Ztrains: Power Pickup Installation

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Power Pickup Installation
In order to achieve a higher degree of realism in your Z scale projects, consider adding interior lighting to some of your rolling stock. In a search to find what was available for Z scale, I met Jim Hinds of Richmond Controls, manufacturer of the EZ-LITE™ lighting systems for model railroads. Richmond Controls also produces electrical contacts, or wipers, for acquiring electrical power from the track via metal wheels.

After an exchange of emails and phone calls, I sent Jim a Marklin Z scale caboose to see what sort of wiper installation could be completed. After a few more conversations discussing some of the specifics, I received the caboose back with wipers installed as well as one of his EZ-LITE™ modules (I'll feature the EZ-LITE™ module in a separate article). To say I was happy with the design and installation of the wipers and the EZ-LITE™ module would be an understatement, this is a very well designed system. Since Jim actually installed the wipers and EZ-LITE™ module, I asked him to detail the procedure for this article, which he did. Thanks to Richmond Controls for producing these wipers, for providing the following text and for making their expertise available to Z scale enthusiasts.

Truck Modification / Ridge removal: This was done using a small end mill in a Unimat set up as a vertical mill. It could be done by hand using an abrasive wheel in a Moto-Tool.

Truck Modification / Hole For Screw: First use a pin or center punch to mark the center of that round post, and to provide a dimple to guide the drill at the start. Then drill through using a #64 drill. I generally do this by hand, using great care to try to keep the hole axis vertical. The drill was selected to be smaller than a clearance drill for the 1 mm screw (#60), but larger than a tap drill (#67). The objective is for the screw to thread itself into the hole in the soft plastic and be snugly held to prevent it from rotating. It needs to be screwed down tightly against the wiper to make good electrical contact and to prevent the wiper from rotating relative to the truck (In other words, the wiper needs to rotate with the truck, and the screw makes that happen). The screw is a 1 mm x 7 mm pan head Phillips screw obtained from Northwest Shortlines.

Wipers: These are standard Richmond Controls Z Scale passenger car wipers with the interior edges modified to clear those split vertical posts that the axles pass through. (Note that the interior edges of the wipers are uneven because I ground them with a motor tool.) If there is sufficient interest, I will have new wipers made to fit this truck, I took dimensions and have already done the drawing.

Connectors: These are actually gold plated crimp connectors with the crimp portion cut off. The connector slides onto the screw tip by just pushing it on. It thinks that the screw tip is its plug.

Bending The Fingers
One initial concern I had was the pressure the wiper fingers exerted on the axles. This pressure was inhibiting the free rolling of the axles. I spoke with Jim about this and here's his reply:

You can bend the wiper fingers probably as much as you want. If you make a SHARP bend in that metal, it will break. But gradual bends have never caused a problem. I recommend putting Atlas Conductalube on the points of contact between the wipers and the axles. It dries up after a while, so you need to add more occasionally. Bending the wipers is what is needed to make the wheels roll more freely. As long as they are touching with a little bit of force, that's all that is needed.

Overall Impressions
I've been very happy with the overall service and the attention to detail that Richmond Controls displays. It's refreshing to see a manufacturer who will work with Z scale users to the degree that Jim Hinds does. You can contact Jim by clicking on any of the Richmond Controls links that appear on this page. Below are some thoughts from Jim regarding his business approach.

From Jim Hinds of Richmond Controls:
The general philosophy for Richmond Controls is to sell as much or as little as the model railroader needs. If somebody already has the screws, for example, then I don't need to sell them to the customer. If somebody just wanted the ridge removal done for the trucks, that would be fine. If they want the whole installation done, that would also be fine.

With any order, I supply everything necessary in the way of parts to finish the job. I always try to encourage the modeler to do the installation himself or herself. The design objective for Richmond Controls modules is to provide something that the railroader with modest skills and a modest tool kit can successfully install.

My standard offer to customers is that if they try to do the installation and discover they are missing some skill or tool or patience, I will finish it up. If they damage something unintentionally, I will fix it. This generally reassures the customer, and I almost never end up finishing an installation. The goal is to end up with a finished model with lights that work reliably as expected.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Elevated or “EL” Model Railroading