Broke Train Enthusiast

Progress on Lady, as always, is going slow. And with me starting college this week it’s sure to get slower. I have been working constantly on the model, trying to work out small mechanical issues and get the body painted nicely. I’ve had to slightly lower my standards, as aiming for perfection just wasn’t a realistic goal for me and my $15 airbrush. However she is looking good and I have a couple parts that are completely ready for assembly.

Even More Motor Troubles

The overheating problem is being improved upon bit by bit through carefully identifying what parts could be adding resistance, and trying to remove or mitigate them. I did realize that one reason why the motor seems to be so finicky is that the brushes were not making contact correctly. This is a problem that I knew about but didn’t expect it to make such a large difference. Soldering directly onto the motor contacts is a horrible idea as it just destroys the motor. I ended up buying another motor so when it arrives we’ll be able to see if there are any further mechanical issues to work out.

DCC?

While I didn’t end up finding my original decoder, I did purchase a new SDXN136PS decoder from Digitrax for the 16-bit sound. It has the same dimensions as the last decoder so it should fit fine. I’m currently working on a custom sound project that is accurate to Lady, including her whistle. Any decoder bought from me In the future will be able to have this sound profile installed at no extra cost.

That’s the current state of Lady right now! I hope to get her finished ASAP because I’m sure that college will quickly usurp my free time.

If you want to stay up to date on Lady and my other projects, don’t forget to subscribe!

By now you may have seen the green Emerald Lady image on this site or on Twitter. This model was thrown together using a bunch of old revision parts to Lady. The final model is nearly complete but there are a couple things that need to be done first.

1. Paint

Mixing a paint color that I was happy with for Lady was no easy feat, and took me several days. Now that I have a color, I have been struggling to print a flawless body for her. Every part that comes off the printer has some small imperfection that once I see, I can’t unsee. Basically its just going around and around in a circle until I get a part that I’m satisfied with. And then it’s onto painting!

2. Motor Troubles

The motor is having an issue with overheating due to physical resistance, but I have yet to track down the cause. I won’t be able to have a final chassis version until I do. This delay is increased further when you factor in the time it will take for Shapeways to print the chassis in metal, which is likely going to be necessary for her to have any traction. Once the motor issue is worked out, I’ll be able to move ahead with the chassis manufacturing.

3. I’m Forgetful

Somehow in the last couple of weeks I misplaced the DCC Decoder that I am using for Lady. I have absolutely no idea where it went. I know it can’t have been far, but I have looked everywhere to no avail. Purchasing a replacement isn’t something I want to do so I’m holding out hope that I find it.

So that’s where the project currently stands. I took a little break from it to finish up this website, as I get burned out when I spend too much time on one project.

I am excited to see how she turns out, but I am a bit of a perfectionist so I’m trying to get her to be as flawless as possible with the tools and equipment that I have.

Thank you for your patience as I work out these last few problems!

If you want to stay up to date on Lady and my other projects, don’t forget to subscribe!