Non prototypical was the Hustler. Model Railroader tested a batch back in the day and the scale speed was like 170 mph. Dang, Ron. I said wasn't going to buy another loco but here I go again. DD40 demo. That is a beautiful paint scheme. Edit: Sintered iron wheels. They take powdered iron and press it into dies and you get your standard Athearn wheel.
Sintered! YES!!!! Some other said Cinder, and it was close enough for me. YUP!! Them the wheel sets I wished this DD-40 had. Thanks for the information Mark :-D P.S. Yes the Hustler!!
Only bad part about the sintered wheels was the flanges could crack over time, I went full nickle sets from intermountain a few years back and never looked back. The only problem was the sintered wheels had a look to them you just miss ;)
Your "tip" about using the laundry room measuring cup with suds and water to loosen up the rubber motor mounts for re-assembly reminded me of my childhood gimmick we had when building balsa wood rubber powered model flying plane kits --- using glycerin on the rubber band motor to soften and thus stretch it out to enable more 'winds' and get longer flights. As kids we'd hound the local pharmacist to give us a ' free ' bottle of glycerin! 🛩
@@classicmodeltrains Yeah, the glycerin trick really worked on the rubber band motors in those Balsa wood plane kits. We found that "less was better " as usual and with the proper amount of glycerin rubbed into the rubber bands, you could wind them up a couple of hundred more times without them breaking and guaranteeing the plane if built right, to fly for 30 -60 seconds or more.
I grabbed a used one with two motors in Pennsylvania could have gotton a single motor in UP but passed it up! Thanks Ron luv your channel your a good egg I Say!
Remember, I once out pulled a 4x4 with my 2 wheel drive in a tug of war on dry pavement? This is pretty much the same thing happening here. Engineers would call it tractive effort. Very pretty rebuild. I like it a lot...
I think the smooth nickel silver wheels on the big one was it's disadvantage. The little one had them cast wheels from back in the day, a bit rougher. That's my theory. I even pushed down on there big one with my finger and it didnt help. Just spun. I missed the tug-o-war with L.D. from back in the day :-/
Good day Ron. On your sd 45 that runs backwards just swap the trucks the back should be in the front unless there's something else going on. I have got in a hurry and put the trucks on backwards. Be cool stay safe!!
Thanks for that great information. A few others have pointed that out. I think I'm going to leave it alone and all the other loco's are going to have to go up against it :-)
The tips about the O rings and the soap on the motor mounts are handy. I have two of these DD40 engines in both UP and B&O. As a madman combo from Athearn that I've created, the B&O DD40 is planned to be coupled to a B&O FP45 for a fantasy, never existed combo. Add in a B&O bay window caboose from Athearn, add cars, couple the two fantasy B&O engines, and the crazy B&O train is complete. Also, to answer "never existed" locomotive from Athearn, it would be the Hustler switcher, but the early Athearn Rectifiers would count, also.
Glad to help out. Sounds like your making up quite the B&U consist there. Hustler was whit I was looking for, and come to find out about the Rectifiers. I learned something new today as well ;-)
I have a SoPac Dual motor with flywheels DD40, and I am now going to have to find some carbon conductive grease. I have gone through my engines trucks with a full disassembly, cleaning, and rebuild, but I did not have the coductive grease. I might have not greased them at all :-/ With the other greasings, I have so far had good results using Traxxis RC grease on the internals of all my athern blue boxes. They all run smooth, quiet, and cool with no "running hot" smell. Good video, glad I'm subscribed. (edit: about the tabs on the truck by the coupler, I bent those out after closing the bottom cover.)
I dropped my engine and broke off the front of the clip that holds the coupler in place. Try to find a replacement for that without buying another engine. It's next to impossible! Great video!
If the coupler box is mounted on the truck you can get a new part for that. If its on the body you can fabricate a new draft box for that as well. Kadee couplers have lots of options
Ron..... I just love the humor.... please don't stop with that... I have not seen one of those here in Australia but then again I only have 2 places that I go to.. haha... Another great refurbishment video... oops.. educational video ~;0) I love the O ring idea... more than one way to skin a cat hey.... great thinking outside of the box.. most people would just glue it in place.
Thanks once again Tim. Gluing would be fine if you never wanted to get back in there again. Had to use a non conductive item to hold all that together.
Fantastic! Glad you go the DD-40 up and going. Maybe needs to add some more weight to her, since. The SD-45 has the fly wheels? Thanks for the dish soap trick on the motor mounts, a struggle I have had with some not reseating correctly! Many thanks for that! Now you need and Athearn SD-40 in EMD Demonstrator colors! Working on an Athearn SD-45 that will be Twin Cities and Western some day and a WVVR SD -40 from the movie Unstoppable. Take care and put that cap back before the words happen!
Hey, I have this engine, brand new in the blue box! Hasn't even had the handrails installed....pretty sure it's never been run. Bought it on Ebay years ago.
I placed a flywheel motor into place on my single motored DD 35/40. I hooked both motors to run off the flywheel using black rubber fuel line. Still sounds like a beast but cool to have. Thank you for covering this specific model. I like the background information included on your chosen models. For me the old vintage kits are the most interesting to work with and your videos only fan the flames of curiosity to go further than I would normally have when maintaining them. Vintage locomotives were made to work on. 🙂
Ok, you got the truck backwards. Switch them one the unit that runs different from the rest of your engines and they will run together. I bought one like that too😮
Here's a little tip. I like to MU several Athearn engines on my DC layout. I was able to fine tune the speeds so there's no gear binding. My 40+ Athearns are all 20-50 years old. The later ones with the "gold" motors are more efficient. Some of those were ridiculously fast compared to the older ones. I was able to balance them with carefully assigned resistors. A 2 watt resistor, 1-3 ohms placed internally, in series with the motor does the trick. They don't have to be perfect, just reasonably the same speed.
In 84, I received a Bachmann set that included the UP DD40. It was a great set. I no longer have that set but, I assembled one years ago. While I was in the hospital, I was buying many things of the sale sites. One of those purchases was another UP DD40. The DD40 is an amazing engine that I will probably never see. Do you have the UP DD40 in your collection?
YES! I’d like ta get my hands on wonna dem beasties! Perhaps, if you removed the center drive shaft and just let the two motors turn the respective trucks…it would leave the opening, open?
