A shelf layout to fit in the closet

I actually got a little frustrated with the scenery not looking as perfect as I wanted, so I decided to attempt something else for a bit. I thought I’d attempt to wire the pickup wagon to my kit built Ruston, which is too small to pickup power over points.   Using only guitar strings and parts from that computer I found on the sidewalk (😂), I set something up and so far it works pretty well. I have not enjoyed soldering and I had a really hard time soldering my pickups to the track, but somehow this went ok. The biggest challenge here was bending the pickups to touch the wheels but not apply too much pressure. I’m still not sure if all four wheels are working.  

after soldering the extra pickups to the chassis, the chassis didn’t fit into the body anymore, so I filed it down a little bit, but then the chassis was shorting out the motor. No problem, I borrowed my wife’s nail polish and that insulated everything. 


I tried to put captions between images but it didn’t work… but you can figure it all out. 
My wires a touch messy, and I need to do some cosmetic things like reattach the roof and a front coupling to the loco, but it works! All my wiring was successful! 

Nicely done. I like the idea of found computer wiring. El cheapo.

Any room for a DCC decoder?

D_Will said

Ed, you’ve really tried every scale, what are you working on these days? 

From “Post #293,177”, 12th February 2026, 2:44 pm

I've done nothing on the N gauge layout for a year, just haven't had the time.

I'm about to start decorating the bedroom where that layout lives, but I have some plans for later on.


 

Yes Nigel, very el cheapo, that’s my MO these days. I know there are purpose made pickup kits and chassis- tender plugs that I could buy, but I figure I’ll just see if I can even get the crude version to work first. 

I model in dc so I don’t know how big a decoder is, maybe a tiny one in the cab. But that would be very hard because the flywheel is in the cab. So I am thankful I don’t have to try.
Look forward to seeing what you work on, ed! 

That looks excellent Darius and well done with the soldering - not easy on tiny things.

What is the motor - a Bull-Ant or something ?

I can’t remember exactly what it is but I believe Mishima. Does that sound right?

If that's a Mashima it's now irreplaceable - they are no longer made. Same for Bull Ants. Keep the voltage to 12V or less. Check with a voltmeter. Do you know if your power pack is a PWM output? If it's an old Hornby/Bachmann one it will be plain vanilla noisy DC. My DC power pack is a new(ish) MRC model with a PWM output - 17V.

Wow, well thanks for the info! Good to know. 
I thought Mishima were quite popular? 
I use a really old Bachman controller from a train set, I think it’s plain old dc. Can that motor handle pwm?
I’ve thought about getting one but mine does work ok. 

We were away travelling for a week or so so I haven’t done much on the rr, but h started dreaming about some other possibilities or expansions 🙄 too many temptations and possibilities, but I think I’ll stick with finishing what I have now before moving on to the next! 
Just been having fun shunting today. 
I realize the Hornby j52 is not the most reliable Shunter, the wheel profiles are too wide so it frequently shorts out on the peco three way. I tried a couple solutions but can’t think of anything that would really work that’s within my budget or worth it, so oh well! 
Thankful the terrier and pug are great Shunters.