I have three ALCO models c640DH S.P. diesels. They came with "Boston Hobby Town" drives. When all three are on the layout they are so noisey I can't stand it. I was looking at the "Stewart" web site and it looks like their power trucks for their C-628 and 630 would work and quiet down the models. Any thoughts positive or negative, would be appreciated.
Thanks, Bob Cochran
Posted by millcstl (Member # 60) on :
Bob, Stewart makes some good drives. Depending on what you have you should also check out Northwest shortline if you have to do some adapting the deives to the chasis. Remember the Rio Grande! Scott
Posted by JMH (Member # 331) on :
I never built one of the Hobby TOwn drives, but they were famous for being the strongest drives around. They even had a clutch model, before flywheels. Are the drives tower type or daisy chain gears? Sometimes you can pack the gears with the appropriate grease to smooth the operation. I am sure you can find an article on this subject in one of the index's from the hobby magazines.
Posted by Bob Cochran (Member # 210) on :
They have tower drives and I have contacted NWSL and they were not much help. They said the tower gears were the noise problem and changing these out would not help the noise problem that much. The motors in these brutes are BIG and with the power crisis here in California, courtesy of the states deregulation I might just put the power grid over the edge.
Thanks for the input.
Bob Cochran
Posted by Don (Member # 103) on :
Hobbytown drives are somewhat noisier than others but there are a few things you can do to quiet them. Noise can come from the motor /flywheel setup. The flywheels are well balanced but their bronze bearings, can cause some of the noise. For that reason I switch to their nylon bearings. Also if the flywheel pillows are out of alinement, that can be another noise source. Try removing the shell & see if they quiet down as the shell can amplify the chassis noise. Also check the universals - newer 1's use a ball & socket & these are preferable to the older arr. Email if you need more help. Don't worry about amp draw as they consume less - w/a good motor than you think. Don