# AHM TRAINS, REMEMBER?



## time warp

I was about 13 years old, or nearly. 1973 and a couple of months before my birthday and I got to noticing the model trains at our local Woolworth store. I couldn't afford to buy anything, but I looked at them so much its a wonder I didn't wear holes in the boxes!
Remarkable, to me. The many types and colors of freight cars, the NYC streamlined Hudson, carded railroad track hanging on the display and it seemed to go on forever. In the picture window in front of the store there were stacks of boxed train sets like I'd never seen and one of them got my attention. It was a Thunderbolt train set with a brown Pennsylvania engine, 2 cars and caboose. I let my mom know that I wanted that train set for my birthday, and I thought that day would never come! 
October 29th came and brought along my first HO train set. I still have some of the original pieces 43 years later. My 10 year old runs them now and they're still earning their keep!
One thing I remember well; I had my train set up on sawhorses in an unfinished room in my parents home and it was a Saturday. My Dad was in off the road and while the trains were running around, my little sister and I were playing with matchbox cars on the penciled in roads we'd drawn. My Dad sat on a chair and played with us that day, He drew a weigh station next to our roads and made us cross the scales as we "drove" back and forth. That was the only time my Dad ever played with me.
I plan on sharing some pictures and a little history later, and I look forward to seeing what others have to say. 

Here are some of our AHM trains in no particular order:

The BN S2 is one of my sons favorites because he likes green. A really smooth running engine even though it has a 3 pole motor.










This PRR S2 helps out on the coal dump from time to time. This one came from a swap meet in Oklahoma and has a 3 pole motor. Mid '70's vintage.










The ubiquitous Western Maryland BL 2, The prototype for this one has been restored to service and runs today.
When AHM introduced this model MR reviewed it as one of the finest HO diesels at the time. That was in '62!









My favorites, the C&O BL 2 pair. Both of these are powered and are very smooth running. Arguably one of the most beautiful paint schemes to ever be applied to a locomotive.











I'll post some more later!


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## NAJ

Of course I remember, AHM is my favorite and all part of the nostalgia and fun of model railroading for me.

When I got into trains in the early 70's I had bought Tyco stuff from "Two Guys" (a department store that went out of business in 1983).
One day I went into a hobby shop and the clerk gave me the 1973 AHM catalog and when I started looking through it I was amazed by all of the trains and accessories that were available and looked through that book all of time thinking "I want this and I want that" and it has been AHM ever since.
I still have that catalog and when I got back into model railroading I wanted AHM, all of my running Loco's are AHM.


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## JNXT 7707

AHM was my first introduction to HO trains, back in the Christmas of 1968.
I still have the Penn Central C-Liner and the C&O caboose from that first set. (It never occurred to me to question why a PC train would be pulling a C&O caboose!)
A few years ago I found a complete boxed AHM set on the second hand table at the LHS. PC RS3, 3 freight cars and a PC caboose! Brought it home and it was like Christmss all over again :laugh:


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## MattR

This brought back great memories long lost. Until I was old enough to get my dad's Lionel, I was given an AHM set for my birthday. I was 5 or 6. Would have been around 1980-82 maybe? It was a small steam set. A B&O 0-4-0 steam with coal bunk built on, no tender. And a couple cars. It's long gone. I am now days well versed in Lionel, but not a bit in HO models. Any help with finding out what set that was would be just great. I would like to replace it. I'll know it when I see it. Hey, you started this!!

Thanks
Matt


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## time warp

That was a "Dockside" 0-4-0. I have a picture of that set in a catalog at home, I'll take a look and try to post it.


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## Lemonhawk

My first engine was the Varney Dockside, probably around 1960 while I was still in High school. I probably put more hours on that dockside than any other engine. It may still be packed away in some box that has traveled with me over several moves. There a Varney Prairie packed up which was another engine I ran in the 60. Did do much with RR'ing from 1962 to 1998, so the boxes if they exist are unlabeled and long ago packed away.


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## LateStarter

That Varney dockside was referred to as "Lil' Joe". John Allen posed it in many of his photos. I still have mine.

My only purchase from AHM was a UP Big Boy, which I still have. Man, what a monstrous locomotive that is! Placing Lil Joe next to it was always good for a laugh. :laugh:


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## time warp

Those AHM big boys have always been cool! Think about how long ago that was initially produced, it's amazing.
I've owned only 2 AHM steamers, an 0-6-0 t, and a cab forward. The cab forward is a beast! It was in rough shape when I got it so I passed it along. Bummer.
I'm really wanting a Y6b, but $$omething is preventing that.


