I have some locos and diesels that need some work done on them(perhpas new motors, loose shafts, wheels, cleaning, lubing). Can anyone recommend a local shop that performs good repair work? Rivarossi, Athearn, Mantua/Tyco, it’s all old stuff, 30-40 years old.
TIA
The days of hobby shops such as the long gone Casanovas and Russ’s advertising that they do repairs are gone. Dreamers is also gone alas.
But Jerry’s Bay View, Greenfield, Summerfield’s, Jetco Hiawatha – any shop with real hobbyists in charge might do repairs or know who does. My advise is to call rather than lug the trains around. I doubt if Walthers accepts repair work
Another idea is to go to the next NMRA WISE Division meet in January and ask around. There might be someone who would be willing to look at what you have. New motors for older models – that can run into real dollars even at a well stocked shop.
Dave Nelson
To bad you don’t live close, I would be willing to do the work for you. Are most of them just motor issues or just need good cleanings. You could do the work yourself if you feel up to it, I have allot of 3d parts list for Rivarossi, Athearn, Bachmann, and Atlas I keep on file, that should be all you need and some patience. What kind of repairs are we looking at here you need? Let us know.
ICRR1964
235301,
Contact Big_BOY_4005 via email he has my email address I may be able to help you out some with the drawings and parts list.
I have a bunch of golden-oldies locos from the 60’s. I was sentimental about them, and I cleaned them up and lubricated them. I realized that it was only a first step in their complete rehabilitation, and it was a failure. They just didn’t run very well, and probably wouldn’t without replacing the motor. Then, the old brass wheels would have to go, and probably the trucks too, because the original axle bearings were different from what is made today. That means the gear boxes on the trucks wouldn’t fit any more, and of course those rubber-band drive things had to go. The horn-hooks begged for Kadee replacements, and the incandescent bulbs were dead anyway so LEDs were the logical next step. Old engine shells didn’t have much detail, and Athearn GP-9’s in particular were un-prototypically wide.
Get the picture? All that’s left is the metal frame, and I’d have to machine the heck out of the thing to get the new parts in, and then I’d still have to isolate the motor for DCC. Even doing the work myself, I’d be looking at close to a hundred bucks to get a $5 yard-sale engine up to current standards. I bought a brand-new P2K from M.B. Klein for $40. A couple of the old engines now run as dummies, and the rest stand by for the day when I fasten down a section of track and need a weight to hold it down until the glue sets.
You owe it to yourself to buy one good new engine, just to see what it’s like.
If you had old Lionel O gage, I would say go ahead and fix it. Old 30-40 year old Lionel ran real well back then and can be fixed up to run just as well today rather easily. In other words, the foundation is pretty good. Now that old Tyco/rubber band Athearn / Rivarossi never really ran that well when new. If it was just a clean and lube you might get them running but if they are as worn as you say it is not worth it. NWSL and PPW replacement motors are $25-35 each. Then, as has been explained above, you will still need new trucks, drive shafts etc. Add in labor. It’s hard to get anyone skilled to work for MacDonald’s money nowadays. If you want to fix some of the diesels up for sentimental reasons, I would suggest going to a train show and buying a used Athearn blue box engine and mounting your shell to it. At least it will now run well and parts can be found. As for the steamers, maybe the Mantua, depending on the model, might be fixable. Another issue is that a store is not going to want to be bothered with this stuff because some of the parts are non-existent.
Not too long ago I re-powered a Mantua 2-8-2 steam engine. It is the latest Power Drive model, which is considered the most desirable one to start with. Keep in mind this was done to one in excellent condition. If it had worn bearings / drivers / rods the cost would be much more. Here is my cost.
Sagami motor $33.50
Timewell flywheels $5.50
NWSL wheel sets for lead and trailing trucks $9.95
NWSL driveshaft kit $3.95
You got some great advice from Mister Beasley regarding buying something new, then as your skills improve you may want to play around with some of this old stuff.
Jim
send me an email, and I can get you a list of contacts in that area…all good people from my experiences…I trust them, anyway