From Trainset Junk to Respectable Model

[Kyle]

Train set junk? I have an Athearn GP38-2 from a train set, and the quality is great!  The paint job is perfect, even the little warnings that I can't read are crisp.  It runs like a charm to.  I also have a caboose from the same trainset that has great detail. 

 

[BRAKIE]

Ken,Great job! She looks good.

[CSX_road_slug]

GP-9_Man11786

... Anybody else have some trainset fixer-uppers to share?

U-betcha! This model is an upgraded Walthers Trainline wide-vision caboose, got it for ~$10.  I didn't bother taking any "before" photos, so you'll need to click on the link above if you want to see what it originally looked like.

[dstarr]

Very nice cabeese.   With just some paint and weathering?   I like it. 

   Here is a train set hopper car (Bachmann, HO) that I put in my coal drags.  It's had body mount Kadee couplers, a home made coal load, trucks painted rust red, undercarriage painted dark gray, and an overall shot of Dullcote to kill the toy like gloss. 

I have others, but I will confess I usually don't go all the way to the bottom of the food chain.  Athearn blue boxes from train shows  form the starting point for most of my kitbash projects.   They can be had for $4 $5 a car.  Tyco and Bachmann are a step down, a little cheaper, but the Athearns look so much better for only a dollar or two more.

[bogp40]

Nice resurection on those cabese. GP9 man.  Amazing what some TLC and weathering can do.

[bogp40]

mbinsewi

I posted this in the Diesel thread that was started a while ago, but I might as well post it here to.

This is an Athearn, out of the BB GP9.  It's one of my main switchers, and it's time for a rebuild.  Athearn has lots of details wrong on this, going by prototype pics, and I won't fix every one, I will turn this into a respectable switcher.

 

 

I have more pics and the story of what I changed in the Diesel thread.

 

Thanks for looking !

Mike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice work, The  BB GP9 was actually my first "real" decent runner when got back into the hobby 24 years ago. Tweaked and detailed it to quite a decent looking runner. Bought another B&O Geep to renumber to run consisted. Ran these for many years even though my roster grew to include Kato, Stewart, Atlas, P2K and other fine pieces. They will always still be pride and joy.

[G Paine]

This is an old Tyco reefer that I brought up to my current standards, replacing the truck mounted horn-hook couplers with body mounted Kadees, replacing the trucks with better ones with impproved mountings and adding weight. Not a big change visually, but big improvement operationally

I published a how-to on this project on the forum in 2011
Pt 1 - Truck replacement
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/194011.aspx
Pt 2  - Coupler replacement
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/194274.aspx

EDIT: Liiks like you will have to copy & paste the links due to some glitch in the new Forum software program

[mbinsewi]

I posted this in the Diesel thread that was started a while ago, but I might as well post it here to.

This is an Athearn, out of the BB GP9.  It's one of my main switchers, and it's time for a rebuild.  Athearn has lots of details wrong on this, going by prototype pics, and I won't fix every one, I will turn this into a respectable switcher.

Some before pics:

 

 

 

And some after pics:

 

 

 

 

Now it's time for this loco to get back to work!

 

 

 

I have more pics and the story of what I changed in the Diesel thread.

 

Thanks for looking !

Mike.

[PRRT1MAN]

Great work!

[BRAKIE]

Those cabooses looks pretty  cotton picking good for "rescued" train set junk..

Good job on the refinishing/rebuilding.

[GP-9_Man11786]

Here's a couple of cheap trainset care that I've rpainted and made into halfway-respectabel models.

 

Lima Conrail Caboose Before:

After:

Here's another Lima Caboose:

Before:

After:

 

Bachmann Caboose:

Before:

After:

Anybody else have some trainset fixer-uppers to share?