An article about AZL’s out-of-production brass Z gauge PA1 locomotives was not planned, but it was the result of a test drive so to speak. I recently bought a pair of these locomotives from a friend who knows and collects all things Lehigh Valley Railroad. I long admired the beauty of these locos and authentic appearance since seeing this set in his collection. So far my stuff collected since the early 80’s sits on shelves or in boxes, I don’t have a working layout, but I test everything I buy to verify everything is okee- dokee.
Test driving the pair of brass PA1’s revealed a couple of surprising and interesting details for an article. They are louder than AZL’s current diesel loco offerings. And they don’t run as smooth either. One of the locos runs much better than the second which also had an odd defect: wheel set detail parts (black) do not stay on.
Problem solving a poorly running Z gauge loco is typically narrowed down to dirty track or hardened oil. There are of course a few other issues which another of my articles addressed before. Having ruled out dirty wheels and track I was lead to look inside. Removing a brass shell is similar to plastic ones except the material is not flexible, but I simply used a pair of guitar picks (.70mm) wriggled between wheel set and mid shell, working back and forth with care and caution the shell came off: bit more involved than plastic shells. I was surprised with the locomotive’s minimal design: very few parts! As for trouble shooting: cleaning wheel gearing is limited with wheel assemblies permanently constructed: pins and gears are non-removable. Without being able to take wheel assemblies apart it is difficult to see how they work except to say motor receives electricity thru its worm gears from wheel assembly gears: bit primitive! But it works!
AZL current model PA1’s use heavy die cast split-frames, brass PA1’s are similar in design but heavier: PA1 (current models) weigh just under 2 ounces versus PA1 (brass models) weigh just under 3 ounces.
The frame design is ingenious as it provides a substantial amount of weight plus it functions to hold wheel sets and motor securely in place. After cleaning and removing minor amounts of lint (not sure if locos had much running time) I found the frame is not screwed tightly together, but it is screwed together just enough to allow wheel sets to move freely plus engage with worm gears, I found this part was a bit trial and error with testing on track: tightened but not too tight. A folded piece of acetate was glued on frame as it provides window glazing for shell, and masking tape installed on acetate was used to seat frame in shell (?). Cast brass wheel details are secured with post/pins that slide into holes in wheel sets as seen in photo, but with this model three could not be secured, fourth is tightly staying in place. I tried a number of things to tighten their mounting, but I settled on a tiny bead of 5 minute epoxy (size of pin head) which I can remove in the future if the need arises.
The shell is entirely handmade with numerous parts soldered, shaped and built into the highly detailed locomotive which was painted in prototypically correct ‘Cornell Red’ with accurate operating number. And ‘Black Diamond’ logo proudly displayed on front. Couplers are interesting as they are separate from trucks: bolted to shell. Brake hoses are rendered in fine detail too. Unfortunately no working headlight which is of little concern to me as I have other early highly detailed brass models without lights. Great looking locomotive even under high magnification: a significant accomplishment in Z gauge.
Locomotive built for AZL by AJIN Precision Mfg., South Korea. The now shuttered company was well known for precision brass manufacture, this being a very good example of what they could do.