Always something new to learn

[cwclark]

Last night i was going through a box of old Athearn engines that didn't run anymore..i found a GP-35 that was detailed to the gills and really didn't want to throw it out because all that was wrong with it was it had a broken truck , so here comes the old brainstorm.."why don't i put the trucks from an old GP-9 (the one with a broken frame that definetly won't run anymore) on the GP-35 and it will run again...so i took the truck off of the GP-9 and put it on the GP -35..wired it up... and nothing but an overload....guess what?...it was the wrong truck...so tonight i have to tear it down and install the other truck from the GP -9 onto the GP-35...new lesson learned?...be sure that the bent steel truck studs are both on the same side of the locomotive or it will create an overload...ahh heck!..might as well just throw all those old engines out and buy new ones...the GP-35 was purchased in 82'...time for a new one! ( the trouble is I enjoy this hobby too much to find myself do'in stuff like this all the time)...Chuck

[SilverSpike]

Yep, I have been there too!
I have some engines from the 70's that have been boxed up for over 30 years now and some of it works, some of it wont! Is it worth the trouble to try and fix it up or just buy new stuff? I struggle with that question everytime I look at the stuff!

- Ryan

[cwclark]

so..it's two days later since this post ..i turned the wheel sets around, cleaned everything, and still an overload...the plastic grommets that hold the athearn engine in place were deteriorated to an unusable state, so I cut pieces of rubber sheeting material and installed them in their place and mounted the engine with 2-56 screws from the bottom...still no luck...something is shorting against the frame causing an overload... but where? i cannot find the problem...so what did i learn?...throw the darn thing away and buy another one...the time i invested on trying to get this locomotive running could have paid enough wages for me to buy another one...

[rrinker]

"turned the wheelsets around"? Do you mean you swapped in the correct truck? Because turning the wheesets around won't do anything.

And did you use plastic or nylon 2-56 screws? Otherwise you just shorted the motor casing to the frame.

--Randy

[Anonymous]

Box all the old stuff up and send it to me!! Always looking for a deal here :)

[dehusman]

Are you sure it wasn't the motor or something else. Athearn's are pretty darn hard to screw up. Turning the wheel sets around won't do anything because they are the same either way you put them in.

Dave H.

[cwclark]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrinker

"turned the wheelsets around"? Do you mean you swapped in the correct truck? Because turning the wheesets around won't do anything.

And did you use plastic or nylon 2-56 screws? Otherwise you just shorted the motor casing to the frame.

--Randy

the 2-56 screws are metal but they screw into plastic mounting holes...there is nothing touching metal to the motor except the original copper clip / strip that is located on the bottom of the motor..what has happened is that the plastic wheel set drive gear which also acts as an insulator between the wheels has rotted and cracked and the metal shafts of the wheels are touching together, creating a short across the rails...this engine is very old and the integrity of the plastic is not there anymore...that's why it was decommissioned a few years back...i'm trying to bring a dead horse to life that needs new parts instead of trying to use old used ones from other dead locomotives....have you ever purchesed parts from Athearn?..they are just a few cents less than purchasing a brand new unit...I bought an sd truck once and it cost $5.00 less than a new unit..this was more of a tongue in cheek post than a real problem...and yes..that's what i meant..swap it with the correct truck....Chuck

[cwclark]

well..i gave it one more last ditch effort tonight by replacing the geared flange wheels that had a crack in the plastic and checked the motor out again and found the problem with my multimeter...the copper strip on the bottom of the motor was not making contact to the frame..the new rubber I installed to replace the old insulated mounts raised the motor just enough so that it was not making contact...it's running like a champ now!...so what do you call a GP-35 with GP-9 parts?...it works and that's all that matters...good ol' athearn!..they're virtually indestructable!....Chuck

[rrinker]

I'd make that a GP-22. [:D]

--Randy

[cwclark]

so...now the engine is finally running again ..the next step in restoring this old athearn GP-35 is to freshen it up a bit ...I build this engine from a BB kit in my early twenties and being young (and stupid at times)..I had an unorthodox way of weathering it..(it was probably during my psychodelic days which i don't remember very well) but i used to squirt spray paint at the engine as it went by...examining it closely i noticed there is paint all over the plastic windows and i want to get it off....anybody have any good tricks for removing paint from plastic windows without scratching up the clear surface in the process?...Chuck