1. mtaylor

    mtaylor Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I wonder if the loco needs oiling? Mabe it is binding. When my oldie arrived off of Ebay, I ran it a little and then lightly applied oil via the oil ports on the bottom of the trucks and ran it for awhile. I have been using Labelle 107 medium oil for all of my locos for ever :)
     
  2. JNXT 7707

    JNXT 7707 TrainBoard Member

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    Hmmmmm.....well I am far from an expert on loco maintenance/trouble-shooting, but I think it is well oiled. I did remove the truck sideframes to inspect the gears and remove the wheelsets for a good cleaning. The gears looked like they had a little too much oil if anything.
    I'm wondering if not putting the wheelsets back in exactly as they were before would have any ill effect? I did bend the wipers back to where they should be. Too much tension? Just stabbing in the dark here.
    I found replacement brushes on the Atlas site for a little over $2....however they havea minimum order of $10. Really don't think I need 5 brush sets:tb-err:
    On the other hand an entire new motor is $25:tb-ooh:
     
  3. mtaylor

    mtaylor Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    If it was me, I would be tempted to spring for the new motor as opposed to buying new brushes. Not saying this will fix your loco's performance woes as like you, I am stabbing into the dark on this one.
     
  4. mtaylor

    mtaylor Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Again you did an amazing job, it looks simply awesome. Whenver I get around to detailing mine, I hope to achieve a third of your success (I will not attempt the body shell surgery on this one maybe a cheap Bachmann loco first :) )

    Another question: Are the numberboards microscale? If not, what is a good method to creating numberboards for the Atlas FP7?
     
  5. Flash Blackman

    Flash Blackman TrainBoard Member

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    Number boards are home made. Black/white is easiest with a laser printer; I have used an inkjet for black/white but it is not as good. Just search TB for threads on this. John Sing (atsf_arizona) comes to mind but there are others with good ideas, too.
     
  6. mtaylor

    mtaylor Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thank you kind sir
     
  7. JNXT 7707

    JNXT 7707 TrainBoard Member

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    Yes I do see the logic. Unfortunately my railroad is under the ever-watchful eyes of the CFO bigwig (my wife) who doesn't quite see the need for a new motor while stabbing in the dark. Strange but true.
    At least I have the assurance that Atlas has those motors available if my exploratory surgery goes haywire (usual procedure here).
    I'm going to go back, disassemble the trucks, clean all the old oil out, relube with proper Labelle lubricant and see how that goes (meaning make sure that everything is still operational). Then, I will see attempt to remove the brushes and inspect the commutator. Hopefully, the problem will be dirt/corrosion there.
    Not giving up on this one. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the support!
     
  8. mtaylor

    mtaylor Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I will stay tuned :)
     
  9. JNXT 7707

    JNXT 7707 TrainBoard Member

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    Days of Our FP7

    In our next episode...

    Interesting development. I noticed it was slowing down, almost stopping on a section of track, so I tried other locos on that section. No effect (or very little). Soo...I figure at the very least, part of the problem is dirty track (yes I am a genius).
    True enough, I applied rail cleaner to the whole track - everything - and heck yeah it was filthy. BTW, track cleaning is probably my least favorite part of model railroading. Anyway, back to the FP7. Running a little better...but still slow. And...beginning to run better the longer I let it run. Hoorah! That thing is so pretty with a string of L&N heavyweights behind it. But...I still wonder what was up before, and now my resolve to perform surgery on it has waned. Never met a loco I couldn't degrade by "fixing it" and all that. So...for the time being I'm going to leave it alone and see what happens. Maybe it's just super finicky about clean track?

    Going to a railroad show this Saturday and look for a F7B to paint to match it.
     
  10. mtaylor

    mtaylor Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Try to give the wheels a good cleaining. Being that you got this on Ebay and this a vintage loco after all, it probably has been some time that it has had a good bath.

    I installed Kadee #5 whisker type couplers (I know they are not #5 but the actual number escapes me) on my Burlington Northern FP7 last night. They work but the shanks are waaaaaaay too long for this loco. So I will replace them soon with a shorter shank.
     