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## LateStarter

I originally planned to model the '30's & '40's, and have Lil Joe be the shuttle for my salvage yard.
But then I got bitten by the diesel transition era, and I never looked back.

Still... today I get steam pangs, and I picture that little goat pushing gondolas out to the steel mill.


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## time warp

Our railroad is set in 1971, but I still have an old mantua little 6 that I use on the work train.


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## LateStarter

time warp said:


> Our railroad is set in 1971, but I still have an old mantua little 6 that I use on the work train.


I have a Mantua Little Six also.
It was the first loco I bought for myself, after saving for three years.


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## FOURTEEN

My first train set was a AHM Soo Line GP-18. Still have all the cars I belive, rebuilt the GP-18 about 20 years ago.


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## Chet

I do remember AHM trains. Unfortunately they were not at the top of the pecking order. I switched from N scale to HO in the late 70's because of the poor running qualities of the locomotives at the time. 

I was looking for quality locomotives. At the time, Athearn was probably the best bang for the buck, both for details and running quality. 

I ran across an AHM locomotive at a swap meet that was new in the box and figured that I would give it a try. I was not at all impressed with it. Details were poor and the running quality reminded me of why I left N scale. 

After a lot of work on the Athearn locomotives such as remotoring and dding many details I finally got decent running locomotives. Then Atlas brought out their line of Alco RS units with the Kato drive. These are still running like new and the remotored Athearn locomotives run as good as the Atlas units and are still running like new. 

AHM did not impress me at ll.


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## JNXT 7707

Well gee, Chet - you're no fun hwell:


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## time warp

I found it interesting many years ago in an editorial that Hal Carstens wrote.
Apparently his trains had been stored away for a considerable amount of time and he had just recently started getting them out, and this was in the early eighties I think, anyway he said out of everything he owned the only thing that ran when he first put it on the rails was an old AHM C- liner!
Over the years I have bought scores of them at train shows and a lot of them were in really rough shape but it seems like nearly all of them would run.


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## Chet

JNXT 7707 said:


> Well gee, Chet - you're no fun hwell:


Just calling a spade a spade. Look at the progress that has been made over the years when it come to the quality of locomotives. The AHM locomotives are a bit crude compared to what is available today.


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## JNXT 7707

Chet said:


> Just calling a spade a spade. Look at the progress that has been made over the years when it come to the quality of locomotives. The AHM locomotives are a bit crude compared to what is available today.


Oh I agree, quality has gone way up, as well as detail and of course the cost. 
It's mostly the nostalgia though - great memories of those old AHM sets under the Christmas tree. I had a lot of fun with those things, and still do!


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## daveh219

*OK...*

OK... I'll chime in here. Did AHM and Rivirossi become the same thing???


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## time warp

No! No! No! EBay is responsible for the ahm/ rivarossi thing. Most ahm trains were made by Mehano in Yugoslavia. Rivarossi made trains but ahm sold some of them through the years as part of their line. In the past few years a lot of people have started thinking that ahm and rivarossi were somehow the same thing but that's not true. There were a lot of worldwide companies that made merchandise for ahm over the years.
AHM was an importer, they made nothing.
Bernie Paul founded AHM, later IHC. Rivarrossi is a separate entity


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## time warp

MattR said:


> This brought back great memories long lost. Until I was old enough to get my dad's Lionel, I was given an AHM set for my birthday. I was 5 or 6. Would have been around 1980-82 maybe? It was a small steam set. A B&O 0-4-0 steam with coal bunk built on, no tender. And a couple cars. It's long gone. I am now days well versed in Lionel, but not a bit in HO models. Any help with finding out what set that was would be just great. I would like to replace it. I'll know it when I see it. Hey, you started this!!
> 
> Thanks
> Matt



Is this what you were talking about?


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## time warp

JNXT 7707 said:


> AHM was my first introduction to HO trains, back in the Christmas of 1968.
> I still have the Penn Central C-Liner and the C&O caboose from that first set. (It never occurred to me to question why a PC train would be pulling a C&O caboose!)
> A few years ago I found a complete boxed AHM set on the second hand table at the LHS. PC RS3, 3 freight cars and a PC caboose! Brought it home and it was like Christmss all over again :laugh:



I've always liked the RS 2, This is from Railroad Modeler 1974










The NYC is my favorite, because my mom had picked one out on on her own to give to me as a Christmas gift. She always called it a work engine.
I painted and decaled the PC, I have a Santa Fe and another NYC also. Good memories, I don't care about scale accuracy or detail. These make me happy!


