DCC Impulses Column - 4
Jim Hinds of Richmond Controls has made it easy for us to elec-
trify many cars, with each truck picking up off one rail. He makes
kits (5) that I found when I owned Litchfield Station. There are
two kits, one aimed at HO scale and one intended for N
. These
kits may be adapted for other scales, too. They have etched
stainless steel wipers and mounting screws, allowing for an easy
conversion as long as the trucks mount to an insulated area, such
as a blue-box Athearn kit.
A pair of scissors makes cutting out the etched parts pretty
straightforward. As you can see in figure 6, the HO parts are
plenty long and will need to be trimmed to fit.
The wheel sets need to have metal axles which connect to all
the way to the tire on one side. I like to use the Intermountain
wheels for HO – good quality and a reasonable price (part
number 85-40055
.
The supplied screws are 2-56 in the HO scale kit. To complete the
installation, you will need some 2-56 nuts and, possibly, some
washers. I like to use a ring terminal and jam nuts to hold the
5: Richmond Controls HO-scale wiper kit as received
and with one part cut out
5
assembly together. However, it is hard to find ring terminals for
#2 screws and folks usually want you to buy a hundred or so.
I keep the copper rings that I take off motor tabs. The N-scale
tabs are perfect to use as tabs for 2-56 screws.
The wipers rub against the axle and transfer the power to the
bolster mounting screw. Inside the car, an electrical contact
transfers power to your lighting kit. The truck on one end of
the car has the insulated wheels on one side. The opposite end
has the other side insulated.
Figure 6 shows how much excess material there is, which
needs to be trimmed for HO. This excess allows usage on much
larger trucks, even as large as O scale. While the stainless steel
isn’t as conductive as copper, it is fine for this usage. Its ability
to hold a shape helps keep it in contact with the axle.
To assemble the truck and wiper, I like to have the wheels
out of the bolster. Feed the screw through the stainless wiper
and through a hole in the floor of the car (7). Run one 2-56
nut down the screw until it is loose just above the floor inside
6: Richmond Controls wiper kit and Intermountain
wheels on an HO scale truck
6
MRH-Sep 2013
