The Tender Trap 2

I was looking at some items on eBay the other day and ran across not one, but two examples of something that really, really, bugs me. I call it the tender trap.

When you're talking about steam locomotives (at least in the U.S.), the car immediately behind the engine is called the "tender." It's where the engine's fuel supply is carried. In the early days, this was wood, but soon it was replaced by coal. The term is probably a shortened form of "coal tender."

Now I know that most people don't really know -- or even care to know -- that much about toy trains. But if you're going to display them for sale, why not set it up properly? It definitely makes what you're trying to sell more appealing to the potential buyer (who most likely does know something about these items).

So how can you tell if you've set the train up right? Simple. Just hook the cars together. Almost any toy train will have some kind of unique coupling arrangement that prevents you from having the tender face the wrong way.

Why would anyone want the tender to face the wrong way? Because there's a mistaken notion that the tender should slope into the engine's cab, so the end that's taller should be in the back.

Here's the first example, a small Strombrecker floor toy:

Yep. The tender's backward. That opening should be facing the engine, because (if this were a real train), that's how the fireman would access the coal. And ignorance is no excuse. These Strombrecker trains used a very simple coupling system. Underneath the body of each car runs a long wire that sticks out at both ends. On one end is a hook, and on the other, an eye. Sticking out of the back of the engine is a hook. In the current setup, the photographer has the hook from the engine touching the hook of the tender. That should have been a clue that perhaps it wasn't set up right.

Strombrecker built the train so that the tender could only be connected to the engine one way -- by using the hook on the engine to connect to the eye of the tender (found on the open end). So simple, a child could do it (and often did, back in the day).

Here's what it should look like, in an image from the Strombrecker  catalog. If you look carefully, you can even see the hook and eye connectors. (You can click on an image to enlarge)

This next one really takes the cake, though. It was clear from the copy that the seller had absolutely no idea what the tender was for. He called it a "blue car." Notice how it's not even close to the engine!

And yet, even though he has no idea of the car's function, he still placed it backward! Despite the hook and eye connectors that suggested otherwise, by golly there it is.

As you can see from the Strombrecker image below, these things only connect one way.

One more thing: as an extra added bonus, he also placed the caboose incorrectly. Now again, not everyone knows that a caboose (the red car) goes at the end of the train.  But all you have to do is connect the thing together. The engine has an eye, but no hook. It has to go at one end. The yellow car and the blue car (the tender) have both a hook and an eye, so they go in the middle (and the tender only connects in the right direction). The caboose has a hook, but no eye. It has to go at the end.

No real need for any kind of expertise here. Just connect the cars together, and you'll be fine. Really.

And so will I!

The Straco Layout, Part 4 - The SilClear Solution( and Problem)

Read more about the whole project here.

In the last post, I talked about how I cleaned the track to help with the electrical connection the Straco Express locomotive needed to make with the track, and for the track to relay current around the oval. I did get the train to run, but performance was marginal.


As you can see from the video above, there's a severe voltage drop about halfway around the loop. In other words, about as far away from the terminal as possible. Now keep in mind that the power pack for this train set is comprised of two "D" cell batteries, so we're not talking about a lot of power, to begin with.

Well, the Straco Express is a marginal product and needs all the help it can get to operate with even just a hint of dependability.

I gave the SilClear a try. In addition to coating the terminals, I also brushed it on the battery contacts. I also coated every pin. Because it spreads, I coated the top two-thirds of the pin. When I inserted the pins into the rails, the tight connection spread the SilClear further down the pins. This effectively coated the pins without any leakage.

The results were good -- almost too good. As you can see from the video below, the train whizzed around the track. Unfortunately, it went fast enough to jump the track.



And there's still a voltage drop on the far side of the oval.

If you look at the videos carefully, you can see the featherweight track rising and falling as the train passes over it. I think that once the track is affixed to the board that derailment may be less common. I'll also crimp the track connections again once I'm ready to install the track permanently. That should address the power drop issue.

Still, I was impressed by the difference SilClear made. I may try it on my O-gauge layout.

The next step is to begin work on the board itself. Stay tuned!

One final note: If you're wondering why I didn't back off on the throttle to prevent high-speed derailment, I couldn't. The red control lever on the power pack is just a directional on/off switch. Push it to the right, train starts up in one direction. Move to the center, power's cut and the train stops. Push the lever to the left, and the engine goes in the opposite direction.

#Straco

The Straco Layout, Part 3 - Cleaning the Track

The top piece of track has not been cleaned.
The bottom piece has

Read more about the whole project here.

The next step in the process of building this layout was working with the track. Although the sections came from three different sources, every piece of track had three things in common: age, grime, and corrosion. The age of the track (approximately 50 years!) wasn't something I could do anything about, but the grime and corrosion (accumulated over that same half-century) I could.

Someone asked me if I was going to use steel wool. While that's a good way to clean metal like this, it's not such a good idea for toy train track. Sometimes little shavings of steel wool remain on the track and can get pulled into the locomotive as it rides over the rail. And a small sliver of conductive metal rattling around inside an electrical motor can lead to real trouble.

So instead, I took it in stages. I happened to have an electric eraser that I used to get most of the superficial dirt off of the track. If you're not familiar with the device, it's used primarily  in drafting (I used it for music copying in pre-computer days). It spins the eraser very quickly, letting you erase in a very small area without smudging everything around it.

My goal wasn't to completely clean the track -- that would have been very difficult. Rather, I wanted to clean all of the surfaces that would help relay the electrical current from the battery pack through the rails and then to the contacts on the wheels of the locomotive. The eraser took off most of the corrosion off the top of the rails, ensuring the locomotive would make good contact.