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## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> The NYC is my favorite, because my mom had picked one out on on her own to give to me as a Christmas gift. She always called it a work engine.
> I painted and decaled the PC, I have a Santa Fe and another NYC also. Good memories, I don't care about scale accuracy or detail. These make me happy!
> 
> View attachment 233721


The PC RS2 that came out of that old set I found ran like it was 1974. What a thrill! I know it's crude by today's "standards" but I wonder how many of the current showboats coming off the line in China can say that 45 years from now? 
Long live AHM!:smilie_daumenpos:


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## NAJ

JNXT 7707 said:


> It's mostly the nostalgia though - great memories of those old AHM sets.


Well Said!!! :appl:

It's ALL about the Nostalgia for me.


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## PhillipL

When I was growing up, my brother and I had both complete B&O and New Haven heavy weight passenger trains all of which were AHM. This thread has brought back some fine memories of the trains I had as a kid. Somehow, it seems the model trains back then were easier to get and more fun to run (I am not trying to knock down today's models). I even had a small steam engine named "Little Miner" with two small coal hoppers that I ran for hours at a time. Unfortunately my old trains are with my brother who lives over 260 miles away. I did purchase two Trainline GP9Ms which really remind me of the model trains back then. To be honest, I have more fun running them than my Proto and Mainline locomotives!


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## time warp

I'm glad you shared that, PhillipL. I treasure similar memories.
I get those same feelings when I run those old trains today, It's like I'm a kid again.


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## thedoc

When I was in HS, my dad went to Phila. for the AHM "funeral sales" of engines, he came back with 6 Rivarossi 2-10-2's and got 5 of them running. The usual problem was the light bulb was burnt out, so he just replaced the light bulb and had a good engine. We used to run strings of hopper cars with those engines, 1 in front and 2 in back, just like the B&O. He also picked up some Cab forwards that he converted into EM-1's.


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## JNXT 7707

thedoc said:


> ......We used to run strings of hopper cars with those engines, 1 in front and 2 in back, just like the B&O. He also picked up some Cab forwards that he converted into EM-1's.


Wow...I would have loved to have had a look at that. Any of those converted cab forwards survive?


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## thedoc

JNXT 7707 said:


> Wow...I would have loved to have had a look at that. *Any of those converted cab forwards survive?*


Probably somewhere, but that was 50 years ago when I moved out to go to college, and dad converted back to O gauge, he sold everything at train shows. At the time I wasn't thinking about a large RR, but only got a few small engines to run a short line RR. When I finally started to think about a larger RR, it was all gone except for a few pieces that I had saved. Then 8 years ago I lost everything again except 35 70T B&O hopper cars, a USRA 2-10-2 steam engine, and a B&O caboose. I have been very selective in what I am now buying.


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## thedoc

JNXT 7707 said:


> *Wow...I would have loved to have had a look at that.* Any of those converted cab forwards survive?


The first time he built the table, he made a framework and laid Homasote over it without any other support. The Homasote soon sagged between the frames, and we rebuilt the benchwork with plywood under the Homasote. That was stable for a long time, from around 1963 till 2001 when it was removed. At that time he had extended the track all around the 24' x 24' room with 2 sides being on a narrow shelf, just wide enough for Standard gauge on the outside and O gauge on the inside.


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## time warp

I have some AHM GP 18's and a MA & PA SW1 that needed some extra wipers installed to get 8 wheel pickup. So I raided my bloated parts stash and soldered some feeders on to a few spare contacts I found. I removed the bodies, popped the sideframe covers off and cleaned the side of the gear case with alcohol and super glued the contacts in place, then routed the wires up inside towards the Motor. 
Soldered one lead to the headlight bracket and the other to the top brush plate and BAM! All wheel pickup! One by one I put them back together and set them on my test track. The Lehigh Valley geep and the SW1 ran flawlessly, never better.
Then "Normalcy" manifest itself. I set the previously good running SF geep on the test track ( running fine for nearly a year) and it sputtered, faltered, and smoke! DANG IT! Did I fry the Motor? One of little man's favorites, too!
Without the body I could spin the drive coupling and get it to sort of run, but man was the smoke rolling out of the motor!
I hooked it up to my power feed wires and kick started it at full power with the engine laying on its side and you could watch the FIRE at the commutator and burning matter flying off of it! It was running though, in its pyrotechnic splendor. With nothing to lose I cut the end off of a q-tip and started touching the stick to the commutator. I had to trim it back 3 or 4 times because of all the gunk that was coming off. Ran it a while that way at full throttle and do you know that thing straightened out? I thought it died for sure.
Put the body back on and down the 3 flights to the basement, set it on the track and away she went! What the heck WAS that? Wierd.
Runs really great by the way.


