G.E.C's layout pictures

green_elite_cab

Keep It Moving!
Yes, we should. Bring your camera next time.

I did bring it! have a video and a few pictures of the U34CH rolling along, but in my defense i was more terrified of not knowing where my train was actually heading and trying to keep up with it, so i didn't get to many pictures until most people had left.

Here is a quick video. YouTube - Burlington County (NJ) Model Railroad Club: U34CH by CAB

In other news, my SD45-2 just arrived today, and the sound is great, so i can't wait to bring it out to the club. its has amazing details to, probably the best fans ever. I'll have to take a video of that to so you can hear it.

I'm just waiting on my C32-8 to get here, then i will save for an Atlas Gold C40-8W.

My U34CH in push mode (note the operating nose light) on the BCMRC. You can see a Metroliner Cab car in the background, and some SEPTA RDCs built by others. This is obviously a club i want to be involved with! They are already pretty impressed with my work, and they were excited to see my U34CH and E60MA. Its all good stuff.

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overhead view. I'm not to happy about the junk yard behind my train. It has a cut up Bachmann E60CP (old one) and an SDP40 i recognized from a hobby shop that i wanted to buy years ago. I know it is the same one because the guy had put his name in the shell. the irony. Its hard to see, but there is also a switcher that got stuck in the oven to long.

I've gotta say i'm pretty proud of the work i did on my U34CH, since its still the best one (in my own opinion) that i've seen yet as far as detail accuracy. The only other good one i saw was from a club up in north jersey that i bought off ebay, so i end up owning that one anyways, lol. You can see a stock U34CH from atlas in the yard.

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The worlds crapiest picture (thats the camera's fault) but on member had SEPTA silverliners from the SEPTA store (Not the IHP ones, which are brilliant). Of course, i freaked out, because I love the Electric Multiple Unit cars, and you rarely seem them as a model, let alone a dozen trains of them.

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I have also some pictures of my SD45-2. If there are more brutish looking locomotives, there are few. looks like its the locomotive from the land of fire and brimstone (check the number)

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Another view. the Conrail units have all the Erie Lackawanna specific detail, like the offset low mounted horns. The detail around the cab is outragoues.

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It looks good from behind to!

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The best part is probably the fans. I thought i might have to install them, but if you look closely, the grates on the fan are ridiculously thin. They look so real (and being used to not seeing the roofs of anything but model locomotives) that i thought there was something wrong!


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It does take a while to start for some reason, but otherwise it runs and sounds nice. I got it for less than half price to, so i'm happy with the results.
 

CNWman

CNW Fan
6660? No, only when the number is just a couple of 6's (666, 6666) is it reall the 'devil' engine, and even then there's doubts (just ask jeffery about KCS 666). Anyways, that looks like a GREAT club you've joined!:thumb: You might wanna sugest to the guys to weather that visible junk Conrail loco in the backround, it looks to new. As for that SDP40, why don't you just ask for it and repair it? Considering your detailing expertese, a little body work shouldn't be to hard.

Oh yeah, BTW, MR's article on repowering brass locomotives came out. It was on some 30-year old steamer, but to me it looked like the basics from the article could be aplied to any engine, maybe even your E44 (that's what that engine is, right?). If you want to know more, just let me know.
 

green_elite_cab

Keep It Moving!
No, its the devils locomotive. In short: biggest waste of my money ever. It looks good, and the sound is beautiful, but it doesn't run. Period. It will inch forward then stop, and it won't start again until the throttle is all the way up, and then it will fire off like a rocket. and its not like there is a pause before the thing gets rolling. It just doesn't want to move at anything but fast. Its like a toy train from life like with a pretty shell and sound.

Forget coupling to cars or train, or consisting it. It just won't do it. Reprogramming it has not yeilded better results.

lol, the only visible conrail locomotive in any photo at the clube is a Brass C32-8 that belongs to someone else, and i can barely make it out from the photos. Granted, those units were a whole lot dirtier, and would be noticeable from here in real life, but when you get close to it it has more subtle weathering. the others are the SD45-2 from hell, and you can kinda see the end of my Kato SD40 that i still need to work on a bit.

The SDP40 is long gone, its been cut up to, and there is a little HO scale man with a flashing torch inside of it. its got alot of it cut up, and i didn't see the rest of the parts lying around it. There are pieces of an old E60CP in there, and i want to salvage the pantographs and trade for my already ruined and wrecked ones. they'd look alot better than the ones in the scrap yard now.

That article doesn't really help me, since its more about repowering steam then brass. it is an E44. The current truck setup isn't that great, although i do have a few motors lying around i can use.
 

