Williams Scale GG1 Upgrade to DCS

For one thing ( I was informed of this and didn't know this ) Williams is Plastic shell where MTH has a metal shell. The sound is different. Now as of putting in DCS I know nothing as SGT Shultz use to say. ( Thou should say I probably should learn some about it. ) I don't know if it can be done but could you take a Electric Railroad Sound board and hook it up to a MTH DCS module? 

I can do this for you, email in profile.  The kits are PS-3 now for diesel/electric and run $200 MSRP plus shipping ($11-12 from MTH).  Labor on this would be lower since wide open and no smoke.  I also can to  a PS-2 3V if you want.  Loading the GG-1 sound file makes this all work.  I like my Williams GG-1.  Smooth runner.  G

I still have some PS/2 kits in stock, and I can also make this happen right here in PA.

The good news is, the GG-1 has very little detail in any version, and the scale Williams actually looks very good.  I have one that I converted to TMCC, but they'll look just as good with PS/2 in them.

Thanks guys.  Exactly the answers I was hoping for.

 Now to go on a quest for a nice Tuscan red five stripe in good condition for a bargain price.

I bought mine a few years back at York NIB for $120 at a TrainWorld Williams blowout.

If I manage to find one anywhere near that nice at anywhere near that price, I would be one happy camper.

The Williams G Motor makes an excellent conversion.  Back a few years ago, at York, Train World was selling them for $120.00.  I picked up 12 of them.  I had a local dealer offer me double what I paid for 6  so I owned 6 of them free.  Many have been converted and more will get done when I get more kits in.  The Williams unit is an excellent runner.  The best bang for your buck.  The only thing I miss is the operating pans like MTH has.   The pans are well done.  I run live catenary and added springs on the pans (same as MTH) gets the job done.  I always like to hit Train World early at York as they have some super deals.  The sound inside the plastic shell is very good.

You liked them way better than me Marty, I just bought two of them!

In hindsight, I wish I had picked up a couple more, that was a great price!

My deal was the best yet.  I am not a big deal chaser but when you can work a deal to give you 6 G motors free, that is a good day.  The best part was Train World had every version available to buy.

I may expand my search to include the Weaver GG1.  I saw one place that said it will handle O54 curves and a few others that said O72.  If it will do O54, its another option for me.

The Williams is much better and you can get parts if needed.

LEGHIGH74,

   Although I own several different manufactures GG1's, the original Williams is simply a great running GG1, that does not break down thru years of use, take Marty's advise on this one, the Williams GG1 is the Stump Puller of all time.  

PCRR/Dave

Thanks Marty.  Thanks Dave.  Williams it is.  Good point about parts availability.  There were probably many more of the Williams GG1 made and they are still in business.  I had a chance to get a scale Williams G about 6 years ago, at Nicholas Smith for around $125, but I didn’t like the paint scheme.  So, I got a Williams Reading U33C instead...so I know what you mean about them being bullet proof.  I don’t think I’ll have too much trouble finding a nice one at a price I like.  Maybe I will see one at Allentown on Saturday or if I’m willing to wait a year or so, I can probably find one from the current crop at a blowout price.

I really like the way my Williams gg1 runs with PS 2. There is so much room, inside the chassis, you could try doing it yourself. The one thing I haven't tried yet is custom tach tape, so I can speed match other locos. 

Here's a link to the post on creating a custom tach tape, and also a bunch of tape images with a wide variety of spacing.

https://ogrforum.com/t...45#58164985231390045

The Williams G motor uses the available 30mm tape.

True Marty, but if you want the scale MPH to be correct, it's likely you'll need to do a custom tape.  I would suspect that the chances that MTH and Williams used the same gear ratio and same wheel diameter is probably not that great.

John, I have run both the Williams and MTH G motor in the all mode a few inches apart and they track even around the layout.   I am very happy with the Williams.  Wheel dia is the same.   I would like to see Williams do more electric locomotives.  Lovers of electric locomotives have been very lucky in recent years and have been treated by all the makers of great trains.  I would love to see someone make the new Electric locomotive we have on the NE Corridor.  My guess would be WBB first then Lionel.  

Marty Fitzhenry posted:

John, I have run both the Williams and MTH G motor in the all mode a few inches apart and they track even around the layout.   I am very happy with the Williams.  Wheel dia is the same.

Good to know, I figured the odds were against them having the same gear ratio, sometimes you just get lucky.

John, I have a call into my friend Larry Harrington at WBB.  He can give us the info.

John, I know you have done these with ERR.  Did you use the pans for the antenna?

I have used them, but of course you could just string a wire inside the shell for the Williams plastic ones.  That would be appropriate if you had real operating catenary.

Marty Fitzhenry posted:

John, I know you have done these with ERR.  Did you use the pans for the antenna?

I used the panto on mine Marty.  Smooth as silk, but mine is a Legacy conversion.  G

Does it have to be tuscan can it be the brunswick green?

I wish everyone luck with fleabay purchases.   Not my cup of tea.  I am sitting on a few PS-1 G motors to convert.   They were from York.  Great place to buy as you can touch and test the locomotive before laying down your cash.   Growing up in Pennsylvania and watching the GG-1 every day, as a kid I never realized how great they were.

Not to be nosy, Marty, but where in PA did you grow up and see them? I remember traveling daily to college in the early 60's in passenger trains pulled by GG-1's to North Philly Station. What fond recollections they are!

Some of you have forgotten about the live links to e-bay which are not allowed...those posts have been deleted by the moderator just in case you were wondering what happened....