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## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> Then "Normalcy" manifest itself. I set the previously good running SF geep on the test track ( running fine for nearly a year) and it sputtered, faltered, and smoke! DANG IT! Did I fry the Motor? One of little man's favorites, too!
> Without the body I could spin the drive coupling and get it to sort of run, but man was the smoke rolling out of the motor!
> I hooked it up to my power feed wires and kick started it at full power with the engine laying on its side and you could watch the FIRE at the commutator and burning matter flying off of it! It was running though, in its pyrotechnic splendor. With nothing to lose I cut the end off of a q-tip and started touching the stick to the commutator. I had to trim it back 3 or 4 times because of all the gunk that was coming off. Ran it a while that way at full throttle and do you know that thing straightened out? I thought it died for sure.
> Put the body back on and down the 3 flights to the basement, set it on the track and away she went! What the heck WAS that? Wierd.
> Runs really great by the way.


Rodney, I picked up an old AHM Monon RS3 (love that black/gold scheme) for $5 at a train show this weekend. Brought it home, put it on the track - nothing. Cleaned up the wheels and wipers - it LIVES...but, not with a real zest for life, if you know what I mean? Sputters a bit, needs some real voltage to get going, has a wisp of smoke from somewhere and won't run steady. Sooo...having recently read your above post, I got the motor free of the drivetrain, attached some leads, and put some power to it. Running, but still no zest. I gave the armature a good cleaning with CRC, then back to the power. And lo and behold, it commenced to spitting fire and sparks, and like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, it was as if it had new life. Running smooth and steady with a wide range of RPMs. 
I wonder what just happened?


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## pvt64

My first engines were an Illinois Central 2-8-0, EL RS3, PRR C Liner(I nicknamed it The Coffee Grinder due to the noise it made) and a silver PRR GG1 all AHM.


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## JNXT 7707

pvt64 said:


> My first engines were an Illinois Central 2-8-0, EL RS3, PRR C Liner(I nicknamed it The Coffee Grinder due to the noise it made) and a silver PRR GG1 all AHM.


LOL...I have another older AHM RS3 that shares that famous name :laugh:


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## time warp

My first HO engines were a Pennsylvania C Liner and a NYC RS 2. I pounded those poor things but they never quit running.


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## thedoc

I have several AHM B&O S-1a's that will be my primary freight power. I'm also considering modifying a Y-6b with an S-1a boiler to make an EL-3. Everything else is from other makers.


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## time warp

A Y6b is on my bucket list. Love em.


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## Gramps

My first HO set back in the early 70's was an AHM UP C-liner freight set with one powered and one dummy unit. Don't remember what happened to it.


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## time warp

Well I saved up and finally snagged a Rivarrossi Y6b! Don't know for sure what I'll use it for, but it will look good doing it!


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## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> Well I saved up and finally snagged a Rivarrossi Y6b! Don't know for sure what I'll use it for, but it will look good doing it!


Dang...heck yeah it will look good doing whatever it does! My curse is that my favorite steamers are the BIG steamers. They don't come cheap!

BTW, Isn't the Western Maryland Railway in Cumberland restoring one of those? Would love to see that run in person.


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## time warp

I STOLE it Jerry. $65.00 bucks!
I'm with you, go big or go home. The Y6b comes with bragging rights - the hardest pulling steam locomotives built. 
For the space I have it will be the equivalent of sailing the Titanic in a bathtub. Who cares!
Plus, it's an instant shut up. Next time I get crap about my trains, I'll just say "Hey, I'm running a Y6b, are you?" SHUT UP!:laugh:


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## time warp

I don't know about the WM deal, need to check on that. Maybe Santa Claus will bring you a big steamer!


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## GNfan

*AHM Memories*

AHM from a Woolworth's. Now that brings back memories. Late 1960's or early 1970's, at a long gone mall in the Seattle suburbs.

