In this world of Genesis, Atlas Master Series and P2K locomotives many of use have come to the point where the old athearn blue box locos are looked upon as somthing to cast off or avoid, but after an experience with one of my P2K locos I have a new appreciation for my BB locomotives. My P2K GP38-2 took a farr to the floor during my recent move to new living quarterss and suffered a bent axle and possible broken gear. This P2K loco is NOT an athearn clone and to get the bottom of the gearbox open you must remove the truck. To do that you must remove the body weight. To do that you must disconnect the circuit board. None of thsi is impossible but it is like having your backyard mechanic work on a 2008 automobile vs. a 1965 Chevy or Ford.
On the other hand I can completely disassemble a blue box locomotive fix a problem and have it running again in less than 30 minutes.
Bottom line is don’t drop your new expensive toys!
A lot of the locals have completely removed the light board and hard wired the drive,regeared to the common 14:1 ratio and use LED’s for headlights…Some have turn away from P2K due to the “gear of the month” LL used,on going problems and the higher prices
As for me I am thinking of buying 2 C&O GP7/30s but,I am still concern about the on going issues reported on various forums and both clubs.[%-)] I may go with custom painted Atlas GP7s and gamble on the '30s.Time will tell.
I was in a quandry when I switched over to DCC (Digitrax). Most of my locomotives were BBs although I did have a couple of Atlas DC models. Also all of my F-7s (which is the loco I plan to use on the Port Able) were BBs.
I no more wanted to resign my “heritage” locomotive to the display shelf than I wanted to pay the high price of new “state-of-the-art” DCC ready locos. So, I figured that it was time to get out the soldering iron.
So, far I have retro fitted two of my Athearn F-7s with DCC including the directional head light. I’ve even squeezed one into a BB SW-1500 (but have yet to hook up the headlights). All three run well. Not as well as the latest offerings from Kato and Atlas, but well enough to suit my purposes. Plus, with that typical Athearn growl, I’m in no hurry to add a sound unit. [;)]
With enough detailing (one of my passions) the old F-7 shells can be made to look presentable, even if they are not as accurate as the newer models. They can pull anything I put behind them - my trains average between 8 - 12 cars and my grades are less than 2%.
My newest F-7 cost me $20. I put a $16 decoder in it to get it running on the layout. Compare that to the $200+ price tag of new RTR/DCC/Sound equipped locos and I think you have one of the best advantages of the old Blue Box locos right there.
I still have my 70’s blue box engines from my teens. They sat dormant for 20 years until recently when I cleaned, lubed, and fired them up. They still run great.
Those engines were the ones that ran well, had fly wheels, all wheel pickup and pulled well in a era where trainset engines were crap and Brass too expensive (But so cheap for the day compared to today)
They were also bullet proof. A problem is easily fixed, if not, replaced. Personally I have had about 4 of them last just about 30 years and still ran well through out the speed range on the analog throttle. They were finally consumed at the workbench as DCC learning tools. I learned that I should buy DCC engines factory installed. It made my life very simple.
I consider these engines very robust and quite able to stand up to abuse. You could have a whole fleet of these things for a price of a single DCC/Sound engine today. Keep in mind that such a thought was alien in the late 70’s when 25 dollars plus Kadee couplers added up to alot of money back then.
In those days a family of 4 can be fed fully at a fast food for less than 7 dollars on a day trip and gas was about the same for a tankful if that.
If I wanted to run on a trainshow club layout, those will be my first choice of locomotives. Cheap enough to take falls and drops and strong enough to keep going.
George,After one club decided to go DCC and the other DCC/DC I thought this over I decided not to DCC equipped my older BB locomotives except for my C&HV SW1500.My Atlas and DCC ready Athearns(GP35s and SD40s-maybe 2 CF7s as well) will fill the DCC need for club use.I will use my DC locomotives on the DC tracks at the other club.
In my opinion, you can’t go wrong using the Athearn BB locomotives. Sure, the detailing isn’t as great as the new stuff but then again, Details West, Detail Associates, and a few other detail part companies make all the parts I need to detail the BBs. That too has a plus side since I do love to sit at a workbench and add details to my locomotives anyway.
Then there is DCC for Athearn BBs. Still, not a problem. All i have to do is strip it down, insulate the motor from the frame with a bit of electrical tape and silicone, a few wire solders here and there and again, it’s off and running as well as the other locomotive brands.
Now about the LL 1 & 2Pk’s…Never again! I purchased a LL Alco RS11 a couple of years ago and it’s the worst running locomotive in my entire fleet of locomotives. It jerks along with a light flicker that resembles a a strobe light at a discoteque. I haven’t torn it down yet to see what the problem is because i have so many other BB Athearns that never give me any trouble to use in it’s place.
There’s nothing wrong with running BB Athearn locomotives. In fact, i think it’s the best locomotive for the buck still out there…chuck
I have around twenty some-odd Athearn BB locos. Some run better than the others but they all run. Some run quiet, some sound like mini coffee grinders, but I wouldn’t trade them away for anything. They’re robust, easy to work on and they’re dependable. So far I’ve converted three to DCC. An F7A, a PA2 and a GP50. All three of them are on my layout and all three get used. Once a month I pull three analog BB locos off the display rack and give them a run. The next month I pull down three more and so on, so they all get run. The type I have the most of are F7’s, both A units and B units, followed by PA’s, a couple of SW’s, some GP’s and several SD’s. There’s even an old MDC RS-3 in there with a BB drive.
I have an Athearn SW7 and I really like it.It runs good. To dress it up a little I added spark arrestors and hood mounted air tanks. Just enough detail to keep it from looking ordinary.Bob
While technically the RS-3 was an MDC not a BB, the drive was certainly BB, so I guess it could be given honorary BB status!
I rebuilt most of my Athearn’s (some 40 locos) with Mashima or Kato motors and replaced all the wheels with nicklesilver back in 80’s, so it was just a matter of moving some wires aound and resoldering to convert them all to DCC. Most of my Athearns are GP38-2, kitbashed GP39-2, SD40-2, 4 PA’s and a few F-units. All were super-detailed, custom painted, lettered and weathered. They’re all still running right along with a whole bunch of Atlas RS3’s and some of the newer offerings.
That’s what it is now, but it started life as an MDC/Roundhouse body with an Athearn BB drive back in the eighties even before Atlas released their RS-3.
