I have a 1990 vintage HO MODEL POWER F-9A decorated for the Southern Railway that I would like to repower with a new chassis. I would like to know if the ATHEARN, INTERMOUNTAIN, OR STEWART HO chassis would fit onto this locomotive with little or no modifications to the chassis. I would also like to know what KADEE couplers would best fit the above chassis. David Briel A Southern Railway fan
David,
From what you’re saying, you wi***o place your F9’s body onto a powered chassis. Price wise your best bet would be Athearn, however for the money you’d spend for a new powered chassis, you might as well buy the whole unit. (I don’t know if anyone sells powered locomotives without bodies anymore)
You may be able to find a used Athearn F7 in decent condition at a swap meet or train show. If you go this route, make sure you get a gear driven F7 and not one of the vintage “rubber band drive” F7s from the 1960s. Your F9 body should fit the chassis with little or no modifying. Check the locomotive pilot area as the fit may be a tad snug.
Kadee #37 fits the Athearn F7.
Cheers, hope this helps!
A Model Power Proto 2000 chassis may fit this shell, but if I were you I’d try to find one to test fit before buying it.
Some Model Power shells mounted to thir chassis with screws, wheras Athearn, Intermountain and Stewart do not, and Proto Power West makes chasis for Athearn, Front Range, and Railpower products.
If you are going to invest $40 -$90 (or for that matter ANY money) in a better drive and it won’t fit - where are you?
Since you started with Model Power in the first place, I doubt you’ll want to spend anything more that what it cost you, to upgrade.
Cheapest out there are Athearn Blue Box
Upgrade would be L.L. Proto 1000 - an improved Athearn
I repowered my Model Power HO Southern F-9 with a Stewart-Kato HO F Unit Power Chassis. The Model Power shell fits the Stewart chassis with very little modification to the shell and no modification to the chassis. The Stewart-Kato chassis runs a lot better than the original Model Power chassis. It is also easier to convert to Kadee couplers with the Kadee #450 coupler converison kit, which is designed for the Stewart HO F-Units. Daid Briel A Southern Railway Modeler and fan
Only IM. STEWART & PPWEST offer separate chassis
BOTH Intermoutain and Stewart are excllent products and perhaps only superceeded
by the Ptoto Power West. all 3 are ‘Universal’ chassis’ and should slip into yours with little effort
Hey Don,
Do the LL Proto 1000 (could you call this a P1K?) diesel locomotives have better quality and do they (P1K) run better than the Athearns for what they cost?
I would like to jump in here being a P1K & P2K fan.
I don’t own athearn other than the Challenger but I do have four P1K, F3-A/B powered sets. Less detail obviously
but good drive and more bang for the buck with limited back up warranty .
Would I buy it again, Yes!