A few years back when my parents moved out of the house I had grown up in, my father asked if I wanted his HO locomotives. He had maybe a dozen AHM Geeps, all spray-painted mustard yellow to at least resemble his beloved Union Pacific.


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## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> I don't know about the WM deal, need to check on that. Maybe Santa Claus will bring you a big steamer!


Well it's not a Y6B but an Allegheny. #1309 C&O at the Western Maryland Scenic Railway. Still will be quite a show!

Not sure Santa would be too keen on bringing me a steamer this year :laugh:


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## time warp

I've always been a first gen diesel guy, but my last three aquisitions have all been steam engines. First the Climax "Moose", then a tiny drivered 0-6-0 T with some seriously busy valve gear, and now the Y6b "Brutus".
The N&W Y6a 2156 was moved from St.Louis to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in 2015 on loan for 5 years. Wouldn't you have loved to see that thing moving down the track? Even being towed it would have been something!
It's impressive to me, and always was, how AHM brought such noteworthy models like this to the mass market, especially considering that it was over 4 decades ago.


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## davidone

I usually only buy AHM and Rivarossi from the 90's like the cab forward, Northerns, 2-6-6-2's in Santa Fe. I love the steam from that era, great engines that run smooth and look good and are reasonably priced. The motors have to be in the boiler for me to buy. 
I just don't like the earlier pieces from the 60's and 70's. Just too crude IMO.


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## time warp

davidone said:


> I usually only buy AHM and Rivarossi from the 90's like the cab forward, Northerns, 2-6-6-2's in Santa Fe. I love the steam from that era, great engines that run smooth and look good and are reasonably priced. The motors have to be in the boiler for me to buy.
> I just don't like the earlier pieces from the 60's and 70's. Just too crude IMO.


 I've not compared an older model to later versions but I'm sure they have more wire grabs and finer details added. Yes the older stuff is comparatively crude but my eyesight is such that its not too much of an issue personally. I can appreciate fine detail, however. Not to mention the flanges!


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## davidone

Most of my issues with the older stuff is the pizza cutter flangers. My track is code 83 so the really old stuff is out.


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## time warp

I'm not sure how old my Y6b is, it may have deep flanges. Am I remembering that they started going to .039 flanges in the mid '70's? I know that was the case with most AHM diesels and freight cars, but I don't know about the steamers.


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## tkruger

I have an AMH cab forward that is converted to DCC and Sound. Great engine. Only downside is that my next layout will be North Eastern US RRs. I guess an occasional run by the cab forward can be expected though .


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## time warp

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=251161&stc=1&d=1480125070

A little clunky on posting the pcture, but here's the Y6b. Showed up today with years of dust but in good shape. Runs good. Neat!


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## JNXT 7707

Very nice. I'm trying very hard to ignore the fever but the photo isn't helping. 
You got a great deal on that :smokin:


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## time warp

You must get one! There are a lot of big AHM articulateds on eBay right now, selling cheap. At least 2 cab forwards, several Y6b's, a couple big boys too.
Funny, all I did was buy a sheet of plywood.......


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## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> Funny, all I did was buy a sheet of plywood.......


HAHAH:laugh:

That line is priceless. 

7 years ago after I had set up a little Z set around the Christmas tree, my wife asked me why I didn't just set up a sheet of plywood in the back bedroom and set up my old HO train stuff that had been stored in the closet for years. I told her "no...I better not." She persisted, not knowing what kind of Pandora's Box she was asking me to open. 

Now she knows....:goofball:

PS... maybe I will take a browse through ebay....


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## dsertdog56

AHM and Woolworths...we, errrr my dad, brother and I would clean up on the after Christmas sales in South Bend Indiana. Lots of AHM stuff for young boys with a heavy handed penchant for destruction. 
And y'know, I still like those old engines and cars...are they the most detailed, no, but a bit of weathering and no one can tell as they roll by. 
Do the engines run the best, no, but once they get moving they seem to keep moving. Perfect for main line runs
Here's two of my favorites...926 was purchased in 1969 ish at Woolworths in South Bend with an Illinois Central body. Sadly a higher than allowable speed around a curve allowed it to take a 5 foot drop to the floor. I bought a new body to match the UP cars I had, but it never ran ok, until last fall when I took the power truck apart and rebuilt it. It runs very smooth and now has renumbered 927 to help pull all the orange cars. Amazing what a little paint will do. Still have to build winterazation hatches...
000_0002a by desertguy56, on Flickr
I also have 2 Monon RS-2s...great little engines.
000_0009 by desertguy56, on Flickr
Oh,,,I also have a box full of minitanks and Airfix soldiers to boot!


