Athearn Dummy Locos

[willy6]

Where can you get metal wheels for the Athearn dummys?

[rayw46]

I used a set of Proto 2000 Locomotive wheels with axels on an Athearn. One wheel on each axel is insulated. Be sure you install them correctly or they’ll short out.

[aloco]

Athearn geared wheel sets will work in dummy locos. You can order them from Horizon Hobby (Athearn’s distributor).

[dti406]

I abhor the Athearn Dummy Trucks, I would buy spare geared trucks and remove the gears for my dummy trucks, or I would buy junkers from the hobby shop just for the trucks, as it was cheaper to sell them than to send them back to the distributor (I was in Alaska at the time).

Rick J [2c]

[Train_Modeler]

Athearn has a parts listing weblink on their site. On there you will find different geared wheelsets, you need the ones with the bearings between the gear and flange(basically non genesis diesel). You can find this part number from the parts diagram on a powered Athearn unit as well. I was told Proto no longer has spare geared wheelsets?

Richard

[Train_Modeler]

I should also say that NWSL has high quality replacements.

http://www.nwsl.com/

Richard

[TA462]

I have a few Athearn dummies, I just used my broken Proto wheels from my GP’s.

[tin_can]

Northwest Short Line lists replacement axles for Athearn dummy engines. Go to their website, download their catalog, the wheelsets are in section three, page six.

[YoHo1975]

I abhor the Athearn Dummy Trucks, I would buy spare geared trucks and remove the gears for my dummy trucks, or I would buy junkers from the hobby shop just for the trucks, as it was cheaper to sell them than to send them back to the distributor (I was in Alaska at the time).

Rick J

When was the last time you bought an Athearn Dummy?

Since the 1980s, Athearn Dummys have come with the same trucks as powered locos with the gears removed and the wheels replaced. The bad old days of dummies having those clip on trucks are long gone.

As for replacement wheels, I’ve never been to a LHS that didn’t have tons of Athearn Metal wheels with the gears. Just drop those in with the brass bushings. No reason to spend extra on the NWSL sets (unless they’re cheaper)

[river_eagle]

Just be sure to check the trucks before adding metal wheelsets, many Athearn dummies have either two front or two rear trucks installed instead of one each.

Two of the same trucks works fine with the factory insulating plastic wheels, but will cause a short if metal wheels are installed on both trucks.

[Packer]

I have a few Athearn dummies, I just used my broken Proto wheels from my GP’s.

Same here, but I use the broken P2K axles in the dummy.

[dti406]

dti406:

I abhor the Athearn Dummy Trucks, I would buy spare geared trucks and remove the gears for my dummy trucks, or I would buy junkers from the hobby shop just for the trucks, as it was cheaper to sell them than to send them back to the distributor (I was in Alaska at the time).

Rick J

When was the last time you bought an Athearn Dummy?

Since the 1980s, Athearn Dummys have come with the same trucks as powered locos with the gears removed and the wheels replaced. The bad old days of dummies having those clip on trucks are long gone.

I have not bought an Athearn Dummy since the GP38-2’s and 40-2’s came out originally. After that I only bought powered units and replaced the the mechanism with an Overland Models chassis and used the trucks under my dummies.

I have not purchased any Athearn stuff until the last year when I acquired a used set of Wabash F7’s and some undec Airslides. I have had it with the Foobie Paint schemes and I paint my own. I will be getting the NKP GP9’s when they do come out this year.

Rick J