Can anyone tell me about Trix U30 CG's? I like the looks of them but wonder how well they operate and if they can be easily converted to MT couplers. Also wonder what I should expect to pay for mint or like new.
Spookshow is the standard place to find information about the original model. I don't know about current values. If possible, I would go with Atlas, Kato, LL, etc. The newer mechanisms are probably better.
Agreed, but Atlas, Kato, LL, etc. don't make a U30CG. One of these days I'll have to look at repowering my five with modern mechanisms.
You should be able to find one on ebay for around $20. There were actually a few new ones being sold here and there. The mechanism is the same one used over thirty years ago. And with a three pole motor. But they were actually one of the first decent diesels made. Manufactureed by Minitrx. I think the newer ones have traction tires. http://cgi.ebay.com/SALE-NICE-Burli...ryZ38269QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I'm doing a repower right now with putting a Trix U30CG shell on a Kato C30-7 mechanism. This certainly works and fits. I got both used off of Ebay. There's so much room in that shell that with a first-class mechanism on top of standard frame that's already an A+ performer, it may be the best-running, best-pulling diesel I own.
I have one of the older ones and they did run fairly well. Need to make sure the little brass contacts from the trucks to the frame stay clean. Same mechanism as the U28. MT had (may still have) a conversion kit for them, fairly easy to install.
Thanks for the replies. There is mention on the spookshow site about poorly designed electrical pick-up. Sounds to be a $20 engine.
Electrical Pick Up I have several Minitrix U-28-Cs(exact same mechanism). I really like them. They were one of the reasons I stayed in N scale so many years ago. I replaced the axle with the traction tired wheels with an axle that has regular metal wheels. It improved the electrical pick up substantially. It didn't adversely affect the tractive effort of the mechanism either. The handrails leave a bit to be desired, but you can easily use brass wire to make new handrails.
I have (somewhere, it doesn't fit current plans) a U28C, not real attractive, pulls pretty well. Low speed not great, but I didn't work a lot with it either. Kind of cool that you can wedge a decoder into the hollow fuel tank. Makes it an easy first install. Jeff
Randgust, pls post photos of your U30CG project as you have time! Did the prototype U30CGs and the C30-7/U30C have the same truck centers?
I look forward to randgust's help also. I began the same remotoring project some months ago, and while the shell is ready for painting, that will only mean I'm halfway done! (Given my lack of time and living away from home for a few months.) Meanwhile, here are a few photos of my earliest efforts. First, I filed and cut away at the corners of both the mechanism and the shell. After getting a good fit, I began working on detailed alterations. I had a spare B23 shell from Atlas (the SF Kodachrome mispainted shell) and it looked to me as though the endrails would work for the U30CG. I put a piece of masking tape on the end platform of the B23 and using a pin, marked the placement of the endrail holes. Using the masking tape as a template I positioned and stuck it on the U30CG ends and drilled holes. The holes in the pilot are too big, but some adhesive will take care of that once the shell is ready for the endrails to be installed. The major issue I had to deal with was the cab/carbody ladders. If I was going to be strictly proto, the ladders would interfere with the trucks, so I compromised and put them a little further toward the outside, which at least allows a 15" minimum operating radius. That's all I'll need. I added other details, using photos as a guide.
Got a pair from Internet Trains a few years ago. They got the closeout sale on old Model Power stock items. They only had BN ones left. IT also had some Conrail F's left. Conversion of the Crapidos to MTL's is very easy. Since the couplers are truck mounted, all you have to do is unscrew the bottom plate. I've heard of some guys marking the axles so you get them back the same way they came out. You have to be careful not to cause a short in DC. The U30CG's are good for DC operation. The frame gives plenty of heft for pulling power. I agree that the fatal flaw is the brass contacts between the trucks. The F's share the same contacts. Some guys may replace the contacts with wire if they get broken.
Wow! thanks for the well detailed advice here. Your pics are inspiring, Dave. My sights are on ebay. I got the fever for one watching a Santa-Fe video. The CG is a unique classic I gotta have. Even if I can't get it running right, right away, it'll be a great shelf queen until I finally do. One of those 70's things.
I'm probably dissapointing a few, but my U30CG is 1) rather minimalist in concept and 2) even less at this point in execution. I'm planning on really working on the shell, including body-mount couplers, wire handrails, full detail, and full repaint with Micro-Scale decals. Pretty much the same treatment as my FP45. The 'vintage' Kato C30-7 mechanism has needed no changes except removal of the corners to fit the Trix steps. The Trix shell has had the inside center clips removed. I also have started to laminate up styrene to make the full-length fuel and water tanks instead of the stock Kato one. I'm leaving the trucks unchanged. The stock paint and lettering really isn't close. I'm doing 1972, so they are in the 8000 series that year, and in three different paint schemes. I'm probably sticking with the red and silver, which at that point was aged out on the orange side. This is still a pretty low-priority project, as I don't really need it for operations. Here's a good shot of the goal: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=192023&nseq=219 Yup, they were filthy in freight, that's Nov. '71.
I had to find this thread through Google - the forum search didn't work. Man, did I really start this project THAT LONG ago? If this shows up I'll add the new photos... Amazing. Restarted a zombie thread! OK, well, FOUR YEARS later, I finished it through painting.. So, beyond the previous shots, here's what I did... - repainted the shell to Testors stainless steel and Testors Chevy Engine Red, which runs on the 'orange' side - after weathering, more like the faded ATSF reddish-orange. - filled in pilots and finished filling in the fuel tank ends - removed and replace all grabs with .010 wire - removed handrails and replaced with .015 stanchions and .010 rails - added GMM steps where they clear (front) - Micro-Scale decals - overspray of Dullcote
Wow! Heck of a job! :thumbs_up: Excellent paint. I just saw an ATSF U33C(G?) this weekend in H0 scale. It was in the blue colors. I didn't know ATSF had these types.
U30CG's are one of the great oddities in N scale. There were only six prototypes ever built, and Trix picked it, for some inexplicable reason, because the U28CG mechanism (with the wrong truck sideframes) already existed. And it's not a bad shell at all. Thousands of Trix, Model Power and Con-Cor models later, and about 35 years, we have lots and lots of U30CG's and still lack lots of far more common models. And one model in N that has never been made in plastic in HO or any other scale...