# New PRR Aristo Craft Pacific arrived today :)



## BodsRailRoad (Jul 26, 2008)

My new Aristo Craft PRR Pacific arrived today from G Scale Junction, Thanks Jim.

The Pacific was very well packaged and there where no broken parts or damage of any kind.
The fit and finish was also very nice. I liked the new connector plug from the loco to the tender. 
I also liked the new LED headlight.
A downside to having all the electronics in the tender is that the Loco will not run without the tender attached 
(but I guess that makes it more prototypical







) 

The engine ran very smooth at all speeds and crawled very nicely with no sign of surging.
It's top speed was also very impressive a real high speed loco!! There was no noticeable wobble and it tracked nicely.
The new version of the Pacific ran much smoother, than the other yellow boxed Pacific I have, right out of the box.

Here are some Pics of my new Pacific;


 


 


The New tender (it opens by sliding the coal load backwards, notice the hooks) 


 

Here is a Pic of the New Circuit board, the speaker is just aft of the board.


 

Here is a Pic of the new Loco to tender connector


 

Here is a Slow speed test video;



Here is a HIGH speed test video;


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Ron,

When I saw this locomotive at the ECLSTS, I was impressed with it as well. 

I think your High Speed test is awesome!! Everyone seems to focus on how slow something will run, but I like seeing it fly along the tracks, too!! I wonder how it compares to the high speed of the RS-3. The reason for my interest is I have a couple of guest engineers (no names, cough Jim!) who like to ram their passenger trains in to the backs of freight trains powered by Mikados. 

Are you going to make your PRR pacific look a bit more PRR'ish, high headlight, keystone, etc..? Looks like you are having fun! 

Mark


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## Pterosaur (May 6, 2008)

Nice!...I was afraid of that. I would love to add a Pacific to the roster but I also want an undecorated Consolidation (re-letter to DM&IR). Been buying a lot lately but your pics/vids may make me reconsider!


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## jmill24 (Jan 11, 2008)

Mark, Beep! Beep!, get off the track and let me by.................Jim


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Seems strange that the loco would not have a pick up point. Can you further verify that this is the case? Later RJD


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

RJ,

Having tried to run my mikado with just the tender pick ups, I would bet that the Pacific Ron just got has pick ups in the locomotive.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

The connection between the power pickups and the motor is made at the socket. since the socket is in the tender, with no tender, no power to the motor. 

Greg


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg,

Isn't that what Ron said? I read RJ's post as a question about power pick ups. RJ, correct me if I am wrong. The point I made is that without power pick ups in the locomotive feeding back through that 8 pin connector, the engine would not run very well at all. That's based on my mikado running with just the tender leads feeding power to the boards. That just did not work.


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## BodsRailRoad (Jul 26, 2008)

I retested just to be sure and the Pacific will not run without the tender attached.

I spoke with Navin just now and he told me that all the drivers are wired for electrical pick-up and that they transfer the power to the PCB in the tender, via the connector, which is needed for operation.
The both sets of the tenders wheels are also wired for pick-up.
He also said that the Mallet is also wired this way.

All in all it runs very smooth, Ron


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes Mark, if you look at our posts, you and I were typing at the same time... 

I thought that RJ misinterpreted Ron's statement to imply that there were only pickups in the tender. 

yes I understand how they are wired... 

Yes, Ron confirmed that... 

I don't see the confusion. 

Reagrds, Greg


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg, 

Cool. That makes more sense than the other post.


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Ron,

I watched your other video and it appears the engine does run nice and smooth! I've always liked the pacific and eventually, would like to add one for my passenger trains.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Ok that makes sense. Never gave the plug a thought. So it looks like it really runs well. Later RJD


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## bdp3wsy (Mar 14, 2008)

The only problem with these tender electronics is you can't switch tenders unless each is the newer type. Aristo should make a conversion kit to upgrade a older tender to be used either way. Jake


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

That would not be too difficult to convert the tender. Converting an older loco to the new tender would be a lot of work. 

I'm kind of torn about the new setup. On the mallet, I prefer all the electronics in the loco, including the sound system and speakers. 

A bit more difficult to do in the smaller locos. 

I noticed that the quality of the plating and finish of the wheel treads was improved on the new Pacific. 











Greg


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## Tom Parkins (Jan 2, 2008)

I am eagerly awaiting a review of the new wheel and axle on the newest Pacific and Mallet. 

Hopefully somebody will have the heart to disassemble and photograph the new set up. 




Will Aristo offer a retro fit kit or can you buy just the wheel and axle to go with the earlier Pacific? (got no reply on Aristo forum)


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

agreed--I wish they would show what this new system actually is. I asked the same question over there and got no answers. 

One thing I'd wonder about, from Greg's photos, is does it effect wheel gage?


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Kinda looks like a stamped lock washer under the screw head on the axle...old tech... new and improved? 

John


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

They always had a lock washer--it just didn't always work!

I think they put some kind of shim between the axle and the wheel, but t's not really clear


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Oh, they are not on my Aristo C-16 so I plead ignorance... 

Thanks for the heads up. 

John


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Ron,

For anyone interested, here is a photo of the ATSF Pacific that I installed a Revolution in for a friend.











I totally agree with your comments. Additionally I was amazed at how quiet this loco is.

We did find that, with this loco, 10 Aristo boxcars and a caboose were about the limit it pulls before the drivers start slipping. This may be in part due to the track not being totally level or my boxcars may have more drag than normal. 

Also we found that the loco tends to uncouple from the tender under heavy loads but again this may be related to the track. We had been using the furthest hole to mount the coupling pin. It may be better if we switch to the next hole as in your photo.

The coal load had us confused as the instructions seemed to say it released by pushing forward when it had to be pushed to the rear to release it.

All in all it is a very nice loco.

I don't plan to do any sort of a write up on the loco so I hope you don't mind my adding these comments to your topic.

If you install a sound system I hope you will write up your installation of it.

Regards,

Jerry


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## jmill24 (Jan 11, 2008)

The device AC says they are using to fasten wheels is a "Collet"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collet

If you own a dremel, you have a collet...................Jim


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