Hobo Tim built my Zthek SW-1 kit for me, and this morning while cutting kit parts, I decided to DCC this baby. I know NP did not have SW-1's but there are no NW's, or SW1200's in Z, so I make do. Window glazing was laser cut PVC. An Uhlenbrock 73400 Comfort Mini decoder fits perfectly. I used 0603 white SMT LED's for the lights, and painted them with Tamiya X-26 clear orange to kill the blue. Here is a link to the video of it pulling a 17 car train: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idVC8ksJPtk"]YouTube - Zthek SW1 DCC[/ame]
I don't do DCC, but I love the paint job! About the SW-1. I know the 2 inner wheels are fixed, but thought the tracks still swivel on curves. Do they? I ask because I don't see flanges on those wheels so I wonder how they can track. Or are the trucks rigid. Just curious.
Thanks for the kind words guys. The trucks are fake. The outter wheels without flanges are just for looks but don't touch the rails. The rear axle drivers are rigid, and the front drivers can tilt up and down, piviting in the center through a clever mechanism that Lajos perfected. I was skeptical at first of pulling more than a couple cars, but as the video shows, it can pull a yard track's worth just fine.
Clarification! Chris, The outer wheels are static. The trucks are rigid and do not swivel. That is why the outer wheels do not have flanges. When you operate the SW-1 on the track it does not look obvious unless you concentrate on the trucks while it goes around a curve. It is an ingenious design that Lajos made! Hobo Tim
Robert it look great as always! How well did it run before you DCC'd it? It certainly is a fine looking peice.
This loco ran great before I DCC'd it, and runs just as great after DCCing. The part that blows me away is how many cars it can pull! 17 cars!
A couple of questions? Is the loco's slow speed performance good enoug for it to work as a switcher? Do the flangeless wheels pick up electricity as well- or does it stall on turnouts and dirty track? Also, how noisy is it with the new shell? Thanks!
Have to say........ I have to say, Robert has two very fine 0-6-0 locos that were converted to the SW-1. I am the one who machined the 0-6-0 chassis'. Upon testing the chssis' after machining I found his two the best runners I have ever seen. With the shell they are quiet at typical operating speeds. Now, if you apply 8 volts/full speed to the SW-1, Yes! It will make some noise! Knowing Robert, he put DCC in these SW-1's so he would have better Switching control than non-DCC. Hopefully I'll be able to travel to Cali one day to visit Robert and play with all his Great Z stuff!!!Ok, your turn Robert!!! Chime in here!Hobo Tim
Yes, I have had good luck using this loco as a switcher at fairly slow speeds, but not real slow, like you can do with a GP35. It will not run as well as a MTL GP35 at real slow switching speeds, because it stalls on the turnouts, but if I give it somewhere between a scale 20-30 MPH, then it runs reliabily. I really would like to go just a bit slower for switching my Timesaver, but for longer yard switching, the speed is just right at the reliable speed threshold. What I did was run the loco back and forth through turnouts till I found a speed that it would randomly stall, then increased the speed to a point where it would reliably run through the turnouts all the time. This speed is just acceptable, but I would have liked it to be just a bit slower. As for what this model was built from, and how little it weighs, I would say it's performance is outstanding!
My non-DCC version (drooling over Robert's incredible work once more-and Hobo Tim's) pulls very well and runs at low speeds rather well. I will check tomorrow at the Tri-State Z Scaler's Meeting... Mine gunked up (bought RTR from Lajos) after a long run but we popped it into the ultrasonic and cleaned it. Lo and behold-great runner once more.... Michael
Hi Traius, Welcome to Trainboard! I used the Marklin 88051 mechanism for mine. Some people use the 3 pole 8805. Here is the youtube video of it running: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idVC8ksJPtk
Robert- Wow! Sweet, and incredible detail from Tim. 17 cars? That's wonderful. We could use a couple of those on the LV for our hoppers. - Ron Black Diamonds & Cornell Red forever.
