I just dunno - I used to respect Walther’s for having reasonable quality with their trainline products. I can’t afford the really good Tower 55 or Broadway motive power - so I was elated when I saw they had their UP Alco FA-1 and FB-1 powered units on sale for just under $30. Been looking for a couple of those units for a while.
Like most Walher’s items, the FA-1 is superby detailed and looks great on the layout right out of the box.
But that’s about the point the love affair ends.
Unfortunately, unlike most smooth running Walther’s economy Trainline locomotives I have on my roster, this FA-1 unit sounds like a can opener grinding on a metal cat food lid when operating. In contrast, the FB-1 cabless booster is quiet.
A little motor noise is fine. After all, this is a $28 (sale price) - $40 (regular price) DC locomotive. But when your locomotive’s motor whines like a high tension power line, Walther’s has something wrong with it’s design.
Several brand new chasis from Walther’s Customer Service did little to address the FA-1’s wicked motor vibration and motor noise. So it seems this problem is with their entire FA-1 Chasis production line. (Walther’s Customer Service was great though … those guys are an example of the way Customer Service departments should be).
They didn’t cost all that much, so I’ll try to tinker with the FA-1 unit to muffle the vibration. Returning them back through the dealer to Walther’s is a 20% restocking fee since the units “function” - regardless of how much sound they make. But I’ve been noticing over the last few years, Walther’s quality has definitely slipped in all of their product lines. I expect to get nothing but junk now from Bachmann, but really am annoyed to see this with Walther’s now too.
If anyone has worked on Walther’s Trainline Alco FA-1s … drop me a line here. Lubing the gears was the first thing I tried …
did you try running this loco with the body removed (just the chassis)?? If so, was the noise gone? If so, the motor may be vibrating against the body shell.
I just bought a pair of GP9M Trainline locomotives decorated for the U.S. Army that Walthers had on sale for $29.95 each with a matching caboose. Detail is very limited, but they run smoothly and are no noisier than any Athearn Blue Box locomotive.
I have a trainline GP9, and my brothers have a GP9 and FA. They all run great, but they are also all older ones. Both my GP9 and my brothers FA have brass wheals.
As for takeing them apart… they are no where as nice to work on as atherarn units. =( I rember getting the shell off the FA was trickier than i felt it should be. I havent done much else with the FA, but I have done a lotta work on my GP9 and have to say that while it runs great i hate the way it was built. Why cant everything be built like an athearn~!
~matt
Yes - the FA shell is easy to remove (just press in the portal windows on either side and off it comes). The motor is pretty noisy just by itself - but the real noise seems to be coming from where the shafts join up with the motor. Doesn’t appear they are vibrating up against the chasis though. The drive assembly is just pretty loud. Walthers let me keep the replacement chassis - they act all the same.
I have GP9 units as well and their chassis look to be similar to what was used in the booster. Of course those are quiet running.
Thought of making the A into an expensive dummy unit - the boosters seem to be more powerful motors than the A units to begin with. Of course - they are pushing up against the McHenry or Kadee couplers on the A unit and uncouple.
Yeah - that’s what threw me about these FA units being so noisy (with or without the shell). The GP9s I have are quiet. I would have thought that it was just a bad FA chassis - but after several chassis, they’re all the same. Loud motor, loud drive mechanism. My Athearn FA-1 (a blue box itself) is even quieter and I used to think it’s drive mechanism was loud. :^)
Actually - when I took off the shell of the Trainline FA - it was easier than the Athearn.
Now I realize why, at the last train show I was at, I saw quite a few used Trainline FAs (custom painted or roads I don’t run) in the used motive power bins.
Could it be a possibilty that there is somethign defective with the A unit? Seems to me that being a cheaper line, they would save money, parts and extra general pain-in-the-rear, by keeping the drive assembles and chassis the same. Just taken a wild shot at it.
I have 8 FA’s in ABBA sets-no problems at all.
I also have an SW1 again no problems.
This business about noisy moters…many years ago here in the UK they used to sound-proof the body with foam I think.
I don’t find the noise a problem my-self
Best wishes
Steve
How do i remove the tucks (compleatly) on the FA of GP9? Also can the motor be removed? i was looking at my GP9 chassie and can not figure out what they are useing to hold the motor to the chassie, unless its glued in. I for one love the way athearns are built… all built exactlay the same. once you’ve taken apart one you know exactaly how all the rest of them will come apart.
The walthers SW1 is supposed to be a very ince model. I want to get one cause SW1s are cool. And if it runs anything like their H10-44 it’ll be a great model. =)
I know the SW1 and the H10-44 were built by roco. And I heard that roco designed the chassies and drive trains for the trainline engines, and helped walthers set them up to be manufactured in china. Dose any one know if this is correct?
Thanks,
~matt
With the way Walther’s FA-1 chassis are - the motor drops right into a spot molded into the chassis. Tight fit doesn’t begin to describe it. :^) The chassis is a solid cast chunk .
Anyway - it’s the motor making the noise in there. If you run the unit slow - it hums like a hundred angry hornets. It’s the same on the other replacement chassis. Drive shafts have some noise, but it’s no different than from my Athearn drive mechanism.
I guess Walthers used a different supplier for the FA unit motors than they did for the GP9s. Looks like a more powerful motor (probably for the chassis which is heavier than my GP9). I guess working on a Walther’s FA-1 unit would be a good topic for MR’s Workshop section.