Athearn has been and always will be my favorite locos and rolling stock. The only criticisms I make are against the Budd RDC cars and their rubber band drives. They suck really poorly. Glad you tuned up your DD-40X.
You got me to subscribe......... Love the videos Ron. You do a wonderful / goofy job explaining everything. You remind me a little of myself if I had a youtube channel. The hustler is the other Athearn Loco. Very experienced modeler here with a good history with the wonderful Athearn loco's. Love em. Keep up the good work. Here's to model railroad success to everyone. I'll drink to that.
Like EC Idaho mentioned, neat trick with the dish soap. Now, here's one for you. Those pesky metal clips for the couplers. Cut a thin strip of electrical tape (the black kind) and wrap it a couple of times around the clip on the coupler. The coupler won't come loose, till you remove the tape.
The SD-45 wheels are sintered iron, while the DD has nickel plated wheels. No need to explain which ones have a higher coefficient of friction. The six axle Athearn locos with the iron wheels could nearly pull the layout away from the wall. I used two Athearn Blue Box SD-45s to pull 120 Athearn Blue Box cars up 1% grades on a club layout once, just to show how much pull force they had.
This was my first exposure to the different between the Sintered and the N.S. Honestly I cant believe Fellers are running around praising the N.S. wheels for their better "conductivity" and neglecting to mention how poor there adhesion is for tractive effort. One more reason old school or no school for me. Wished I could have been a fly on the wall with that pull you mentioned!!!
Regarding the coupler covers, if I recall correctly, the metal ones were for the rolling stock while the locomotives used plastic covers. I'd have to go dig some old units out of storage to confirm.
I love the DD40AX. Never had the chance yet to get an Athearn one but I have an older Bachmann Spectrum one and the modern rerelease of it with DCC/sound. Both have duel flywheel motors. Believe it or not the modern rerelease is split frame just like the old ones.
Yup! lots of Fellers have pointed that out. Cant quite figure out why they would stop using sintered wheels. Big deal if you have to clean then a bit more often. I want the pulling power :-)
I do use small paint trays with 6 little cups in them. keeps stuff separated a bit. just a bit small for all them axels I had rolling all over the place. Guess it's time to get under this cabin and re-level it :-)
Great, really great video my friend! The paint scheme on her is absolutely beautiful! Together with your SD45 they form a marvelous couple! Congrats! It was very nice to told us the differences between you the DD35, DD35A and the DDA40X. The model produced by Athearn is a DD35A with incorrect radiator fans - 6 48” instead of 48”-36”-48”-48”-36”-48”, as two GP35 put together should have ( the other not prototypical is the Hustler, am I right?). Your very clever insight about the little rubber ring was simply fantastic! You solved a big problem! Let me finish giving a suggestion: to enhance the performance of the beauty, try to disconnect the connection between the motors. I did this with mine one with good results.
Thanks Regis. Them Demonstrators are a very pleasing paint scheme for sure. You are correct with the Hustler! Ive heard other Fellers mention to take out that drive line. I hear the newer ones don't even have it in there. Hope that O-ring fix works in the long run :-)
I like your cute little euphemisms for words you want to use or don't know but can't quite grasp. My late mother-in-law had a favorite she used: "Doo-Lolly" On the SD-45 going backwards, if you install the motor backwards, ,it'll do that. It's a good idea to take a Sharpie and put an arrow on the casing pointing forwards. The DD-40 will either push or pull the polarity challenged SD-45 simply because it has two more drive axles with greater weight. Well done video 👍
"Doo-Lolly"..... I love it!! I hope I can remember that and use it the next time I cant think of what to call the little something or another. I usually call things "little tit or tits" but, you know.........:-)
That thing is old! I think 55 years is conservative. Those are the wrong axles for that style of truck, the gears on those elders are longer to keep them in gauge and the axle in the center of the wheel is longer to fit the outside bearing instead of inside. Those old style of gear box covers showed you why they changed them to something different, they usually do break and don't hold together, I never seen anyone fix one before, simple solution, I like it. Having two motors on one frame is a famous way to burn one or the other up over time and use. Having them locked together in the middle is a famous way of burning both up, many have removed the center drive shaft between them and ran it with one motor for one truck at each end. The newer flywheel versions did not lock the motors together and they used SW1200 motors with flywheels, then you had the flywheel peeking out the hole in the middle. I was shocked that yours would not out pull that SD-45, I have a single motor version DD-35 in UP colors that will pull the house down. Great Video, nice to see the elder stuff still kicking
Yup, This one showed up with them N.S. wheels installed. I wished I had the original sintered wheel sets. Ive heard Fellers removing them drive shafts between the motors. If my LHS had replacement motors I would have updated to them, but no luck. Thanks for sharing some good information :-)
Another great video Ron!! That "whisker" that goes across can be a disconnect. For reliabilities sake, I'm going to be removing mine and going with 16AWG.
care needs to taken when soldering to Athearn motor retaining clips. it should be removed from the motor first to prevent deforming the plastic frame. multi stranded extra flexible wire should be used to prevent skewing the truck alignment.
Would you do a little experiment with the DD40? Take off the drive shaft connecting the two motors together. See if it has more pulling power as two separate motors against the DD45 I have a DD40 by Bachmann (I'm not a huge fan.) but the loco has two motors and they are not connected. You also don't really see the motor through the walkthrough. Also I was going to say if you convert one of your locomotives to DCC (even one of those pancake motors) it will run much better plus the creep speed is amazing. It's all about the back EMF. Tom P.S. I wouldn't convert the Athearn DD40 because those motors are power hogs and would require 2 decoders and they would have to be 2.0amps max or they will fry. You should try it on a motor that has very poor crawl speed and see how much it improves. See how quiet it gets.
I no longer own this DD-40. From my test's and studies decoders do not make loco's run or creep any better than they can / do on DC only. I will soon be running these kind of tests again, when I do Decoder installs. I'm aware of excessive amp draw and decoder failure issues. The SD-45 pulled better because it had sintered iron wheels compared to the DD-40's nickel silver wheels.
Never seen the orange and creme athearn box only the classic one with the steam loco. Athearn is so ingrained in pop culture it's in the spellcheck dictionary 😀
@@classicmodeltrains Athearn used a thin cardstock box in the mid sixties for it's RTR line. The top had a large cellophane window. the box color was a pale blue.
