Can anyone here tell me if the Life Like Proto 2000 GP9 has wire or plastic handrails? I’m thinking about getting one, but I don’t like wire handrails, like the one’s on Athearn locomotives that come unassembeled.
I have two P2K GP-7s. They have engineering plastic handrails. I would guess the GP-9s are the same.
The P2K GP9 has plastic handrails. Dave
thanks. I’m not good enough at soldering(yet) to solder wire handrails together, so I prefer plastic for now.
yup plastic. and fragil to. i broke one and i didn’t even do anything. its not broke off, just a crack.
Yes, they are plastic, and are the closest to scale size of any current HO locomotive that I am aware of, except for the proto 2000 GP-30, I think both have scale size handrails, they look tremendous.
Mac
These have the same chassis’ as their GP 20’s and GP 30’s so can run together as a consist.
Edit: I think only Athearn Blue Box still has metal handrails.
One more question. Do they come on a sprue, or are they by themselves, or even better, already on the locomotive? I don’t mind that they’re fragile if they’re not on a sprue, but the other day I bought a Walthers caboose, which came with very fragile handrails on a sprue, and I nearly destroyed them trying to take them off. I’m going to have to pay $5 to get replacements.
They are on the locomotive. The only assembly necessary with P2K diesels is putting the loco body shell on the chassis. Always grab the loco by the long hood. Athearn Blue Box diesels need no soldering! You simply string the stanchions on the rails and install the rails on the shell. After all is aligned and straight, use super glue to secure the stanchions to the shell and the handrail where it joins the shell. If you want, you can super glue to secure the stanchions to the rail. Have some paper towel ready to pick off any drips that form and let set tell secure. A very simple process!
I remember a friend telling me that these are “Acetal” plastic.
So if you ever need to paint them, Tamiya and Pactra paints adhere to acetal well. Other paint brands (solvent and acrylic) tend to break or flake off if the acetal plastic is bent.
I’ve noticed that the handrails on P2K units do flex easily if my fingers barely touch them, even when I’m careful about picking up my locomotives from the fuel tank.
10-4!
Not all P2K Diesels come with the body not attached “error”. I have 4 GP38-2’s, 2 SD45’s and 2 GP9’s that came with the body already installed. I prefer the body off myself, it makes it easier to install decoders, I have 7 GP9’s that came that way. None of them came with the couplers installed. EL PARRo, get one, you won’t regret it.
More like, EXTREMELY FRAGILE!!! The right long hood handrail on my Life-Like P2K SD60 broke in 4 spots I thought impossible most likely during shipping!!! I’ve had it for a year now. You think LL will send a replacement if I ask?
I have a P2K Prr GP7 and a UP GP9.They both have plastic handrails. Be careful though,they ARE fragile>
If you are not familiar w/ the GP7/9, an additonal place to watch for is the uncoupling bar over the coupler boxes. The boxes need to be removed for shell removal. The angled/ buffer plate on the box will crush and most likely break the frail plastic during replacement. Have also had to file or scrape the opening if the box was to tight. This was especially true w/ my SD50s.
A note as to Athearn BB stantions, I found that rebending the 90 degree prong to a better sharp corner and clipping off 1/32 will allow the stantion to install tighter against the sill. Crimp the rail to stantion w/ needle nose and CA once all stantions are vertical. I have since changed many of my BB rails to Smokey Valley- they are a lot of work but are as detailed as any brass loco.
Bob K.
Wow - I have 3 of the GP-7’s and not one has an damage to the handrails - and I’ve picked them up and handled them quite a bit. One was bought used, already assembled, and not tightly packed in the box (since you CAN’T put them back in the box once assembled). I find the handrails flex easily if bumped, the don’t seem to snap off. Yes that uncouplign lever runs just too close to clear the coupler box - no problem, when sliding the coupler box in, I pry it up with the tip of a knife blade. Had them apart far too many times to count, and haven’t broken one yet with this technique. One thing I do when putting them back together is to ONLY installt he screws inthe coupler boxes, NOT the other two. The shell’s not going to fall off, and it’s much easier to remove those two screws than the other two.
The GP-7s at least take longer to take the shell off than to install a decoder, if you use the Digitrax DH163L0 so you don’t have to mess with the bulbs.
–Randy