# Latest Project... Upgrading USAT SD40-2



## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

Hi Group-

Thought I'd share some photos from the latest project I've been working on. I've been upgrading a USAT SD40-2 by installing Kadee Couplers, QSI Titan decoder, LED lighting, and a Train Li Pulsed Smoke Unit.


*- Kadee Couplers*

After disassembling the engine, the first thing I did was to add body mounted couplers. I marked out the height the top of the coupler box will need to be, as well as the center of the engine.








Notch has been cut out for the coupler box








Coupler has been attached. I used a piece of .08" styrene to fill in the gap.








.08" styrene was used to fill in the backside to add strength








Squadron putty was used to fill the gap. I applied the putty straight from the tube and let it dry for a bit. I then wet sanded with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper. This step was repeated a second time. Then a third application of putty was applied by mixing putty and a small drop of 91% rubbing alcohol. This turns the putty into a toothpaste consistency mixture. Apply the putty, then wet sand real light with 600 grit sand paper. 















After the putty and styrene was painted









*- Decoder and Speakers*

I installed the decoder in what looked like the best spot. I used circuit board mounting tabs from inside an old computer. I kept the quick connect electrical tabs from the pickup and motor wires. This was in case of future maintenance.








I used Visaton speakers thanks to the recommendation of Ben Shell and Greg Elmassian. The Visaton speakers came with a mounting tab. I used medical scissors to cut the tab off.








After the speakers were test fitted I glued them into place using clear caulk. The speakers were then wired to the decoder. I placed one speaker in the fuel tank and one in the shell up by the cooling/dynamic fans. The speaker in the tank was hardwired to the decoder. The speaker by the cooling fan was wired using quick connect clips, similar to ones used for the motor. Again, this was done for possible maintenance issues so the shell can completely pulled from the chassis.








Next I'll cover the installation of the LED's.

Thanks for reading!


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

very nice... i balanced the sound so that the horn comes mostly from the top speaker and the prime mover mostly from the fuel tank speaker... 

Grer


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

Thanks Greg. I have balanced mine much the same. I shifted the bell to the fuel tank speaker being that the bell is next to the fuel tank.


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

*Smoke Unit and LEDs*

*- Smoke Unit*

I installed a Train Li Pulsed smoke unit. Here I tested fitted it. I observed that it was going to need some shimming.








Here I shimmed it with styrene. I used Gorilla Glue CA to join the shim pieces together and to attach it to the roof of the locomotive. I also built up a styrene shim to allow me to use screws and not worry about going through the roof with the drill bit. I used caulk to attack the smoke unit to the styrene. I figured it would be easier to break the caulk seam than a CA seam if maintenance is ever needed. A mini quick clamp held the unit in place until the caulk was dry.








*- LEDs*

I purchased (100) 0603 warm white LEDs off of EBay. They came from China, all worked out well. It was only a few dollars for the LEDs and shipping cost. These are very tiny LEDs that can fit into really small places








I attached 40 gauge insulated magnet wire to the LEDs. The wire was purchased from www.remingtonindustries.com 8,304 feet of wire sells for $9.30. That will wire a lot of stuff!!!








For the front head lights, rear lights, and number board lights I used warm white LEDs purchased from DigiKey. They're quite a bit bigger compared to the 0603 LEDs and fit nicer for head light purposes. I also soldered 120 ohm surface mount resistors to the negative lead of the LEDs. I used 30 gauge pickup wire from Radio Shack. For the front and rear lights I place the LEDs into the correct location and used Micro Scale Krystal Klear to glue them into place.















The number board LEDs/resistors were glued to styrene shim, and back filled with caulk.








One thing that drew me to and sold me with QSI decoders (besides the great sound) was the fact of adding a Prime Beacon. This is a four light beacon that flashes around in a circle. It replaced rotary beacons on engines due to maintenance costs of the moving parts.

For the beacon I was working on, I used a spare CA tube extender as my base for holding the 0603 LEDs in place. The tube extender fit nice and snug into the opening in the roof. It was cut down to size to allow the beacon cover to fit. I drilled out four holes trying to maintain a 90 degree separation. I painted the tube silver.








The magnet wire was slid through the whole and down into the engine. The LED's were glued into place with CA. 








Here's a picture with the beacon cover on. I used Tamyia Clear Orange paint and a toothpick to paint the inside of the beacon cover orange. The paint was built up in three thin layers of paint. I'll make sure to show a picture of the orange cover in the shots of the final assemble.








Next I'll go over adding step lights, ditch lights, and final wire hook up. Hoping tonight to give the engine and test run.

