hi, i recently got a old arnold alco rs 2 in great shape looking and running. but theres two thing i would like to change. 1)it has the pizza cutter wheels. can these be replaced or do they (if this is even possible) have to be turned down to code 50. 2)is it possible to put a decoder in this engine. the body is a one die cast piece with no room at all. thanks in advance for the help stevenb
I think you mean the S-2? NWSL makes replacement wheelsets but they are not cheap. Arnold actually made some with a very early model decoder built on to the PC board, but I'm not sure about fitting an aftermarket one.
I assume you mean the S-2. If so, you can fit a small after-market decoder in the fuel tank area between the trucks on the underside of the loco. Way back when, I used a Digitrax DZ120; today I'd go for a Lenz silver mini, which should fit even better. John C.
If it's the same older Arnold S2 I have...yes a decoder can be installed. I havnt done it yet but there is 'some' work that needs to be done... http://www.trainweb.org/nrmrc/dccconv/ars2.html .
yep, it takes some work, but the DZ125 from digitrax works great, and you can add a headlight and reverse light in the process. The NWSL replacement axles are about $18 us. You can also Carefully put the stock axles in a low speed drill and grind down the flanges, but this is definitely less reliable... and the stock gears are prone to splitting, so I would recommend getting the replacements. It is a fine model and worth the investment
I turned the wheel flanges down on all mine. I also had to replace the gears on the axles because ALL the original ones had split and were useless. First I removed one wheel and the bad gear. I chucked the axle up in my Dremil tool, spun the wheel and filed down the flange with a needle file. I then polished it up with some fine steel wool. I pulled that wheel off and put the other wheel on the axle and repeated the process. I replaced the gear with one I had salvaged from an old Kato F truck (ones with the plastic axle gear). I chucked the longer end of the plastic Kato axle in the Moto Tool and cut off the short end. I carefully drilled a center hole in the gear with the correct drill bit held in a pin vice while spinning the gear with the Moto Tool. Once the hole was deep enough to be into the axle past the gear, I cut the gear off with a razor blade and pressed it onto the Arnold axle, spacing it correctly between the wheels. Reassembled the truck and it was good to go. In talking to Hans Stearman, the N Scale mechanical wizard from Holland, while at the NSC convention in Portland, I found he did exactly the same thing to all his Arnold S-2s.
nstars used to make a replacement kit for the old Arnold motor. I think you can contact him at info(at)n-stars. However, there is a brilliant description of this process, including a link: http://www.fourthray.com/Peter/Articles/Equipment/S2.htm hth Michael