I think the nickel wheels have less friction/traction than the original wheel sets. Just a thought. You might try putting “OEM” trucks on the DD40. I’d bet you would have different results. I really enjoy your vids. Nice work.
I see the hustler mentioned, but are we going to discuss the Athearn SW1500 Cow/Calf that Athearn tooled and cataloged likely from EMD plans, that was more akin to an SW7 than the prototype SW1500 ended up looking?
I stumbled upon a few tidbits of information on the interweb about make believe train models Athearn made. There was only 2 that popped up. Of course many discussions can be had about non-prototypical models. I was not attempting to go down that road.
Neat engine! What's better than one motor? TWO! Interesting how they designed it with both motors are tied together, I think this is a good idea. That should keep them from wearing unevenly. Some twin motor engines I've seen had a problem where one motor was worn down and the other motor dragged it along. Was surprised to see the smaller one out pull it! Better not weight on fixing that one......... Sorry, bad joke!
I could not believe that SD-45 Pulled that monster around. I heard (read) that Athearn offered the twin motors with out center driveline. said it ran better? More lab time needed :-)
@@classicmodeltrains I Finally have the motor and gears to repower it for a more functional operation. Loving it. Have the same DD 40 and have purchased the newer Athearn can motors so its power draw in less.
I think the DD40 would have the sintered iron wheels the GP might have had its hands full. The polished nickel silver wheels look great but can’t develop the traction of Athern’s original wheels. The iron wheels had a rough surface and gripped the rails better. The Athern “blue box” locomotives were real performers. I used to do business with a shop in SLC years ago, and the owner swore by their performance.
I have never had an issue with the old style wheels . In fact I have a newer F7 that had the new wheels and it was having issues . On a whim I changed the wheels to the older style and it runs great now
Douglas models was on State St. and 2nd South, the other sop was down the street a little ways (9th south?) and the train store was in the basement. Shopped both stores great staff in both. I did find the older gentleman a little “opinionated” though, but as you said, he swore by Athern.
So..conductive grease is like anti seize. 2 minutes after opening the lid on anti seize you end up looking like the tin man. Everything around does too. No matter how careful you are...that stuff is everywhere.
DD40 was displayed by EMD (empty DD35 shell). The a is for the wide cab.The x indicates that it was equipped with the prototype dash 2 electronics. I actually have one stored away waiting for me restore it.
@@classicmodeltrains Demonstrator. Can't remember if it has 1 or 2 motors. Also was given a Burlington version to use as a donor. I recall that one is missing the cab roof.
I liked the pull test... The results aren't really surprising though because the DD-40 has more wheels than the SD-45 to spread the load out over. Since the traction is equal to the coefficient of friction x the weight / number of wheels. Assuming the wheels have the same coefficient of friction (ie the same material and diameter) then the weight of the DD-40 would have to be 16 wheels / 12 wheels or 1.33 times heavier than the SD-45 to have the same traction. Sorry for getting all mathematical... Just curious now what they each weigh in at... Rich... PS. Keep up the great videos...
I want to drink beer with you! I love people who can get all mathematical. I can't to it (at that level). The SD-45 has its original wheels on it. They have more friction than the DD-40's upgraded N.S. wheels. Someone put sorta the wrong wheels in it. DD-40 weight in at 726 grams, the SD-45 is 476 grams. Thanks for your kind words on my Video's :-)
@@classicmodeltrains Ya must be the wheels because the DD-40 is at 726 / 476 = 1.53 times the weight of the SD-45...which is greater than the 1.33 times calculated... Interesting to know though... PS...I like beer.... ;-) Hope you have a great Memorial Day...Slurp a couple o' cold ones for me... Rich...
@@classicmodeltrains yeah fell in love with first 1 . Came in lot buy 33 of them. Got 4 in lot buys. And 1 I paid $25 for and it worked great. I love those. But 1 the driveshaft stuck and had an issue with the case that holds brushes and springs. It melted part of it. Didn't realize it but got it off track before it got worse. Still have to replace that part. New springs as well. They got little hot. Enough to burn and warp them.
I really enjoy your videos, and this is another great one. The trailer park is great, too. Was there a classic model this week? Keep them there videos coming.
I was referencing having a prototype it's modeled after. Most older Athearn's are not prototypical, because of the wide body they made to get the motor to fit inside of. At least that's what ive heard Fellers say :-)
My DD-40 has the original wheels and dual motors. Maybe the smoother polished wheels on yours are the issue. I have three Alco Models Brass RS-2, and RS-3 models. They are heavy and yet they don’t pull much due to polished wheels.
I'd say the other non-prototypical locomotive was the HO electric rectifier it made for Lionel during Lionel's first foray into HO scale in the late 1950's.
The mechanism will not operate properly with the inside bearing new axles .The bearings in the sideframes pick up current and hold the axle gears to the idler gear spacing properly .Need to find the right axle gears and wheel sets .I have had luck pressing the half shafts out further so they actually ride in the outside frame bushing/bearing . The way you have them in there flopping around is probably why it does not drag the sd45 around even if they are at a tug of war.
The axles are not flopping around. Only the brass axle bushings are. the truck as an assembly is working as it should be. I believe the nickel silver wheels are having problems with traction because they are so smooth. The SD-45 has them old cast wheels, I believe they have more bite. I would love to find a set of "proper" axle's for this, but I believe they would only be found in old parts loco's of the same time period.
@@adamserafini6945 the wheel ends of the axles have a small stub shaft that is seated into the brass bushings on the truck covers. This truck would not operate if the axles were teetering on the gears alone. I thought the truck maintenance and reassemble procedure was clearly shot and explained during the video
@@suppylarue220 I have had luck pressing out the pins on the original OE wheel sets with a vice and the smallest 1/4 inch socket I could find think 4mm .will work using new style wheels .Think the gears are a different size and cannot be used .Too short. Had a few dd40's and sold them off.The old came with brass wheels and a stack of weight as long as the locomotive .No instruction of where it goes. Figures. Good luck.