As always, thanks for reading


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

*Step Lights and Ditch Lights*

After getting the headlight, number board lights, and prime beacon installed I applied caulk to the roof of the cab to help hold the wires in place. I then put the roof piece back in place.















*- Step Lights*

I used the 0603 LEDs to create step lights. The LEDs were glued to the steps using CA, and held in place by a tweezers until the glue dried. A small hole was drilled with a #61 bit and a pin vise to allow the wires to pass through. The magnet wires were glued to the bottom side of the chassis, and eventually passed through a whole by the truck. I eventually went back and used putty to fill in the holes by the steps, and painted the wires black.








*- Ditch Lights*

I made ditch lights from .08" styrene and some tube styrene. I guessed at the size of the ditch lights from looking at pictures.








I drilled a hole with a #61 bit and a pin vise, from the bottom through to where the styrene tube was placed. The magnet wires were fed through the hole and the 0603 LED was put into place. I used Krystal Klear to glue the LED into place. 








I glued a small piece of aluminum foil on the back side of the ditch light. This helped to keep the light in. I then glued a .03" piece of styrene to the back side of the ditch light to give it an enclosed look. CA was used to help hold the styrene in place, but I found that some light did leak through the edges. So, I took liquid plastic welding glue and brushed it on the side to seal that up. Now, light only shine through the front lens.















The ditch lights were glued into place using CA. My oldest son knocked off one of the ditch lights, which caused the thin magnet wires to break. So I rebuilt that ditch light. I took a scrap piece of styrene, angled it, and stuck it to the back of the ditch light to add support. May not be very prototypical, but it helps to reinforce the ditch light.








All the wiring is complete. A non-railroading friend of mine always says he'd rather wire a house than model trains. Could this be why?








A picture of the 5V 3A rectifier that is in place for the heater part of the smoke unit. The smoke unit requires 5V, but track power is 18V. So a rectifier is a good option, but it's to be attached to metal to help it dissipate heat. 








Hoping for a test run tonight, my middle son has his first wrestling practice tonight. Maybe tomorrow


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## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

Not to be too critical, but by the time ditch lights came around BN had removed almost all if not all beacons of road power. What size are the smaller LED's? They might work really good for step lights, truck lights, and interior cab lights if you used a higher resister value. Glad to see another BN modeler around these parts. Since you installed four LEDs into the beacon can you make the sequence actually work rights instead of simulated?
Craig


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

If I remember correctly, the Titan has a mode for a rotating beacon, set up for 6 leds... I would look it up and confirm, but I'm 35,000 feet in the air at the moment... it's all I can do to read the forum and type without belting my seatmates in the mouth with my flailing elbows...

Greg


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## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

Greg Elmassian said:


> If I remember correctly, the Titan has a mode for a rotating beacon, set up for 6 leds... I would look it up and confirm, but I'm 35,000 feet in the air at the moment... it's all I can do to read the forum and type without belting my seatmates in the mouth with my flailing elbows...
> 
> Greg


That's interesting as you could program the decoder to function like the prototype as each type of beacon had a slightly different pattern of light displays.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I think it just assumes the 6 are in a circle and lights them in sequence... I believe there is a video somewhere on youtube.

Greg


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## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

Greg Elmassian said:


> I think it just assumes the 6 are in a circle and lights them in sequence... I believe there is a video somewhere on youtube.
> 
> Greg


Oh, well than that doesn't work. I forget the different sequences of the beacons, but they were varied just as much as the MARS lights between different manufacturers.


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

bnsfconductor said:


> Not to be too critical, but by the time ditch lights came around BN had removed almost all if not all beacons of road power. What size are the smaller LED's? They might work really good for step lights, truck lights, and interior cab lights if you used a higher resister value. Glad to see another BN modeler around these parts. Since you installed four LEDs into the beacon can you make the sequence actually work rights instead of simulated?
> Craig


Don't worry about being critical. I was aware of that. I'm only making one SD40-2 with the beacon. The rest I'll cut the beacons off and fill the holes in with putty. But I wanted to have one. One of my favorite memories growing up was my Dad taking me to BN's Northtown rail yard in the 80's and 90's. Seeing the great "classic" EMD power. I remember standing on a bride and seeing the beacons flashing on the engines.

Not sure Greg on using 6 LEDs in a beacon. The Quantum Programmer dropped down option was at 4 light beacon, I think there was an option for 3 light, but can't say about the 6 light option. Each light in the beacon uses a port, so I used up 4 out of the 10 ports. It is neat how you can play with the lights in Quantum Programmer and adjust how the lights go around.

The size of the 0603 LEDs are 1.6mm L x .8mm W x .6mm H. These were used for the step lights, ditch lights, and the beacon .

