Page Originated 8/1997
Page Created 11/2011
Page Updated 12/1/11
Page Updated 5/6/12
Page Updated 2/12/15
Page Updated 10/1/17 - Pittman 9524 is sold out
Page Updated 8/9/19 - Faulhaper 2342 is sold out
Page Updated 6/22/24 - Canon FN30 is sold out
Last update:

MAKING YOUR LOCOS LOOK AND
RUN THE WAY YOU WANT

MOTORS AVAILABLE FROM ROD MILLER

MOTORS AVAILABLE FROM ROD MILLER

Thank you for visiting!

These motors are in use in personal locomotives; e.g., I know they work for O scale locos.

All motors are factory new, have been stored so they do not touch another motor or a metal surface (legend says that protects the magnets), and except for some Canon motors below are un-unused. I verify that they work properly (run smoothly and have what my experience tells me is appropriate power for that motor), and pack them carefully for shipping. They are shipped with delivery confirmation, and no refunds are given if the motor is not received (take the issue up with the shipper you told me to use).

If you buy a motor from me, please be sure to read Usage Information at the bottom of this page regarding care and handling of your motor. If you have any questions about what you read there, please contact me first before doing anything!

Because of the wide variety of uses for these motors, I have not compiled all the specification data into a matrix that allows easy comparison among all the motors.

Canon Motors

Ordering ID OD Len. Ball brgs? Tabs Shaft L 2nd Shaft L Shaft Dia. New 12V RPM
FN30-1 30MM (1.17") 37MM (1.443") Yes Side 16MM (.624") 11MM (.429") 4MM (.156") New ***
FN30-2 30MM (1.17") 41MM (1.6") No End 13MM (.507") 4MM (.156") Used ***
FN30-3 30MM (1.17") 46MM (1.794") Yes End 12MM (.468") 4MM (.156") New ***
FN30-4 30MM (1.17") 50MM (1.95") No Side 10MM (.39") 7MM (.273") 4MM (.156") New ***
FN35-1 35MM (1.365") 32MM (1.25") No End 11MM (.429") 3MM (.118") Used ***

*** The motor speed at 12VDC is being researched.

I have used the FN30 motors in O scale models with Soundtraxx 2 amp decoders and found the models' speeds on typical layouts is satisfactory.

Please contact me if you have questions.

Pittman 8524

Pittman motors similar externally to the above motor are available from me. Please contact me for details on the motor sizes and availability.

Here are the specs for the 8524 motor. Source of the below data: Pittman spec. sheet dated 1993, specifications for currently produced motors are available from whoever owns the Pittman product, contact me if you need assistance. Other model motors in the 8000 series line will have slightly different performance specifications.

Length (front of housing to end of rear shaft protrusion): 2.511"
Diameter: 1.175"
Shaft length: .562"
Shaft Diameter: .156"
Features: neodymium magnets (more power for the size)
No load RPM: 10158
Stall Torque (oz-in): 16.8
Stall Current (amps): 10.3
DCC decoder considerations: I have not powered this motor with a decoder, however my experience says that the NCE D408SR should be OK. Minimum current capacity of a decoder with this motor is 2.5 amps, preferably 3+ amps; Less powerful 8X1X Pittman motors overloaded a 1.5 amp decoder and worked OK with a 3 amp decoder. Ignore what your panel meter shows, it doesn't show the current spikes.

Pittman 9233

Pittman motors similar externally to the above motor are available from me. Please contact me for details on the motor sizes and availability.

Here are the specs for the 9233 motor. Source of the below data: Pittman spec. sheet dated 1993, specifications for currently produced motors are available from whoever owns the Pittman product, contact me if you need assistance. Other model motors in the 9000 series line will have slightly different performance specifications.

Source of the below data: Pittman spec. sheet dated 1992.

Length (front of housing to end of rear shaft protrusion): 2.329"
Diameter: 1.58"
Measured shaft length non-brush end: .500"
Measured shaft length brush end: .625"
Mounting screw in the ends of the cases: 6-32
Mounting screw bolt circle diameter: 1"
Shaft Diameter: .156"
Features: ball bearings, neodymium magnets (more power for the size)
No load RPM: 5993
Stall Torque (oz-in): 31.6
Stall Current (amps): 11.1
DCC decoder considerations: the comments for the 8524 above apply.