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## time warp

Here's my "Grandaddy" AHM BL 2. I bought this one used from a radiator shop in Danville, Indiana that sold trains in '84 I think. This old boy was nearly my only locomotive for 12 years on a 4×7 double oval pulling a commuter train.
Much modified: Kadee couplers body mounted with built up pilots, diode lighting, side steps, 8 wheel pickup, full cab interior, 
and steam generator stack between the windshields (as on the prototype). I did this when I could still see! Oh, and the paint for the body modifications was blended in to the factory finish by hand tinting testors enamels. This is one bad Mama- Jama! One of the few in my "goes to the grave with me" collection. Still runs.


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## time warp




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## Chops124

A fine little layout, Time Warp. And great memories.


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## MacDaddy55

*AHM Lives!!*

Just saw this and can't say enough about these old Locomotives. I have Steamers ranging from my Indiana Harbor Belt, Mikado & Heavy Pacifics, Fleet of Berkshires, Y6b's, Challengers, and Big Boy. They have been relamated from some scary places and I have them running great. They can get Growly and Grumpy at times but just keep working on them with proper maintenance and you have a Treasure. At some point you won't be able to find these but while you have them cherish them. Greens Dept. Store in Upstate NY had these on display for Christmas but Santa didn't answer the specific call for a big Steam Engine...35 years later he came through...AHM love it!!


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## JNXT 7707

GREAT STUFF, MacDaddy! Love the photos of those jewels.
Yes, sometimes Santa is a few years late, but that's OK :smilie_daumenpos:

PS - I just got my first AHM steamer for Christmas this year. Living the dream!


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## JNXT 7707

Here's another BL-2 to stoke the fires 

Found this at a train show a couple years ago. perfect condition but just figured out this week why it wouldn't run - the front wheels were flipped the wrong way! Live and learn....:laugh:


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## JNXT 7707

And the cavalcade of AHM wonders continues :smokin:

Penn Central #5050 was the first HO locomotive I had, and it has survived from that Christmas of 1968(?). Granted, not with the same drivetrain, but still a miracle of sorts. Here it is, newly re-powered and with its partner #5056. Both have received new number boards and a pair of Kadee couplers. All they need now is a long coal drag


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## Chops124

*Coke Is It!*








Not sure if this is AHM, or not. Says "Made in Yugoslavia" on the 
bottom, but looks more like an older Life Like. Also says "Mehano,"
I think. Part of an odd promotional set. Unlike quality AHM, 
this one has rather poor running characteristics, but I got 
it go, none the less.


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## JNXT 7707

It sure is an AHM Chops...a RS-11...and I'll match you a BN one:










Mine's a very good runner, and a great puller too with the traction tires. Have you tried cleaning all the contacts and giving it a lube job?


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## Chops124

Truth be told, I have failed to lubricate it yet, probably an unpardonable sin, but will do 
so as soon as I find my screwdriver to access the innards. NOS, fresh out of the box, 
it did loosen up a bit after a few laps. I will post some video later today, I hope, of the
entire set up and running, including a camera train mounted shot. The other pieces- 
specifically a 6 axle tank car, was something I would typically associate with Tyco, was
marked "Gala...Playart." The likes of which I've never heard. The center axle was frozen, 
very poor injection casting, and I had to replace both trucks. The caboose, which you will see 
in the upcoming video, has a peculiar truss and very tall smoke jack.


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## NAJ

Lovin those Loco's.


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## JNXT 7707

Yeah Chops I bet that's all it needs. Might give the traction tires a look too. looking forward to seeing the coke train :laugh:


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## JNXT 7707

And while we wait for Chops, let's visit the next C-Liner to roll out of the JNXT Shops on its own power - a NYC 'cigar-band' FM CFA16-4, with a wonderful patina of natural weathering.


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## Chops124

Posted a Coke video, chop-chop, under the "Model Trains Videos" thread.


