I have a 30 year old Athearn blue box F7. I want to know where I can get a new motor for the unit.
I wold also like to know what I will need to put in a head light in the unit because it did not come with one in it. Also I would like to know what I will need to do to add DCC.
If you are looking to remotor and add DCC, get a can motor! Walthers carries an A-line kit (pn 116-90321) that fits the shorter Athearn engines.
Not only is it a better motor, but the 2 tabs are there on the motor for the gray and orange DCC hookups, making DCC installing easier.
I’ve replaced those old ring magnet motors with motors from newer blue box locos without problem. It’s a direct replacement. To isolate the motor from the loco frame locate the two fingers on the underside of the motor and break them off. Put a thin strip of electrical tape in the bottom of the motor well. Solder a wire to the contact strip on the bottom of the motor. This will be the wire that the gray wire from the decoder will connect to. Put the motor in the mounts and press it into the frame.
Are you attached to this engine for some reason?
I have a few Athearn blue-box engines from about 1960. I put them on the track about 8 years ago, and as you might expect, they ran poorly. Not only do they need new motors, the wheels are low-quality, and the trucks don’t fit new wheels, so the gear mechanisms and trucks would also need replacement. So, I was essentially down to a frame and a shell.
Before you put money into an engine like this, take a look at a new one. Today’s shells are so much better detailed than the old ones.
I did put a couple of these back in service, but as dummy engines. That let me keep my “old friends” from my childhood on my layout, but the trains are pulled by reliable and good-looking new engines.
You can always upgrade the old metal sideframe trucks to the newer plastic sideframe trucks from the newer RTR units. With a new motor and trucks, your BB will be good as new. Earl…
Umm, not really. You can buy a new F7 for $40. You will have better paint, improved wheels, side frames, new motor, trucks etc. Compare that with buying the parts individually and I think you’ll find that just buying a new one will accomplish what you are after. Check out Trainworld’s inventory for road names. There really is nothing about your 30 yr. old model that is better than the current version unless it’s sentimental value.
The unit has sentimental value because it was part my grandfathers colletion when I was a kid. The unit plus the streamliner were left to me in his will after he pasted away. I want to keep the unit operational as long as possibe.