk and gunk.
That was followed by a cotton bud dipped in Methylated Spirits and that removed a lot more gunk.
Then a cotton bud dipped in car polish ( a mild cutting compound ) which lifted even more black stuff.
A clean cotton bud then was used to remove any deposits left behind from the polish.
Then a second clean with the Methylated Spirits to absolutely remove anything that the other processes may have dislodged





The cleaning was successful and has even removed the carbon deposits from the gaps between the copper sections.




The motor brushes were also cleaned and the whole lot put back together




Unfortunately, this process did not remedy the slow start issue I was trying to sort out, however the loco still runs very well, so for the moment I will leave it.
Below is a video of it slow running forwards and backwards.



Gormo

 

Gormo

 

Thanks Andy,
Yes it is a fine little model.
It`s running really well at the moment.....nice and slow with little effort....so I`ll leave it for a while.
The initial start is still immediate rather than gradual, so not the best for shunting, so maybe it will be assigned to coach stock or through goods .?
Some good running may indeed go some way to partially remedy the problem.
Meantime....many things to get on with.
Gormo