Sharknose Diesels

[msowsun]

The E-R Models Sharknose now shares the same Roco drive as their FP-7.

It is a very good runner and come DCC ready. 

http://www.gatewaynmra.org/dcc/engines/er-shark.htm

[SteamFreak]

I have an the older version of the Model Power Shark and it runs beautifully, but they could be hit or miss. At some point they upgraded the drive, putting in a flywheel and much finer gearing, which I have in one of their FA's. Those giant can motors were strong as oxen, and didn't draw much, either. I would assume that the ER Models/Roco Shark uses this drivetrain, though that's just an assumption. They did change to blackened RP25 wheelsets, but the shell looks unimproved. They go for about $70 on eBay.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Sure, it was a fair bit of work - but it was a darn sight cheaper than a pair of the new Precision Scale units !!!

That shows what can be accomplished when you put your mind to it.

[jimrice4449]

I've got a regular school of Sharks, NYC Lightning stripe, B&O and both paint schemes of PRR.   I ran into two problems w/ the Roco drives.   First the drive wheels are plastic hubs w/ metal rims.   I run 40-50 car trains and those rims eventually got to where they'd slip off of the hubs.  The other problem was the method they used to get that good looking close coupling.  They used truck mounted cplrs (Talgo) between the units.   In operating on a friend's RR w/ a fairly serious grade and a long train the engines kept derailing at the same spot.   After much investigating of the track we figured out that what was happening was that after topping the grade, the slack would run in and pop the Talgo trucks of of the track.   The solution I hit upon was to convert all of the chasis to Athearn power trucks, keeping those Roco motors which I love, and learning to live w/the noise and the (very) slightly short truck wheelbase.

[Mark R.]

Like you, I too desparately wanted a GOOD running pair of Sharks. What I ended up doing was using a couple Atlas RS-11 chassis as a starting point. I removed the flywheel from one end and shortened the frame a scale 4-1/2 feet to get the correct wheel-base. Body mounts then had to be fabricated. The original Model Power shells were then extensively upgraded to bring them up to current detail standards. Now I have a pair of Sharks with the smooth running characteristics of an Atlas engine.

Sure, it was a fair bit of work - but it was a darn sight cheaper than a pair of the new Precision Scale units !!!

Mark.

[Leon Silverman]

  Check out Precision Craft Models product schedule.  Thye have the Baldwin Sharks in the works.

[TomDiehl]

A way I got some sweet operating Baldwin Sharks (RF-15's) takes a little work. I went on Ebay and bid on some old Mantua/Tyco die cast metal body sharks. If the mechanism is no good/burnt out/missing, contact Bear Locomotive in New Jersey about a new drive now marketed by them under the old name "Hobbytown of Boston." The body shell itself weighs just slightly over a pound, and the Hobbytown drive runs all the wheels, plus has been updated to isolate the motor frame from the loco frame for easier conversion to DCC. These have some serious pulling power. To look decent, they WILL need repainting/redecalling.

http://bearlocomo.zoovy.com/

Plus some minor redetailing work will convert them to an RF-16.

The matching B unit shells are harder to come by, I don't think there were a lot of them made as compared to the A units.

Can't help you much on the Fairbanks-Morse units, though

[Soo Line fan]

I have a couple of the Walthers FM H 12-44 switchers that you mentioned but they were not Trainline models. Built by Roco, they do look and run very nice. The tooling may belong to Roco and not Walthers.  I also have a couple of the Roco / Model Power Sharks bought off the bay. These also run very well, although the shell is a little dated. Some detailing helps a lot. I do not know how well the later ER models version of the shark's runs.

Jim

[reale1]

After a couple of big disappointments with the performance of recently purchased HO steam products I've pretty much decided stick with diesel locomotives exclusively. I already have a bunch of them (from FT's through SD45's and almost everything in between) except for a couple accurately detailed and smooth running A and B Sharknose diesels. The closest I've ever seen were several roadnames put out by Roco a few years ago, but even they had a few problems. Wouldn't you think that manufacturers like Athearn, Walthers, and the rest of them would be better off offering motive power that would look and run right on average layouts instead of pushing Big Boys and Alleghenies (which only a small percentage of layouts can reasonably accomodate)?

And while I'm at it, I noticed in the most recent issue of MR there was a layout that featured an entire fleet of early switch engines (H-44's maybe?). They were sold under the Walthers Trainline brand years ago and were really great lookers and performers. The dies for the engine castings must still be around somewhere and I'm surpised that whoever has them hasn't reintroduced that interesting looking model (In my opinion we already have enough SW1500's and Geeps etc. to last several lifetimes).

I don't know about you, but I for one am keeping my fingers crossed.

Dave

Atlanta, GA