I have a small fleet of Stewart / kato F units. I was cleaning a gear box and managed to drop a small gear that went where ever parts go that don't want to be found. I'm screwed, I thought.
I took a chance and disassembled a newer Stewart F unit and found that the gears inside the gearbox are identical to the older Kato engines. Some of the other parts look identical too.
A while back I e-mailed Intermountain Railway company and they confirmed that their bodies will fit the older Stewart / Kato engines.
South Penn
Athearn Genesis F unit bodys also fit with a very minor modification. I believe Bowser has the info on their website. I modified about five A and B units.
SouthPenn I have a small fleet of Stewart / kato F units. I was cleaning a gear box and managed to drop a small gear that went where ever parts go that don't want to be found. I'm screwed, I thought. I took a chance and disassembled a newer Stewart F unit and found that the gears inside the gearbox are identical to the older Kato engines. Some of the other parts look identical too. A while back I e-mailed Intermountain Railway company and they confirmed that their bodies will fit the older Stewart / Kato engines. South Penn
Because of the evolution of the Athearn Genesis F from the Highliner, the Highliner shell was made to use Stewart/Kato chassis as they were THE go to F unit chassis back in the late 80's and 1990's. Genesis may have made a few modifications to the mounting parts but the Stewart chassis should be interchangable with Genesis and visa versa.
Because Intermountain developed their F shell before they had a power chassis available, their F shells were designed to also fit THE standard of the day, again Stewart/Kato F chassis. Later on Intermountain tooled their own power chassis but you should, like Athearn Genesis, be able to swap chassis out visa versa with a minimum amount of fuss.
Stewart used a plastic piece the fit into sides of the shell, which IIRC had the porthole window glazing as part of the unit, to hold the shell to the chassis. Athearn Genesis and Intermountain may have used a different way, such as the coupler pockets, but the chassis should slide into the shell ok.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Just to be clear, your looking for a truck gear for a Kato B-B truck right?
All this talk about shells fitting different chassis is interesting, but the simplest solution is to find a gear.
I believe the same gear parts are common to a number of their trucks. So getting an otherwise scrap kato engine may be the simplest and cheapest way to go.
The Stewart-Kato F unit chassis is still a great unit. I find they are as good or better than a Genesis or Proto F unit in every parameter except current draw. The old level is quite good, but the later units will draw about half the amount.
Larry
www.llxlocomotives.com
So many trains, so little time,
Hi South Penn
You can also buy an Atlas wheel & gear set part no. 9920305 for $2.30 although I think they have a $10 minimum. You could also buy from Kato part no. 962010 for $15 for 6 sets. Or the whole truck no. 959111 for $20. The wheelsets from Atlas and Kato will drop right in.
Jim