Thats's the word Ive been looking for!!!!! CINDER!! I knew it one time, but killed that memory cell w/ a beer. Thank you. and I agree with you. Them NS wheels are to slick :-D
Greetings, I enjoy watching your restoration videos. I saw that you were checking for bent frame in the video, I have an Athearn BB RDC and its frame is bent slightly upwards like a sail boat. Could you tell me the right way to bend it back?
Thanks for supporting my channel. You will have to use a soft mallet and gently tap it back to straight a little at a time. If you try and go too fast it will end up breaking the frame.
I'm only assuming they are both running. If one was not I believe the center driveline would slip and bind up or fall off. It also had a stall amp draw of almost 3 amps
Why your sd-45 pulled the dd-40 because the dd-40 has nickel silver wheel sets in it and are the wrong ones,,,if it had the original wheels like the sd-45 has it would be a different outcome,,,the sintered iron wheels have more tractive effort then the nickel silver ones do
Ive come to find this out. I figured the NS wheel would not pull as good. I just could not remember the word "sintered" while making the vid. Thanks for the info!!
I could not really answer that. Depends on condition and rarity, and how much a Feller really wants it. I'd guess at $40-$150 range. Sorry I cannot nail it down tighter
Line I liked best: "Found these little o rings..." Thank you Classic Model Trains! Smiles everyone, smiles! (or was that Mr. Rourke?)
Thank you for the Super Thanks!! Glad I was able to make ya laugh :-)
@@classicmodeltrains Laughter is the best medicine. (Now where did I 'read' that?)
@@marklinzeit "Reader's Digest"
@@Zebrails correct! Well done 👍
I remember the "Smiles..."
If only... Clambering up the interlocking tower and pointing out the window: "The train... The train!"
Athearn blue box diesels are literally the "tanks" of model trains. Parts are still available in large number today and super easy to fix thankfully.
I agree!!
Hands down the best HO DC locomotives ever made, they did have some continuity issues with their pickup style but easily modified and run forever.
Non prototypical was the Hustler. Model Railroader tested a batch back in the day and the scale speed was like 170 mph. Dang, Ron. I said wasn't going to buy another loco but here I go again. DD40 demo. That is a beautiful paint scheme.
Edit: Sintered iron wheels. They take powdered iron and press it into dies and you get your standard Athearn wheel.
Sintered! YES!!!! Some other said Cinder, and it was close enough for me. YUP!! Them the wheel sets I wished this DD-40 had. Thanks for the information Mark :-D
P.S. Yes the Hustler!!
Only bad part about the sintered wheels was the flanges could crack over time, I went full nickle sets from intermountain a few years back and never looked back. The only problem was the sintered wheels had a look to them you just miss ;)
Loved this episode! Explains a lot.
Thanks
Awesome restoration buddy.
Thank you!!
Your "tip" about using the laundry room measuring cup with suds and water to loosen up the rubber motor mounts for re-assembly reminded me of my childhood gimmick we had when building balsa wood rubber powered model flying plane kits --- using glycerin on the rubber band motor to soften and thus stretch it out to enable more 'winds' and get longer flights. As kids we'd hound the local pharmacist to give us a ' free ' bottle of glycerin! 🛩
I spent many an hour building them balsa wood airplane kits as a kid. Ive heard about that glycerin trick. Just never did it.
@@classicmodeltrains Yeah, the glycerin trick really worked on the rubber band motors in those Balsa wood plane kits. We found that "less was better " as usual and with the proper amount of glycerin rubbed into the rubber bands, you could wind them up a couple of hundred more times without them breaking and guaranteeing the plane if built right, to fly for 30 -60 seconds or more.
Great video! I have had Athearn diesels on past layouts and really enjoye them.
Thanks!
Great teardown and rebuild -- with a completely unexpected plot twist at the end that's worth waiting for!
Thank you!
I grabbed a used one with two motors in Pennsylvania could have gotton a single motor in UP but passed it up! Thanks Ron luv your channel your a good egg I Say!
Thanks for your kind words William!
I have 1 Ron in dc Baltimore and Ohio from Athern blue box double flywheel version.Big engines love the engine
Yup! These are monsters for sure :-)
Remember, I once out pulled a 4x4 with my 2 wheel drive in a tug of war on dry pavement? This is pretty much the same thing happening here. Engineers would call it tractive effort.
Very pretty rebuild. I like it a lot...
I think the smooth nickel silver wheels on the big one was it's disadvantage. The little one had them cast wheels from back in the day, a bit rougher. That's my theory. I even pushed down on there big one with my finger and it didnt help. Just spun. I missed the tug-o-war with L.D. from back in the day :-/
Oh, I also love the new trailer park. So cool!
Gotta have trailer parks. Where all the low paid workers gunna live :-)
Nice work
Thanks
Another great rebuild. Love seeing these videos! Keep them coming.
Thanks John!
Got four of these old monsters.
Holy moly! that would look awesome all hooked up and pulling together. Need a monster layout
DD45 pulled that beast!
Says a lot about sintered iron wheels vs. Nickel silver wheels
Gotta admit double d's have always been my favorite . Thank you for the great video's .This one's 10 months old , don't know how I missed it ?
Glad you enjoyed it
I'll never buy one of these engines, but dang i just love your videos, so here I am lol
Good to hear from you Danny, Thanks for the kind words :-)
Thanks Ron, I can’t say it enough . I enjoyed this very much.
Glad you did Charles :-)
Another great training video , Ron! Who would have figured that the SD-45 would pull the DD-40! Go figure! Sometimes 2 ain't better than one!
Thanks. Them sintered wheels on the SD-45 is where all that tractive effort is coming from.
Athearn SD 45 is a beast of locomotive.
Yes it is!
Great show ! Love the BB DD40, long time favorite of mine.
Thank you Paul!
Good day Ron. On your sd 45 that runs backwards just swap the trucks the back should be in the front unless there's something else going on. I have got in a hurry and put the trucks on backwards. Be cool stay safe!!
Thanks for that great information. A few others have pointed that out. I think I'm going to leave it alone and all the other loco's are going to have to go up against it :-)
Thank you for sharing. Very much enjoyed.👍
Thanks for watching!
The tips about the O rings and the soap on the motor mounts are handy. I have two of these DD40 engines in both UP and B&O. As a madman combo from Athearn that I've created, the B&O DD40 is planned to be coupled to a B&O FP45 for a fantasy, never existed combo. Add in a B&O bay window caboose from Athearn, add cars, couple the two fantasy B&O engines, and the crazy B&O train is complete. Also, to answer "never existed" locomotive from Athearn, it would be the Hustler switcher, but the early Athearn Rectifiers would count, also.
