I'm fishing for suggestions & ideas for HO modelers of the NYC and alco fans: I model the NYC/PC Elkhart-Chicago district in the mid-late 60s. One of my lastest projects was to strip, repaint & decal and then detail an old tyco C430 bicenntenial loco sitting in the junk drawer into a NYC C430 (#2053). My future plan is to gut the motors and make the unit strictly a sound-decoder equipped dummy. I want to use a better quality loco as the powered unit of a 2 unit C430 lash-up. I see that Atlas makes a C425. With proper detailing, can this unit stand in as my second C430 or should I persue another course of action?
A C425 certainly wouldn't fool me as a C430. The most important difference is the large intercooler box on the C430. Like on the C630, it gives a humpbacked look. Would it be feasible to swap the C430 body onto a C424/5 mechanism?
I tend to agree- you're better off redetailing the C430 shell and putting it on the C425 chassis. May take a little work, since Tyco=junk, but it can be done.
The "Toyco" Alco C-430 body on a better quality chassis would be my choice as well. The C-425 wouldn't get past me either. With some work an Atlas chassis will work. The ends of the C-430 body where the coupler swings will need the most attention. I've married a HO Lionel GP-30 shell to an Athearn GP-35 chassis and a Stewart U-25-B body to an Athearn B Boat chassis. The two body shells were purchaced in a swap meet for a dollar each so needed chasis to power them.
And there's still a problem with the sideframes. For some reason, Tyco's C430 came with AAR B trucks - typical of Alcos, but not of C430s. Only Reading C430s had AAR Bs.
Model Power, Pemco and Tyco marketed models of the C430. I believe the MP and Pemco were actually made by Mehano. I have a Pemco version that I'm trying to accurize. It will be mounted on an Athearn chassis or one made with Athearn parts. If I were starting now, I'd look at using the C630 Stewart/Bowser shell as a start or just go with the Tiger Valley Model cast metal kit for a C430.
