Found a nice hi nose Guilford Atlas GP35 i would like to buy but it is 3 rail TMCC. Are there 2 rail wheel sets available so i can run it on my 2 rail DCS layout?
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It might be doable, but you'll be ordering a lot of spare parts from Atlas, assuming they're all in stock. They should have the 2-rail truck blocks, screws, 2-rail pilots, pilot spacers, couplers and wipers necessary for the 2-rail conversion, but you'll have to paint the spacers, make new hand rails and correctly wire the 2-rail pickups into the TMCC system. It will probably be an expensive proposition. You'll also need the DCS-to-TMCC cable and a command base to operate it from the DCS handheld. In the alternative, you could rip out the guts and put a Proto-2 kit into it, but you'll need to also add a polarity switch. Hopefully the Proto-3 conversion kits will be out soon. 2-rail/3-rail capability isn't that difficult to wire if you want to go that route (see illustration below). A small company made a 2-rail/3-rail F3 back in the 1950's.
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Wheelsets and the electrical parts for 2-rail Atlas GP35s have been out of stock for years.
I have an Atlas dash8 40B unpowered 2 rail on my layout now. Would the wheels interchange with the 3 rail GP35?
I dont mind disabling the TMCC if this would work. This would be part of a MU so unpowered would be ok. Also i am assuming the 3 rail wheels are uninsulated in the GP35.
Originally Posted by Drew Madere:
No,This is Atlas O not MTH... Mike would sue others if they take his idea 
Not to get off topic, but if the other manufactures want to invest R&D money into allowing a user to change from 3R to 2R, let them have it. If MTH has taken the time and money to invest in technology to allow users such an option and has patented such technology, of course MTH has legal remedies if another company tries to "rip-off" such technology. I think the other makers of O-scale products have enough on their hands just trying to get product to market let alone innovating (the 990 comes to mind and Atlas's inability to deliver previously announced product). Companies that protect their intellectual property is nothing new and MTH has demonstrated in the past that they protect their IP's vigorously.
Originally Posted by willygee:
I have an Atlas dash8 40B unpowered 2 rail on my layout now. Would the wheels interchange with the 3 rail GP35?
Yes, certainly I think so, and it should be an easy swap. Turn the engines over and you will see beneath each wheel set a metal plate installed with four screws. Turn back the screws, remove the plates, and the wheel sets come right out. I've swapped between two- and three-rail unpowered Masterline engines this way.
As Richard notes above, the parts to fix the pilots and otherwise convert the GP35s have been out of stock at Atlas for years. I used pilot spacers for the SD35s (drilling my own holes) to fix the pilots on a GP35. The SD35 parts aren't a perfect fit, but they were close enough and saved me the trouble of fabricating my own.
RM
Thanks for the replies..i will post WTB 2 rail insulated wheel set to fit Atlas GP35 3 rail.and Matt thanks for the schematic.
Works for the wheels but you still do not have the electrical pickups, etal.
Buy a 2 rail version of another road, swap parts, paint, add electronics...
I have 2 pwrd Atlas GP35 high hoods and an unpwrd High-Hoof GP35 - Fact Painted for Wheeling Lake Erie RR in 2-rail for sale if interested. Contact me off-line at BWC67140@comcast,net
