Just got 2 athern sw something switchers on ebay for a total of $15.00. They both run great but one is a little noisey and runs a little slower than the other. Regardless I would like to lift the shells off both of them for decoders and possible remotor. How do I go about doing this?
Also what is the difference between the sw series and the nw series engines. I think I have a sw-9 but am not sure because several models look the same.
Thirdly I would like to upgrade the wheels to nickle silver, what size wheels would they be?
OK I answered my own question about the shell removal. I did not realize hoseeker.net was back up and running. And unless he does not have all the switcher models up then I guess what I have is an sw 1500.
But the questions still remain about differences and the nickel silver wheels.
My personal opinion is that I would look into replacement wheels before I got something plated. I don’t know for sure, but I think plating would be the more expensive option.
That aside, it would probably be helpful if you gave a link to the HOSeeker site showing what you think you have. If they are from the earlier version SW1500, that is what it isn’t. Athearn labeled those incorrectly. I don’t remember for sure, but I think they were really SW1200 models. Anyone can correct me if I’m wrong. Then you need to see how the trucks are put together. The later models, including the correct SW1500, have a plastic sideframe that pops off. The wheelsets in these are really half-axles that insert into a gear. The older models have a metal side frame. I believe these have a full axle with the gear put on prior to installation of the wheels.
Depending upon what you have, you can probably get replacement half-axles or full axles from Northwest Shortline or JayBee.
Athearn makes both the SW7 and SW1500 EMD Switchers. The SW7 is an earlier locomotive built in the early 1950’s. The SW1500 was built in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The Athearn SW7 was originally refered to by Athearn as a SW1500 for some reason.
The two are visually different in every way. About the only common detail is the two exhaust stacks on the hood. There are many sites on the net with photos of both models.
The NW switchers are an older model which looks a lot like the SW’s but was built in the late 1940’s
Looking at the NWSL catalog, it appears that they are asking about $10 for a full set of half-axle wheelsets. What could be more important is that the NWSL axles appear to be solid nickle-silver, not plated brass, assuming that I’m interpreting the catalog sheets correctly.
Thanks for the info. I have one that has metal sideframes that I am having problems getting apart to paint and weather. The other is the plastic side frames. I looked on railpictures and sw7 sw9 sw1200 and sw1500 don’t look like what I have, which is only single headlights. Any who. I want to put a dynamic brake box on the top like the one posted a couple weeks ago on wpf. Does anyone know where to get one or am I going to be building a box and adding a fan to it.
Actually, the prototype SW7 had 40 inch diameter wheels. See http://www.thedieselshop.us/Data%20EMD%20SW7.HTML. When BOQB40 refers you to 42 inch diameter replacement wheel, what he is saying is that is the diameter needed to replace what Athearn supplied on the model. I think that Athearn’s wheels scaled out to 42 inch.
If you use just the first part of the link (www.thedieselshop.us), it takes you to the site home page. On the left side you’ll see “locomotives”. Click on this to drill yourself down to the different manufacturers and data pages for the various model locomotives.