The DigiKey LEDs are 2.70mm L x 2.00mm W x 1.30mm H. These were used for forward/reverse lights and the number board.

Here's a link to a video on my Flickr page. It demonstrates the lighting effects, still fine tuning things. https://flic.kr/p/qfcWKQ

I also repainted the USAT engineer figure and painted a USAT passenger figure for a conductor. As I was putting the conductor in I realized the passenger line from USAT is 1:32 instead of 1:29. But hey, side by side the engineer looks like a 6' male and the conductor looks 5', not uncommon in real life.


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## Dick413 (Jan 7, 2008)

really like the beacon. can you wigwag the ditch? also i thank you need to get the conductor a step stool lol


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

Dick413 said:


> really like the beacon. can you wigwag the ditch? also i thank you need to get the conductor a step stool lol


Yes, they can wig wag or flash. You can also adjust flash rate, brightness, ramp up/down time for when the lights turn on/off. There are so many variables you can change. Really neat!

Hahaha on the stool. I thought the same thing, but it looks better once the cab is on


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes, now that I am back at sea level, a four light rotary effect is available, not 6.

Greg


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

*Added Weight*

Was trying to think of how I could add weight to the engine. I stopped by the local hardware store and picked up a 3/8" thick 2" x 3' piece of steel used for welding. The bar weighs around 8 pounds. Put a reinforced cutting disc on my saw and cut the steel into 1", 2", and 3" pieces. 

I added weight inside the engine (as pictured), and in the fuel tank. I used Gorilla Glue CA to glue the steel into place. I added about 4 pounds of weight overall to the engine.


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

Managed to get the engine all back together. Added some detail parts from Ozark; air hoses, mu cables, and a speedometer cable. 

Did some weathering. Picture is OK, but looks better in person. Tried using outdoor light through a window, but couldn't get it right. Want to get a picture outside but with windchills -20 in Minnesota, I wimped out.

Also thanks to a tip from Dirk, I used reflective tape to add the reflective striping. Makes for some neat details.


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Hey ...I saw that!! Yea ... adding the real reflective tape is a highlight worth hitting with a flashlite or head light at nite..they kick up the light from off angle well also!

Whats neat about adding tape to locos and freight cars is that it does not need to be purfect..I cut strips all 1/8" wide, but the lengths are not exact... and placement just has to be on the loco sills..or car side.. there is a height range they should fall in, but once you see lots of cars with these applied....the "installers" just put em anywhere close. Any two cars may not get the same number of strips added..some are not quite straight on a car or loco. This makes it easier for us to model them ...proper like!!

Looks like a nice addition to your fleet!! HNY to ya!!
Whats yer next loco project??

Dirk
DMS Ry.


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

So I'm guessing the all up weight is 13-14#'s now....

Will you be conducting any tractive effort testing on this loco?

Dirk


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

I've noticed that about reflective striping. Some cars the striping is horizontal, others vertical. I cut mine around 1/8" wide too. My stripes ended up being 1/8" by 1/2", so roughly scale 4" x 16" pieces. 

The engine now weighs 13.55 pounds. I could do traction test, but have no idea how to. Any tips there?

Next project is taking the rest of my rolling stock and adding body mount couplers. One of them will be taking an AML BNSF coal hopper and painting it to look like the Whale Car. Not sure if I'll paint it, or try making a decal. 

Happy New Year to you as well.


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## Don Gage (Jan 4, 2008)

Nice job Eric!
It looks awesome! Keep up the great work,

Don


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

Thanks Don!


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Eric...I have used a cheap $ 5.00 fish scale...reads up to 50#..

Recently picked up a new scale from Micro Mark..little bit more $$..but lower working ranges. And reads in oz..

I am still getting used to it...readings are all over the scale....

When ya get something....if you choose this route..ya could give Chuck N a buzz....he'll add it to his chart collection he has going!!

Dirk


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

Gee darn... another reason to take a trip to the local sporting good store 

I assume I hold onto one of the scale and hook the other end up to the engine, then see how much it can pull? Does Chuck record pull strength at different speeds?


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Static testing means tying the scale to an immovable point..
Test track on the bench works here...fixed bumper type end holds scale...hook loco coupler with hook..add power slowly while observing readings...and wheels on loco...
We typically just go for the mazimum reading for pull..
Chuck notes weight..use of traction tires or not..loco type..etc..

I built a Dynamic test car...takes a few evenings of work to build. I use it so as not to spin or tear traction tires during testing...this car can test locos while running..it creates a varible load..
It can also measure the effort needed to pull a string of cars... which provides data needed to balance trains against power assignments....


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