Hi all and advance thanks for the replies. I have come across an old DC, Model Power “Amtrak” locomotive. I put it on a powered cleaning device, as I don’t yet have my layout. The light went on immediately but even after some gentle sliding back and forth over the cleaning pads no movement. The light works fine but no froward or reverse. So I did what all guys do when something doesn’t work. I took it apart, at least the body shell from the frame. That’s where I got confused. Is someone playing a trick on me? Where’s the engine? Am I missing part of the locomotive?
I think that the STREETSPOOK,Got,‘‘Spooked’’,I would surely say that you are missing,a rather important part of that engine…Are there any gears in the trucks??Maybe what you have is a ‘‘Dummy’’ with lights…
Cheers,
Frank
Is there no motor mounted on one truck (usually the rear truck). The front wheels only pick up power from one rail and the rear truck picks up power from the other rail.
There should be a wire connected between the front truck and headlight and the motor.
The front truck will have black plastic wheels on one side and brass wheels on the other, and the rear truck will have black plastic and brass wheels on opposite sides from the front truck.
A very poor runner even when they were brand new.
Hi. No motor. The wheels and axles, 3 sets for the front and back, are all metal and they sit loose in a small divit on the truck frame. There is a piece of flat copper that is bent so that it touches the front and rear wheels of both the front and rear trucks and only on one side. What fooled me is the weight of the locomotive and I see that each truck assembly is a heavy lead piece that sits freely in another lead holder. The frame is made of lead as well and looks very beefy for just a dummy. There is a handwritten note on the box that says “double power - flywheel”. I don’t see any such device or gears or a drive train of any kind.
Hi Frank, that may be, getting spooked but I picked this item up in a garage sale in four huge boxes of stuff. I’ve sold off most of what I can’t use on my layout and I’ve made back my expenditure plus double, so it’s no biggie. I just want to know what I have so i can list it properly on eBay. Here’s what I wrote to another gentleman;
Hi. No motor. The wheels and axles, 3 sets for the front and back, are all metal and they sit loose in a small divit on the truck frame. There is a piece of flat copper that is bent so that it touches the front and rear wheels of both the front and rear trucks and only on one side. What fooled me is the weight of the locomotive and I see that each truck assembly is a heavy lead piece that sits freely in another lead holder. The frame is made of lead as well and looks very beefy for just a dummy. There is a handwritten note on the box that says “double power - flywheel”. I don’t see any such device or gears or a drive train of any kind.
Bill
One picture is worth a thousand words.
Bill,
Just my opinion,but it’s probably not worth listing anywhere…Chalk it up as a ‘‘Surprise Model’’…For I am sure you got one,when you took the shell off…Or keep it for a practice paint model,the engine that couldn’t…LOL…
Cheers,
Frank
Sounds like what you have is a model that was originally a powered unit and converted to a dummy later. This could be due to a motor going bad or axle gears splitting. I’ve had both occur in old models. In some cases I repair or remotor them or change out the chassis with one from a donor loco. I have several Varney locos that now have home built Athearn type drives. I can safely say the drive shafts are not interchangeable among them.
Sounds like you have either a E 7, E 9 or a FP 45. Typically, Model Power would use a D designator after the stock number for dummy units.
For example, XXXX for a powered unit and XXXXD for the dummy unit. Boxes get reused some times. If you get a chance, please post a picture.
If you’ve already recouped your investment, my advice about this item would be to throw it in the trash and forget about it.
We frequently have people donate train items to our club that are not worth the time or effort it would take to try putting them on e-Bay or any other site. We usually strip out any usable items such as weights and throw the rest away.
Jim, yep, I think you get the toaster oven for the correct answer. I looked on the box after reading your reply and it has “EMD -E9” on it. So, I guess it is a dummy, kinda like I feel right now. I wasn’t taken so it’s not that bad. This was in a total of 4 huge boxes of train stuff that I bought at a garage sale. But, would you use this item as part of a line of engines, at least one powered?
Bill
Bill, there is a discussion in the electronics forum about the relative pros and cons of dummy engines going on right now. Although I do not care to run them, many others do.
That being said, the MP E units were once very popular back in the day. If you like Amtrak, a powered unit could be mated to it. Or a MP powered unit with a damaged shell or undesirable road name could be found cheaply. Then the Amtrak shell could be mounted on the powered unit.