I’ve been keeping an eye out for a Walthers SW1 switcher off and on for a while now. From my understanding they originally came out in the early 90s and sold for ~$80 new. Lately they’ve been going for anywhere from $75 to nearly $110 on eBay - even the undecorated ones! And it doesn’t matter whether they are new or used.
Well, I stumbled across one “under the radar” that was posted “HO - Walthers 580 New York Central Switcher” - NIB. There were only 4 bidders for it (including myself) and I was able to get it for just over $51. (S&H could have been cheaper but was still okay @ $9.50.)
Since it’s nearly 20 years old and has never been run, I probably should dismantle it, clean it, and relube it before running it around the track. I’ll also have to isolate the motor before installing a decoder in it. Anyhow, I wanted to pass along my recent little find and acquisition.
I’d love to see Walthers re-release the SW1 in the Proto 2000 line. From just the demand for the older ones on eBay, I think Walthers would sell a ton of 'em. If Walthers won’t do them, maybe Atlas would. Their HH600/660 switcher is a real jewel! [Y] And they’re already taking orders for a 3rd run.
Ah yes…all things come to those who have the patience to wait. That’s been my “bywords” for years Tom and it seems to work well about 99.9% of the time for me. If I had anymore “stuff” I’d need another house just to store it all.Friend of mine sold me 6 of those about 2-3 years ago for $25 a piece, I didn’t really need them but for the money…
Then about a year later he came back and “pleaded” with me to sell them back to him. I knew what they were bringing but as I said, he was a friend so I sold them back to him for $25 a piece.
So he bought them, took them home and listed them on EBAY for $75 each and sold them all.
Give Walthers a call on their ‘800’ number and ask for the service department. The original SW1’s has a ‘spring’ coupling that was replaced with a ‘u-joint’ package. I suspect they still have those in stock and will ship it FREE.
Also, NWSL had replacement n/s wheel sets if you have one of the first run engines with the brass wheels. They are a great running engine. I have a pair of them, and have seen at least two more at local train shows NIB, and asking $70-80 each.
Great find! I bought one of those painted for ADM about two years ago. It did need relubricating, when I test ran it out of the box it sounded like a diesel! One of the worm gears had a loud clicking noise when it ran, i just removed it and only have one truck powered for now.
I put in a Digitrax DZ123 decoder. IIRC these locomotives were made for Walthers by Roco, so they are very similar to the Atlas S-series switchers mechanically. There is a printed circuit board on top of the motor to which I soldered the decoder wires. I also had to cut some of the circuit traces on the board. More work than a Plug’n’play, but not really that difficult.
Very nice, congrats! When I get to working on the upper deck, I’ll be modeling the Montour RR which dieselized with all SW7’s and SW9’s. I’ve been laying in a supply of them over the years, I’ve gotten them now in probably just about every livery except ‘undec’-- and I think I did finally get one of those too Its interesting to see old photos and videos of the Montour in action. They simply chained as many SW’s together as they needed to do the job.
Well, my Walthers SW1 came in the mail yesterday. With the frame and deck being all metal, this little bugger has some heft to it. The only thing plastic is the cab, hood, and truck frame.
I took apart the trucks to see how they looked. The gears were bright orange and the grease on them clear so it looks like it hasn’t been run - if any. However, the grease was pretty stiff so I think I will degrease and relube them. I did run the SW1 back and forth on DC and it ran fairly smoothly and slowly - even with stiff grease. [Y]
A couple of questions along those lines. Would mineral spirits be acceptable for degreasing the gears and gear box? Is there a better alternative that wouldn’t harm the gears or plastic truck frame?
Also, for those you have one, how do you get the hood off the deck. There appears to be a tab on the front of the hood and the rear of the cab. I tried tugging and pulling but didn’t want to start breaking things. I don’t see any screws at all. The deck and chassis are all one piece.
mineral spirits can be quite aggressive, so I´d see them as a last resort after all else has failed. Try warm water with a little detergent added, and carefully use a tooth brush to degrease the trucks and gears.
Its interesting to see old photos and videos of the Montour in action. They simply chained as many SW’s together as they needed to do the job.