Conrail's Amoskeag Northern Line

Home

My Railcars/Speeders

Railcar Repairs and Restoration

A5-C Overhaul

Written by Ian MacMillan

Thursday, 24 April 2008

Harvey works on the battery

Snow is finally melting and that means it is almost time for the Hobo Trackcar Meet in May. The A5-C was dug out of the snow and trailered to Acton Speeder Services in Acton, ME so that Bill, Harvey, and I could go over the car to fix some issues before our May 4th test run on the MEC Mountain Division.

The last time the A5-C was out it suffered a catastrophic drive shaft failure on the CV joint. A bearing endcap and bolt that failed caused the CV shaft to twist apart, sending metal parts everywhere just before the Bartlett, NH yard. I quick search on the Railspeeders.com website found a quick replacement at a reasonable price ($45 shipped). All I really needed was the endcaps, but the for the price, the whole assembly was worth it. I purchased 8 new grade 8 bolts and lock washers and installed the 2 new endcaps and replaced the bolts on the other 2 that survived the failure.

On the jacks

The original reason for the trip to Acton Speeder Services was for a clutch replacement. I had originally thought that in Bartlett the clutch did not engage and thus the driveshaft got a good dose of high RPM's and shocking it apart at the weakest link. Bill's shop as all the parts and an enclosed area…something I do not have at this time, so Acton Speeder Services was the place to go. Jacking up the car we made quick work at checking the clutch to find it was actually in good condition. Starting up the car and working the clutch confirmed that it was in good condition.

So what really caused the failure? Several things. First off, I have a part in the failure. This was only my 4th time running a Fairmont Gang Car, and learned that the manual transmission is nothing like driving a stick in a car. Second was the lack of bearings in one endcap located after the incident. The inside of the cap did not contain a ring of bearings, pretty much just bare warn metal, and with a lack of grease. It appears that this endcap had warn to the point that it was pretty much a friction causing part, overheating and leading to its failure. When the clutch was released on a gravel crossing, it was just enough torque on the engine and axle to break the CV joint.

A look at the transmission

On closer inspection while the car was on jacks we found that the brake rigging was bent. I had been concerned when I replaced the CV endcaps that the Zerk fitting came close to the brake rod (about 2mm) and that the endcaps mounting plate actually rubbed on the brake rod. You could run your finger along the rod and feel where the endcaps were wearing the metal. The main brake rod had a MAJOR bend in the center of the car. With a duck bill and hydraulic ram we tried bending the rod but it would to back to the bent position when pressure was released. We ended up solving the issue by lowering one of the brake rod pillow blocks with some washer spacers. Dropping the pillow block 1/2" straightened out the rod, and gave plenty of clearance for the Zerk fitting. I then greased all the Zerk fittings on the car.

After replacing the fuel line and adding some gas we fired up the car and ran it through all the gears in forward and reverse. There were no issues noted in the clutch, it caught well, and released just as easily.

Checking the alternator

Checking the electrical we found that the battery was only getting 12.3 volts across it. A quick check of the 4 wire AC Delco alternator found that it was shot. Taking one from Bills diesel MT14 that is undergoing restoration easily solved the problem, and put a nice full recharging 15 volts across the battery. The battery charging system had been suspected of casing several "engine issues". Replacing the alternator immediately smoothed out any surges in the engine.

A quick check of the new fuel line found a leak when the engine was not running. Since it was not leaking when running, I pretty much figured it was the carb. Taking the carb off the engine and into the back shop, I took it apart to look inside to see what was leaking. First idea was that the float was not raising the needle to close the fuel flow when it got high enough, and was overflowing into the chamber. After taking it apart four times and putting it back on the engine the problem was still not solved...and none of us had any clue what the issue was. I put some fuel in the bowl and held the carb up to find it was leaking....and I KNEW that the fuel could not be overflowing as there was not enough in the bowl. I found that it was "leaking" from the main vapor stem, well not actually leaking, but flowing from the stem. I suspected an air leak, and sure enough found one on the main jet located on the lower part of the bowl. The jet has warn with age to the point that the needle is loose in the seat and allows air to get though, causing it to push the fuel out the main stem. The loose needle also causes it to back out when the engine is running, throwing off the fuel mixture. Some RTV solved the issue for now, but it really needs a replacement with a new part. I was able to find NOS (new old stock) Zenith carbs for $142, not a bad price, but all that is wrong with my carb is the main jet. At the suggestion of a couple of guys on the Yahoo RailroadMotorcarMaintenence group I was able to locate dealers who had just the main jet.

New yellow paint

Cleaning up the entire car, it was loaded up on the trailer and brought back home. I spent the better part of this week using a rotary abrasive brush to clean up all the paint on the inside of the car. Even though I plan on replacing this entire cab with an enclosed cab in the next two years, I like my cars to at least look presentable. All my cars are working cars, so they don't have to look museum quality...but I like them to look nice. The interior is getting a complete coat of gloss black, while the outside is getting the same National School Bus Yellow that I used on my Woodings CBI. All the plywood inside is being replaced, and cushioned seats for the operator and passengers is being installed.

New Bosch motors

Currently to finish for this season is the electrical. All non engine electrical was pulled out and will be entirely replaced. Above the drivers seat will be an overhead control panel having switches for the air compressor, ditch lights, and the white xeon strobes. Next to that will be the mount for the VHF mobile radio. 3 new Bosch windshield wiper motors were installed, as well as 3 100w lights on the "front" of the car (2 ditchlight and one headlight). The lights are really bright, and the ditchlights can be set to alternate like on locomotives.

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]