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Decided poke around a little bit today with my 3-rail Atlas O RS-1.  I think I bought it for 70 bucks with no box and both of the couplers were broken off and dangling from the wires.

I bought the parts directly from Atlas to fix the pilots sometime ago.  Well, let me tell you trying to take those shells off to see if I could remove the trucks.....Yikes!  What a pain.   I tried tracking the 3R coupler wires back to their source and finally gave up.  I just snipped and secured them.

So I settled for just adding the scale couplers.  Even that required some dremel work...

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Not only that the process of putting in the coupler box is not simple.  It was like building a ship in a bottle!

Got one done. The second will go easier now that I know.

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Naturally, I'll have some painting to do. Yet it has great detail for a cheapie locomotive.  It'll be a runner, I won't be entering any contests with it 😉.

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Last edited by WITZ 41
@AGHRMatt posted:

What kind of trucks are those under the Atlas stock cars?

Matt,

They are the same original plastic trucks with Intermountain IRC20050 insulated 33" 2R wheels put in. These are the older Atlas 6222 Austrian made cars.  I'd like to see anyone notice much difference while the train is moving.

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Super easy modification.  I can post a quick Vid tonight. Pop off the trucks, remove the plastic 3R coupler tongue, pop out the brake shoes pieces and wheels.  Add a drop of oil to each journal hole, then the pointed IRC wheels.  Using downward pressure and pinching in on the ends of each axle with both hands, work the truck back and forth on a piece of track untill the points work into the trucks enough to have them roll easy.  I have a system to make sure all wheels are installed with the insulated wheels on the same side of every car.  I put all the original parts in a baggie inside the car when I'm done installing the Kadees.

They then ride super smooth.  I don't mind the plastic trucks because they have nice detail, ride low and smooth.  I think they look great.

I've been picking up these old cars for peanuts whenever I seem the offered for next to nothing.   I add Kadee 805 couplers with shims, 2R wheels and have been re-numbering with Tichy Train Group decals.  I just think it's a fun and inexpensive way to get 2R/3RS CNW rolling stock. Trainman line now offers the same tooling cars for $79+ a piece but the new ones obviously have metal trucks.

Some other photos earlier in this thread.

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Last edited by WITZ 41
@WITZ 41 posted:

Matt,

They are the same original plastic trucks with Intermountain IRC20050 insulated 33" 2R wheels put in. These are the older Atlas 6222 Austrian made cars.  I'd like to see anyone notice much difference while the train is moving.

IMG_20201122_104356889~3

Super easy modification.  I can post a quick Vid tonight. Pop off the trucks, remove the plastic 3R coupler tongue, pop out the brake shoes pieces and wheels.  Add a drop of oil to each journal hole, then the pointed IRC wheels.  Using downward pressure and pinching in on the ends of each axle with both hands, work the truck back and forth on a piece of track untill the points work into the trucks enough to have them roll easy.  I have a system to make sure all wheels are installed with the insulated wheels on the same side of every car.  I put all the original parts in a baggie inside the car when I'm done installing the Kadees.

They then ride super smooth.  I don't mind the plastic trucks because they have nice detail, ride low and smooth.  I think they look great.

I've been picking up these old cars for peanuts whenever I seem the offered for next to nothing.   I add Kadee 805 couplers with shims, 2R wheels and have been re-numbering with Tichy Train Group decals.  I just think it's a fun and inexpensive way to get 2R/3RS CNW rolling stock. Trainman line now offers the same tooling cars for $79+ a piece but the new ones obviously have metal trucks.

Some other photos earlier in this thread.

Thanks. I had tried that before with one of mine. Didn't think about oil to seat the Intermountain wheels. I'll have to take another look at that.

@AGHRMatt posted:

Thanks. I had tried that before with one of mine. Didn't think about oil to seat the Intermountain wheels. I'll have to take another look at that.

Matt, here's a video I made this morning.  Don't mind the idiot, er me, having trouble seating the car on the tracks towards the end!   

Anyway, it gives you a better idea of what I was talking about.  I found that, more than the oil, its the pressure from pressing the ends of the journals into the points of the wheels along with some downward pressure on the truck to the rails.  I do it to work the trucks until the points cut/drill into the plastic enough to loosen and roll freely.



Will

Last edited by WITZ 41
@AGHRMatt posted:

Chris:

Are those scale sized cars? I looked at that set, but the pictures were ambiguous.

Hi Matt,

First photo stock car is next to MTH’s latest CNW double door boxcar.  Looks a little small to me.   Second photo is next to Atlas’ CGW X-29 boxcar.  Looks better to me.   The Visionline box does not say scale on it.  Actual car is about 5.5 inches tall.  Hope that helps.

