What’s up guy’s?
I purchased a AHM Alco Century 424 on ebay for $1. I got it and it runs o.k. My beef with this model is the motor. I’t stall’s and draw a lot of current. Plus noisy. It’s not the “Worm Gear’s” that are creating the noise because I change them out for new one’s. Since this is the best place to get an answer clearly, Why not ask.
I’m looking to re - place the motor with an up to date one. I went to my hobby shop to ask the store owner (who’s suppose to be an expert) which kind of motor that would possibly fit. He answered, “I don’t know” . Ok. He also said that maybe I should buy and Atlas one and swap shells. He’s selling one for $90 bucks. I’m not spending that kind of money for a mechanism, plus the Atlas C424 was made in Japan which has a Kato drive. Sounds good, but all my Kato’s I had to modify the weights around the trucks with a Dremmel just for more truck turning play. I’m not going to put that kind of money in to an model that I got for a buck. In that case, I mind as well have bought the “kato” from the start. So what kind of motor can I replace the one AHM put in there loco.?
In addition to that being said. There’s 1 wire to the back truck, but there’s no pick up back there. There is a wiper like there is suppose to pick up though. If so, how do I make that happen? Currently it’s on 4 axel pick up in the front and it still have traction on the front wheel only. I also want to clean the wipers, but with what? I don’t know. Please advise.
Anyone who is familiar with this loco, please help me make it better.
I’m not trying to be a smart @$$ so please do not take it that way. The hobby store owner who claimed he didn’t know what to repower it with is not at fault as I never heard of anyone bothering to repower one of those engines. You got the loco for a buck and that should give you an indication of it’s worth and whay no one wanted it enough to bid it up. By the time you messed with a decent motor, wipers, wheels, gears and the like to make it run decent you would spend more than if you got a decent version of the engine. Although your hobby store owner wants nearly a c note for one of the atlas versions, I suspect you can snag one for less on ebay, aprticularly if you are patient.
I suggest for a buck you convert it to a dummy unit or put it as a scenic item (Wreck, scrap line, engine terminal)
Some things are just not worth the effort even if you get teh parts and item for free. I got my hands on some AHM locos long ago that took considerable work and cost in parts just to make credible dummy units out of, by thte time I finished I ahd almost as much in them as a decent powered unit from a decent manufacturer. I learned long ago to not waste dollars on low cost junk, buy a little better and a little few items instead. One does not have to always buy the top line expensive item, but can shop mid range if they are an infomed buyer.
It’s your layout but if I had curves as tight as you suggest I would be limiting myself to engines that are suitable to those curves.
I hear what your saying and I already know that AHM had a crappy pick up system. To me it’s a collectors item. Good news tho, I got a Kato C424 Mechanism for $7 buck. Lucky me right - lol. Anyway, I like the detail of the AHM C424. It may not be the best proto of the C424, but the BN paint scheme
looks good on it . Now it runs really smooth. Plus I just kit bashed a AHM C-Liner in BN colors. I’m not AHM CRAZY, but like I said “Collector items” I like to have really rare loco’s in my line up. Something that a lot of people do not know about or can’t find. What I did to the C-Liner was, I got me an Undec Atlas FP7. The one made in Austraila by Roco fo $20 bucks. Now that also is running really smooth . I did a couple of things to the shell and mechanism and then pow, the C-liner shell fit perfect. If anyone see my layout and has knowledge of Model Railroading, they would say 2 things. 1, where did you find that, 2, how did you get it to run so quiet. I only have these 2 locos by AHM. My other are Atlas, Rivarossi, Kato, Athearns, and a good Bachmann Spectrum F9, All unbashed and weathered. Next, I’ll be looking for old Tyco’s so I could do them over too. Thanks for your reply and advice. I’ll try to post pics of the layout with running loco’s soon.
A Train, Ny, Ny
Old AHM locomotives aren’t collectors items. there’s too many of them out there. There was a article
Rebuilding HO scale Alco 420 and 424 road switchers
Model Railroader, July 1981 page 86
( ALCO, C424, CENTURY, DIESEL, EL, GB&W, KITBASH, L&HR, “MAILER, STAN”, RDG, SUPERDETAIL,
CONSTRUCTION, ENGINE, LOCOMOTIVE, MR )
But’s it’s probably not worth given there are better examples [atlas] available.
The best use of this would be as scenery. Blackened and soot covered in a burned out roundhouse or in a scrap line.
Eric