Build and Review of the Original 1957 Athearn "GP9"
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- Athearn made the GP9 (actually a GP7) kit for over 40 years, but the first version was only made from 1957 to about 1960. In this video, I build that original model and then go over it in a review!
Great build, Its sad the old Globe drives aren't as known about today. They're a great option for repowering with a can motor if you want a heavier chassis in a custom build. I would like to point out, the long bearing in the top of the gearbox is actually two of the drive axle bears pressed in either side. Found that out accidentally during a service. Hope to see more builds in the future!
All things considered, given these are nearly 70 years old, they really don't look that bad. I am 62 and remember these well as a kid. Also seeing all the superdetailing that was being done back in the 70's especially. It is almost as if nobody noticed the fat hoods until the Atlas/Roco GP and SD models came out in 1975!
I loved that paint scheme of the Southern Pacific and also the red noses. I use to see Athearn locomotives and rolling stock in the boxes on a shelf at my local toy store back in the earlier 1990s thru 2007 before it closed its doors. I wished I would have bought some since they were at a decent price. They looked cool to build, I like the nostalgia of it in my older years. I was young and really didn’t have an interest to sit still long enough to build anything worth my while. Great video to learn something new. Perhaps I’ll find some at a train show to build one myself 😎🚂💨💨💨
Very nice vintage review. Original box is superb!
Your videos on the older equipment that have lapsed into obscurity are for me a revelation and great joy to view. Thank you for posting this one in particular. SIncerely, George
Good video. I've never seen one of these early Athearn geared drives. I've only messed around with their rubber band drives of the same era.
I've started using J-B Weld two-part epoxy for the metal handrail stanchions on my Athearn diesels, both where they fit into the plastic body shell, and where the stanchion meets the handrail. No more crooked stanchions!
Super glue works well
I use a soldering gun to "set" the handrails to the body, and then use glue. 💙 T.E.N.
I enjoyed this video and i hope to see more of this.
Awesome build! Very well done Sir!
Tank you for this very nice model built. Amazing good quality for the time.
Hopefully, I could start Modeling trains. I have never actually modeled trains, but I do like watching videos about Model trains.
You Actually Built a Model Locomotive from the Ground Up. Impressive, Very Impressive. I couldn’t have done that.
Athearn’s kits are a good starting point to learn about how to maintain your trains and keep them going! Most of them are easy to work on with a clear way of fitting the parts.
this is so satisfying to watch
I did not know that Athearn used metal towers. I thought they went from rubber band to plastic towers. Great vid.
Yup, they started out with metal before changing to the plastic design, and then came up with their standard chassis a few years later that's still in use today!
hello Darth Santa Fe & it's is Randy and i like yours video is cool & Thanks Darth Santa Fe Thanks Friends Randy
Super. I operate four Athearn GP-9 "Bluebox" locomotives that I bought almost fifty years ago, and just by chance, they all came with the Jet motor and later version gear drive. I never knew that there was a third type of drive for the GP-9, not just the band and jet drives. The trucks remind me of the Mantua/Tyco MU-1 power trucks, with all the screws. I also make sure that all of my locomotives have winterization hatches, dynamic brakes, nice horn, and a full lighting package. 💙 T.E.N.
My first locos that I got when I was 4 years old were a GN GP9 and an NH F unit, both rubber band drives. Soon after, I got for my birthday, one of the units like in your video. The motors were pretty weak in all of them, and I don't remember where I got a replacement from a few years later, but it had about 3 times the torque the stock motor had, and improved it in every way. The amount of screws in some of the old locos always impressed me for some reason. I have a couple of RC cars now and the bigger ones have literally 200 allen screws holding it together.
I believe I have a pre-production sample of this model. It was all black plastic but with very few details. Like no fans other than a winterizeation hatch. With an all plastic frame with no motor mounts and has screwed on trucks. It also has all the separate parts on it. But with the horns being on the short hood.
