Atlas GP30 version confusion

[ATSF_Ron]

Hi Railwire folks!

I have a few GP30s from Atlas.  All are Fee Pay purchases except my Kato made original I bought back in the 90s.  None are labeled as "DCC Ready."  I have done a few TCS CN-GP installs on these, but the two I'm working on now are a bit confusing.  The box says it's an Atlas Classic, so that's DC only as I understand it.  Atlas item 47407.  But the pic shown is in the included paperwork.  Notice the light board description.  It says "DC board," but underneath that is says "DCC board."  To me, that implies the release is DCC ready, correct?


When I took off the shell, this is what I found.


This looks like a Kato made GP30 from the 90s.  Fine runners, but definitely not a "Classic" series.  So someone most likely swapped shells before I bought it.

I'm doing DCC on a second one.  Same "Classic Series," supposedly.  Atlas item 42819.  Same paperwork as the previous GP30.  Here is what this frame looks like.  BTW, there's a date on the side of this one of 2006.  I think Spookshow Mark says this is the first year of DCC ready frames and "slow speed" motors.


I've not done any board swap installs.  Only hard wired.  For folks in the know, is this a DCC ready chassis?  Can I simply swap out the DC board for a DCC board?  Or is this a DC only model and other mods are required?  Thanks in advance, gents!

ATSF_Ron

[peaks]

I've not done any board swap installs.  Only hard wired.  For folks in the know, is this a DCC ready chassis?  Can I simply swap out the DC board for a DCC board?  Or is this a DC only model and other mods are required?  Thanks in advance, gents!

I can't see if the motor lugs touch the frame or the contacts are on the underside of the board. If they are on the underside, chances are you can swap the original board with a compatible DCC plug-in decoder. I would put a piece of Kapton tape near the motor lugs, just for extra safety.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

That is definitely an old school mech.

I don't THINK the first batch of Atlas classics were like this, but there is a small chance the first run of them might've been. @spookshow ?

[rodsup9000]

 Both chassis are "Atlas Classic". Just the second is "DCC ready"
 I have 10 or 12 of the non DCC chassis's disassembled for sound installs for my remaining GP 7's
 When installing DCC boards, make sure the "motor tabs" align with the "pads" on the bottom of the DCC boards.

[spookshow]

I never could see much difference between the Kato-made GP30's and the initial Atlas Classic releases. About the only visible change that I ever detected was that the lightboards in the Japanese models were white plastic whereas the Chinese models had green PC boards. So, based on that, I'd say the model with the dual lightboards is a Kato and has nothing to do with the supplied parts diagram. But that's eBay for you. It's the proverbial box of chocolates where you never know what you're going to get.

-Mark

[ATSF_Ron]

Thanks for the info, guys. All of this confirms what I suspected. The first GP30 is definitely a Kato version. As Mark said, this one was a box of chocolates 😂 The second one seems to be from a later release that looks to be DCC ready. According to what I found on an atlas archive page, this was a 2007 release. There is a 2006 date engraved on the side of the frame. I’m looking at a DigiTrax part number DN163A4. The documentation on the website says this is for GP30, GP9 and other compatible locomotives. Does that sound like the correct one?

[Sokramiketes]

Keep in mind that when DCC ready chassis came out, folks would buy new models, swap shells, and sell new shells with old mechs on eBay.  That would explain the paperwork issue.