Installing electrical pick ups on tender trucks.

ray_m

I'd like to share an easy way to add electrical wipers to tender trucks.
KD coupler centering springs are modified to form the wipers.
On the left in the photo is a stock KD centering spring.
The centering tabs are bent at about the middle to form the V shaped wipers. The next spring in the photo illustrates this.
The hole in the spring is then filed and the end clipped off. This slot must be filed to the width of the truck bolster.

ray_m

The insulation is stripped off of some light flexible wire and soldered to the wipers as illustrated in the photo.

ray_m

Small holes just large enough to feed the wires through are drilled at the ends of the bolsters. The wires are feed through and the wipers are glued to the inside of the side frames. I also glue the wire into the hole.
This is a view of the bottom.

ray_m

This is a view of the top.
The wire leads will pass through holes in the tender floor and attach to a 2 wire plug that leads to the locomotive.

knudsen

Wow, great idea! Absnut was looking for thin copper wipers and I wonder if this would work for him.
wtg

fred_m

Im gonna copy this into the how tos, Ok Ray? That is a novel way of doing it and uses off the shelf parts. Fantastic. Fred

kettlestack

Ray, I love your innovative thinking. It's the answer to many a modeller's problems of getting more wheels collecting the juice. Thanks for posting this.

I'm going to try it not for power pick-up but to apply just a tad of friction to prevent rolling stock moving when Kadees are trying to couple-up at slow speed.

Thanks again.

Errol

ray_m

Thanks Errol,
That would work great. The wipers don't add that much friction but should hold a car when coupling and uncoupling.
Great idea. wtg

fred_m

For friction I heard you can bend a paperclip around both axles and it will work. Fred

Shamus · Gandy Dancer Joined: Apr 01, 2005 Posts: 42

Very nice idea that. Quite ingenious in fact.
Shamus

ray_m

Thanks Paul.