You had the earliest version of the Globe model. They and the F7s originally came without a motor and as a dummy only unit.
Crazy loud just like my Athearn GE-U28B-7, I wish they invented a sound deadening kit for them!
I've found the actual gearing in the trucks used for the U28B is pretty quiet, with most of the noise coming from the motor and universals.
Great video. More of these please. You do these so well and they are very informative and educational.
Good job,👍
Ooo beautiful
I have an Olympic Express Japanese chassis that is a dead ringer for this chassis except mine has a Pittman motor! All metal gears....not quiet but powerful! Even has the frame tabs for Athearn GP-9.
I've seen those around before! Since there are slight differences between their chassis and Athearn's I have to wonder if there was some copying going on or if Olympic Express got most of the parts from Athearn.
1:14 For those of you who think modern day model trains are too expensive, take a gander at what $185 dollars in today's money bought you in the "good old days"! An over engineered kit with no fly wheels, no can motor, no supper detailing, incorrect hood width, fuzzy print graphics, only four wheel electrical pick up, not even a lamp for the headlight! Model railroading has always been an expensive hobby but we sure get a lot more for our money in this day and age than they got back in the 1950's!
Good job
😊😊 super.
Enjoyed the video! Did you consider swapping in a modern (presumably better performing?) motor, or is it your practice to keep the model as "stock" as possible? Similarly, is it possible to retrofit the model for eight-wheel electrical pickup?
Also, you mentioned that hard-mounting the motor to the chassis helps the motor run cooler. Do you think it increases the running noise, though?
Thanks! I’ve upgraded a few of my Athearns with better motors, but this one will keep the original motor for the history.
It is possible to upgrade this to 8-wheel pickup by installing some wipers to the trucks using insulators. The process is actually pretty easy.
Having the motor directly mounted does increase noise, so both methods have their advantages. The motor noise isn’t a big deal in this one, but I do like to soft-mount the motors in models with really quiet gearing.
Actually own a one of a kind f unit set that uses these early gp7’s handrails as a makeshift train phone antenna. Good runners, need to replace the wheels though
The Pennsylvania Railroad has phone antennas on top of some of their locomotives that look like handrails. 💙 T.E.N.
@@tracynation2820 I know. That had nothing to do with the f7s i own
I decided to do some quick internet research on the winterization hatch. While I didn't find it on any SP GP7 or GP9s, I did find them on UP and WP locomotives. Other details that would stand out the steam generator and dynamic brakes. The UP, WP, and the SP had dynamic brakes, but the steam generator were hard to find. The reason that I choose these railroads were due to Athearn's closeness to these railroads and it was rumored that somethings were based on SP prototypes. My best guess that Athearn created this model off of some EMD drawing or even something that Kalmbach Publishing. provided. I would say that if the winterization hatch, the dynamic brakes, and the steam generator was left off; it would be more of a generic model of the GP7 or GP9. Who knows? Uncle Irv may have like these details, and this is the reasoning these details were chosen.
The Athearn GP7 was always designed to have the dynamic blister be removable. At the time it was tooled, it was assumed that most modellers possessed the skill to removed the cast in dynamic fan, and to be able to fill in the resultant hole - but they did you a solid and made sure the hood radius stayed correct under the individual blister pieces.
You could have your brake and delete it too. The Lionel HO GP-9 complete dynamic brake blister fits the Athearn non-dynamic GP-9 and the Tyco GP-20 perfectly, as well as other locomotives. (NYC was the only railroad to have non-dynamic GP-20s.) 💙 T.E.N.
Another great video Darth! Where did you find this gem? Thanks, Jeff.
Thanks! I got it from eBay.
Nice work. Nice to see that the manufacturing process was meant to last. Just curious do you think you could replace the wheels with nickel silver ones and replace the motor with a modern athearn motor easily?
Yes, it would actually be fairly easy for these since they have regular solid axles. The motor's also easy to swap out.
