I have a MTH 30-2174, made 1998, T&P GP7 Proto 1, bought new 10 or so years ago. I installed a BCR in it years back. To this day it still operates flawlessly. It does not bounce or hang up on the uncoupler sections. (It has single rollers under each truck)It see regular service switching industries on the layout. Sound is not that bad. One of these days I will paint/replace those chromed horns.
I use the MTH DCS system, so I can't open the knuckles remotely on the locomotive to uncouple but it still runs great.
(Anyone ever figured how to operate the couplers remotely on a Poto 1 unit operating in DCS?)
I have newer MTH geeps, a 30-2893, made 2009, B&P GP9, Proto 2, is really a good switcher (it has double rollers under each truck) and a repainted MTH 30-2686 made 2006,GP20 in (modified to a GP18) in T&P scheme that hangs up terribly on most of the uncoupler sections. (It has double rollers under each truck) I can't use it at all to spot industries.
I have had on order another MTH GP9,30-20060 Texas & Pacific that has yet to be shipped, looking forward to see how well it does on the uncoupler sections.
Question, was there a change in the trucks and rollers on the MTH geeps between 2006 and 2009? are the trucks interchangeable? I did swap out the rollers, but that did not help the bouncing over the uncoupler sections.
Dan
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