Glad to help out. Sounds like your making up quite the B&U consist there. Hustler was whit I was looking for, and come to find out about the Rectifiers. I learned something new today as well ;-)
I have a SoPac Dual motor with flywheels DD40, and I am now going to have to find some carbon conductive grease. I have gone through my engines trucks with a full disassembly, cleaning, and rebuild, but I did not have the coductive grease. I might have not greased them at all :-/ With the other greasings, I have so far had good results using Traxxis RC grease on the internals of all my athern blue boxes. They all run smooth, quiet, and cool with no "running hot" smell. Good video, glad I'm subscribed. (edit: about the tabs on the truck by the coupler, I bent those out after closing the bottom cover.)
greetings, I'm glad you are enjoying my video's. Thanks for the sub and the good idea with the traxxis grease!!
I'm one of them that solders wires in. Does get better connection. I've had them stall no matter how clean.
Hello John, I dont solder because I usually flip all the loco's I fix here. I guess if the new owner wants that modification done...........
Athearn blue box diesels were the ' ole reliables ' of HO locomotives. Built "Athearn Tough and Rough "
They are great loco's!!
@@classicmodeltrains I must confess that I probably own 90% ATHEARN and 10% of others and Athearn always seemed to be higher quality, at least for me.
sintered iron is a powered metal used to form their wheels under high pressure dies. the powdered metal was delivered in barrel lots.
Awesome! Ive read about them, I just for the life of me could not remember the word when I was videoing this episode.
I dropped my engine and broke off the front of the clip that holds the coupler in place. Try to find a replacement for that without buying another engine. It's next to impossible! Great video!
If the coupler box is mounted on the truck you can get a new part for that. If its on the body you can fabricate a new draft box for that as well. Kadee couplers have lots of options
Ron..... I just love the humor.... please don't stop with that... I have not seen one of those here in Australia but then again I only have 2 places that I go to.. haha... Another great refurbishment video... oops.. educational video ~;0) I love the O ring idea... more than one way to skin a cat hey.... great thinking outside of the box.. most people would just glue it in place.
Thanks once again Tim. Gluing would be fine if you never wanted to get back in there again. Had to use a non conductive item to hold all that together.
Thanks Ron! Another helpful video!
Thanks for watching :-)
Fantastic! Glad you go the DD-40 up and going. Maybe needs to add some more weight to her, since. The SD-45 has the fly wheels? Thanks for the dish soap trick on the motor mounts, a struggle I have had with some not reseating correctly! Many thanks for that! Now you need and Athearn SD-40 in EMD Demonstrator colors! Working on an Athearn SD-45 that will be Twin Cities and Western some day and a WVVR SD -40 from the movie Unstoppable. Take care and put that cap back before the words happen!
Yup! thee is plenty of room for some more weight in her. Oooh! More demonstrators? where do I sign up.
@@classicmodeltrains OOPs no Classic Model this week?
@@ecidaho I'm trying to mix it up a bit. Keep the episodes from being predictable. Perhaps I should include cliff-hangers at the end 😀
@@classicmodeltrains There yah go! That may be a good idea LOL!
Thanks for another great video. I have a feeling that O ring fix will come in handy for future renos.
Thanks for watching and commenting :-)
Awesome video and channel just subscribed
Thank you so much for Subbing and supporting my channel!!!
Hey, I have this engine, brand new in the blue box! Hasn't even had the handrails installed....pretty sure it's never been run. Bought it on Ebay years ago.
WOW!! pretty cool. New Old Stock (NOS) :-)
Great restoration. Also learned of a new tool. Fibre Pencil. Just need to find one.
Fiberglass pencil. Get them thru amazon.
Fantastic video 👍down to earth and entertaining. Started to watch a few in the last few nights and really enjoy them. Subscribed now 🇦🇺
Thanks for watching and subbing! Glad you like my vid's :-)
The design of Athearn locomotives of the day were great runners and anyone could work on them .
They were simple and bulletproof. Love them!
Great video Ron. I loved the Locomotive Pull at the end. You may have started a new hobby.😆
Thanks :-). I actually cant believe Fellers have not been having locomotive pulls!
Great video Ron! I lost it however when that SD45 won the tug of war contest. I would not have bet money on that outcome. LOL
I would have lost if I did bet :-)
I placed a flywheel motor into place on my single motored DD 35/40. I hooked both motors to run off the flywheel using black rubber fuel line. Still sounds like a beast but cool to have. Thank you for covering this specific model. I like the background information included on your chosen models. For me the old vintage kits are the most interesting to work with and your videos only fan the flames of curiosity to go further than I would normally have when maintaining them. Vintage locomotives were made to work on. 🙂
Thanks for watching and commenting. I enjoy the older ones also. Polishing up a pigs ear :-)
Great vid. 👍 . I would buy them. Apart from I live in the UK and the postage would be murder
Thanks!
I literally just saw one of these in my train shop. I wasn't sure if the missing door was right. Maybe I'll have to head back and grab it.
Yup. That hole is in there from the factory
Ok, you got the truck backwards. Switch them one the unit that runs different from the rest of your engines and they will run together. I bought one like that too😮
Thanks for the info!
Nice bus. I have a few EMD demonstrators, but not that one. Good stuff, Ron
🚂🇨🇦🇺🇲👍
Thanks. I need to scare up some of them red and white demonstrators.
I be learning......😊
Me too! Every loco I work on, I get one more smarter :-)
Here's a little tip. I like to MU several Athearn engines on my DC layout. I was able to fine tune the speeds so there's no gear binding.
My 40+ Athearns are all 20-50 years old. The later ones with the "gold" motors are more efficient. Some of those were ridiculously fast compared to the older ones. I was able to balance them with carefully assigned resistors. A 2 watt resistor, 1-3 ohms placed internally, in series with the motor does the trick. They don't have to be perfect, just reasonably the same speed.
Sounds like a pretty good idea to me!!
In 84, I received a Bachmann set that included the UP DD40. It was a great set. I no longer have that set but, I assembled one years ago. While I was in the hospital, I was buying many things of the sale sites. One of those purchases was another UP DD40. The DD40 is an amazing engine that I will probably never see. Do you have the UP DD40 in your collection?