Pittman 13201

Source of the below data: Pittman spec. sheet dated 1981.

Length (front of housing to end of rear shaft protrusion): 3.084"
Diameter: 2.045"
Shaft length: .744"
Shaft Diameter: .249"
Features: ball bearings
No load RPM: 4620
Stall Torque (oz-in): 42.5
Stall Current (amps): 15.8
DCC decoder considerations: no recommendation, the NCE D808SR may work just fine.

Price: $75 each plus $10 S&H.

Notes:
1. Torque units conversions courtesy of the ASME conversion page at http://www.engineersedge.com/torque_conversion.htm

Miscellaneous Motors

I have a few motors that haven't been listed above because in many cases I have a few sometimes only one. Here's a photo of a sample of them. All these motors are 12 volt DC motors; all are new and unused, if a motor that matches your below specifications has been used I will test it and provide the results (noise, speed, amps when loaded and when not loaded) to you so you can make a decision to buy or not.

Here is some information about the above motors:

Black Maxon Motor at the 11:00 position:
25MM diameter x 55MM length of the case not including the bearing housings, hardened shaft must be cut with a grinding tool.
"Holland" motor at 1:00:
30MM diamter x 40MM lenght of the case not including the bearing housings.
Pittman 8212 Motor at 5:00:
1 11/64" (30MM) diameter, length not including bearing housings is 1 7/8", length including bearing housings is 2", diameter of shafts 3MM, length of shafts 1/2", date of manufacture is 6/73, has wire leads on the brushes..
Falhauber Motor at 7:00:
28MM Diameter, 42MM length, has wire leads on the brushes.

If you want to see if one of them could work for your application, please email me and be sure to include the following information:

  1. Manufacturer's part number (MPN) of a motor you want to replace.
  2. Range of motor casing diameters that will work for you.
  3. Range of motor casing lengths that will work for you.
  4. Range of shaft lengths that will work for you.
  5. Do you need single or double shafts.
  6. Do you need the brush leads to be pre-wired.
  7. The screw holes for mounting vary greatly. The simplest way to mount a new motor is to attach a metal plate to the loco's frame, then glue round motors glue to it with silicon (aquarium) sealer, or for motors with a flat surface attach the motor to the plate with double sided foam tape; simple and if it isn't right it is easily modified.
  8. I do not have specifications for these motors and thus have no idea of a motor's speed at 12 volts for motors other than those listed above with specifications.
  9. I will measure and provide to you the stall current of motors that match your specifications.

If you don't know what you want please be respectful of my time. I want to be helpful but if it appears the conversation isn't going anywhere I will stop responding to you because it takes a non-trivial amount of time to dig a specfic motor out so I can answer a question. I won't attempt to identify a motor that will conform to vague specifications.

Usage Information

Here are a few guidelines for use and care of your motor that will hopefully will enhance the value you receive from it.

The motor you purchased likely has ball bearings on the shafts if it was possible to obtain motors with ball bearings. The ball bearings absorb end thrust on the motor shaft. End thrust occurs when the motor's is connection to the locomotive's gear box shaft doesn't absorb axial and pitch movement of the shaft.

A motor not equipped with ball bearings may run slower in one direction than the other or make noise when running in either direction. To eliminate this, you must isolate the motor shaft from the end thrust created by the gearbox worm shaft. Some methods are to connect the motor and gearbox with a coupling that will absorb the end play, or to have the motor shaft above or below the gearbox shaft and connect the two shafts with a belt.