A prrecision can motor with flywheeels would go a long way to improving its performance. Shimming the motor shafts on the can motor would be required easily accomplished with metal tubing. Shaft length may have to be shortened on one side and the results are am,azing.
A modern motor and flywheels would be an improvement, but the old motor actually runs very well already.
Outstanding as always! I had no clue that they had a metal tower gear drive! How much did you pay for this one? I may look into getting one myself.
Thanks! I paid too much since it was new in the box. I’ve heard of them appearing used for $20 to $30 from some places, so you just have to keep an eye out.
@@DarthSantaFeAwesome! If I have any money after the train show in a couple weeks I'll look into one! (Being too caught up in school for a job. Maybe one day I can get one to supply my train addiction!)
Where did you find that athearn yellow box gp9 kit I been trying to find one for me
I got it from eBay. It's amazing what can pop up around there now and then.
It is a passenger unit therefore it needs black widow stripes on the rear.
Olympic Expess cloned these drives for their brass loco chassis often materd with Athearn shells.
you have a magnet zapper ? 😯 of course it will only make them as strong as they ever where to begin with. Did you remove the magnet from the motor housing ? that can sometimes cause magnetic loss
I made sure to avoid doing that when checking out the motor, but Athearn’s early magnets had a tendency to weaken over time. A quick recharge can get them running pretty well.
Where did you get that 'Remagnetizer' from? I sure can use it with model railroad projects.
An English guy named Ronald Dodd makes and sells them. You can find info and demonstrations on his RUclips channel.
@@DarthSantaFe Okay then, And thank you for answering my reply.
And in SP black widow livery ❤❤❤
I’ve got the 1969 Union Pacific variant
dom't forget to lube all gears and bearings.
Have you ever installed a DCC decoder in any of your HOB models ?
@@SouthernAlco No, aside from the Rapido Turbo Train, I only run DC.
Do you happen to have any videos replacing the magnets in the pitman motors?
I’ve done magnet replacement in a couple videos before. The Penn Line GG-1 got an upgrade, and I also did it for a Tyco 0-4-0T in my second mass repair video.
I thought the original Athearn models were the Hi F (rubber band) drives and not the gear driven ones?
The gear drive is actually a little older since it was made first for the Globe F7, but the Hi-F drive GP7 was released at the same time as the geared version.
@@DarthSantaFe Huh. Didn't know that! Thanks for the info!
@DarthSantaFe Actually do you happen to know when the Globe band driven f unit was released? I have one and it's very similar to an Athearn except it has more wires and a different method of mounting the motor brushes.
@@bracdude181 I'm not quite sure on the timing, but it may have been 1956. Going by the info I've found at HOSeeker, the Globe F7 had been rebranded to Athearn in 1957, the GP7 was first advertised in 1956 to be released with both gear and Hi-F options, and the only official Globe material I can find refers only to the gear drive. With that, my guess is the gear drive was introduced in 1955 or 56, the Hi-F was at least advertised in 56, and everything was in full production by 57.
Hey darth if you have a Alco brass RSD15 would you do a review or tune up i got one at a train show yesterday and put a kato motor in jt from a C425 definitely helps performance and got rid of most of the noise even tho i greased the metal gears in the trucks and oiled everything theres still some noise
I don't have anything to show for Alco brass at the moment, but I do have another KMT-made brass piece that I'll get to eventually. Mechanically, it should be about the same as the RSD-15.
@@DarthSantaFe thanks any tips on getting it to run smooth is appreciated
@@Dawsonsrailfanadventures74 They did at least make them fairly simple to work on, so it's easy to take them apart and check each moving part. Once things are cleaned, try turning the driveshaft on each truck by hand and see if you can feel any binding. If the mesh between the truck and gear tower is too tight, you can insert paper shims under the gear tower until it turns freely. Beyond that, I'd mostly just be sure everything is properly cleaned, oiled and moving freely. You can check some of my Hobbytown videos to get a good idea on some parts since they're built similarly.
Even till the end of production the never came with window glass.
My mistake, thanks for the correction!
