MOAKYes, the Cary is extremely heavy so I'm very careful to not shunt around more than 4 or 5 freight cars at a time.
Years ago I pulled 20-25 cars while switching with my old FM10-44 on a club's layout.. I donated that engine to the club and that old engine been upgraded to DCC and is still going strong after 16 years of club service.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
one possabilty is that the magnet is weaking. just a thought.
Thanks for all the advice, yes, the sw1500 motor is not as "long" as the standard athearn bb motors. The Athearn motors and drive units that Stewart used in their RS units back in the late 80s early 90s is also a direct fit. And thanks for reminding me about the Ernst reduction gears. I spent a while this afternoon pulling them out of my old Penn-Line F-7 shells that were atop old Athearn chassis and drivelines. What a differnece. I have it programmed for right around 25 mph top speed and now it really crawls nicely without stalling. I'm guessing about a mile an hour. I'll have to get my stop watch on it tomorrow to make sure. However, the little guy walking beside it really had to walk slow. In the meantime I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for Athearn SW specific motors. I still run a passenger line on old fashioned DC with the Stewart RS3s and it just seems that the newer gold motors aren't as strong as the older open frames. My double headed RS3s with every bit of wieght I could stuff in them have a difficult time pulling any more than 9 heavy weights up my 2% grades. The old Athearn/Penn-Line F unit walks alone and doesn't flinch a bit. Thanks for everyones very helpful and positive responses. Why did I wait so long to join?
Our MR club has a Cary SW1500 shell on an Athearn drive. It is the most reliable switcher on our layout, except for my Bowser Baldwin puppy. One thing that was added to this club lokey was the Ernst gears. This addition really improved performance and there is not a train that this switcher cannot pull. The Ernst gears reduced the gear ratio to around 32/1 and its slow speed is ideal for switching.
Athearn did make a shorter version of the standard motor to fit in switchers. They're harder to find, but they do still come up on eBay and at train shows now and then. They also made a gold motor of the same length as yours, and those are a direct replacement for the old gray motors. They're also much more efficient with similar torque.
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Generally, the difference in Athearn motors as to what locomotives they fit in, is the width of the fly wheels.
There are Athearn motors on Ebay tonight, search HO scale, Athearn parts.
Here is a link to North West Short line remotoring parts and kits. Scroll down about 5 pages.
http://nebula.wsimg.com/02d6e40c2d04190212ed400d3ccb2472?AccessKeyId=08BEE66B97B387F20C0D&disposition=0&alloworigin=1
Mike.
My You Tube
Those Cary bodies are HEAVY. VERY heavy. I'd be a little concerned that some of the replacement motors wouldn't have as much torque as the Athearn motor and have problems especially uphill. I wouldn't be too concerned over the longevity of the gold colored Athearn motors - as long as regular maintainance is performed, all you really have to worry about are the brushes wearing out and I think Athearn still sells replacements.
If you do remotor - well, you might also be able to dig up an Ernst gear setfor it. Cuts the top speed, but also increases the torque to the wheels. I had an S12 I put Ernst gears in, and if I got enough weight stacked on it, it will pull trains up the grade on the club layout that a pair of larger locos like SD40-2's would have trouble with. Problem was, I couldn't put that much weight IN the loco, there wasn't room, and the bits I stacked on top for testing would eventually fall off. ANother improvement is replacing the sintered iron wheels with nickel silver ones. Wheels from newer Athearn locos will fit. NWSL used to sell replacement wheel for them - those are the ones I used. There is a reduction in tractive effort, but the electrical pickup is very much improved. The heavy weight of the Cary body will help offset the traction loss.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Dark grey.. ive observed that the motor itself , end to end of shafts is much smaller than the standard bb motor used in larger Athearn units.. ive also completely upgraded the running gear and ditched the old wheel sets in favor of new smooth steel wheels.. I attempted to use the newer gold colored motor from an old Stewart unit which ended in dismal failure, which caused me to dig out the old open frame motor.
Athearn motors have come in for their fair share of criticism over the years but lack of durability is rarely one of them. And with used Athearn so plentiful at swap meets and estate sales you could probably bank away some spares for relatively little cost.
Nonetheless be aware that North West Short Line has complete remotoring sets available for most of the Athearn line including the switchers. Cost is $45. Advertised as "DCC ready if you need it."
I am trying to link to the section of their online catalog so here's hoping ... :
nebula.wsimg.com/02d6e40c2d04190212ed400d3ccb2472?AccessKeyId=08BEE66B97B387F20C0D&disposition=0&alloworigin=1
Dave Nelson
Yes, many companies make motors designed as replacements for Athearn BB motors. I believe Athearn makes retrofit "Genesis" motors for some (all?) of the Athearn line.
A DCC decoder with Back EMF will do a lot to help the engine run more smoothly up and down grade, but sounds like you might have some free play in the drive shafts too. If you do re-motor, adjusting / changing that might result in a much smoother-running engine.
Welcome! I'm not an encycloperia of replacement motors, but at least my "bump" to this thread will get you back to the top.
I have a lot of Athearns, and I wouldn't be worried about your motor, but there are replacement options out there.
A good old search on Google will get you started, and on Ebay, although with Ebay, you might be buying a motor just as old as yours.
Is the color of your motor and fly wheels the dark gray? or are they the brighter goldish or yellow color?
The dark gray are the oldest, and can cause more problems, because they draw more amps than the newer.
In looking for replcaements, about the the only thing that distinguishes the difference between the SW7/ !500 motor from others is the width of the fly wheels, if yours has the fly wheels.
I'll let others with more experience in motor replacements chime in.
Hello all, I'm new to these forums and recently decided to interact with others that enjoy our hobby. So, here goes with my first observations, then a question. I just recently DCCed my old Cary Loco Works FM H-10-44. I really like the way it handles. The difference between it and the newer Protos, Katos and Atlas is not unlike driving my 24 year old Landcruiser then driving my wifes new Rav4. That old Athearn blue box motor does very well and if you're not on top of it it will run away from you on the downgrades, or stall on the upgrades. Which, by the way, is very prototypical. To me, that is an operational pleasure. My concern is that old open frame BB motor out of an SW1500 isn't going to last forever. It's already 40 years old with roughly 5 years of operatiion behind it. There must be a replacement for these motors but I have yet to locate one. Thanks in advance for your advise..