Newbie Question GP 35

Does Lionel even offer 2-rail engines?!?!?!

The only benefit to Lionel was sound, but since you're doing 2 rail + you don't care about sound - Atlas is better detail wise and their paint detail were more accurate as has been discussed here in the past.

https://ogrforum.com/t...ue#22547924392560615

Lionel does NOT offer ANY 2-Rail SCALE products in their current line of locomotives nor cars. Also, NONE of the Lionel products are "Kadee compatible" either. If you want any of the Lionel locomotive models converted to 2-Rail, you have to do it yourself, or send it off to those machine shops that perform that service.

That said, if you've found a Lionel GP35 that's set up for 2-rail operation, it's a conversion, and probably the only one in existence.

A few days ago, I got two new MTH scale wheels, w/fixed pilots 3.0 GP35's(Pittsburgh & West Virginia and Santa Fe).

They're decent models of EMD's GP35, and they appear to operate well.

So far, my only beef is the coupler installation; I often need to find a way - to secure the Kadee couplers, to the locomotives. The screws frequently don't snug up inside the pilots holes, so a spacer has to be used; or the pre-drilled  holes are so tight, it's difficult to tighten the screws snugly, without damaging the head of the screw(stripping the phillip's inset).

This time, one hole was so tight that one of the screw heads was damaged, trying to tighten it; and, on the other unit, both holes on the rear pilot were too small and the tap bit I was using, while trying to enlarge the hole, broke off inside the pilot hole.

I'm going to try to order a replacement pilot, that's pre-checked(tested to make sure the screws fit...), so I don't have to deal with this issue, again.

BTW, I'm curious if others here have had similar issues, re: coupler installation? Also, would you try to find a way to  fix/use the pilot with the tap stuck in it?

MTH should be doing a better job, making the holes properly fit the screws that are provided...

Rick

I've had issues with the screws MTH supplies. I bought some good 2mmx8mm screws from a local hardware store and they work much better than the MTH-supplied screws on the pilots. Another quirk of the GP35 is that you must use a short-box Kadee on the rear pilot as an insane amount of filing/grinding is required to get a standard box to clear the power truck hi-rail mounting tab.

I have a few of the GP35's and like them quite a bit. I've run them on my two-rail test track and on the club three-rail layout. They run well under both scenarios. Haven't run them under DCC yet, but they run nicely on DC or AC track power.

After stripping a couple screws myself and getting some replacements from Matt, I 1st run an extra screw through those holes to "clean" out the threads. Then I insert the Kadee coupler and install the screws.

If you have a tap, you can do the same thing with the tap instead of the extra screw, and worse case, you can tap it bigger and use a 2-56. My guess is the holes are drilled in the chassis before the paint is applied, therefore coating those threads making them too tight to thread the cheap screws in.

Matt, thanks for the screw information...

Laidoff, the last hole I tried, the screw barely went in more than a few threads... way too tight; so I tried a tap, and it broke off, inside the hole.

Rick

That makes a lot of sense as the problem I've had with them has been inconsistent. Paint build-up makes perfect sense. The MTH screws are 2mm but their length and head size are weird. That's compounded by the material (same problem with Atlas track screws, BTW). That paint could also foul up a tap pretty well.

Too late now, but a fine example to check the opening with the tap drill and use cutting oil/lube (if drilling in metal) before inserting the tap.

The Kadee Tap and Drill Instructions pdf has good info:

http://www.kadee.com/html/tap_drillins.pdf

From the section, Helpful Hints => Avoid forcing the tap.  If it won't turn, back it out and see why.

Make sure to put a drop of oil on your tap, but if it was that to break off, maybe the tap was too big.

Years ago, my dealer sent me the hand held tool, along with various bits; including, the tap, because of similar coupler installation problems.

The other day, was the first time I tried handheld drilling and tapping...

Too bad we don't get what we pay for and have to resort to our own means...

MTH manufactured the parts; I shouldn't have to make modifications, to their products, so they will function properly.

Rick