Not sure if someone mentioned or not, but the Athearn gears are the same. I picked up some knock offs cheap, but I have had to trim them down width wise to get them to fit. And that my friend is a pain. The Athearn ones aren’t too expensive.
Al
2 Likes
Athearn 60024, about a buck apiece.
Rich
1 Like
Thanks @richhotrain I was looking for the part number quick but couldn’t find it.
Al
1 Like
I was glad that you thought to mention it. 
Rich
Perfect
1 Like
yes they are good locomotives great runs.
1 Like
Davefoxx: I am a interested in operating trains on my layout. NO Scenery. After seeing your layout it sure makes me reconsider doing some scenery. Great job you’ve done. endmrw0320251430
2 Likes
Rich what ya think of MRC ???
1 Like
Locomotives? Stay away. They only made a few, for a short time, not all that great.
Sheldon
1 Like
My only familiarity with MRC is the 1370 Railpower DC power pack. I have 7 of them which I use to power Tortoises, signals and control panels around my layout. I absolutely love the performance and reliability of these power packs.
My layout is DCC powered, and I use an NCE PH-Pro 5 amp wireless system. I have had that system for 21 years now with no problems whatsoever. I know virtually nothing about the MRC DCC systems.
Sheldon mentions locomotives. I had no idea that MRC ever produced any.
Rich
To answer an earlier query: To my understanding, the only difference between the Proto 1000 & Proto 2000 is the shell. The shell is less detailed, as Rich mentioned, but the drive-trains are exactly the same.
I have several older Life-Like Proto 2000 locomotives and they are all very good and smooth runners. I did have the cracked gear issue on my GP7s and replaced them with the Walthers gear-wheel sets. A set of 2 is $10 and you don’t have to press fit the new gear onto the old wheelset. It’s a very easy swap out.
If you are interested in F-units, Stewart (Pre-Bowser) are older but excellent runners and offer nice detailing. You can spruce them up with Cal Scale superdetail kits that include all the metal grabirons, I-hooks, hoses, and windshield wipers.
Here are the part numbers for the Cal Scale F & FT kits…
A-unit - PN: 190-519
B-unit - PN: 190-520
HTH,
Tom
1 Like
Thanks, Tom. I wasn’t sure if there was a difference in the drivetrain.
Rich
Greenlantern, regardless of brand, if you buy some NOS (new old stock) locomotives be sure you make the effort to inspect the gear lube in the trucks. It can become quite hard over time from just sitting. It’s not hard to replace but is a bit time consuming. If you buy Porto’s you would have to open the trucks to look at the axle gears to see if they are cracked anyway. Nothing you can’t handle, probably plenty if YouTube vids available.
Regards, Chris
1 Like
And that’s a whole different story on the DCC layout. I’m in the process of doing track layout testing for a large layout I’m planning over 300 feet of track. I know running just a simple DC system sounds simple but consistent power and running at least 2 locos almost seems unreasonable. Please feel free to correct me on that ! So (I think) I should go DCC. Hmm. ? I’m interested in the wireless pack you spoke of. Going to look that up. Consistent and simple plows the field but the mule has to do the work . G.
1 Like
Makes since. I’m an auto tech. Get trailers in all the time with bearing grease that acts more like putty than grease. And the customer wonders why they spun a bearing. Yup yup yup
1 Like
Let me make this observation. If you are going to lay 300 feet of track and run at least two locomotives, DCC becomes a lot simpler than DC because you can eliminate block control, add sound, and simplify the wiring. In fact, consider a double mainline to really increase the possibilities as well as the fun.
A 5 amp wireless DCC system is all that you will ever need to power and run your contemplated layout. One important consideration is your budget. Comparatively, DCC is more expensive than DC because of the added expense of decoders, particularly sound decoders. But, otherwise, the cost is the same for rolling stock, track, scenery, etc.
Rich
1 Like
Yessir!
It will be the best gift that you have ever bought yourself.
Rich
1 Like
That’s what I like about this forum. I’ve stayed away for so many years on others because of haters and trollers. But here I get respectable clear polite informed answers. Sharoot. !!
2 Likes
Proper wiring of a DC layout will provide trouble free operation with no power distribution issues.
Wiring a DC layout is different from a DCC layout.
I will be happy to provide details based on more info about your plan. 300 feet of track is not a problem.
The layout I am current building, DC powered, with a 420’ double track mainline, yards, sidings, totaling about 1000’ of track total.
DC control of a larger layout generally requires separating trackage into blocks, each block has a separate power feeder, blocks are typically between 10 and 30 feet long. With soldered rail joints within each block voltage drop or other power loss is not an issue.
My layout currently under construction - overall long room dimensions roughly 42’ x 38’
Sheldon
1 Like