# New diesel on the In-ko-pah RR



## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Today we discovered a Christmas gift from Cris' brother, which had been hidden in the grandkids' playhouse by the UPS guy. Apparently it was raining on the day they delivered the package.


Inside the box was a new Aristocraft RS-3 diesel locomotive. It's a real beauty, with great detail. I ran it this evening and it performs very well. Lots of pulling power, and runs smoother and slower than anything else I have. Handles the tight curves fine too, with one exception. 


There is one spot on the lower level, west end, where it likes to climb the outside rail. Since it only happens there, the problem is with the track rather than the loco. Most likely the track is slightly out of gauge there. Shouldn't be difficult to correct.


Although it's quite long, at 1:29 scale it's small even next to my 1:24 stuff, and the Buddy L 2-6-2 towers over it. Eventually I will probably try to "upscale" it with a larger cab and other modifications.


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I fixed the one section of track where the loco was derailing. Turns out the curve was super-elevated a bit too much, causing the train to lean towards the inside of the curve. Then the wheels would lift up and climb the outside rail. So I just dug out some of the ballast from under the track and got it to lay flatter. 

This is a really nice looking loco. I'll post some pics of it this evening, along with a few other things.


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## Ted Doskaris (Oct 7, 2008)

Ray, 

I think the Aristo RS3 was the first nicely detailed loco they made and set the example for their products that followed. 
I was so impressed with the Union Pacific RS3 when I first had seen it at Talbot's hobby shop in San Mateo, CA. (where I live) it became my first "G" scale purchase many years ago. 
Since then Aristo made incremental improvements that your version would have. 

What road name did you get? 

-Ted


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I like mine also. I learned some tricks about changing out couplers, so if you go for Kadees, give me a call, or check out my site. Also, a QSI plugs in there very nicely, and I just figured out how to ring the bell and honk the horn with the 27 MHz Trackside Train Engineer system if you are interested.. all fun future projects. 

Regards, Greg


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

With the sharp curves you have you may have problems with mounting couplers to the body. Later RJD


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Ted, ours is the "Rio Grande" model. Whenever I get around to building a bigger cab, I'll also paint and letter it for my own railroad. 

Greg, thanks for the tips. I would like to add sound at some point. 

RJ, the couplers on this loco are already body mounted, but they have a long shank and a lot of swing. I've been running it with the few freight cars that I have converted to body mounted Kadees, no problemo! I'm in the process of converting all my rolling stock. The body mounted couplers work great and look a lot better.


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## Ted Doskaris (Oct 7, 2008)

Thanks Ray,

The Rio Grande is a nice looking loco but I know when you redo it, it will look great on your superb layout. 


BTW, all the Aristo diesels I have (FA1/FB1, RS3, U25B, GP40, SD45, Dash9, E9, RDC1) do have body mount couplers like the example seen in the below picuture:












-Ted


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Here are some pics of the new loco in action:

[url]http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR-Photos_files/Media/IMG_0114/IMG_0114.jpg[/b][/url]

[url]http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR-Photos_files/Media/IMG_0116/IMG_0116.jpg[/b][/url] 

[url]http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR-Photos_files/Media/IMG_0124/IMG_0124.jpg[/b][/url]

(Image size exceeds 640 pixels, or file size to large, changed to links, SteveC mod.)[/i]


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## Ted Doskaris (Oct 7, 2008)

Ray, 

Thanks for posting the pictures of the new loco and showing your beautiful layout, too. 

It's interesting to see that the two different coupler types and sizes actually will connect together. 
I presume the smaller coupler of the car a Kadee #1 type. 

-Ted


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Yeah, the Kadee Gauge #1 couplers work surprisingly well with other, larger couplers, as long as they are at about the same height.


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Ray that's a good looking lRS-3 and your layout is fantastic


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

SteveC, sorry about the file size, and thanks for changing to links. I hadn't expected them to turn out so large, they looked smaller on my computer.


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Ray Dunakin on 01/18/2009 11:11 PM
SteveC, sorry about the file size, and thanks for changing to links. I hadn't expected them to turn out so large, they looked smaller on my computer.
Ray

No problem, them pesky graphics will get you every time.







By the way, that sure is some very nice layout and equipment.


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I found the manual and other papers for the loco in the bottom of the box today. It looks like this loco was on the hobby shop shelf for a long time -- there's an order form for the 1997 Aristocraft catalog! There's also a subscription offer for GR back when the cover art was very different.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

See if the axles go into the sideframes, or the axles end flush with the wheels. I have listed the various versions of the RS-3 on my site, and George Schreyer has a great page on RS-3's. 

Regards, Greg


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## eheading (Jan 5, 2008)

A lot of folks recommend changing out the trucks if they aren't the new ball bearing trucks (ie. if the axles go into the side frames). While I know that the ball bearing trucks run very smoothly, I have a number of engines with the old trucks, and they just keep rolling along with no problems. So, my recommendation is "don't worry about which trucks you have". It is nice to know which they are, but I would just run with the old style trucks until if and when they give you a problem. 
As an added plus, the old trucks are truly "sprung", the ball bearing trucks are not.


Ed


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