PC Can Super Store Hudson 4-6-4 5702

[Heath]

Those who are looking for additional info on the PC Can Super Store CN Hudson 5702. I bought one and had a friend install a decoder in it. Pretty quiet machine I must say. As the engine only pickups were quite finicky going over switch frogs I rewired the tender for pick up. Upon opening up the tender it seems the brushes are already there but no wires attached. Now when I go over turnouts and cross overs the headlight doesn't flicker or the engine hesitates or stalls. I did however disconnet the backup light in order to use the electrical attachement jack. I haven't hauled a great deal of weight on it yet so that remains to be seen. So for those not wanting to break the bank or want some kind of half decent steam presence to their layout, this is an excellent deal.
The downside is the wheel flanges are overly large so it limits on what code track you can run it on. Code 83 is the minimum I think.

 

[jim currie]

welcome to the gauge over sized flanges are not hard to over come but to me if they would work on code 83 thats not bad.

 

[doctorwayne]

Welcome to the Gauge, Heath.
While I know of that locomotive, I'm not personally familiar with it, but many locos that pick up current only from the drivers can benefit from the fix that you performed. I did the same to a bunch of Athearn Mikes, using tender trucks from Bachmann.
An easy way to reduce over-size driver flanges is with a cut-off disc in a Dremel tool. Make sure that the motor and gears are protected from the cutting residue. I reduced the flanges on an IHC Mogul, without disassembling the loco. The trick is to work with the loco upright, and the cutting disc at the very bottom of the drivers.
Hook up some jumper wires so that the loco will run while being held above your workbench. Turn on the power so that the wheels are turning at a fairly high speed. With the Dremel tool also running at high speed, gently bring the flat face of the cut-off disc to bear against a driver flange, keeping it towards the bottom of the driver's rotation. The key word here is gently: you don't want to shatter the disc, or overheat the driver tire, especially if the driver centre is plastic. It is also very important to use only the flat face of the cut-off disc, as the edge is apt to dig into the flange and bugger up everything. Do each driver in turn until they look good, or, if you wish, measure with calipers as you work. To turn down the flanges on unpowered wheels, such as those in a lead or trailing truck, you'll need to rotate the opposite wheel by hand. This technique is suitable only for metal flanges, it will destroy plastic ones. And if you do accidently get the cutting residue where it shouldn't be, take the time to clean it up, as it will destroy the motor or gears over time.

Wayne