CNWman

CNW Fan
That article doesn't really help me, since its more about repowering steam then brass. it is an E44. The current truck setup isn't that great, although i do have a few motors lying around i can use.

Actually, I think the primary problem with most old brass locos, judging by the article, seems to be a bad gearbox and a loose universal joint. Replacing the bad gearbox and joint with a North West Short Line gearbox (which is smaller) and a double universal joint seems to fix it.
 

green_elite_cab

Keep It Moving!
Actually, I think the primary problem with most old brass locos, judging by the article, seems to be a bad gearbox and a loose universal joint. Replacing the bad gearbox and joint with a North West Short Line gearbox (which is smaller) and a double universal joint seems to fix it.

lol, you haven't seen this thing's guts. Maybe the gearbox is bad, but once you take a look at the motor itself, it the problem becomes apperent. it looks like a brick, and it runs like one to (not referring to the locomotive itself, which does, in fact, look like a brick)

I can't seem to find a picture of it, but only the end axles of each truck are powered, and their is a really weird truck tower in it. instead of a worm gear, there is a regular gear connected to another one that goes down into the truck. I don't know how it turns the wheels.

I think i'm going to remotore it before I make any calls on it's gearboxes, although those will certainly get looked at.
 

CNWman

CNW Fan
lol, you haven't seen this thing's guts. Maybe the gearbox is bad, but once you take a look at the motor itself, it the problem becomes apperent. it looks like a brick, and it runs like one to (not referring to the locomotive itself, which does, in fact, look like a brick)

I can't seem to find a picture of it, but only the end axles of each truck are powered, and their is a really weird truck tower in it. instead of a worm gear, there is a regular gear connected to another one that goes down into the truck. I don't know how it turns the wheels.

I think i'm going to remotore it before I make any calls on it's gearboxes, although those will certainly get looked at.

Oh, it's THAT bad... didn't think a motor that was worse than my Hustler's existed, save TYCO's. O.K., I'd like to know who exactly made that peice of :curse: of a motor, but as for fixing it, I'd say just remotor it. Judging by what you say, you'd have to track down several different parts to repair this engine, a waste of time unless it's a Lionel Blue Comet Tinplate or something of the like you're trying to repair.
 

green_elite_cab

Keep It Moving!
The best solution appears to be to just buy a Bachmann E33, but thats to expensive, and at that point, i'd rather just have the E33. I do have an older Athearn motor off a C44-9W and some PPW motors that i haven't installed in some projects yet, so we'll see.

Perhaps i can just get the E33's frame, and trucks. I'll have to take a look at th drive train, and see how i might build that. all i'd need to do is cut some off the frame, and move the E44 underbody details to the new frame.

as far as the spare PPW motor goes, its probably going to head off into my Metroliner EMUs so that i can modernize those 30 year old models. Its original motor was spitting sparks off the commutator! beautiful, but probably bad!


here is a picture from earlier in the thread

cabooseweekend406254ae8.jpg


ALSO, I GOT MY SD45-2 TO RUN!

yes, i'm happy. I just set CV5 to 32 just to mess around, but sure enough, I was able to get it to roll on 2 with 28 speed steps. I should experiment with 128 speed steps. CV2 is set at 6.

I just worry that maxing out the top voltage (MRC decoders go up to 32 instead of 255) might not be good for the decoder. we'll see.

the athearn one probably just needs to be rebuilt or cleaned or something. It runs OK now anyway, just alittle bit louder then similar motors.
 

CNWman

CNW Fan
Interesting, the location of the gears suggest that the worms are located in the trucks themselves, which is something I've never seen before now. I'd say replace the main engine, but with the trucks an intergal part of the mechanism, and you will need all 6 axels powered, maybe taking another chassis and detailing that will be best. I recomend going to train shows and scavenging hobby store junk boxes, you may get lucky. That's how I landed RRR 1116. BTW way to go with the SD45-2!:thumb: I TOLD you it wasn't the devil engine:mrgreen:
 

green_elite_cab

Keep It Moving!
yeah, thats why i was going to go get another E33. I really like it's current frame though. its looks good, but there doesn't seem to be a good way to install any other truck in it. right now though i think it just needs a new motor. I'll worry about the rest of it later.

as far as the SD45-2 goes, i'm not celebrating just yet. If it can perform consistently, then i'll be happy.
 
Athearn Genesis SD45-2? If so, I can't really believe that it ever ran badly...

If not...well, ok then.

Hey, got any ideas as to why my Kato SD45 has decided to stop working after I accidently nudged a boxcar on my way past?
 

green_elite_cab

Keep It Moving!
Athearn Genesis SD45-2? If so, I can't really believe that it ever ran badly...

If not...well, ok then.

