Accucraft C19, C16 and C21

[beavercreek]

I think the issue irises on metal bodied, rail powered locomotives that have metal rods attached to the wheels. It's a matter of where and how to insulate the two sides.
There were also different gear ratios over the years on models C-16 and C-19. First was similar to other manufacturers but too fast for prototype. Second was nice and slow but motor/gear speed noisy and third was somewhere in the middle.

The later issued C16 and C19 had insulated wheels with 'normal' pickup arrangement. This obviated the need to overcome the 'old' problems with metal bodies as the bodies/tenders are not 'live'.
The pickup feed from the loco is fed back into the tender where it joins with the tender pickups and is available for sound or DCC before being sent back to the loco (motor and lights) through the multi-connector.

The only fly in the ointment is that Accucraft, in their wisdom, generally 'mostly' have a regulator distribution board in the loco boiler that feeds the lights .
So although your tender sited DCC decoder could feed and control the motor power, you would not be able to have individual control of the lighting unless you open up the boiler, disconnect the distribution board and then take the lighting feeds separately back to the tender for attaching to the decoder.

BUT sometimes Accucraft placed it all in the tender and no board in the loco boiler........ it does depend on the model and the date of issue....

Here are some photos of my Colorado Southern C16 2-8-0 tender electronics (all of the elctronics are in the tender and the separate feed for the lights comes from this ... excellent for DCC!

tender showing pickups and connectors (the two connectors with one prong are for the sound card reed switches situated on the loco for track magnet triggers)



connectors from the front



inside tender with the Accucraft terminal and regulator block showing isolation switches. There are two 1.5v outputs for lights in the loco (there is no light on the tender). You may see that the brown + has no corresponding '-' wire.. that is because the negative 1.5v terminals are common to each other.

 

[adverse camber]

So if I have this right, a bit like the Bachmann loco's if you get an early one conversion to DCC is for the expert electrician or dedicated fiddler only while if it is a later one then they are ready to plug in DCC and sound?

If this is the case Mike says you can tell which version you have by the plug between tender and loco. Is there any other way to tell? does anyone have a picture of the plug for the DCC ready version?

Greg suggests that with DCC the back EMF is an issue, and suggests the Zimo chip does best, is this with the early version only? does anyone have experience of using massoth (which I have used almost exclusively) with a late DCC ready version of the accucraft USA electric loco's?

Thanks for all the help and comments so far chaps

 

[beavercreek]

So if I have this right, a bit like the Bachmann loco's if you get an early one conversion to DCC is for the expert electrician or dedicated fiddler only while if it is a later one then they are ready to plug in DCC and sound?

If this is the case Mike says you can tell which version you have by the plug between tender and loco. Is there any other way to tell? does anyone have a picture of the plug for the DCC ready version?

see photos above mr camber...

 

[adverse camber]

I have this picture if anyone can date the loco by it

 

[adverse camber]

Thanks Mike, Photos slow to load so I did not spot them initially. Looks like the male end of the female in my photo so may be a later DCC ready version.

 

[Paradise]

Just check if your tender wheels have electrical pick-ups or not. The early models have no tender wheel pick-ups.

 

[beavercreek]

Look inside the tender...if it has the same or similar wiring and circuitboard layout as the one in my photos above then you are good to go!

 

[maxi-model]

Just check if your tender wheels have electrical pick-ups or not. The early models have no tender wheel pick-ups.

Is this yet another configuration ? The earlier versions, where the loco chassis is "live", pick ups on the loco are on one side - drivers only - and on the tender on the other side only. The loco and tender are isolated. On the tender they are typically copper wipers on both sets of wheels on one side. They may have used "plunger" type contacts on the tender instead of the "wipers" as they seem to have done on versions where all wheels pick up in the now more "conventional" manner. It just depends on which batch the loco was made. That's the problem with Accucraft a high probability of no wiring schematics being available and just a note in the manual, if you have it, on where the pick-ups might be. Never mind if your motor might have been grounded via the loco's chassis or not.

All I can say Mike is that in your version, in Pythonesque terms, "Eeeee, luxury lad. In my days..........."

 

[Paradise]

This is a photo of my Accucraft C-16 which is the same as my C-19.
No pick-ups on tender wheels. You can just see the insulator between axle and wheel which is only on one side so they must pick-up the current through the axle boxes.
The wire and plug has been added for sound. The C-19 has no sound or connecting wires from engine to tender.

 

[maxi-model]

This is a photo of my Accucraft C-16 which is the same as my C-19.
No pick-ups on tender wheels. You can just see the insulator between axle and wheel which is only on one side so they must pick-up the current through the axle boxes.
The wire and plug has been added for sound. The C-19 has no sound or connecting wires from engine to tender.

View attachment 248698

So, this it is another variant. My K-27 seems to date from '98/'99. Any advance on that.......Mike ? Max

 

[beavercreek]

Well boys...
Max .........your one is the early wiring system that Accucraft used.
Paradise..... Your C16 and C19 are also early issues using the same system.

Adverse Camber's C16 and C19 seem to both have have the later connectors and probably also have 'conventional' dual pickups on the tender (and loco). I am assuming that both of his have the same connector as he only posted the photo of one of his locos but I can't be sure until he shows the pick-up system and inside the tender.

My C16 (special issue C&S) also has the later wiring system as can be seen in the photos that I posted.

I think that Accucraft, through the years, did three issues of the C16 and a couple of the K27 as well as a couple of the C19.