Hello All, I'd like to check and see if anyone has had any experience with repowering an Atlas/Kato RS3 (circa 1983) with a Kato RS2 chassis (circa 2000)? On various threads on several sites, I've read that some have fiddled with this and it appears fairly straightforward, but it would be nice to hear from someone who has completed such a repowering to see how it went for them firsthand. How is the fit? Any special considerations involved? My plan is to use the original sill/railings with the MTL 1152 conversion. The reason behind this project is that Atlas/Kato made the roads I like for the RS3 (1970s era schemes), while the Kato RS2, with its much improved mech, came mostly in 1950s era schemes. Thanks a bunch!
It will work, but you will have to put styrene blocks in the end of the shell to position the mechanism and keep the light from filtering down. A better choice is the Life Like RS2. The mechanism is a little longer, performs well and is DCC ready like the Kato, and I have found them to typically be less expensive to pick up on Ebay or other sites.
Thanks, John! I hadn't thought of the Life Like chassis, which I have two of, but I have four Kato RS2 chassis - so I'll try one of each and see what happens. Your hint about the styrene shims/blocks is exactly the firsthand info I was hoping to find.
I have several older custom painted Atlas/Kato RS3/RS11 locos and I decided to keep the heavier frame and change the truck gearing to the old Atlas/Kato U25B and install a new Atlas Scale Speed motor. These locos now run really great and pull more than the a new DCC ready loco.
rrjim1, did you keep the flywheels on the motor? Sound like a lot of grinding to the frame. I re-powered some of my older RS3s and RS11s with the Atlas Classic RS3 chassis. It is pretty simple. I have found that it really isn't necessary to re-power them at all. After a lot of tinkering, I figured out how to get the most out of these old faithfuls and they run damn near as good as the newer versions. Smooth and quiet. The trick is electrical conductivity which, if you think about it, is the reason fly wheels came about in the first place; to cover up the intermittent loss of conductivity. I have attached a breakdown on how I have done it. I have been amazed with the performance I can get out of them. CG
I didn't use the flywheels, all I did was change the gears and the traction tire wheel sets, and install the new Scale Speed motor. I own a Sherline Lathe with the milling machine column, so I can do most anything to the frames that I want. I just didn't feel the flywheels were worth it. I use two RS3s for major switching duties at my East yard, and they run perfect pushing and pulling 30+ car trains threw several medium turnouts without stalling, at very slow speeds. I did a lot of experimenting with early Atlas/Kato locos and changing from the High speed motor to the Slow speed motor was not worth the effort. After receiving my first pair of Atlas locos with the new Scale speed motor, and seeing how better these loco ran. I ordered a couple motors and installed them in the RS3s, I like the results so well that I am now up to around 30+ motor jobs. My old Atlas/Kato locos now run what I consider great, and can now run together, without any DCC help, with my new Atlas locos. I also changed the gears and motors in my 4 original run Kato GP38s that stayed in there boxes for years, now I find them a pleasure to run.
It would be interesting to take the newer mechanism and machine some flywheels out of a tungsten compound. Use the nylon inserts from the older RS-1 flywheels and the mating pieces for the worm and see what happens. It could give a whole new meaning to momentum....LOL!
