Fellow modelers,
I’m considering putting a bid in on a P2k GP7 on ebay and was wondering if you all thought that the vendor was offering a good price. Here is the link:
Also, do any of you know about how much it would cost to convert this to DCC w/ sound? Any tips on your experience with these engines or conversions would be helpful.
Thanks,
EdW
The price seems a little high to me. I bought a couple Proto GP9’s on eBay recently for around $60. Putting DCC in those was easy, and it looks like the same mechanism in the GP7. I used a Digitrax DH163LO, which in this engine drops right in and runs very well. I’m not sure about adding sound, but I think the biggest problem would be finding a place for the speaker, since the weights take up much of the interior of the shell.
My LHS is selling P2k GP7’s for $90 to 100. However, the road name does seem relatively rare. If this road has a special place in your heart, then you may want to consider it. Otherwise, look elsewhere.
Just my 2 cents
I’m modeling the TH&B and the roadname doesn’t appear often on engine releases. I did get a nice Hudson from BLI last year and this one would compliment it nicely on my 50’s era layout.
dacort, I’m pretty committed to sound so just having the DCC board installed wouldn’t do the trick. I’m trying to budget the whole magilla (engine, card and installation costs). I’m not particularly handy with small electronics and plan to have somebody else install it for me. Any idea of how much that would cost?
The GP7,9, and 18 all have the same drive mech for the P2K’s, DCC is almost a drop in and easy, adding sound to them would not be that hard except for the added weight to the loco’ there are a couple of options you can do here, remove one of the weights or have one of the weight milled to accept the speaker of the sound decoder. Milling can be expensive or cheap, depends on the machine operator and how dumb you look to him. I have done allot of milling on some loco’s to cut down weight size to accept decoders and speakers, and do it for for about $25 on the average, I know some guys who charge $50 to $75. You can also use a dremmel tool, this just takes 5 times as long but can be done, so it your call on how you want it done and what you want to spend.
Buying a P2K of ebay is a flip of a coin sometimes, you could get one that is perfect and runs great, you could also get one with split gears which is easy and cheap to fix. but the price is ok for the listing on ebay.
EdW,
Check with Trainworld.com. They have Proto 2000 GP7s
23550 LL PROTO 2000 GP7 PHASE 1 39.99EA.
Here’s the direct link:
http://www.trainworld1.com/closeouts_blowouts_clearance/clearance_ho.htm
(Should be near the bottom of the page.) You’ll have to call them directly to find out if they have or carry the TH&B.
Tom
P.S. BTW: If it’s any consolation. I recently bought my BLI 2-8-2 from this particular seller. He was very pleasant to work with.
The price is about average… not a great deal, but not over-priced either. I bought
one about a year ago and paid close to $100.
The DCC decoder installation is a snap, but like others have said, sound in these small
hood units can be tricky, to say the least. Actually, the decoder itself is a tight fit.
The P2K Geeps with factory installed QSI might be a better option if you really have to have
sound. It will cost a little more up front, but in the end you’ll come out on top. By the time
you buy the loco, decoder and speaker and invest hours or days with the installation… or
have to pay someone to install it, the factory QSI will probably be your best bet. Good luck. Dave