Alan

rtraincollector posted:

Does it have to be tuscan can it be the brunswick green?

Very tempting, but I'm on a quest for a Tuscan red five stripe.

Sorry Alan yes I did 

Search for eBay: 192110042494, it's the Tuscan 5-stripe that Bill mentioned, I cleaned up the reference to conform to forum rules.

Thanks for the heads-up Bill and John.  It’s kind of interesting that the eBay listing says it requires O72 and the MTH site says it “Iperates” on O54.  But since the Williams will do O42, that’s the one I’m after.

Ogaugeguy,  we first lived at 39 Walk Street in Hatboro.  In the late 50s, we moved into a new house my Uncle Joe built at 885 Davisville Road in Southampton.   On weekends, my Uncle and I would take the Reading MU cars from Hatboro  to the Reading Terminal in Philly.  We would then go cross town to 30th street station and watch trains all afternoon.   Back then we could hang out on the platforms and watch G motors and MP-54 MU cars all afternoon.  A complete day watching and riding trains made life good for me.  Two times we took the train to Paoli and watched trains from that location.  At the end of a long day of train watching it was back to the Reading Terminal and home.  

I lived with my Aunt and Uncle from the day after I got out of school in Dedham until the day before I had to go back to school.  Exception was High School when I needed to be back a week early to start Football practice.   Summer in Pennsylvania was heaven for me.  My uncle was a cool guy.  When we were not watching trains after supper every night we would share time watching aircraft at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station.  Several times each summer we would hit the stock car races at the Langhorn Speedway.

My favorite state in the United States is still Pennsylvania.  Great state with some great people.  My Aunt and Uncle are gone but the great memories will live as long as I do.

Marty, I'm very familiar with the places and happenings you mentioned as I grew up in the Cornwells Heights (now Bensalem) area of Bucks County from the mid 50's on. A great rural setting to be a kid in at that time. Street road had only two lanes with one lane east and one west from Route 13 (Bristol Pike) to Route 611 with open farmland on both sides. Same with U.S. Route 1 having a single lane north and a single lane south from the Philadelphia County line past the Langhorne Speedway to the Morrisville bridge to New Jersey. No I-95 and the PA Turnpike exit at Route 1 had just two toll booths  - one for entering and the other for exiting the Turnpike. No shopping malls back then, just local stores and Butch's Auction and Farmers Market. Cooled off on hot summer nights seeing movies at either the Lincoln or Andulusia Drive-ins in the township or sometimes driving to the Roosevelt Drive-In near the Langhorne Speedway. Enjoyed riding on two train lines to Philly, both within a few miles of each other. The Reading Line's West Trenton Local starting in West Trenton traveling to the Trevose station then onto Jenkintown and the North Broad Street station ending its journey at the Reading Terminal while the Pennsylvania Trenton Local had the shorter more direct route to Philly starting in Trenton to the Cornwells Heights station then onto North Philadelphia Station, also on Broad Street, and ending its run at 30th Street Station. Living geographically midway between the Trevose and Cornwells stations I had the luxury of switching daily between those two lines going to college.

Fond memories indeed of seeing up close those great Reading engines and the fabulous PRR GG-1's.

Marty Fitzhenry posted:

My favorite state in the United States is still Pennsylvania.  Great state with some great people.  My Aunt and Uncle are gone but the great memories will live as long as I do.

I can agree with that!

Ogaugeguy, WOW I know every spot you talked about.  Butch's Auction was always a great treat.  We hit that at least 4 times each summer.   I know you must have gone to Willow Grove Park.  We hit that many times each summer as it was just down the road from Hatboro.  "Life is a Lark at Willow Grove Park"  I loved Pennsylvania.  I was in the Navy with a guy from Bensalem.  We also went to the auction in Quakertown.  Amazing.  

Train watching in Pennsylvania was the greatest thing on my list.  I always marveled at the catenary wire on the PRR and RDG.  As a kid I told myself that someday I would love to have that on a model train layout.  I remember one night near Langhorn seeing a train powered by two PRR box cabs pulling a very long string of black PRR hoppers.  I have duplicated that on my layout with two PRR box cabs pulling black hoppers under live wire.  I have a video clip somewhere and will look later.  Brings me back to good days eating a Hoagie from Luigi's at track side.

John, you fit in under the umbrella of good guys.  Was the picture in your post from the days when you were good looking?

Box cabs look great.  Are they FF2s?

Southeast PA is still a great place for train lovers.  What used to be PRR, Reading and B&O is now NS, CSX, and SEPTA.  I’m in Oreland, about ½ mile from the Trenton cutoff, ¼ mile from the Reading Bethlehem line and a few hundred feet from what used to be the Reading Plymouth Branch.  There are 2 great train stores within 20 minutes and 4 more within an hour.  There are 7 tourist railroads with an hour and 15 minutes and four of them run steam.  And York is only 90 minutes away.

There were two roller coasters at Willow Grove Park.  As a kid, one was sissy and one was scary.  What were their names?

Actually 3 coasters.  The ALPS that went through the mountain, The Thunderbolt, in the center of the park,  and the one on the far end of the park near the shooting gallery known as the Scenic RWY coaster.  That was wimpy as you noted.   Yes on the FF2 box cabs.  I run them both in the all mode.

For some reason, I thought the Alps and the Mountain Scenic were the same one.  Maybe because I was just a young kid at the time.

So was I back then.  Great place to go.