Alterations to the motor that make it not returnable even if it seems to run ok are:

Guidelines:

  1. The motor has been test run and the bearings lubricated before being shipped to you. Your first action should be to run it; check for bent shafts caused by rough handling during shipping. A bent shaft hasn't happened yet, but it should be checked for. If the motor does not run or one of the shafts is bent, please contact me before doing anything else.
  2. It is not feasible to repair a damaged motor. If you damage a motor, it is cheaper to buy another one. You are responsible for all repairs if you prefer to go that route..
  3. It is a DC motor. Do not connect it to AC power or to more that 12 volts of DC power. Do not abuse it. If you do and it fails and you return it to me, I can't tell that you abused it, so if you damage the motor you are expected to be an adult and suck it up, take the loss, and move on.
  4. The motor case is insulated, so you must connect one of the brush tabs to the loco's frame if you are replacing an "open frame" motor which is usually connected to the frame by its mounting screws. Before soldering the electrical connections experiment with clip leads to determine which connections cause the loco to move in the right direction. With variable DC when the right rail is postive the model should move in the forward direction. It is simplest to put the model with the motor installed on the rails and with no wire connections to the motor. Use test leads to connect the brushes to the rails and determine which connections give you forward motion. With DCC instead of connecting the rails to the brushes, connect the decoder motor output to the brushes and the decoder power to the rails - be careful that the decoder motor outputs do not touch the rails as this damages most decoders.
  5. Any alteration to the motor shafts will void the warranty. If you wish to convert a double-shafted motor to a single-shafted motor or shorten a shaft, it is relatively easy to cut off the unwanted shaft. The magnetism of the fields will attract filings towards the motor case, the bearings, and the holes in the end bells; you must take preventive measures to avoid damaging the motor AS FOLLOWS!
    • All screw holes in BOTH end bells must be covered with tape.
    • Enclose the entire motor in a plastic bag. Push the shaft to be cut off through the plastic of the bag. Seal the opening of the bag.
    • You must provide additional protection for the bearing next to the cut so that filings do not get into it. Drill a hole slightly smaller than the shaft diameter in a piece of stiff cardboard and slide it over the shaft to be cut and up against the motor housing. The cardboard should fit tightly over the shaft; if it tears, start over.
    • The Canon, and Faulhaber motors have hardened shafts which cannot be cut with a saw. To cut them use a grinding wheel in a motor tool to cut off the shaft and smooth the edges of the remaining shaft.
    • The Pittman motor shafts can be cut off with a razor saw. With the motor running, hold the saw against the shaft; it will cut off very quickly if the saw is sharp. With the motor still running, touch the cut edge of the shaft with a file to remove sharp edges that can cut you.
    • Carefully remove all filings before removing the carboard, bag, and tape. Masking tape applied to all surfaces then pulled away is an effective way to remove fine filings and metal dust.
  6. Do not take a motor apart as that action guarantees I will not refund or replace the motor.
  7. Note that motors with tabs for electrical connection normally have the brushes fixed internally to the tabs, so disturbing the tab will disturb the brush position which may cause the motor to fail, so be very careful if you must bend the tabs.
    To bend the tabs on motors with tabs, place narrow nose pliers on the tab and as close to where the tab enters the motor housing and hold the tab in position as firmly as possible. Use other pair of pliers and bend the tab without allowing the tab to move in the other pair of pliers. Failure to bend the tabs using this procedure may change the orientation of the brushes which are connected to the tabs, causing the motor to fail. I will not refund or replace motors with bent tabs.
    An alternative to bending the tabs is to shorten the tab by cutting the unwanted portion off with a pair to cutters. Solder your connections to the remaining portion of the tab.
  8. If you have questions or problems, please do not hesitate to contact me which will be faster than contacting the manufacturer whose support is designed for high volume customers.
  9. If the re-motoring task is more difficult than you anticipated, please contact me for suggestions and assistance. Depending upon my workload I may be able for a charge to perform the re-motoring for you relatively quickly (depends on the difficulty and other problems that are encountered). If worse comes to worse, you can return the motor for a full refund. Send it to me so I can check it. If the motor has not been altered/modified/painted/damaged/whatever (my call), I will send a refund to you.

My apologies for so many do's and don'ts. I want you to be successful with this motor, and if not, for you to be able to get your money back. I trust you understand.

Interested in learning more about 2-rail O scale? Please visit the O Scale Kings web pages.

CONTACTING ME

These web pages were designed and implemented by Rod Miller.
© 1998-2022 Rod Miller All Rights Reserved

Interested in learning more about 2-rail O scale? Please visit the O Scale Kings web pages.
These web pages were designed and implemented by Rod Miller.
© 1998-2025 Rod Miller All Rights Reserved