I don't have the UP DD40 and this one got sold off a few weeks after this video came out. Yes the original prototype was a pretty awesome unit.
YES!
I’d like ta get my hands on wonna dem beasties!
Perhaps, if you removed the center drive shaft and just let the two motors turn the respective trucks…it would leave the opening, open?
Perhaps. I believe the armature shaft bushing is what's showing currently
Athearn has been and always will be my favorite locos and rolling stock. The only criticisms I make are against the Budd RDC cars and their rubber band drives. They suck really poorly. Glad you tuned up your DD-40X.
I like the Athearn stuff the most also :-)
You got me to subscribe......... Love the videos Ron. You do a wonderful / goofy job explaining everything. You remind me a little of myself if I had a youtube channel. The hustler is the other Athearn Loco. Very experienced modeler here with a good history with the wonderful Athearn loco's. Love em. Keep up the good work. Here's to model railroad success to everyone. I'll drink to that.
Thank you for your very kind words!!! Yup Hustler was what I was looking for. Bottoms up Sir!!
Like EC Idaho mentioned, neat trick with the dish soap. Now, here's one for you. Those pesky metal clips for the couplers. Cut a thin strip of electrical tape (the black kind) and wrap it a couple of times around the clip on the coupler. The coupler won't come loose, till you remove the tape.
Ive never had the metal clip come off, but if I run into a pesky one....Now I will know a good fix for it. Thanks Lynn :-)
The SD-45 wheels are sintered iron, while the DD has nickel plated wheels. No need to explain which ones have a higher coefficient of friction. The six axle Athearn locos with the iron wheels could nearly pull the layout away from the wall. I used two Athearn Blue Box SD-45s to pull 120 Athearn Blue Box cars up 1% grades on a club layout once, just to show how much pull force they had.
This was my first exposure to the different between the Sintered and the N.S. Honestly I cant believe Fellers are running around praising the N.S. wheels for their better "conductivity" and neglecting to mention how poor there adhesion is for tractive effort. One more reason old school or no school for me. Wished I could have been a fly on the wall with that pull you mentioned!!!
My favorite diesel. I have a couple PRR DD-40s. Dual motor and powerful.
I like the way you think :-)
Regarding the coupler covers, if I recall correctly, the metal ones were for the rolling stock while the locomotives used plastic covers. I'd have to go dig some old units out of storage to confirm.
I like the metal ones because they are thin and strong.
I love the DD40AX. Never had the chance yet to get an Athearn one but I have an older Bachmann Spectrum one and the modern rerelease of it with DCC/sound. Both have duel flywheel motors. Believe it or not the modern rerelease is split frame just like the old ones.
Thanks for the good info Matthew :-)
Always entertaining👍
Thank you
Your SD45 out pulls iy, only because of the sintered iron wheels on the 45.... That beats 16 nickel-silver wheels for traction!!
Yup! lots of Fellers have pointed that out. Cant quite figure out why they would stop using sintered wheels. Big deal if you have to clean then a bit more often. I want the pulling power :-)
@@classicmodeltrains Because the average user wouldn't keep them clean anymore.... so they jumped on the trend of Nickel-Silver Wheels.
Try an organising tray for the parts.Many people when dissembling,put the parts randomly on the 'work bench'.
I do use small paint trays with 6 little cups in them. keeps stuff separated a bit. just a bit small for all them axels I had rolling all over the place. Guess it's time to get under this cabin and re-level it :-)
Great, really great video my friend! The paint scheme on her is absolutely beautiful! Together with your SD45 they form a marvelous couple! Congrats!
It was very nice to told us the differences between you the DD35, DD35A and the DDA40X. The model produced by Athearn is a DD35A with incorrect radiator fans - 6 48” instead of 48”-36”-48”-48”-36”-48”, as two GP35 put together should have ( the other not prototypical is the Hustler, am I right?).
Your very clever insight about the little rubber ring was simply fantastic! You solved a big problem! Let me finish giving a suggestion: to enhance the performance of the beauty, try to disconnect the connection between the motors. I did this with mine one with good results.
Thanks Regis. Them Demonstrators are a very pleasing paint scheme for sure. You are correct with the Hustler! Ive heard other Fellers mention to take out that drive line. I hear the newer ones don't even have it in there. Hope that O-ring fix works in the long run :-)
I hate couplers attached to the trucks (Talgo trucks). I always cut them off and use body mounted Kaydee couplers. Cheers from eastern TN
I hate them as well.
I like your cute little euphemisms for words you want to use or don't know but can't quite grasp. My late mother-in-law had a favorite she used: "Doo-Lolly" On the SD-45 going backwards, if you install the motor backwards, ,it'll do that. It's a good idea to take a Sharpie and put an arrow on the casing pointing forwards. The DD-40 will either push or pull the polarity challenged SD-45 simply because it has two more drive axles with greater weight. Well done video 👍
"Doo-Lolly"..... I love it!! I hope I can remember that and use it the next time I cant think of what to call the little something or another. I usually call things "little tit or tits" but, you know.........:-)
That thing is old! I think 55 years is conservative. Those are the wrong axles for that style of truck, the gears on those elders are longer to keep them in gauge and the axle in the center of the wheel is longer to fit the outside bearing instead of inside. Those old style of gear box covers showed you why they changed them to something different, they usually do break and don't hold together, I never seen anyone fix one before, simple solution, I like it. Having two motors on one frame is a famous way to burn one or the other up over time and use. Having them locked together in the middle is a famous way of burning both up, many have removed the center drive shaft between them and ran it with one motor for one truck at each end. The newer flywheel versions did not lock the motors together and they used SW1200 motors with flywheels, then you had the flywheel peeking out the hole in the middle. I was shocked that yours would not out pull that SD-45, I have a single motor version DD-35 in UP colors that will pull the house down. Great Video, nice to see the elder stuff still kicking
Yup, This one showed up with them N.S. wheels installed. I wished I had the original sintered wheel sets. Ive heard Fellers removing them drive shafts between the motors. If my LHS had replacement motors I would have updated to them, but no luck. Thanks for sharing some good information :-)
@@classicmodeltrains You might be able to find an ancient unit at a show or meet somewhere that you could use as a wheel/parts donor.
