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 Posted - February 11 2009 : 9:47:24 PM
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Hi all!
So this is my first post on this board. I am VERY new at this, so I appreciate all of your patience. I have been surfing and searching this forum and a lot of you have a lot of experience so I am looking forward to learning a lot from all of you.
So a brief history. My first train set ever was a Rock Island MIdnight Freight. Road number 7009.
A couple of years later I also acquired another set that came with a Santa Fe Alco 430, with the number 8130 on the side.
The Road Island train got destroyed (I was a kid), but the Santa Fe was taken more seriously, taken to Portugal with all my cars and tracks and I built a set there over the summer.
Fast forward 20 years, I came across the old Rock Island Midnight Express set on E-bay last year and purchased it. It has a shark nose on the box but an F-7 unit inside, just like I had when I was a kid.
The Alco 430 and rolling stock made it back from Portugal last year as well.
Since then I bought another Santa Fe 430 in the same condition as the one I had :-).
So I have the bug, and its biting, and Im starting to build a train set in my spare room.
Okay, so to the real question:
The Rock Island pulls and runs GREAT compared to the Santa Fe's. I would like to make them run better and noticed they slip a lot.
I have been thinking of making some mods to them- traction rings as a start or adding pick-ups to the rest of the wheels.
So what Kind of motor do I have? I keep hearing MU-2 and PT and I dont think I have any of that. My motor is in the center and drives shafts out to each truck.
Anything I can do to make these things run better?
Again, thank you all and look forward to sharing and chatting with you guys (and gals)!!
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Posted - February 11 2009 : 11:13:34 PM
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Welcome aboard.
Does the loco have a metal or plastic frame?
Ray
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Posted - February 12 2009 : 02:23:24 AM
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Hey Ray,
All have plastic frames.
They all have motors mounted in the middle with axles out to the trucks.
Thanks
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Posted - February 12 2009 : 05:31:57 AM
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| hi spl1011,best thing to do to make sure we get it right,is to post photos,as you are new you can to make it easier send photos to me via my email at kfurnevel@msn.com,and i will post them for you ken
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Posted - February 12 2009 : 10:32:34 AM
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So I did some digging and came across ho-scaletrains.net which had very good descriptions of the sets I have.
So here is their description for the Rock Island set I purchased:
"Rock Island Express (not Midnight Freight as I mentioned earlier)
(No.7403)
The 1987 catalog displays TYCO's Shark Nose at the point of this train set, however if you look closely at the set's box that's a Rock Island F-unit. As TYCO's train offerings began to shrink in the late '80s, contents of sets began showing some interesting variations. The F-9A's tooling is very similar, if not the same, as the former American, Train & Track F-9A from the late '60s. This F-9A offer found itself substituting for the apparently out of production TYCO Shark Nose. The set's contents also included 50' Box Car, Hopper, and Caboose. These rolling stock selections are also at times subject to variations from what might have been included in the catalog image and past editions of similar sets. The track plan was a 36" x 45" oval and a TYCOPak was included."
Here is their details on the Santa Fe set I also have:
"Santa Fe 72
Giant 72 Piece Train Set
(No. 7414)
Listed as a NEW train set in the 1989 TYCO catalog, the Santa Fe 72 included a GP-20 Diesel, Tank Car, 50' Box Car, Gondola with Pipes, AutoLoader with 8 Autos, and Caboose. Additionally, the set featured an Auto Loading Station, 17-piece Bridge & Trestle Set, 24 Poles and Signs, and a 36" x 45" oval track plan with a TYCOPak included."
What is interesting is that my 1989 Santa Fe came with the 430, much like the site's description for the 1991 version of the Santa Fe 72:
"The 1991 catalog calls for an Alco 430, which is what appears to have been found in most of the very late examples of TYCO's Santa Fe 72 set. The Santa Fe Alco 430 in this set however is not the familiar model that was introduced during TYCO's Red Box Era of the 1960s. This Alco Century 430 is a Yugoslovian-made model and is very close in appearance to the currently available Model Power Alco Century 430."
I will try to get pics for you guys later on!
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Posted - February 22 2009 : 03:57:46 AM
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I finally got a pic of my Tyco Alco 430's guts. So what do you call this kind of motor arrangement?
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Posted - February 22 2009 : 10:03:20 AM
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I may be wrong but that looks to be an AHM Alco Century 420...a fairly rare bird you'll want to take care of. It could be the later Model Power one too but that drive train and motor look a lot like the AHM drive.
Edited by - shaygetz on February 22 2009 10:05:20 AM
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Posted - February 22 2009 : 10:42:58 AM
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| hi shaygetz i will plump for model power,maybe a crossover item,frame handrails i would think are model power ken
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Posted - February 22 2009 : 11:42:36 AM
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That does look like the Model Power version of the C430.
http://www.hoseeker.net/modelpower/modelpoweralcoc430pg1.jpg
Ray
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Posted - February 22 2009 : 12:06:15 PM
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I think my career as a loco identifier has come to a flaming end this week... 
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Posted - March 07 2009 : 2:34:01 PM
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quote:
Well, Oh shucks... I thought It was a Tyco all these years :-(
I guess Ill google some model power forums to see what can be done to these engines to make them run better. I would really like them to pull better, they slip, are choppy and just dont have the same power that my Rock Island F-7 unit has.
Are these impossible to convert to DCC?
What about motor replacements?
I know its a stretch to ask all these questions, but you know what they say about the only stoopid questions are those not asked ;-)
Thanks!
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Posted - April 03 2009 : 4:23:46 PM
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Our buddy Hypoponera has alot of experience with the Alco. He has me working on one too.
Alco Fan
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