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
MRH-Sep 2013
