MT SW1500 Shell on NW2 Chassis?

[gbcaboose]

I know that a Micro-Trains SW1500 shell will fit on a Life-Like SW8/9/1200 Chassis. And I have heard that a Life-Like SW8/9/1200 Shell will fit on a Kato NW2 Chassis. But will a Micro-Trains SW1500 shell fit on a Kato NW2 Chassis...without severe modifications? Inquiring minds want to know...

Thanks,

Mike

[Jim Starbuck]

I recently put a LifeLike shell on a Kato NW2 mech. It required removing a small amount of metal on each side n the area of the lower cab sides. I milled the material off but it could be simply filed off as well. It wasn’t a difficult modification.
Since the MicroTrains SW1500 uses the same chassis as the LifeLike SW8/9/1200 I would guess it would be a similar fit.

[ncbqguy]

The problem is that the SW1500 should not go on a SW or NW mechanism.   
The SW1500 prototype rides high so the walkways should be well above the SW NW frame where their body shells sit. 
Charlie Vlk

[wcfn100]

The problem is that the SW1500 should not go on a SW or NW mechanism.   
The SW1500 prototype rides high so the walkways should be well above the SW NW frame where their body shells sit. 
Charlie Vlk

The MTL shell sits at the correct height and uses the LL SW frame just fine.

Jason

[ncbqguy]

Yes, but with SW7 or NW2 mechs you don’t have the SW1500 the frame and fuel tanks detail.  I don’t really have a stake in the model as my cut-off date is c.1958  and the later units look funny riding so high...
Charlie Vlk
 

[randgust]

I guess part of the question is 'why' and I'm assuming to fit a decoder?

I swapped out my SW9 to a Kato NW2 mech for an entirely different reason - I got sick and tired of cleaning the first-run LL wheels on a semi-weekly basis.   I never had wheels oxidize up so bad and it got to be a running gag that it would get parked after a session and then wouldn't start without a wheel cleaning first.

And yes the contacts are a PITA, but I've also done a couple MT SW1500's that ran spectacularly well for custom builds just as-is.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

And if you're looking to do it for DCC reasons, you can use the new run SW1200s (the later Walthers ones). They have the same DCC friendly frame as the 1500s.

[gbcaboose]

I have a couple of MT shells that I painted for the Apalachicola Northern. Right now, one is on a gutted LL chassis, and the other has no chassis. I'm just trying to decide which chassis to get to eventually convert to DCC. The obvious choice would be the MT chassis, but I've heard from multiple people that they have had issues with these. I thought the Kato NW2 chassis my be more reliable with DCC.

Mike

[coosvalley]

I guess part of the question is 'why' and I'm assuming to fit a decoder?

Other answers could be that that the B-mann mech is better running, and doesn't have those funky contact strips. I know it's hard to imagine that the B-mann mech is better than the Proto/Walthers, but it is, at least IMHO.

[peteski]

Other answers could be that that the B-mann mech is better running, and doesn't have those funky contact strips. I know it's hard to imagine that the B-mann mech is better than the Proto/Walthers, but it is, at least IMHO.

Bachmann? I thought the discussion was about a choice between Walthers/Life-Like and Kato chassis.

Walthers trucks have a feature I  have not seen on any other low-friction truck: double gear reduction.  First one is the double worm gear. That type of gear gear is present in other similar trucks.  But this truck also has a second double gear that meshes with the small gear on the worm-gear side, and with the idler gears which drive the axle gears on the other side.  I have not figured out the actual gear ratio of this truck, but it seems that it will be larger than other similar trucks.  That would mean slower speed, and more torque at the wheels.

[ryan_wilkerson]

Bachmann? I thought the discussion was about a choice between Walthers/Life-Like and Kato chassis.

I think he's saying the Bachmann NW2 mechanisim is another option.

[coosvalley]

Bachmann? I thought the discussion was about a choice between Walthers/Life-Like and Kato chassis.
/quote]

I think he's saying the Bachmann NW2 mechanisim is another option.

I misread the post, I thought he was trying to put the shell on a Bachmann NW2, not the Kato one. And yes, the B-mann is another option, and my favorite of the 3. IF I had a SW1500 shell, I would see if it fit.