After cleaning the track with the eraser, I then scrubbed it with silver and metal polish. This pulled up, even more, grime off the tracks. The third step was to use a track cleaner solution to ensure the tracks were as clean as possible.

I then assembled the sections. There's a reason why I got the track operational before trimming the table to fit. These sets came with enough curved pieces to form a circle and two pieces of straight track. I had some extra straight tracks from the three combined sets, so I was hoping to use them in the circle.

No such luck. The power pack uses two "D" cell batteries and adding just two extra track sections caused a significant voltage drop in the circuit.

As I've said before, the operability of this Japanese train set is marginal at best. It was designed for a circle and two straight pieces of track, and no more.

I pieced the oval together, making sure I crimped the open sections of track to ensure a better connection with the pins. Just one more step, and I would be ready to test the track with the train.

Read more about the whole project here.

#Straco

WTJU and Horn Bands of the '60's - Part 2

In part 1 of this two-part post, I outlined the reasons for doing a special program featuring horn bands of the late 1960's on WTJU. Now we get to the good stuff -- the music itself.

Basically, on my program airing Wednesday, February 16 beginning at 6AM on WTJU, 91.1fm, I'll be airing music from the following groups:

East Coast Bands

Blood, Sweat, and Tears is probably the best known of this group. The band leaned closer to jazz than they did to rock, especially after Al Cooper left and David Clayton-Thomas came on board.



Chase was founded by jazz trumpter Bill Chase. They only had one hit, but their three albums were legendary.



Mid-West Bands

Chicago was formed in Chicago (of course), and before they became mushy balladeers, they were capable of some hard-driving rock. Witness this live performance of "Now You've Gone Away."



The Ides of March were sometimes mistaken for BS&T, because of a similarity in sound. But make no mistake, these guys came first. Lead singer and primary songwriter Jim Peterik appeared on Bill Chase's final album, and later played in Survivor, where he wrote their hit "Eye of the Tiger."



West Coast Bands

Cold Blood was an amazing horn band from San Francisco. Lead singer Lydia Pense was often compared favorably with her contemporary Janis Joplin.



The Electric Flag was a little more psychedelic, but you can hear the horns! Check out this live performance of their tune "Groovin is Easy."



The Sons of Champlin featured lead singer Bill Champlin. Although they never broke into the charts, they were critical favorites. Bill Champlin would later join Chicago as their lead singer in the 1990's.



Foreign Bands

Lighthouse was a supergroup from Canada that had one chart hit, "One Fine Morning." Nevertheless, this massive band put out several fine albums of music uniquely suited to their brass and string sections!



The Amen Corner from the UK wanted to reproduce the Stax Records sound. To achieve that, they incorporated both tenor and baritone saxophones into their group. The lead singer wrote "Bend Me, Shape Me," which they recorded and released, and was soon covered by the American Breed. Here are both versions, which actually appeared on the UK charts at the same time.





The Foundations were a mixed group from the UK. Most people remember them for "Build Me Up, Buttercup," and "Now That I Found You." But I'll probably be playing this track, too.

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I'll be featuring other groups on the show as well, but this will give you a general idea. So be sure to tune in and -- more importantly -- make a pledge! You know it's the right thing to do.

#hornbands

WTJU and Horn Bands of the '60's - Part 1

The show

Wednesday, February 16 from 6AM to 9AM I'll be hosting a program entitled "Horn Bands" on WTJU, 91.1fm Charlottesville VA (and online at wtju.net/stream).

For three hours I'll be playing music by rock groups of the late 1960's who had horn players as their members, as opposed to groups who used studio musicians when they wanted backup brass on their records.

The reason

WTJU, being a community radio station, has to raise a significant amount of money from its listeners to meet its operating budget. The station broadcasts four musical genres: classical, jazz, rock, and folk. For our fund drives, each department takes over the station for a week to celebrate its particular genre in all its diversity. Jazz did their fund-raising marathon in October. The Classical Department (which I'm a member of) did ours in December.

Now it's the turn of the Rock Department. The goal is to raise $30,000 while presenting some of the most diverse and in-depth rock programming anywhere. Programming that only WTJU can deliver.


The goal

My personal goal is to raise $3,000 in pledges. I think it's very possible. I only need 30 people to make a $100 pledge, and we're there. And I'm not buying the theory that only impoverished university students listen to our rock programming. Most of the volunteer announcers are well past their college years, and so are the listeners. I know we have doctors, lawyers, professors, and other professionals listening in, and to them -- and to you -- I say:


Tune in, pony up, and rock on.

We take VISA and MasterCard, and if you pledge online, you can even pay your pledge in convenient monthly installments.

Make no mistake: I intend to have a lot of fun this coming Wednesday morning, but I also intend to raise a lot of money for the station.

That's where you come in. No matter where you are, please tune in -- and be sure to call in. Better still, if you're one of our many online listeners, just open up a new window on your computer and pledge online.

In fact, you don't even have to wait until the fund drive starts. Pre-pledge now and avoid the rush!

The criteria

So what do I mean by "horn bands" anyway? I'm looking at a very small group of bands that flourished ever-so-briefly between 1966 and 1970. I'm staying away from more funk-oriented groups like Earth, Wind, and Fire and Tower of Power. Instead, I'll be playing groups that blend jazz and rock, as opposed to soul and rock.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears is an obvious choice. And so's Chicago (this is when they were still good). But who else fits? I'll provide a partial run down of the groups I'll be playing in Part 2.

#hornbands