@@DarthSantaFe no mistake, isn't a big deal....I modeled like 43 of these into Paducah rebuilds and Milwaukee road GP20s back in the day....I know these better than anything.
I used Scotch tape as windows. 💙 T.E.N.
@@tracynation2820 evergreen styrene makes clear sheet plastic
I did it when I was young. The porthole windows still look pretty good, and some of the cab glass, as well as the smaller structure windows, survived quite well, but 40 year old tape didn't work so well for the large display windows, unless you wanted the cracked and dirty look, and disintegrated on the locomotives and passenger cars that I operated outside, and got replaced, but my 30 year old "abandoned" passenger car looks spectacular with its cracked and dirty "windows." 9 out of 64 of my locomotives, all around 40 to 50 years old, still have 40 year old Scotch tape as window glass, which actually looks pretty good in the cabs of my Mantua/Tyco steam locomotives, and is really easy to make it look like a cracked window with an X-acto knife. Funny to note just how many older models I bought that did and didn't come with windows, and that all newer models, even the cheap ones, actually have windows now. 💙 T.E.N.
How do we know we have a GP7 and not a G9? Back in those fragrant days of yore, fans and modelers would have told you a GP7 had no dynamic brake hump and a GP9 did.
Simple and WRONG!
When GM finally got on the roadswitcher bandwagon in 1948, it took the prime mover of the F7 streamlined freighter, the model 16-V-567B (16 cylinder, V configuration, 567 cubic inches per cylinder) of 1500 horsepower and its associated electrical equipment and put them in a roadswitcher car body. In 1954, EMD introduced the GP9 with the 1750 horsepower 567C engine which, importantly, solved a problem of the B - which leaked water internally. Oil diluted by water does not lubricate very well. Downed locomotives in the shop were eating money = unhappy customers (EMD developed a modification kit for the Model B that the railroads could install, creating the BC engine, and solving the problem....for a price, of course, GM wasn't running a charity. There was an A to AC conversion as well, but few people ever bought that, why spend money on an old locomotive due for replacement soon?). The F9 sold OK, but the GP9 became world beater. With a reliable engine and "a simpler electrical system than a '56 Chevy" it stayed out on the road earning money rather than in the shops consuming it - and it could do any job the railroad asked of it, passenger, way freight, transfer, fast freight, switcher. More GP9's were built than any other diesel in history (4257) - a record that stood until the SD40 and its derivatives came along, two decades later.
The kicker in all this is that both GP7's and GP9's came with and without dynamic brakes! Beyond looking at the builder's plate how can we tell what we have? Easy! Look under the cab. GP7's have three sets of louvers in the battery box, GP9's have one or none. GP7's also have two sets of louvers at the far end of the long hood, GP9's one or none. Congratulations! You are now on your way to being a diesel locomotive model expert, impressing your dinner companions should the subject come up and winning bets in bars. I'll let you figure out what model Espee 5600 is.
BTW, it is in the as delivered "Black Widow" paint scheme, the "Bloody Nose" livery (Gray with crimson ends) was introduced around 1960.
PS - the louver ID method is based on how EMD built them. In the three quarters of a century since then, &deity knows how many shoppings, modifications and rebuilds can have altered things on what is down on your local short line's ready track..
Thanks for the info!
It was actually a Lionel error that hit propagated into the model railroad world for almost fifty years. They sold the non DB model as a GP7 and the dynamic equipped model as a GP9. Athearn followed suit, calling their model a GP9 even though it’s a mish mash of GP7 phase differences (it could be seen most accurately as an late Phase 2 model once the full length batten strips are modified).
@@kriscarver-seaboyer9204 I am aware of the Lionel error, but I am unsure as to whether it was the cause or result of the railfan rumor. Sorta chicken or egg situation.
Bro, you mean about 155 scale mph!!
place rusty railings in coca cola and the rust will disappear.
Assuming the rust hasn’t completely eaten through like what happened with mine. :)