| Below, I will attach some photos of my successful Hallmark power, drive, and truck conversion of the E5 A unit, and the upgrade of new power install in the dummy B unit.
A very similar conversion awaits the Alton/Burlington Silver Charger on my bench (the GPZephyr is having to do currently for the duration with a substitute B1e 4-8-2 and a borrowed Great Lakes Western baggage car. It makes the schedule quite easily).
All the E5 conversions are based upon the very high quality Ajin/Overland EMD E-unit chassis parts. These chassis were designed originally to convert the very early Model Power E7s, whose shell was acceptable, but whose power unit was not…at all. These preceded the P2K models, and perhaps even the Rivarossi E’s. A major fault with the OMI chassis that resulted is that they were all mounted on a cast zamac floor of which only rare ones have survived not disintegrating with zincpest; i.e. the parts can be used, but the chassis flooring with its fuel tanks, skirting detailing, cutouts, etc. cannot and have to be discarded.
The Ajin trucks are superb in their engineering, construction, and scale appearance. The German Buehler can motors are equally fine. The horned ball 1.5 mm drive shaft universals almost all slip, or will slip, the fix being to replace with soldered fine brass replacements from James Rustermier in San Jose.
With the Hallmark E5 A unit, I retired the OEM power trucks, motor and drives (themselves heavily upgraded many years ago with NWSL parts), saving the basic plated brass floor with its attached fuel tanks and fluted skirting for re-use. I then made a paper pattern and recorded measurements of how the Ajin power trucks and its Buehler motor had been mounted on the OMI zamac floor for accurate transferal then to the Hallmark brass floor. None of the original Hallmark (actually KMT) mounting points could be used. This necessitated a fair amount of sheet brass removal for motor and power truck clearance and a relatively precise soldered brass build-up of truck mounting bolsters to attain the proper level locomotive height.
The E5 B unit conversion utilized the one single intact OMI zamac chassis that I had in inventory, and basically, it was almost a drop-in conversion. I was able to unsolder the fluted plated fuel tank skirting (without damage) from the Hallmark chassis to reapply to the OMI zamac chassis. If this zamac chassis shows signs of zincpest, I will undergo the same alterations to the original brass floor conversion that I underwent with the A unit.
Both units have Tsunami 2 DCC, the A unit with two sugar cube speakers, the B a single conventional speaker. Lighting is all LEDs and the cab is detailed.
The CHARGER conversion will of course use just one power truck scavenged from yet another OMI E unit chassis, and I intend to use the same method of mounting to the original brass flooring. It occurs to me that I will then have an extra power truck that could enable yet another Charger to be converted ("yes, these trucks are cast steel stand-ins for the OEM truck, not the original truck made of built-up weldments").
The photos can tell a lot of what was done, as well as what is yet to be done. These two locomotives operate just like the proverbial Swiss watch, and then some, sounding great together as they do so. I am ham-handed with photos, so I hope that they are useful.
Denny S. Anspach MD
Okoboji, IA
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