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Thanks Patrick.  Though I wasn't raised in CGW territory, I witnessed my first F unit in Deramus red on the point of a southbound Katy freight as it was approaching Dallas during the summer of 1960.  Mr. Deramus was at the throttle of M-K-T at the time and had borrowed some CGW power due to a Katy power shortage as many of their Mr. D's machines had been sent off for rebuilding/repowering.  Of course he had come to Texas to run Katy, having left the CGW as their president.

Item: The majority of Katy followers dislike Deramus and his simplified "Deramus Red" color scheme including the "stretched" KATY herald.  Personally, I'm a Fall Guy for the Deramus era on The Katy.  When Barriger took over the president's seat of Katy in 1965, a lot of older power was traded to EMD for new GP40s and SW1500s, which saw CNW purchasing some of Katy rebuilded road switchers and F units and run off their final miles on the prairie.

Any CGW video clips would be appreciated.

Thank you again Will for starting this thread!

Joe

Joe,

Here are some pictures of CGW motors. Red F units are custom painted. SD40 are from Atlas O. Also I forget I have CGW TR2 cow and calf in two different paint schemes. You may notice powered C&O B unit, it will get coat of red paint soon. 686FA085-B0E9-4CD1-B7B9-F66FF43B7477B54FA65A-5C91-427B-BA00-16675C221134CF423AF3-6A63-4690-B0BF-295ABBC3AB3D050D705E-36FA-4DA8-A7E8-C12EE31D09A337B17AB8-D534-45B1-9EB9-CB80BF505260Patrick

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Great CGW pix Patrick.  Thanks for sharing.

Item: In my collection of vintage color slides is a CGW freight with a set of F units in God Given A-B-B-A formation shown in their original scheme.  Taken by the late Bill Lenoir (well known O scale locomotive and car scratch builder of Tampa, FL) the units were caught between two telephone poles with all four units displaying their clean machine colors and neither A unit's nose was cut off no less!

Welcome back Will.  Looking forward to your next installment when time permits.

Joe

Joe,

    Welcome.  I knew Bill Lenoir (never meet). If I remembered correct he donated O scale (2 rail) layout to Cedar Falls Iowa museum and still there.
    I grew up in Iowa and lived in Gladbrook where CGW and C&NW ran there. Also M&StL yard and diesel house in Marshalltown about 20 miles away.

Patrick
 

Division Point CNW Woodside Cupola Caboose. #11536

DP-101 "No Cupola Windows System Herald"

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+ Picked up at a significant discount

+ Accurate to prototypes

- Beat to heck

- Missing A Few window glazing

- Bent roof walk

- A catty-whompus wheel truck

- Shlock-job weathering job

+ Did I say it was prototypical?

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In all honesty It's a beautiful model, just this particular one was beat up a bit.  I guess just another project on the list...

I'd love to get my hands on a new condition DP-112 "W/Cupola Windows C&NW System Herald" version.

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Last edited by WITZ 41

Typical North Western MU running on wrong track today. Westbound manifest on eastbound track.

No. This would be correct, as they did call the CNW "The backwards railroad" because they ran opposite of all the other railroads.

The CNW main and yard (now UP) here in Butler, WI always ran northbound traffic on the "Every other railroads" would be the southbound trackage and southbound in the northbound!

@Yardmaster posted:

Typical North Western MU running on wrong track today. Westbound manifest on eastbound track.

No. This would be correct, as they did call the CNW "The backwards railroad" because they ran opposite of all the other railroads.

The CNW main and yard (now UP) here in Butler, WI always ran northbound traffic on the "Every other railroads" would be the southbound trackage and southbound in the northbound!

I believe that was his way of making that very point based on the assumption of CNW fans on this thread. 😉

Nice RPO.

It's been quiet train-side for me. Super busy at work unfortunately.

Nothing new to report yet.  Wichman 401 Models Passenger cars are progressing.  Should have finished painted/decaled bodies soon. I have to figure out the trucks then and window glazing.  Nice set for an accurate Dakota 400 and additional cars for an accurate Twin Cities 400.

I have a line on a Unicorn. Has the potential to be something really special and unique if I can get my hands on it and pull it off.  More to come on that later.

I also noticed some nice CNW items on the May 13 Stout Auction.  There are two H-1 Northerns, an old custom Berk, and some Weaver passenger cars.

Keep 'em coming fellas. Love the pics.

Last edited by WITZ 41

Was going to sell this vista but now just put LEDs and passengers in it and will add it to the latest MTH passenger cars.   Silver vs Black trucks and slight difference in lighting level but kind of nice since it is different with the silver trucks, windows, pin stripe, etc.     Not sure when or where I picked it up but was sitting solo under the layout.

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@cnw4ever posted:

Hi Matt,

First photo stock car is next to MTH’s latest CNW double door boxcar.  Looks a little small to me.   Second photo is next to Atlas’ CGW X-29 boxcar.  Looks better to me.   The Visionline box does not say scale on it.  Actual car is about 5.5 inches tall.  Hope that helps.

Thanks. Sound like it may be a scale model of a smaller prototype. They look good. I'll see if I can track some down.

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