I have an Athearn PA NKP I would like to run on my layout. I have botA and B units. Of course the B is a dummy. I would like to convert it to DCC which would mean installing a Can Motor. I would alxo like to make the B Unit powered. I have read that it is cheaper to get another Athearn and put the chasis on it. Has anyone ever…
A: Fitted a can motor (NWSL) into one of these locos?
B: Converted the B Unit to be powered using a different Athearn.
NWSL have Athearn ‘re-gear’ and motor kits - they are going to cost more than the original engine. The ‘booster’ - I would not waste money on. You will need a new drive to start with, and to top it off- The NKP dod not have any boosters…
Jim
I haven’t done either of your choices, so I can’t comment directly to your questions. But I can suggest you look into switching to Proto 2000 models. The P2K are far superior to Athearn in detail and running qualities. They will cost more, but you save the expense and risk of remotoring the Athearn units because the P2Ks are DCC ready. Just plug in the decoder and go. Also, NKP had no B units but did often run paired As. Many of their passenger trains ran with a single unit. In later years the PAs were used in freight service. If you choose the P2Ks, you can further reduce the cost by selling the Athearns on ebay. You might end up close to even, in dollars and cents.
Ok Let me make sure I understand you right. NKP did not have a B unit? To tell you the truth that doesn’t surprise me, because all of the photos I have seen of them I have not seen a B Unit either. Thanks for the input. If the re-gear kit cost me a penny, I would be paying more than what I paid for the locomotive. It was inherited. [:)]
It is pretty much true of every product that requires assembly. Units coming down an assembly line and having parts installed at various stations will be cheaper than having someone go pick all the parts and collate them. I forget what a car would cost if you ordered all the parts but it is hundreds of thousands of dollars. I’m not so sure you need to get a powered unit however because you are going to have to modify the whole thing any way. Just get a set of trucks that have the gears in them or see if the gears as a set are cheaper so you can drop them in the existing trucks. A pair of Tomar pickup shoes eliminate the need for the Athearn electrical system. You might want to connect them to the A unit also so both units can provide power to each other. Than all you need to consider is how to connect the can motors to the drive universals on the trucks. I have a number of PA units by Athearn which is a whole story in itself but I have to say that a set of PA and PB units with Ernst transmissions and the Athearn Jet motor probably makes it one of my smoothest running set of engines. If the Ernst transmission is still available it might be a cheaper way to go and reuse the Atheran motor for DCC.
What kind of motor do you have in there? Is it a newer gold can motor, or the older black “Jet 400” motor? If you’ve already got the gold motor, there shouldn’t be any issues with DCC. If it’s the older one (which draws 2-amps when stalled), Athearn sells their gold motors for pretty cheap, and they’re good runners too. http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH84040
Once you’re sure you’ve got a good Athearn motor, just insulate the bottom motor plate with electrical tape or something, and hardwire the decoder in there. It’s so easy, a caveman could do it.[:D]
Because of the PA’s frame design, remotor kits usually require some grinding of the frame for the new motor to fit. The results would be even better than with the Athearn motor, but it would require more work.