Athearn RTR GP35 Motor Upgrade?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I just acquired an older (2004) RTR Athearn GP35.

It has the newer DCC ready frame but still has the old Blue Box style motor that’s noisy.

Has anyone ever upgraded the motor in one of their GP35’s or knows which motor would fit? There doesn’t appear to be enough room for a Genesis motor.

Thanks in advance!

2

If you can find one a Mabuchi FK280-SA 14200 works great.

Evergreen 224 Styrene tubing makes a perfect sleeve for the Athearn flywheels.

Mel

My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

Bakersfield, California

I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

3

I’ll second the Mabuchi FK280-SA 14200 as a great repowering motor for Athearn locos. I have also had equally great results using the SMC Motor FP280-KN motor even though it has a slightly lower speed rating than the Mabuchi. In practice, you’d likely never notice much of a difference between the two motors. The only drawback to the SMC motor is that it comes with a magnetic interference shield attached for use near stereo speakers. However, it isn’t too difficult to remove the shield, leaving you with a can motor identical in size and shape to the Mabuchi motor.

While I don’t know of any current source for the Mabuchi motor at this time, the SMC motor is available at: https://www.ebay.com/itm/383836500396?hash=item595e7031ac:g:PVkAAOSwKcxfxbHi

4

I will second the SMC motor. It’s RPM is a bit less than the Mabuchi (11K vs 12K) but I’m sure the SMC will easily run at scale 90MPH.

Mel

My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

Bakersfield, California

I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

5

I’ve had good results using Mashima motors in both Athearn geeps and sws, too. They take up little room, as shown in this Athearn GP7, leaving lots of space if you want to add DCC with sound.

Mine are strictly DC, so I use the extra space for added weight, as these two each weigh about 18oz.

If I were running those diesels (too modern for my late '30s layout), I’d double the weight to enable them to pull a lot more cars.

I used the same motors in my SWs, too…

…and put two of them in each of these three U-Boats…

Weighing-in at 33 oz. each, they’d pull pretty-well anything that was coupled to them…

Wayne

6

wm #734

Make sue you have the locomotive instructions nearby so you’ll understand how to swap out the motor. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it by yourself, see if there’s a local hobby shop in your area.