Another great video Ron!! That "whisker" that goes across can be a disconnect. For reliabilities sake, I'm going to be removing mine and going with 16AWG.
Thanks Ray. I have never had any problems with the upper pickup bar. But if I do, I will go down the wire soldering road :-)
care needs to taken when soldering to Athearn motor retaining clips. it should be removed from the motor first to prevent deforming the plastic frame. multi stranded extra flexible wire should be used to prevent skewing the truck alignment.
Would you do a little experiment with the DD40? Take off the drive shaft connecting the two motors together. See if it has more pulling power as two separate motors against the DD45
I have a DD40 by Bachmann (I'm not a huge fan.) but the loco has two motors and they are not connected. You also don't really see the motor through the walkthrough.
Also I was going to say if you convert one of your locomotives to DCC (even one of those pancake motors) it will run much better plus the creep speed is amazing. It's all about the back EMF.
Tom
P.S. I wouldn't convert the Athearn DD40 because those motors are power hogs and would require 2 decoders and they would have to be 2.0amps max or they will fry. You should try it on a motor that has very poor crawl speed and see how much it improves. See how quiet it gets.
I no longer own this DD-40. From my test's and studies decoders do not make loco's run or creep any better than they can / do on DC only. I will soon be running these kind of tests again, when I do Decoder installs. I'm aware of excessive amp draw and decoder failure issues. The SD-45 pulled better because it had sintered iron wheels compared to the DD-40's nickel silver wheels.
2 SP dd-40,
2 Burlington dd-40
Loud as Hell, all need double dcc's
Athearn also made reversed motors.
Sounds like you have quite a collection of em!
Never seen the orange and creme athearn box only the classic one with the steam loco. Athearn is so ingrained in pop culture it's in the spellcheck dictionary 😀
I was thrown off from that box also. Had to do some research. Ive seen yellow, and blue box, but this was a first for me also.
@@classicmodeltrains Athearn used a thin cardstock box in the mid sixties for it's RTR line. The top had a large cellophane window. the box color was a pale blue.
I think the nickel wheels have less friction/traction than the original wheel sets. Just a thought. You might try putting “OEM” trucks on the DD40. I’d bet you would have different results. I really enjoy your vids. Nice work.
I agree with you on the NS wheels. If I could find a set of sintered wheel sets ima gunna get them. Thanks for your kind words on my vids
23:28 you just figured out how to make a track cleaner.
John
Yup! There was some debris to clean up after this pull-off
TY
:-)
I see the hustler mentioned, but are we going to discuss the Athearn SW1500 Cow/Calf that Athearn tooled and cataloged likely from EMD plans, that was more akin to an SW7 than the prototype SW1500 ended up looking?
I stumbled upon a few tidbits of information on the interweb about make believe train models Athearn made. There was only 2 that popped up. Of course many discussions can be had about non-prototypical models. I was not attempting to go down that road.
@@classicmodeltrains ahh yes, I get what you were saying now!
Neat engine! What's better than one motor? TWO! Interesting how they designed it with both motors are tied together, I think this is a good idea. That should keep them from wearing unevenly. Some twin motor engines I've seen had a problem where one motor was worn down and the other motor dragged it along. Was surprised to see the smaller one out pull it! Better not weight on fixing that one......... Sorry, bad joke!
I could not believe that SD-45 Pulled that monster around. I heard (read) that Athearn offered the twin motors with out center driveline. said it ran better? More lab time needed :-)
The Hustler.
Yup!!
@@classicmodeltrains I Finally have the motor and gears to repower it for a more functional operation. Loving it. Have the same DD 40 and have purchased the newer Athearn can motors so its power draw in less.
ps. Do you have the TYCO with the mehano drive?
@@anthonymunoz6013 Right on! I would have picked up new motors for this one but the LHS did not have any.
@@anthonymunoz6013 tyco w/ mehano drive what?
I think the DD40 would have the sintered iron wheels the GP might have had its hands full. The polished nickel silver wheels look great but can’t develop the traction of Athern’s original wheels. The iron wheels had a rough surface and gripped the rails better. The Athern “blue box” locomotives were real performers. I used to do business with a shop in SLC years ago, and the owner swore by their performance.
I have never had an issue with the old style wheels . In fact I have a newer F7 that had the new wheels and it was having issues . On a whim I changed the wheels to the older style and it runs great now
I agree John. I wished I had a set of sintered wheels to put under that DD to see if it would pull that SD all over the place.
Douglas models was on State St. and 2nd South, the other sop was down the street a little ways (9th south?) and the train store was in the basement. Shopped both stores great staff in both. I did find the older gentleman a little “opinionated” though, but as you said, he swore by Athern.
So..conductive grease is like anti seize. 2 minutes after opening the lid on anti seize you end up looking like the tin man. Everything around does too. No matter how careful you are...that stuff is everywhere.
He he.......Yup! great analogy
DD40 was displayed by EMD (empty DD35 shell). The a is for the wide cab.The x indicates that it was equipped with the prototype dash 2 electronics. I actually have one stored away waiting for me restore it.
what flavor is stored away? Thanks for the breakdown in the letter designation :-)
@@classicmodeltrains Demonstrator. Can't remember if it has 1 or 2 motors. Also was given a Burlington version to use as a donor. I recall that one is missing the cab roof.
@@adventuresinmodelrailroading so it’s a Athearn I’m guessing ?
@Classic Model Trains Yup.
I liked the pull test...
The results aren't really surprising though because the DD-40 has more wheels than the SD-45 to spread the load out over. Since the traction is equal to the coefficient of friction x the weight / number of wheels.
Assuming the wheels have the same coefficient of friction (ie the same material and diameter) then the weight of the DD-40 would have to be 16 wheels / 12 wheels or 1.33 times heavier than the SD-45 to have the same traction.
Sorry for getting all mathematical...
Just curious now what they each weigh in at...
Rich...
PS. Keep up the great videos...
I want to drink beer with you! I love people who can get all mathematical. I can't to it (at that level). The SD-45 has its original wheels on it. They have more friction than the DD-40's upgraded N.S. wheels. Someone put sorta the wrong wheels in it. DD-40 weight in at 726 grams, the SD-45 is 476 grams. Thanks for your kind words on my Video's :-)
@@classicmodeltrains Ya must be the wheels because the DD-40 is at 726 / 476 = 1.53 times the weight of the SD-45...which is greater than the 1.33 times calculated...
