Chris-K Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Hi, can anyone help I'm just getting into DCC and I have a old triang R357 class 31 train I really want to be able to run on dcc, I have found some info on here from someone previously asking about this but wondered if anyone had any photos they could share of the dcc on this kind of motor to give me some help as to what I need to solder where etc really would appreciate anyone's help, I'm looking at using a R8249 decoderThanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 These are not the easiest motors to convert and IMHO not worth the effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-K Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 These are not the easiest motors to convert and IMHO not worth the effort. Thanks for replying, is there a modern version of this with dcc or dcc ready or even one I could put the original triang body on if anyone knows if that might be the way forward, it would have just been nice to run the original that was allThanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 I think this is the loco in question.There are several newer variants of the Class 31, both simple single power bogie Railroad spec and the better detailed much heavier all wheel drive chassis. Both DC-Ready meaning they have a socket for your 8-pin decoder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-K Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 Hi this is the one, can it be made for DCC I'm even willing to send it someone and pay postage etc for anyone that could do it for me?ThanksChris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Outwith my remit to advise as I have never had one, but any loco can be converted using the basic principle of electrically isolating the motor brushes from the wheel pickups. How that could be done with this motor I have no idea but there are folk on here who will know, hopefully they will be dropping in soon.Whilst you are waiting for a reply you may wish to have a look at the sticky post giving important tips for new posters in the General section of the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-K Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 Basically, I have the sets I had when I was young including the HST 125 etc but also me and my dad are building a layout for all this which ideally needs to be DCC as I think starting now would be the way forward, the triang 31 was his first set and it just would be nice to have it running as well would really be quite special if anything, I think someone somewhere will know how to do it if not do it for meFingers crossedThanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 I'm sure that there are members on this forum that can advise on the methodology of doing the DCC conversion.I do recall seeing a thread previously on this forum that detailed the conversion to DCC of the motor shown in the Service Sheet image above, but the search function on this forum is so dire it may never be found again. Even if it could be found, it is likely to have originated on the old Hornby forum, which means that any images included in it will not be displayed, as historic images have not been transfered from the old forum to the new one. What I do recall however from that lost thread, was that the conversion was not straight forward.But with regard someone on here doing it for you, it is not going to be something that will be easy to arrange. The reason being that there is no "private messaging" capability on this forum, therefore there is no official method for two members to exchange personal contact details. Posting personal email addresses, telephone numbers and postal addresses is also not allowed on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-K Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 I think this might be the one which helps but really if had photos just to see what's whathttps://uk.hornby.com/community/forum?p=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Does it run really well on dc? If it doesn't, it will almost certainly run worse on DCC.The armature shaft runs in plastic bearings which will be badly worn if it has been run a lot in the past. The bearings are part of a moulding that there are no replacements for. I have read of people replacing the bearing parts with a cut down cotton bud shaft!! If the bearings are worn out the armature shaft rotates on the gears, making it sound like a coffee grinder.Soldering to the thin phosphor bronze motor connections is needed for conversion and if not done carefully will result in melted plastic parts.Confine it to a display case or an isolated siding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 @Chris-Khttps://uk.hornby.com/community/forum?p=1 The URL link text you have provided is flawed, it just opens the forum home page and not a specific thread or post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-K Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 @Chris-Khttps://uk.hornby.com/community/forum?p=1The URL link text you have provided is flawed, it just opens the forum home page and not a specific thread or post.It wouldn't let me paste the link there is a a page on here if you Google r357 dcc which people have managed to do but also there is another issue by the look of it with the r357 wheels being too deep and needing the shallow flange wheels to run on modern track, my options might be to look at the R2572 model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 @Chris-KYou will get a lot more success replying if you avoid clicking the 'within post blue button' and use instead the 'Reply Text Box' at the bottom of the page. The blue button with white arrow is not a reply to this post button.This forum doesn't work at all like a normal forum you might be used to. It has already been stated in my earlier reply that there is no PM on this forum. There are many other functions found in "off the shelf commercial forum software" that are not reproduced on this forum. The reply methodology is also different as described above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Hey Rog, ignoring that the motor may be beyond repair, that it may not be running well on DC (both to be addressed before trying to convert) and looking only at the DCC conversion, isn’t this motor at least similar to the X03/04 (by the way, Rob’s service sheet shown is correct I believe)?Is it then not a matter of insulating the other side of the brush holding spring and connecting decoder orange and grey one to each of the brush holders.If so, don’t connect directly to the brushes, use the parts as shown by SoT in FAQ1 above from the FAQ Index sticky above for X03/04 conversion. Once you’ve insulated the spring, there can be no brush connection to DCC track voltage (any such connection blows the decoder and is what you have to look out for when converting any loco to DCC). Then just ensure pickups/chassis connections to track go to decoder red and black, one for each track rail, and Bob’s your uncle.But I’m deducing from the service sheet which is not the easiest to interpret, I have no actual experience with this motor. So am I correct or do I have it completely wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 @FishyYou have it right. Sounds simple but actually doing it is tricky.I never said it couldn't be done, just that it's not an easy conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 Thanks Rog. And I thought using those additional parts as per SoT might solve some of the trickiness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The son of Triangman Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 It's a pretty easy conversion, but there are pit falls. Conversion is basically as per my X.04 article, however a component is best removed. I will do a more in depth conversion article time permitting next week. A standard Hornby decoder won't be able to handle the stall current of the motor. You will need a decoder that can handle a 1 Amp stall current. The loco needs to be fully serviced (not just a squirt of oil) and be a good runner before conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 If you do, I will see about adding it to the existing sticky to join your X03/04 conversion article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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