I'm replacing the dummy coupler on the front of my IHC Mogul with a Kadee. I have to enlarge the opening for the coupler pocket.
This would be easier with the pilot removed and, according to the exploded diagram, the pilot is a separate piece. But I cannot figure out how to remove it. The diagram is very small and even under a magnifying glass does not answer my question.
Has anybody here removed the pilot? If so, please let me know how. Thanks.
Knowing IHC, it's most likely pegged and glued. Getting it off is hammer and chisel total destruction territory.
In this sort of situation I have used a long shank Kadee, cut off the loop at the end leaving just the parallel shank, very little if any enlarging of the coupler pocket is then needed. Drill a 0.5mm hole in the shank and in the coupler pocket and use a piece of wire as retainer/pivot. You won't have a centering spring but it won't matter.
Keith
Make friends in the hobby. Visit Garratt photos for the big steam lovers.
I was able to install a Kadee without removing the pilot. It took some Dremel work to enlarge the opening in the pilot. I used a long shank center set coupler in of those tiny rounded Kadee coupler boxes, the kind with an invisible wire spring. I drilled up thru the pilot deck and secured the box with a black nylon screw. Against the black pilot deck the screw in invisible.
DAvid Starr
Upon close examination, it appears you're right :-(. Guess I'll have to work with it as is.
Here's a link to a very nicely done IHC Mogul bash where the pilot was replaced. It may not help with your pilot modification but it has some pictures of a replacement pilot and shows what can really be done with the locomotive.
Bruce=A0Favinger wrote: Here's a link to a very nicely done IHC Mogul bash where the pilot was replaced. It may not help with your pilot modification but it has some pictures of a replacement pilot and shows what can really be done with the locomotive.
Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:
"Bruce Favinger" ...
Thanks for posting that Bruce. I lost that link a while back when I accidentally erased by "Favourites" list.
It is, as you say, a nicely done kitbash.
Too bad the IHC Mogul won't run on code 70 rail. :-(
-- Cheers Roger T.
Larry, I just opend my pilot up and installed a Kadee. I believe I also used some Evergreen styrene to fabricate a suitable perch for the Kaydee box.
I had to turn the wheel flanges down for my code 70 rail, but it ran well.
Mine ran great with conventional MRC power pack, but when I switched over to DCC I could never get the low speed control I like. This surprised me because all my other locomotives worked much better. I tried a bunch of decoder programming, but believe they are just geared too high for my tastes. Doug
How did you do that? (what level of tooling involved)
I have a machine shop so I was able to use a lathe. Doug
I seem to remember an old article in MRing saying that it wasn't the rail, it was the oversize spike heads. Apparently large flanges run OK if, for example, the rail is glued to the ties.
Of course, that just moves the problem down to the code 55 stuff :-).
Larry, My IHC Mogul ran fine on code 70 Shinohara and Rail Craft flex track. It also operated nicely on some sections of my layout that have hand laid track. Where I had the problems was running through Shinohara turnouts. The cast on spike heads a too tall for the IHC flanges. Rail joiners are a problem too. Fortunatly I have a lathe and was able to turn the wheel flanges down.
A local hobby shop asked me if I was interested in doing some more, but I had to turn him down. Time is money, so it would be price prohibitive to do the work for others. A true labor of love. Doug
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