Interesting to know though...
PS...I like beer.... ;-)
Hope you have a great Memorial Day...Slurp a couple o' cold ones for me...
Rich...
@@ruagoof2 right on! You write as if you are parched! I will have 3 for you ;-D
I have 5 of SD 45 but that DD is sweet
A yard full of SD-45"s!!!!!!
@@classicmodeltrains yeah fell in love with first 1 . Came in lot buy 33 of them. Got 4 in lot buys. And 1 I paid $25 for and it worked great. I love those. But 1 the driveshaft stuck and had an issue with the case that holds brushes and springs. It melted part of it. Didn't realize it but got it off track before it got worse. Still have to replace that part. New springs as well. They got little hot. Enough to burn and warp them.
The old Athearn wheels are sintered iron far as I know. I like em better than Nickle Silver because they have better traction.
I completely agree with you!!
I really enjoy your videos, and this is another great one. The trailer park is great, too. Was there a classic model this week? Keep them there videos coming.
Classic model took a week off. Thanks for your kind words!!
The Athern SD40 GN was not proto /wide body also
I was referencing having a prototype it's modeled after. Most older Athearn's are not prototypical, because of the wide body they made to get the motor to fit inside of. At least that's what ive heard Fellers say :-)
The Hustler was the first non-prototypical locomotive design from Athearn.
Yup!!
Turn the trucks on the SD45 around. You probably have them wrong way around. (Open both and compare)
Yup. Many have mentioned this. I think I will leave it alone and use it to have locomotive pulls with :-)
My DD-40 has the original wheels and dual motors. Maybe the smoother polished wheels on yours are the issue. I have three Alco Models Brass RS-2, and RS-3 models. They are heavy and yet they don’t pull much due to polished wheels.
I agree with you. Another Feller said Cinder wheels are the originals, that would really make this thing pull!!
I bet it would creep nice with flywheels.
I agree!
I'd say the other non-prototypical locomotive was the HO electric rectifier it made for Lionel during Lionel's first foray into HO scale in the late 1950's.
It was the Hi-F drive Hustler. According to the interweb :-)
@@classicmodeltrains: I'll add the above-mentioned electric rectifier to the list, as the real locomotive was c-c trucked.
@@dave6695 Sounds good to me 🙂
@@dave6695 it was a quick promo item by Lionel to boost sales of it's fledgling HO line, using the Athearn GP assembly sans the shell.
The mechanism will not operate properly with the inside bearing new axles .The bearings in the sideframes pick up current and hold the axle gears to the idler gear spacing properly .Need to find the right axle gears and wheel sets .I have had luck pressing the half shafts out further so they actually ride in the outside frame bushing/bearing . The way you have them in there flopping around is probably why it does not drag the sd45 around even if they are at a tug of war.
The axles are not flopping around. Only the brass axle bushings are. the truck as an assembly is working as it should be. I believe the nickel silver wheels are having problems with traction because they are so smooth. The SD-45 has them old cast wheels, I believe they have more bite. I would love to find a set of "proper" axle's for this, but I believe they would only be found in old parts loco's of the same time period.
@@classicmodeltrains Do the halfshafts go in the metal side frame bushing/bearing?If not it is just teetering on the gears ..Been there.
@@adamserafini6945 the wheel ends of the axles have a small stub shaft that is seated into the brass bushings on the truck covers. This truck would not operate if the axles were teetering on the gears alone. I thought the truck maintenance and reassemble procedure was clearly shot and explained during the video
yes, you are correct. the sideframes need the Athearn original phosphor bronze round press fit bushings. they were available as a separate part.
@@suppylarue220 I have had luck pressing out the pins on the original OE wheel sets with a vice and the smallest 1/4 inch socket I could find think 4mm .will work using new style wheels .Think the gears are a different size and cannot be used .Too short. Had a few dd40's and sold them off.The old came with brass wheels and a stack of weight as long as the locomotive .No instruction of where it goes. Figures. Good luck.
The SD 45 has cinder steel wheels the DD 40 has nickel ,cinder wheels are most aggressive on the rail put them on the DD 40 it will be a pulling MFer
Thats's the word Ive been looking for!!!!! CINDER!! I knew it one time, but killed that memory cell w/ a beer. Thank you. and I agree with you. Them NS wheels are to slick :-D
Greetings, I enjoy watching your restoration videos. I saw that you were checking for bent frame in the video, I have an Athearn BB RDC and its frame is bent slightly upwards like a sail boat. Could you tell me the right way to bend it back?
Thanks for supporting my channel. You will have to use a soft mallet and gently tap it back to straight a little at a time. If you try and go too fast it will end up breaking the frame.
@@classicmodeltrains gotcha, thanks a bunch.
I use Tide or Persil; it ain't cheap.
??
Need to add some weight to the big one. Then she will pull better
I Agree!!
How do you know if both motors are running? If you want the other one to reverse directions, switch the front and rear trucks around.
I'm only assuming they are both running. If one was not I believe the center driveline would slip and bind up or fall off. It also had a stall amp draw of almost 3 amps
Hey Ron I will take that DD40 off of your hands!
I'm not quite sure if I'm going to put it on the auction block........YET :-)
Why your sd-45 pulled the dd-40 because the dd-40 has nickel silver wheel sets in it and are the wrong ones,,,if it had the original wheels like the sd-45 has it would be a different outcome,,,the sintered iron wheels have more tractive effort then the nickel silver ones do
Ive come to find this out. I figured the NS wheel would not pull as good. I just could not remember the word "sintered" while making the vid. Thanks for the info!!
What is a reasonable price to pay for these.
I could not really answer that. Depends on condition and rarity, and how much a Feller really wants it. I'd guess at $40-$150 range. Sorry I cannot nail it down tighter
Where can I find the clips
Amazon, just type "Athearn coupler cover"
Double motor locomotive
twice the amp draw, twice the fun :-)
SD 45 ?
Thats what out pulled this DD-40
Hustler?
??
@@classicmodeltrains 1st non-prototypical Athearn diesel: Hustler is my guess. @ about 2:13