1.Dose anyone know where I can find buy a Athearn Ho SD45 Blue Yellow Shell? I have the powered fram jus need the shell only.
2.Also I have a Athearn Genesis ATSF SD75M.I noticed the motor gets warm after I run it for 10 15 minutes. What will cause this too happen I have 5 Athearn 5 Bachmann.Coal cars I have one ATSF Bachmann AC4400CW,ATSF Athearn SD75M.That are pulling the 10 coal cars and the 2nd ATSF AThearn SD75M motor gets warm.
Finding a shell colored in blue and yellow will be very difficult. There are 2 undecorated Athearn SD45 shells on ebay right now for about $10.00, but they do not have glass or handrails.
The Athearn SD45 shell is too wide anyway.
I would look for the Rail Power Products SD45 shell with handrail kit that fits the Athearn frame.
No idea on your second question.
-Kevin
Why would the Athean SD45 Shell be to wide its a Athearn SD45 powered frame?,An thank you for your reply.
No ideas.
Have you serviced the locomotive (Oiled or lubed the motor)? Are you double/triple headding these locos? If so, is this one fighting the others because it is not speed matched with them?
Good luck,
Richard
He may mean that the BB SD45 shell is to wide in scale, (.965’’ OAW at the smallest point across the long hood= appox. 8’ HO), like the BB GP7/9 is to wide in scale OAW across the long hood. LLP2K SD45 is .836’’ = appox. 7’ HO. Because the motor used in BB’s then was to wide to fit inside of a scale width shell. So thats why the wider shell.
My sorce shows the SD45’s engine hood width is 7’-0’'.
The Athearn SD45 shell dates to a time when Athearn used a wider motor than they did in the later Blue Box era. The hoods on the shell were made too wide to clear the bigger motor under the hood.
Wide Athearn:
GP7 & GP9
SD9
SD45
Corrrect width hoods:
GP35
GP40
SD40
I am sure there are many more examples that people can provide. Front Range and Rail Power Products made replacement shells for Athearn wide hood models.
-Kevin
MetroLinkFan, Just in case you could use the numbers to track down Athearn SD45 BB parts. Also the trim parts listed below go with the Athearn BB SDP40.
UNDECORATED SD45 body shell #41800
ATSF SD45 body shell #41850. I guess it would be Blue and Yellow.
Cab windows #40003
Number board lens #40002
Head light lens #40004
Rear light lens #40005
Hand rail stanchions, short #10424, long #10425
Hand rail set (Wires) #40035
Thanks for the replies,Also do you know hwere IU cand find online Atheran.Diesel Locomotive diagrams? An how do I oil the SD75M I need a diagram for it?
For your diesel diagrams, there is no better place that I know of than hoseeker.net. It has Athearn diagrams for almost any diesel Athearn made. I use that one myself frequently.
Thanks I sse that have upgrade some diesels to the DCC Board in,Not teh old BB diangrams.Like the SD40T-2
Do not “oil” that engine. Unless it is literally squealing at you, it doesn’t require oiling. Putting oil anywhere near the trucks will ultimately cause more problems than you think you have now.
Mark.
Are the Genesis 75M’s programed to the same number? If so then make sure the bachmann loco is also correctly speed matched to run with the Genesis units.
Do your locomotives run on DC or DCC?
I do not have DCC just DC I found a ATSF SD45 Ho Athearn,Will post some photos when I get it.Found it on Ebay it is blue box brand new in the original box.
Hello all I have 10 of the ho Athearn husky double stack cars.They use the plastic wheels,What wheel size do I need for metal wheels not plastic?
It’s a trick question – those cars use two different wheel sizes. The ‘inside’ trucks carry more weight and therefore use larger wheels.
Now the wheel size on nonarticulated cars and end units is ‘as low as possible’ for clearance at 33" nominal, but the inside size is 38" (not 36" as sometimes found in models). The problem with wheel exchange then becomes twofold: (1) you have to shim or file at the ends to get the coupler height right on NMRA spec; and (2) you have to get all the units properly parallel longitudinally if required probably by adjusting the truck bolsters.
Very ancient post asking precisely this question:
Maybe the prototype does. However probably best to replace with whatever diameter the model has. Otherwise there could be a risk of something rubbing because the model was not designed to use a different (larger) diameter wheel.
I don’t think the tiny difference in radius would cause binding if the ‘rest’ of the design is prototypically dimensioned – my impression was always that they were cutting cost by using stock instead of custom wheels, and getting ride height with slightly thicker collars on the truck bolsters or whatever.
Note the reported issue that when the model sets were introduced at least some of them suffered from chronic low coupler height. I would presume this was corrected over the years… but I would ASSume nothing, and gauge it (and correct any little ‘disparity’) as part of the wheel-change work.
Wasn’t the radius. Set of cars I have (don’t remember manufacturer right now) wheels rubbed on bottom of body when I tried to do the same change out.
That basically sucks. So much for ‘prototypically dimensioned’!
Did you check whether all the units were level and a little shimming at the center bolsters would solve the ‘rub’? Or if the set was chronically low at the couplers (as the TrainOrders thread said some were)?
On the other hand. 36" would be almost visually indistinguishable up under the joint … and the likelihood of them finding 36" wheelsets, or buying them in bulk, is likely greater than 38". So I think you’re right.unless you have a rivet-counter, having them switch ‘like for like’ in that situation.
No, didn’t do any checking, shimming, or whatever. I do tend toward the rivet counter side sometimes, which is why I wanted to use the proper diameter wheels. Then I decided that if the cars sat level with the comes-with wheels, then all the larger diameter wheel sets would do would be to throw things out of level. And then that would lead to shimming and/or other mechanical modifications.
And that would require thinking, resulting in further deterioration of whatever brain cells I have left. And in the grand scheme of things, who was going to know?