Atlas SD35

[Rossford Yard]

The next 64$ question,,,can these new frames with sound be used for the SD7/9?. Heck maybe the SD24/26?

Laters,
Y-it

I would like to know, too.  I bought a DCC FVR SD24 high hood for my little Midwest switching layout which I would love to run with sound.  Having an affinity for Chessie and TORCO (Toledo docks) I could buy one of those with sound and get a twofer if that works.


WMcBride, Could that other nub just ahead of the cab be having the same effect as the one you removed?

[wmcbride]

I would like to know, too.  I bought a DCC FVR SD24 high hood for my little Midwest switching layout which I would love to run with sound.  Having an affinity for Chessie and TORCO (Toledo docks) I could buy one of those with sound and get a twofer if that works.


WMcBride, Could that other nub just ahead of the cab be having the same effect as the one you removed?

I took that forward nub off last night and it makes the shell fit a lot better.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

All these SD35 pics make me really sad that Atlas never did an SD40. So much more common and so less frequently produced.

I mean, jeez... it's been probably close to 15 years since we've seen a run of them: http://katousa.com/N/SD40/index.html

[coosvalley]

I took that forward nub off last night and it makes the shell fit a lot better.

There is probably another thing you can do to improve the fit of the front end. I forgot exactly how I did it on mine, but if you trim the cab-face-front-clip area inside the shell, the cab will sit level, I can see in this pic it is being pushed up. I had a GP40 do this recently, and it fit perfectly after I trimmed in that area. This spot has tight tolerances.

[coosvalley]

I shaved some plastic as shown by the green lines here. I trimmed horizontally(on the left), and vertically (on the right)

[wmcbride]

I shaved some plastic as shown by the green lines here. I trimmed horizontally(on the left), and vertically (on the right)

Thanks! I'll give it a go tomorrow.

[GM50 4164]

Fellas, fellas, what everyone is missing in regards to the large area at the rear of the frame is for the caps we get to add later! Or as John mentioned, adding a better sounding speaker system! I'm aiming for caps, lol.

[Steveruger45]

Fellas, fellas, what everyone is missing in regards to the large area at the rear of the frame is for the caps we get to add later! Or as John mentioned, adding a better sounding speaker system! I'm aiming for caps, lol.

That’s what I was thinking too.  Looks to be plenty of room for at least two 220uF x 20v poly tantalum caps, if not more on the rear shelf.  Space also just above the rear flywheel to run the cap positive and negative wires to the decoder.  Plus looks like no frame filing needed either like was needed on the IM SD40-2.

[Steveruger45]

Thanks! I'll give it a go tomorrow.

Would you mind publishing the new body shell recess dimensions?  It would be good info to see what other shells would fit that chassis.
Thanks.

[wmcbride]

Would you mind publishing the new body shell recess dimensions?  It would be good info to see what other shells would fit that chassis.
Thanks.

Sure; I'll try to get them mic'd tomorrow.

[wmcbride]

Would you mind publishing the new body shell recess dimensions?  It would be good info to see what other shells would fit that chassis.
Thanks.

Here are the chassis dimensions for the new Loksound SD35:

Width:  9.55 mm
Length:  94.80 mm

The measurements of the Loksound-equipped SD35 body shell are:

Width: 9.65 mm (average of many measurements since the shell flexes)
Length: 96.85 mm

The height from the base of the chassis to the top-most component on the Loksound board is posted above.

[C855B]

OK, I will admit to blasphemy in the context of this thread - is this new chassis used in the non-sound version? Atlas already stated for production economies that everything comes with a speaker regardless of presence of a sound decoder.

I have two non-sound C630s on their way, so if this major revision holds true for those, will "old" non-sound decoders still be drop-in (TCS AMD4, for instance)? If not, then what is now the compatible decoder? I might be able to answer for that particular model tomorrow morning.

EDIT: As to the "adding weight" supposition, probably right. The medium-length chassis used under the SDs and C6xx models was hopelessly underweight. As Pete suggested, sorry to see them go with wires to the trucks for the added complexity. Hand-soldered wires have an undesirable production variability. IIRC I had to re-solder wires on multiple trucks on early BLI production.

[reinhardtjh]

I have two non-sound C630s on their way, so if this major revision holds true for those, will "old" non-sound decoders still be drop-in (TCS AMD4, for instance)? If not, then what is now the compatible decoder? I might be able to answer for that particular model tomorrow morning.

I have sound C630's coming but not until next week at least.  But I'd bet the chassis are all the same which means the only "drop in" non-sound decoder is going to be the ESU LokPilot Micro Direct 54650:
  http://www.esu.eu/en/products/lokpilot/lokpilot-micro-direct/
  https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=44324.msg569570#msg569570

Interestingly enough, looking around at various retailers, the LokPilot 54650 is now several dollars cheaper than the TCS AMD4 since the last TCS increase.  Unless you have a stockpile of the AMD4 (I have several  ) then the overall tradeoff seems to be a win.


Case in point - Yankee Dabbler seems to have reverted to it's earlier much cheaper prices.  Currently the LokPilot is $24.99 on the website. https://yankeedabbler.com/esu-54650-n-scale-lokpilot-v4-0-micro-direct-oem-nmra-dcc-decoder/

Others are still in the low $30's.

Klein's, Fifer and Trainworld are in the upper $30's for the TCS AMD4.

[Steveruger45]

Here are the chassis dimensions for the new Loksound SD35:

Width:  9.55 mm
Length:  94.80 mm

The measurements of the Loksound-equipped SD35 body shell are:

Width: 9.65 mm (average of many measurements since the shell flexes)
Length: 96.85 mm

The height from the base of the chassis to the top-most component on the Loksound board is posted above.

Great.  thanks.

[C855B]

... I have two non-sound C630s on their way, so if this major revision holds true for those, will "old" non-sound decoders still be drop-in (TCS AMD4, for instance)? ...

Answering that question: no. While it looks like the AMD4 will fit the chassis, it does so by engaging only with the front set of contacts. The rear notches are reversed relative to the old chassis so that the decoder slides in and out without spreading the frame. More significant, the motor contacts are in different locations and won't land right, with the speaker contacts wrapped around the motor and very close to the motor tabs.

Speaker? Yes, on the non-sound model. Dimensions of the speaker are 0.72" x 0.42" x  0.175". We'll probably head over to Hobby Lobby this afternoon for Pinewood Derby weights to see what they have to fit that space.