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## MacDaddy55

*AHM/Rivarossi Lighted Heavyweight Passenger Cars?*

Nice Fleet Pics fellas....anybody have Lighted Heavyweight Passenger Cars to go with those Diesels. I have B&O and NYC that I picked up years ago that look great on the Layout...especially with the 22" radius....post some pics I have to dig mine out of Moth Balls!!:thumbsup:


----------



## time warp

MacDaddy55 said:


> Nice Fleet Pics fellas....anybody have Lighted Heavyweight Passenger Cars to go with those Diesels. I have B&O and NYC that I picked up years ago that look great on the Layout...especially with the 22" radius....post some pics I have to dig mine out of Moth Balls!!:thumbsup:


 Sorry, can't help you there! I'm all freight and coal drags.
Plus my curves are a wee bit sharp. )


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## JNXT 7707

Chops124 said:


> Posted a Coke video, chop-chop, under the "Model Trains Videos" thread.


That is definitely high speed rail! 

Great video - loved it! Looks like you worked the kinks out of that RS-11 :appl:


----------



## JNXT 7707

MacDaddy55 said:


> Nice Fleet Pics fellas....anybody have Lighted Heavyweight Passenger Cars to go with those Diesels. I have B&O and NYC that I picked up years ago that look great on the Layout...especially with the 22" radius....post some pics I have to dig mine out of Moth Balls!!:thumbsup:


Dig 'em out! :laugh:

Trying to think...I have one AHM B&O heavyweight observation that is lighted, but otherwise I don't think I have more than one or two more. I'm more into lightweight streamliners. I rescued a string of old NYC Tenshodo streamliners last year that are lighted.


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## Chops124

*AHM American Type*

AHM was such a massive contributor to HO. I came across this American Type, which seems to have done the rounds from Mantua, to Bachmann, to AHM. This vintage version has 
the motor in cab, which I have found to be a little more 
reliable than the motor-in-tender-universal-shaft-drive.


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## time warp

Here's the one that started it all for me, my first HO train set as a Birthday gift included this Fairbanks-Morse locomotive. What a workhorse. Many hours of fun with this old friend. This is a replacement, my first one went I know not where.

The road number is wrong, but the Pennsy's freight units were CFA16-4, 1600 HP, 8 cyl.
















This chassis is a home brew I just finished for the JNXT RR in Buzzardly.(Needs a body Jerry). Its a Fairbanks Morse CPA24-5 chassis. Passenger unit with B- A1A wheel arrangement. This took some doing.
Was running round and round on the BC main just before this picture taken.
The prototype had a 2400 HP 12 cyl! Hoo-Wa! That's as much as a Train Master!


----------



## time warp

Remember this? The inspiring AHM train set layout picture found on the back of the Train set box. There are several very interesting things here, and this layout can be seen operating in an old AHM TV commercial from the 70's. Did anyone ever try to build one like this? I'd love to know.


----------



## NAJ

When I built my first small layout in the mid 70's I used Tyco and whatever else was available though local department stores like Two Guys, Grants, Woolworth's, etc and then I got a hold of the 1973 AHM catalog (which I still have) and it was pictures like the one above in their catalog that made me say WOW that is soooooo Cool, I need to get AHM trains.

When I got back in 40 years later I knew nothing about the newer more modern stuff, I just knew that if I was building a layout I needed/wanted AHM trains.


----------



## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> Remember this? The inspiring AHM train set layout picture found on the back of the Train set box. There are several very interesting things here, and this layout can be seen operating in an old AHM TV commercial from the 70's. Did anyone ever try to build one like this? I'd love to know.
> View attachment 271497


I've got that very box somewhere, am going to hang it in my train room.
There's an Antique Toy Mall in South Louisville, KY that has a significant section set up for train stuff, and a local club has layouts of many different scales. One of the HO layouts is set up like that - I can't remember if it's _exactly_ like that one but it could be a fraternal twin. Lots of stuff going on in a 4x8 space with buildings and accessories....and trains running everywhere. Super cool :smokin:


----------



## time warp

NAJ said:


> When I built my first small layout in the mid 70's I used Tyco and whatever else was available though local department stores like Two Guys, Grants, Woolworth's, etc and then I got a hold of the 1973 AHM catalog (which I still have) and it was pictures like the one above in their catalog that made me say WOW that is soooooo Cool, I need to get AHM trains.
> 
> When I got back in 40 years later I knew nothing about the newer more modern stuff, I just knew that if I was building a layout I needed/wanted AHM trains.


 That's mostly what I run, a lot of it approaching 50 years old and still makin' hay! I'm as happy with them now as I ever was.


