Retro 1970s & 1980s N locomotives

[Albert in N]

Already owned Arnold Rapido GP-7 and Trix F-7 and Trix FM switcher.  Added photos of MiniTrix 2-10-0 and  Con-cor steamers purchased by me from an estate.  Excepting the foob GN 4-6-4 made by Kato, the other three steamers were made by Rivarrossi.  Modest, but enjoy the photos!  OK, duped two photos, but don't know how to undo.  Oh Well.

[Rich_S]

I only have one retro locomotive and a retro train set left in my collection.

[TVRR]

I only own one older steam loco, a Kato 4-6-4 that Mike M remotored for me a couple of years back. It has the metal running gear and coined drivers. Runs better now than it ever did new, added a Bachmann all wheel pickup tender, lights, & DCC.

[ChristianJDavis1]

Did someone say retro?

[peteski]

Did someone say retro?

That smells like DKS' collection.

[ChristianJDavis1]

That smells like DKS' collection.

And you would be correct. Those are all units assembled from parts from the other drawer.

[wm3798]

My original, circa 1976-78 fleet included the PRR 2-10-0 by Trix and the BN U30CG.  The misaligned cylinders and smokebox irritated me even then!

@ChristianJDavis1 , I've got a couple of those Fs from DKS... the drives are bit hitchy... I wonder if we could arrange something?  I've got a nice A-B set that purrs like a kitten, but I'd like to iron out the others.
Any suggestions?



Lee

[dem34]

Did someone say retro?

Like I said all of NJ's FM models. 

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Wow, I kinda want some PC Fs and Conrail FMs now.

What a collection!

[wm3798]

@Rich_S  how does that Arnold GP-7/9 run?  I keep seeing them pop up, and I've been considering adding one to the fleet... I think they did B&O blue.

Lee

[spookshow]

@Rich_S  how does that Arnold GP-7/9 run?  I keep seeing them pop up, and I've been considering adding one to the fleet... I think they did B&O blue.

Get your earplugs ready 

-Mark

[ChristianJDavis1]

@ChristianJDavis1 , I've got a couple of those Fs from DKS... the drives are bit hitchy... I wonder if we could arrange something?  I've got a nice A-B set that purrs like a kitten, but I'd like to iron out the others.
Any suggestions?

Lee

All of these ones were assembled from parts, so I had to pick and choose which ones ran best. I can't remember which "batch" yours were from, but if you would like, I'm sure @DKS would be okay with sending you parts if you so desire. As far as tuning them (as opposed to replacing them), make sure the bottom contacts are absolutely spotless (a lot of the parts units were almost black because of how dirty or oxidized they were). May also want to check and see if the contacts on the wheels are spotless (but make sure you reassemble each truck the right way, or it may short or even run backwards). Some of the motors I cleaned up and lubed a little, but most of them were "okay" (not great, but I figured as long as they ran, the new owners could clean them a little better than I had the time for). What really helped smooth most of them out was just running them for long periods of time. I had four or five running at a time in a consist so they would keep each other moving, and I would take them off each time they could make a few laps without a stall or hiccup. After you clean them up a little, stick them on your layout with your good ones and have them pull each other through trouble spots until the bad ones start to even out. Only really had one "bad" F unit mechanism in the whole bunch, as the rest seemed to "wake up" after some cleaning and running. The parts mechanisms in the other drawer either were missing parts or didn't run well enough for my tastes, so I matched the best ones with shells. I'll probably go through and work on the others as time permits.

[Albert in N]

Lee, the Arnold Rapido GP-7 (they called it GP-9 due to dynamic brakes) has two metal cup gears on each driveshaft and sounds like a muted coffee grinder.  They tend to run quite well at scale speeds and run more smoothly after a brief warm up.  Back in the very early 1970s, they were the most dependable 8-wheel drive Geeps in N scale.  They got heavy use on my early train layout and would run for hours without overheating, as would the MiniTrix diesels and steamers.  The only downside to the Arnolds was the fact that their GP-7s and GP-30s (both same mechanism) did not have headlights or printed numbers in the number boards.  Back in the late 1980s, Walthers imported a bunch of new ones made exactly like the older ones from 1970s.  They still did not have headlights.  Also, be aware that if you want to strip the paint from one of these Arnold Rapido Geeps, do not soak the plastic body shell in brake fluid; don't ask how I know.  My Santa Fe Geep still runs as well as it did when it was new.  Of course, it does not see that much run time due to me being spoiled by my fleet of Kato and Atlas diesels.

[peteski]

Lee, the Arnold Rapido GP-7 (they called it GP-9 due to dynamic brakes) has two metal cup gears on each driveshaft and sounds like a muted coffee grinder.  They tend to run quite well at scale speeds and run more smoothly after a brief warm up. 

I have one of those, but I think in mine those cup gears are plastic. I would have to dig it out to verify. Still, lots of noise.  Yes, these were as basic as they come (read: very reliable, since there is minimal parts count to break).

[Rich_S]

Lee, the Arnold Rapido GP-7 (they called it GP-9 due to dynamic brakes) has two metal cup gears on each driveshaft and sounds like a muted coffee grinder.  They tend to run quite well at scale speeds and run more smoothly after a brief warm up.  Back in the very early 1970s, they were the most dependable 8-wheel drive Geeps in N scale.  They got heavy use on my early train layout and would run for hours without overheating, as would the MiniTrix diesels and steamers.  The only downside to the Arnolds was the fact that their GP-7s and GP-30s (both same mechanism) did not have headlights or printed numbers in the number boards.  Back in the late 1980s, Walthers imported a bunch of new ones made exactly like the older ones from 1970s.  They still did not have headlights.  Also, be aware that if you want to strip the paint from one of these Arnold Rapido Geeps, do not soak the plastic body shell in brake fluid; don't ask how I know.  My Santa Fe Geep still runs as well as it did when it was new.  Of course, it does not see that much run time due to me being spoiled by my fleet of Kato and Atlas diesels.

@wm3798