I own an A-B set of Athearn F units which were custom painted and detailed in the old Canadian Pacific Railway scheme with script lettering. I would like to be able to run them on our club’s layout which is wired with a Digitrax system. The problem that I have encountered with these units is that just about anything else on the club’s layout will outrun them, especially anything manufactured by Kato or Proto 2000, for example.
Our club’s layout is located on our county fairgrounds and we have traditionally been part of the Sioux Empire Fair since 1965. Our layout is more or less divided into three continuous loops of track, and we try to keep a minimum of at least two or three trains running on each loop during our club’s open houses. I’ve had to sideline these engines in order to keep a safe amount of distance between other trains. Does anyone out there know of a solution? Is it possible to re-power or re-gear stuff like this old Athearn equipment?
Yes, it is possible to use a motor with a higher RPM than the original Athearn motor; several are available from NWSL (Northwest Short Line) and other upgrade suppliers. NWSL has online reference tools to help you find a high RPM motor with the proper physical dimensions. NOTE: most newer motors have shaft diameters of 2 mm. The Athearn motor has 2.4 mm shafts, so new flywheels and couplings are required if you do not find a suitable motor at 2.4 mm.
Question: how fast are the trains running? It is possible to lower the overall speed of the other trains as an alternative. Is each train running with its own address?
If remotoring is your best solution, try a motor with a RPM rating higher than 10,000 RPM at 12V. Check with Walthers or your LHS for assistance. One of us can also help you select a motor if you have no local help. You will usually find good assistance here in this venue. [:)]
Thanks for the information, Carl. I will try ordering a catalog from North West Short Line and see what I can come up with. A couple of our club members might know what to do with a situation like this. I might add that with our Digitrax system, each engine on the club’s layout runs on it’s own address.
Just as a FYI, Athearn just shipped Genesis power chassis to dealers. These may even be available with sound, I’m not sure. I believe these can be retrofitted to the BB shells. It’ll be more expensive than other options, but may simplify adding the latest electronic goodies to make up the difference in cost with convenience.
BTW, the LL P1K drives are excellent, so if that works for everything you want to accompish, they are most likely the lowest cost/highest quality pricepoint. I have heard of a number of people who’ve used them to repower BB and other F-units.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Sounds to me like a programing program with the decoder in these. Sounds like the CVs for voltage etc are not set correctly. You need to have someone good with the system go over and set your decoders
Old Athearn usits took 5-6 volts to start moving, but once moving were in ‘high gear’. Are you sure yours aren’t just ‘plain wore out’?
Repowering them with a ‘can’ motor will improve their low speed running, not high. Kato’s- and most all current products - start running @ 2-3 volts, however high speed running at clubs is considered amaturish. REAL freight trains run around 50 MPH - or less than 1 foot per second in HO.
A new athearn motor and lube job will probably restore them to their former ‘glory’, however some DCC modules will not like yesterdays higher amperage motors.
Athearn Genesis F-7 with sound are available, but the BEST motor replacements are Proto Power West, if you want to repower your painted CN shells.You may have to re-install the DCC modules.You DO have DCC modules, don’t you? If you are running analog engines on the clubs DCC equipment, that might explain tyour problem.
A DCC equipped PPW chasis, should solve ALL your shortcomings.
I don’t think the original question makes sense. I don’t understand how Athearn DC units can run on a Digitrax DCC layout… And even if they did, they should be faster not slower than Kato’s and Proto’s.
There are some basic questions we need to know before any answers are posssible…
Are these Athearn units the original “Blue Box” units?
Are these A & B units both powered?
Are they both running straight DC?
Are they both running at the same speeds on DC relative to each other?
Are they slower or faster than the Kato’s and Proto’s?
you don’t say if you have put decoders in your loco’s. i put in decoders in two athearn sw1500’s and they run fine. i also removed those sliding wipers and replaced the steel wheels with NWSL nickle silver wheels. they both run well singley or mu’ed and keep out of the way of following trains on my clubs layout. use dual mode decoders so they will be able to run on dcc or dc.
Pardon me there CANADIANPACIFIC2816, but I’m feeling just a little stupid here and my suggestion is probably also just a little stupid.
In your post you indicate that your club operates with a digitrax system …; doesn’t anyone know how to use the speed and brake function on these units? I always take my foot off of the accelerator to keep from climbing all over the rear end of the car in front of me; so why, pray tell, don’t the operators of those faster units - these Katos and Proto2000s - take their foot off their stupid “electronic” accelerator and slow-the-h down? Up until now I thought that the great selling power of DCC was its ability to speed match between units of different manufacturer.
Have I missed something???