Hey, got any ideas as to why my Kato SD45 has decided to stop working after I accidently nudged a boxcar on my way past?

the locomotive itself is good. without the decoder (just in DC mode) it'd probably run fine. However, the MRC sound decoders are crap. they don't allow a small current into the motor required for low speeds. the thing is still a pain, but slightly less of one. Once it stops, you still need to really turn up the motor in a lot of cases or it won't start moving.

can't think of any particular reason.
 

CNWman

CNW Fan
Then why don't you just replace the MRC decoder? I know a place where you could get another decoder at a good price and they ship globaly.
 

green_elite_cab

Keep It Moving!
Then why don't you just replace the MRC decoder? I know a place where you could get another decoder at a good price and they ship globaly.

well thats the problem.

I PAYED FOR A LOCOMOTIVE WITH SOUND. I'm not going to write it off and buy another decoder, since i would have just wasted my money. I could have gotten the same locomotive for only $100 and put my own decoder in it.

I shouldn't have to buy another decoder, sound or otherwise, because athearn fielded a flawed product. they should have atleast tested the thing before they shipped it off to market. from what i've read in search of a solution, all SD45-2s are having this problem (looks like i should have done more research) Now i love athearn's stuff, and they really are feeling the pain from this MRC nonsense, since apperently i'm not the only one. MRC better REALLY get their act together with this.

Premium models should not come to me running like a 30 year old locomotive with a pancake motor in one truck.

however, i still have other locomotives that need decoders. which place is it?
 

pgandw

Active Member
well thats the problem.

I PAYED FOR A LOCOMOTIVE WITH SOUND. I'm not going to write it off and buy another decoder, since i would have just wasted my money. I could have gotten the same locomotive for only $100 and put my own decoder in it.

I shouldn't have to buy another decoder, sound or otherwise, because athearn fielded a flawed product. they should have atleast tested the thing before they shipped it off to market. from what i've read in search of a solution, all SD45-2s are having this problem (looks like i should have done more research) Now i love athearn's stuff, and they really are feeling the pain from this MRC nonsense, since apperently i'm not the only one. MRC better REALLY get their act together with this.

Premium models should not come to me running like a 30 year old locomotive with a pancake motor in one truck.

however, i still have other locomotives that need decoders. which place is it?

It's a known issue. Horizon Hobbies (owner of Athearn and Roundhouse) has a contract with MRC for sound decoders. All sound-equipped Athearn, Genesis, and Roundhouse sound-equipped locos come with these decoders. Period. And it isn't going to change in the immediate future. Probably the only way to get the message through is to stop buying any loco equipped with MRC decoders. Only then will the 2 companies be forced to improve the situation.

In the meantime, some locos work just fine out of the box; others do not. Many of those that work fine eventually stop working just as yours did. You may be able to send it back for warranty repair. Or you give up like so many others, and replace the decoder with a better one.

my thoughts, your choices
 

green_elite_cab

Keep It Moving!
I'm not sure its damaged... does not all of the Athearn SD45-2s perform this way? if i can get it fixed, i'll just send it in. the worst thing that could happen is that the problem still remains, and i'll have to play with the decoder to coax out any good performance. besides, these things were used as helpers and stuff, and so i don't need to do any real switching with them.
 

CN_Fan

New Member
The best solution appears to be to just buy a Bachmann E33, but thats to expensive, and at that point, i'd rather just have the E33. I do have an older Athearn motor off a C44-9W and some PPW motors that i haven't installed in some projects yet, so we'll see.

Perhaps i can just get the E33's frame, and trucks. I'll have to take a look at th drive train, and see how i might build that. all i'd need to do is cut some off the frame, and move the E44 underbody details to the new frame.

as far as the spare PPW motor goes, its probably going to head off into my Metroliner EMUs so that i can modernize those 30 year old models. Its original motor was spitting sparks off the commutator! beautiful, but probably bad!


here is a picture from earlier in the thread

cabooseweekend406254ae8.jpg


ALSO, I GOT MY SD45-2 TO RUN!

yes, i'm happy. I just set CV5 to 32 just to mess around, but sure enough, I was able to get it to roll on 2 with 28 speed steps. I should experiment with 128 speed steps. CV2 is set at 6.

I just worry that maxing out the top voltage (MRC decoders go up to 32 instead of 255) might not be good for the decoder. we'll see.

the athearn one probably just needs to be rebuilt or cleaned or something. It runs OK now anyway, just alittle bit louder then similar motors.


Replace the motor in the unit pictured above and make sure there is plastic compatible grease in the gear towers. Then put the units on the track and run them flat out for about 5 minutes to burn in the motors and work the lube through the gearing.
:drag1:
 
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