upgrading the Athearn RTR F7's??

[Santa Fe all the way!]

Hi, I purchased a couple of Athearn F7 AB sets a while back and tonight I took one out of the box.Wow,there is way to much space between units.I personally think a close fit looks nice,so what can I do to bring them closer? Looking at the coupler box,I dont think a shorter coupler,like say a McHenry 43 would help.It looks like major surgery....so it aint so.Any suggestions?

[PA&ERR]

What some people do is to make a drawbar out of a piece of plastic and semi-permanently couple them together. It's unlikely that you would want to run the B unit by itself and if you feel like running the A unit by itself, replace the drawbar with the coupler of your choice.

-George

[pall]

You could check out kadee I no they make a close coupling kit for stewart and bachman F`s not sure about good old uncle Athearn though. All failing that try a kadee number 33. I use these for bringing things closer together including my Cz cars   

[Santa Fe all the way!]

Thanks for the suggestions.I was hoping for more responses than two.The problem is the coupler boxes extend so far out from the engines that no mader how short the coupler its still too far away.If you took both the couplers off and held the two engines together touching at the coupler boxes the distance would still be too far. This seems to mean that relocating the coupler boxes is neccessary.The drawbar idea interests me,although I wonder if plastic would be strong enough if I were pulling alot of cars.Could someone post a diagram or picture of what a suitable drawbar would look like.I suppose you would round the ends of a rectangler piece of plastic or metal and drill holes at each end.What the !@#^ was Athearn thinking when that designed these engines?The space between the A and B unit is 3/4"! This does not look good.

[wjstix]

Just a shot in the dark here...but you know in the 'real' F7's, there were diaphragms sticking out from the door at the A unit and both ends of the B unit?? The diaphragms should meet when the units are running together, so the crew can safely go from one unit to the other. The bodies aren't supposed to be right on top of each other, or touching each other. The diaphragms occupy several scale feet between the units.

On mine F7A/B set, I made a plastic drawbar and added American Ltd. diaphragms.

See:    http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/147-6100

 

[csmith9474]

American Limited makes a close coupling kit for the Athearn F-7s.....

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/147-6100

I had an ABBA set of Athearn RTR Warbonnet F-7s (which I quickly got rid of after I got my first Genesis Warbonnet F-7), and they worked out really well. They brought the units closer to where they should be, and were relatively easy to install. The only "major" part of the installation was trimming the part of the frame that holds the coupler pocket.

[Texas Zepher]

I suppose you would round the ends of a rectangler piece of plastic or metal and drill holes at each end.

That is almost exactly what I used to do.  Make that platform as short as possible and round it so it doesn't bind when it turns.  Drill and tap a hole, then slap a piece of styrene or brass across it, and secure with 1/4" 2-56 screws.  Be careful with the brass connectors and powered units because the frames are hot.

What the !@#^ was Athearn thinking when that designed these engines?

These are a hold over from the one-step-away from toy trains.  They were designed to be cheap, reliable, and can go around 15" curves.  Start shortening the distance between units and the bodies start binding in the curves.

I always found the hardest part of the F7 upgrade was filling in those gaping windshields.  And then came Stewart & the Highliners and all my Athearn F7 upgrade projects went into the trash.

Despite my new found hate for the Genesis Line (or is that the new owners of Athearn?), I still admire these old Blue Box units as they were the main stay of the hobby for almost 30 years. 

[msowsun]

Here are some photos of how I close coupled my Athearn F7 dummy by relocating the couplers... 

First cut the monting pad flush with the ends of the frame and plan to use Kadee couplers. I used 30 series because they don't have as much material at the rear of the coupler to interfere with the trucks. (A good option now is to use the new #153 short "Whisker" Kadee's and trim the back of the box to allow for a tighter fit.)  

At the rear I used square styrene stock and drilled and tapped it for 2-56 screws. I think the photos are self explanatory.  (click on the photo to enlarge)

If don't mind a little more spacing, another option is to use the remains of the monting pad and drill a new mounting hole as I did on the front.

 

[Anonymous]

The Broadway engines are left alone as they are with the couplers. They are sometimes in manifest service or are able to drop off the booster units for A-A unit service where turntables are not availible.

I did have a set of drawbar on a Athearn 1500 Cow and Calf and learned that they dont flex very well causing the units to fight over which truck should be lifted off the track.

 

[Santa Fe all the way!]

Thanks for the ideas guys, now I have plenty of things to try.

[msowsun]

Here are 2 photos that show the correct 3' spacing of 2 coupled F units.

The PRR F3 on the left is a P1K body on the Athearn F7 frame modified as shown above. The CPR  F7B is a Highliner body on a Kato chassis with the Kadee coupler kit installed.