Quote from: Irbricksceo on March 20, 2014, 12:49:56 AM
Is that so? I never owned a lot of older Athearn equipment however the RS-3 I had used this awful Rubber band drive that gave it two speeds, 0 or 300 mph. I am by no means calling you a liar as one example does not speak for a whole line, however I do think one should watch out for these, beyond just the speed issues, the bands would wear away and any you obtain could have bands that have disintegrated.

No, there was not an Athearn RS-3..... but regardless, I should have been more specific: I was not suggesting using the older "rubber band" drives, but the later Athearn "blue box" drives had flywheels and geared trucks that are identical to Athearn's current RTR. These are plentiful on the second-hand market.

Sebastien - a 70s themed layout with 70s era stuff sounds like a lot of fun. While you are contemplating how to proceed, consider that the focus in that era was action accessories/fun/colorful not necessarily prototypical railroading. You mentioned the couplers - yes I personally use 99% knuckle couplers - but horn hook/NMRA/X2F couplers were the coupler of the day then and believe it or not, they work quite well. I have a Tyco passenger consist that I retained the horn hooks on, simply because they will never run together with anything else. One car is a transition car - or to explain - it has a knuckle on one end and horn-hook on the other. That may be a good way for you to run older rolling stock together too without the trouble and expense of converting everything to knuckle couplers....and it would be authentic!
There is a TON of older 70s equipment at train shows, flea markets, ebay, yard sales, antique stores. Some in exccellent condition. The biggest obstacle to your plan as I see it is what was mentioned earlier - the older stuff, especially Tyco and Bachmann for example - had some horrendous pancake motors. So perhaps you could retain the old shells and upgrade the drivetrain with a more current Athearn Blue Box or Bachmann Plus/Spectrum? Just a thought.
Above all keep it fun, don't take it too seriously....and enjoy!

Sorry I'm a little late to the thread - yes the 'clacking like a picket fence' is usually a dead giveaway of cracked gears somewhere. Keep in mind one man's 'junk' is another mans jewels, and I have always taken great joy in coaxing these old warriors back to life. It does take some ingenuity, perseverance and patience. AND, in the last resort, these old Bachmanns with the pancake drive convert to GREAT dummy units - they roll better far better than any Athearn dummy unit I have ever had and respond well to additional details, and will accept current Bachmann sideframes.
So an excellent buy I think.

The phone number of Whistle Stop hobbies was supplied - here's an idea: Give them a call! Yeah it's old school but you might find what you are looking for.

Right? 

Don't feel bad - I did the same thing less then a year ago working on an Athearn FP45. As you now know, the metal used in these frames is not conducive to bending without breaking.
However I did perform a fix similar to what you described, using CA adhesive and some styrene reinforcement over the break. Other than looking a bit inelegant with the shell off, it is plenty strong enough to pull a passenger train with no more problems (I wouldn't doubt if it's probably stronger then it was originally).

There are many Tyco collectors that love those themed fantasy sets (Midnight Special, Chattanooga, Silver Streak, etc.) but I never get get into them. Especially horrendous (to me) are the newer themed sets I have seen out from various sources - M&Ms, NASCAR, sports teams.... I mean, I can't even make up a reason to see a F7 painted in a Elvis Presley scheme pulling full dome cars, each with his greatest hits...
If somebody reading this DOES collect these trains I have no objection, it's just a personal perspective for my own railroad.

Quote from: jbrock27 on September 30, 2013, 03:48:31 PM
.....Bachmann is very competitive for what you get and part of that is the result of Atlas and Athearn currently  pricing themselves much higher than they should be, IMHO.

How true! I love the Athearn and Atlas products but wow...out of my range. My newest "new" loco purchase was the Bachmann DD40. A lot of value there in my opinion for the money. Its Athearn counterpart is detailed and beautiful beyond my dreams, but honestly...at 3 feet away, while running a train, is it worth it? And requires what, a minimum 30" radius?
Not in my world....

Pat - wish I knew the answer to that but I don't, at least I don't know if it would be a simple replacement type fix. You would have to compare the dimensions and shafts of your old Bachmann motor to the Micro-Mark one and go from there.
That said, of course it IS possible, but the amount of 'modeling' and modifications needed may not be what you have in mind.

Understand completely jb. It's funny how I can balk at the prices charged for new rolling stock/locos but see total sense in throwing money at these old relics 
But I have fun doing it, so I guess that's the point.

Well, not knocking Bachmann...the EZMates are more on the "affordable" scale, so you get what you pay for. The CA tip is indeed a good one, but I have so many of these springs now I don't bother...plus I'm sure I would end up glommming up the entire coupler with CA 

Quote from: jbrock27 on September 28, 2013, 10:53:43 AM
I agree Catt, it makes for great improvement in wheel spin.  That said, I have to admit that the more time goes on, the more I see the value in the advice to shy away from rolling stock that needs a tremendous amount of investment to update (when you don't already have those parts on hand).  I am seeing that many times a car purchased for a less expensive price, turns out to cost the same or more than a more modern version with the modern conveniences.  Plus the new car usually has nicer detail.

jbrock: based on pure dollars and cents, I see your point - after adding Kadees, metal wheels, possible changing the trucks, adding some extra details, etc. you can easily equal or exceed the purchase price of a brand new car - but where's the fun in that?    There are those of us that really enjoy bringing these older cars back to life. Something special about running an old car that you could have seen running around the Christmas tree in 1970 (give or take a few years!) I think it's one aspect of the hobby I enjoy the most.

Yep...EZ Mates, Kadees, et al will turn up with a glitch as you have found. Usually one of the tiny "nubs" that hold the springs will be mal-formed or nonexistent. Kadee always puts extra springs in their coupler packages - I must have a million of them now.
To my experience all these different brand springs interchange.

Hey martha, how about another cup of coffee? 

Quote from: rogertra on September 07, 2013, 02:28:54 AM

Quote from: JNXT 7707 on September 06, 2013, 06:48:07 PM
I'm agreeing with your view on this dex. Personally I run straight DC/no sound - but if I HAD sound, you're dang right I'd want to hear it without leaning down with my ear X scale feet from the loco!
Club running is one thing but it's your RR, go for the volume! 

All well and good but I think you would change you mind about having the sound blasting, and possibly damaging the speakers, if you had a dozen or more sound equipped locomotives like I do.  As you say, you do not have sound equipped engines so you are not speaking from experience but are only speculating. 

If they all have their sound cranked, you can hardly hear yourself think and that's not fun.  I have a 10 x 32 foot model railroad room and even then this is why I set the volumes to be comfortable at around three to four feet, which is not "leaning down with my ear X scale feet from the loco" but standing comfortable near by.  When I have half a dozen steam and diesels idling around the turntable I can faintly hear them from 15 feet away.  Now that is, to me, a pleasant background sound while I'm working away at my workbench or elsewhere on the model railroad.

Point taken, roger - not criticizing your preferred sound volume from your locomotives, but I did get the impression from the OP that he was wanting to clearly hear his sound without actively 'listening' for it.  And while freely speculating, I do have plenty of experience running soundless (other than the usual Athearn gear noise) running. As such, I'll hold to my original opinion - I'd rather have the problem of turning it down rather than wondering why I can't hear it.

I'm agreeing with your view on this dex. Personally I run straight DC/no sound - but if I HAD sound, you're dang right I'd want to hear it without leaning down with my ear X scale feet from the loco!
Club running is one thing but it's your RR, go for the volume!