Tonight I stumbled into what I think are deals on a couple SP locomotives I could use. What can you all tell me about them with the scant information provided.
Both are used and described as in good running condition of course. The handrails are present and neither looks abused.
Locomotive 1 is an Atlas SD35 numbered SP 6912. Another picture confirms it as a 12 wheel locomotive. On the Atlas website if I found the right version the number indicated silver series and mentioned DCC ready.
Does that mean if I buy a decoder it will work with DCC in the future?
Am I correct in assuming it will run as is on DC track?
Do these pull ok? I have a less expensive main locomotive now.
Anything special I need to do for this one?
The second is only described an a running Athearn SP 8352.
Is it a “Athearn Blue Box SD40T-2”. It does have twelve wheels for what that is worth. I found some other similar locomotives on the Athearn site but none with totally matching numbers. Is this just an older run perhaps? Have I identified it correctly even?
The Atlas loco looks to be an older Yellow box Atlas loco SD35. I have a PA version of that one.
Bought it used, runs good.
The second one, is an Athearn BlueBox (BB) locomotive. With regular maintenance, you can’t kill it.
My son, who’s been a train fanatic since he was 2, has handled these & nothing has broken off that couldn’t be fixed. He’s never dropped one.
The main difference between the two is the Athearn one, to get inside to maintain it, you don’t have to remove the couplers. The Atlas one you do.
Another difference is how they run. The Athearn has a distinct “growl” while the Atlas runs nice & quiet. With littleones running it, I prefer the loud one.
If you can afford them both, buy them! One for you, one for munchkin!
I sold my SP tunnel motor (Athearn) to a guy in Holland a few years ago, paid $25, got $25 for it but I still have the Atlas loco. Paid $25 for it as well in 2010
I concur with Gordon’s assessments on these locomotives. I too bought a used Atlas yellow box SD35 several years ago and it runs well. My locomotive fleet also consists of many Blue box Athearn units. They are easy to maintain and have served reliably for over twenty years.
I notice that the Atlas SD35 has a Kadee under set coupler on the front and this is a good sign as that is what the engine needed to meet the Kadee Height gauge.
These engines are both basically pre-dcc. As I run in DC that is fine for me. If you are looking to convert them to dcc then you will need some feedback from someone who has done this conversion. You will have to consider the motors amp draw and the other modifications necessary to see if this is a good deal going forward. If you are staying with dc then they should run fine for many years to come provided they were at least minimally maintained during their lifetime. The only other issue I can think of with my used older Atlas units is that extensive run time did cause the nickle plating to wear off the locomotive wheels.
Forgot to add the following to my prior post… I read previously that your current layout has 18" radius curves. You may find the SD40 a bit big for that tight of a radius. The SD35 should make it OK as it has a shorter wheelbase. The general rule when I started out was 4 axle locomotives were a better choice for the 18" radius.
Just to clarify a bit, Atlas seems to have offered the SD35 as a SD35, a Silver Series SD35/SDP35 engine, and a Gold SeriesSD35/SDP35 engine. The also offered what they called an SD24/35. You can find all these flavors listed here: http://www.atlasrr.com/hoparts.htm.
The Gold series appears to have come with DCC and sound, and the Silver series looks like it came with an 8-pin dummy plug which you could remove and plug in a decoder.
I don’t know what number you are referring to in regards to identifying the locos on the Atlas site. However, the earlier locos seem to have been characterized by a vertical groove or notch on both sides of the fuel tank. I can’t quite make that out in your photo, but you can see it on the part diagram at the Atlas site: http://www.atlasrr.com/pdf/HO%20EMD%20SD24-35%20LOCO%20A.pdf .
If the person you are purchasing from is telling you that the loco is a Silver series and it isn’t, then it is being misrepresented. If you are doing the determination on your own, then you need to make sure what you’re getting. If the loco is the earliest version, they had a reputation of being good runners so far as I know, but will be the hardest to convert to DCC.
I ended up grabbing them. The point CP5415 made about selling one off after owning it for awhile came in sorta from left field and made my decision. In my case I have not operated many different pieces of equipment so the experience alone seems valuable.
Maxman, the seller was pretty sparse in his description. Pretty Much: “Here is an HO Scale Atlas SD35 Powered Lighted Diesel Locomotive Southern Pacific #6912. TESTED…RUNS GREAT. See pictures. Thanks for looking.”
In another picture from underneath I think I see the groove which would make it the older unit.
I searched the internet and the manufacturer’s website a bit and was trying to guess what each was. It is a habit I got from the forums over at Gardenweb where I try to identify things myself while asking for help.
DCC may be in my future but that probably is next year after I lay some slotcar crossings and scenery. Assuming I can keep either from falling off the bridges in my layout I should be able to both use them and recover most of the $61 I sunk into them if they seem too large or difficult to convert.
