I'm about to tear into some of my older Williams/Weaver brass engines and upgrade them (or wreck them, too early to tell!) to PS2. Has anyone out their done these and how difficult is the install? Do the MTH kit adapters work on the motor, or do you have to glue/tape it to the side? I'm curious how your projects have gone! Thanks, YB

I have converted 2 Weaver locos, a John Wilkes Pacific and a Reading Crusader Pacific. I have also converted a Williams Big Boy. I didn't use the MTH tach mounting brackets. I mounted the tach reader with CA glue. I mounted an MTH smoke unit in each conversion with very little difficulty with the exception being the Big Boy which was a bear because I needed to fabricate a manifold for the twin stacks. I changed the marker lights to green LEDs which I direct wired with a diode and resistor. I used a Bantam Pacific sound file because the locos are so low geared and this came very close to matching normal MTH speeds. With the chuff set at 3 per, I get a consistent 4 chuffs per revolution with this setup. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Good luck with your conversion!

Eric Hofberg

Chug:

Thanks for the information! Your suggestion on the sound file is particularly helpful. I may go the CA route or epoxy the sensor to the motor, seems like a good way to go.

Thanks!

Yard Bull

You may find the fly-wheel is between the motor and worm gear rather than the top of the motor. No big deal but you'll have to come with some type of bracket to mount the tack reader. The Fly-wheel on the hudson I did was really small, but turned out top be one of the best runners. I messed around making timing tapes on the computer and figured with such a small fly-wheel I'd need more strips, Nope, The largest tape that comes with the kit ended up being the best. Installing a proto-2 smoke unit is a pain, Again you need to come with a home made bracket, and working inside the boiler is a challenge,, Other than that it was a fun project. I've done about 10 upgrades, the first 9 were fun, Now its work.

I'm going to do eight units, so I may be in luck. Thanks for the interesting response! I have to do two late production Williams Challengers, two Weaver UP FEF units, two of the last Williams brass Hudsons, a Williams GS-4 Daylight. All of these have big roomy tenders and should be OK to do.

One that intimidates me is a 3rd Rail GN S-2 that has a Vanderbilt tender. That will be a puzzle. I also have a Williams USRA light Mikado that is smaller, looks like it won't be too bad.

I think I'll experiment with the timing tapes until I find one I like, especially now that I know to begin with the large ones, by which I think you mean the ones with big blocky black squares. I may have to make them myself since I'm raiding old engines to get the PS-2 stuff.

Any other experiences are welcome. I've got a lot to learn - I'm trying to apply Otto Von Bismarck's advice -“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others”.

Yard Bull

Yard Bull:

I converted my 3rd Rail G.N. S-2 a few years ago. I installed a TAS TMCC EOB system. It was not that tough a job and I believe it will be easier with the DCS installation, because you don't need to insulate the tender body as an antenna.

Eric Hofberg

I agree, that was a factor in my decision to go DCS. I saw a photo of a JDS installation in a vandy tender with the battery crosswise across the front of the oil bunker. The S2 tender is a fat one, it should go OK. YB

I did a Weaver brass 0-8-0. Epoxied tach sender to motor. 22mm flywheel caused a problem: You can't have the stripes any closer than they are on the tape for a 27mm flywheel; small stripes can't be read. So I had to use that tape, which means fewer stripes per revolution and speed is off & chuff rate/revolution had to be reset. Loco is tiny, and it was easier to leave existing headlight & Seuth smoke unit in place.

I used a diesel upgrade kit, which has two couplers, and used microtronics submini plugs to connect loco & tender.

I've done a 3rd Rail PRR Decapod. I found the flywheel much smaller than MTH flywheels and like Eric, had to fabricate a bracket to mount the tach reader. My bracket is attached to the loco frame rather than the motor, and since the frame is brass, it's easy to solder a brass bracket to the frame.

I left the Seuthe smoke unit in place since the boiler shell was mostly occupied with a large lead weight and I feared removing the weight would further reduce the loco's already meager pulling capacity.

I was fortunate that the loco's original reversing unit was in the tender and was able to use the tether mounting points for the MTH tether with minimal modification.

Overall, I'd say that converting an older brass steamer to DCS is a relatively easy job and a very rewarding one, well worth the effort.

Go for it Yard Bull, and let us know how you make out.

Yard Bull:As my friend Pat mentioned, there often is the matter of dealing with the lead weight. I have handled it a couple of different ways. In the case of the 3rd Rail S-2; It was possible to turn the weight around and still use the existing screw mounting holes. This had the effect of moving the weight toward the cab just enough to allow the installation of the smoke unit without interferring with the drive pulleys. With the Weaver locos, I sawed about a 1" square off the front of the weight to allow for the smoke unit installation.

Eric Hofberg

I think I'm going to start with my Williams SP GS-4 Daylight. It has a huge tender and a large boiler. Should be as friendly as any! Thanks all for the encouragement. YB