  11. Flash Blackman

    Flash Blackman TrainBoard Member

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    Here are the recommended rear couplers. I don't remember the front couplers, but I added a plow which used the regular no. 5.
     
  12. mtaylor

    mtaylor Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thank you for reminding me of that post....I knew I read it around here somewhere :)
     
  13. JNXT 7707

    JNXT 7707 TrainBoard Member

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    I will take your whell cleaning advice. I ran her some more tonight, still improving.

    I highly recommend the Kadee #7 for this loco. It has the shortest shank you'll see and the coupler box fits like it was made for it with minimal filing required. No shimming necessary and you can even use the original Atlas pins that held in the original coupler boxes.
     
  14. Flash Blackman

    Flash Blackman TrainBoard Member

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    I have to agree with this, too. I think I use a Kadee #37 for the rear coupler. It has the "under-set" shank. Here is a picture from earlier in this thread.
    [​IMG]

    FP7 on the right showing coupler difference with diaphragms.
    [​IMG]

    Also, I used a Kadee #450 on the front (in the plow). These are special Kadee couplers for Stewart F units that give the correct close coupling spacing between units. It has a very short shank.
     
  15. JNXT 7707

    JNXT 7707 TrainBoard Member

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    Strangely enough, Kadee recommends the #37 (medium underset) for the Atlas Austria FP7 in their conversion chart. I don't quite understand why, becuse the #34 (short underset) would be a better choice in the 30-series with the shorter shank.
    Anyway, I had read somewhere before while Googling "Atlas FP7" that the preferred coupler for this model was the Kadee #7. For some reason that had stuck with me. So while at the LHS after the precious FP7 was delivered, I picked up both the #34 and #7, just so I would be covered. Comparing the two, they are both underset/short shanks, but the #7 once assembled is nearly a dead ringer for the original Atlas coupler box...and, is maybe a micro fraction shorter than the #34 (this loco needs the shortest shank possible due to the location of the coupler).
    mtaylor - if you get the #7, be on notice that its action is due to a single tiny spring that you position inside the box before closing it up with the lid. (visions of springs jumping off to other dimensions here!). In fact, I did lose one of them and was lucky enough to have a spare one. The best method is to assemble the coupler assembly and keep it together with a 2-56 screw and nut. Put a dab of glue at the 2 corners and let it all dry for a few hours, then remove the screw/nut and install on the loco (all this is in the Kadee instructions). There is some filing to do on the Atlas shell, but it is very minimal compared to some other Kadee loco conversions I've done. A small square file should be all you need.
    Flash - I'd like to say again what a nice job you did on your FP7. Beautiful and an inspiration. I love the extension you did on the rear with the styrene strips. That's on my to-do list now.
     
  16. Flash Blackman

    Flash Blackman TrainBoard Member

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    I'm sure I did not try a no. 7 coupler. That probably would have been better.
     
  17. mtaylor

    mtaylor Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thanks for the spring warning it is needed :) I picked up the #7 today and may have a chance to work on the conversion this week or upcoming weekend.
     
  18. DragonFyreGT

    DragonFyreGT TrainBoard Member

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    Since I'm custom mounting my athearn shell on an Atlas underframe, I assume I should switch my Kadee #5 out for a #7 then. MTaylor, lemme know how it turns out when you do the mounting. I didn't realize when I started a rebuild/detail project in HO, how much I was biting off heh.
     
  19. JNXT 7707

    JNXT 7707 TrainBoard Member

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    The #7 is the best choice on the Atlas, the couplers are mounted on the shell. I've no idea how they match up with an Athearn shell.
    I've used the #34 on my Athearn F7 (older blue box), mounted on the Athearn frame.
    Even with the short shank, it still leaves too much space between the A & B units.
    I'm going to try those styrene diaphragm extensions and see if it helps.
     
  20. DragonFyreGT

    DragonFyreGT TrainBoard Member

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    I'm mounting my coupler into the snow plow pilot actually. As for the shell, I can match it up to the underframe since I'm going to cut the sides off, and use a fuel tank extension and do some extensive modifications to the underframe itself.
     

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