Poor Dan. Someone gave him a gift they thought he’d enjoy and we trash’em.
Dan, Guys…
We’re supposed to be helping Dan ( and some of you are), not discouraging him!
Dan, since you do like the Harley Davidson schemes on the Tyco unit, there is another option, I don’t know if it’s been mentioned already. If one of those locomotives is a diesel, like an F7 you can simply buy an Athearn F7 and swap bodies. If you have a hood unit diesel, chances are you can swap it with a Proto 2000 hood unit. DCC conversion would be a much simpler matter. IMHO, it would definetly be worth it to save those special edition bodies.
As for steamers, I honestly don’t know if you can modify them to quality standards.
Athearn and Proto diesel units have been selling at pretty low prices from a number of dealers on the internet and even Ebay. Check them out if you like this option.
Guys, don’t forget though that years back Tyco received praise from modelers because they did a pretty good job on the GP20 body shell. Model Railroader even had an article on how to take one of these bodies and super detail it.
Let us know what you decide to do!
Peace and High Greens.[:D][8D]
Dan, if you are looking for a inexpensive DCCsystem, look for a older MRC command 2000 on eBay. I got one for a friend for less than $30. It is limited but you can upgrade when you hit the lottery. There is a walk-a-round throttle avalible too. You may be able to use the power pack you have if it puts out 14-18 volts AC or DC.
The operating manual is available on-line in .pdf format (Acrobat Reader), just click on the highlighted words. MRC COMMAND 2000 and find it on the list.
The trouble with todays Model railroders is the are from the “computer age” they don’t know how to look at a problem and be able to fix or repair it. They are used to pushing a button and it should work. If it dosn’t, they don’t know what to do, so they consider it junk.
This hobby is to have fun. If you can afford $400 engines, so be it. If you can’t don’t knock the person who can’t afford it, but enjoys working to make it better.
BOB
Sandy Southern Railway
I’m not suggesting that he throw these models in the trash–if a poorly-running model has sentimental value, then set it on a display shelf, rather than in the trash can, OR on the repair shelf!
Why?
Because if you keep the old Tyco stuff pristine, in its poorly-functional but original condition, someday it MIGHT be a valuable collector’s item!
As AntonioFP45 said above, when the Tyco GP20 first came out it was a well done model for it’s day. My first HO train was a Tyco set (in the early 60’s) the had a Burlington GP20 for the locomotive. It was well constructed, looked like a Burlington GP20 right down to the GP20 Model Plates that Burlington had on theirs. For their day even the paint and lettering was well done. And they did only accurate road names. (I am refering only to the GP20 here). AND, compared to Athearn at the time, Tyco had the only scale width hood. At the time the GP20 first came out, believe it or not, it was one of the better HO locomotives avaliable at the time! About the only thing against it was it had only 4 wheel drive. It was far better than the GP20’s of the 70’s. After the release of the C430, which was the last “Quality” diesel they made, Tyco went down hill in quality. The decline seems to have begun with the C630, then older products were also down graded with cheaper motors and drives. So, if you want to see Tyco at it’s best get a GP20 in the red box from the early to mid 60’s…you will not believe it is a Tyco.