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## NAJ

Other than the issue I spoke to you about with the Alco Century Spirit Of 76 my Alco Century Jersey Central is still going strong and runs anywhere from 1-3 hours nightly Monday-Friday.
Still have not worked on any of the three GP18's , hopefully they run as well when I am done with their cleaning/lube, if I ever get around to it.


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## time warp

NAJ, I had three of those GP18's that were really nice. A Western Pacific, N&W, and SF. They all ran like new and on two of them I had added 8 wheel pickup. I found that I never ran them to speak of over the last 15 years so I sold them all. Now I have 2 Athearn GP 9's to take their place, one of which is a rubberband drive. My 4 favorite AHM's are the BL2, RS2, ALCO 1000, and C-liner. I think I just prefer the old three pole motors, they take me back in time.


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## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> My 4 favorite AHM's are the BL2, RS2, ALCO 1000, and C-liner. I think I just prefer the old three pole motors, they take me back in time.


Here's a pair of AHM C&O Alcos with caboose.....









BTW - that caboose was part of my first HO train set, some 50 years ago


----------



## time warp

Very sharp! I have the very same caboose and those are tough to find! If you need a bell for that lead unit let me know, I may have a spare here somewhere. Those little things are made of Insta - breakium!


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## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> Very sharp! I have the very same caboose and those are tough to find! If you need a bell for that lead unit let me know, I may have a spare here somewhere. Those little things are made of Insta - breakium!


TW if you have a spare one, great - if not I might steal one of another BN Alco I have just to get this pair up to speed!

Thought I would share some progress here on the MTF on the All-AHM 5-axle C-Liner, aka FM CPA24-5. 
2,400 horses ready to rumble :smokin:

At the moment it is mechanically complete (designed and built by time warp), and is waiting here in the Buzzardly shops for NYC lightning stripe decals and paint.


----------



## time warp

Looking Good! That primer is about halfway to your NYC passenger gray, Jerry. That thing is the perfect era for fluted aluminum cars. I can't wait to see it in action.:thumbsup:


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## JNXT 7707

Decals are in and paint at the ready. Next update will be the builder's photos.
Before that, one last tweak. I gave The Beast a B-unit brother. It's connected with a drawbar to give a close coupling. The original rear coupler just had too much of a reach, reminded me of the Athearn/Mantua/Bachmann/Tyco F7 "football field" coupling gap.

Just for fun, some Conrail C-Liners in the background to further annoy rivet-heads :cheeky4:


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## Chops124

Nice CR. Here an AHM Krauss-Maufei works its way down 
hill with a string of Tyco Dutch Maids.


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## time warp

Cool stuff! That 5 axle just gets better and better Jerry, fantastic project!:thumbsup:

Say Chops, I'll PM you my address and you can send that Maffei to me priority mail first chance you get! I'll give it a good home!


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## JNXT 7707

And now, for something completely different...

An AHM 0-4-0 A3S, rescued from a hobby shop junk box a few years ago. Nice little runner after some R&R. Nothing from that era in my collection for it to pull...I might have to build a few excursion cars for it.


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## time warp

Several years ago I picked up a boxed set with that same engine, lettered for Conrail.
Nice running little fella.


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## LateStarter

A few weeks ago, I pulled my AHM Big Boy out of storage, (bought in the mid '70's) and we took it apart, and cleaned the brushes, wheels, rods and gears.
We brought it to a big basement layout, set up a DC power pack, and lit it up.
After correcting a reverse polarity issue, it was off and running. It smoked for about five minutes, but churned around in grand fashion for two hours.
Oorah!


----------



## time warp

LateStarter said:


> A few weeks ago, I pulled my AHM Big Boy out of storage, (bought in the mid '70's) and we took it apart, and cleaned the brushes, wheels, rods and gears.
> We brought it to a big basement layout, set up a DC power pack, and lit it up.
> After correcting a reverse polarity issue, it was off and running. It smoked for about five minutes, but churned around in grand fashion for two hours.
> Oorah!


 Attaboy!:appl:


----------



## LateStarter

JNXT 7707 said:


> And now, for something completely different...
> 
> An AHM 0-4-0 A3S, rescued from a hobby shop junk box a few years ago. Nice little runner after some R&R. Nothing from that era in my collection for it to pull...I might have to build a few excursion cars for it.


Wow...
That little thing looks surprisingly well detailed.


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## JNXT 7707

LateStarter said:


> Wow...
> That little thing looks surprisingly well detailed.


I know! It surprised me too. I assumed it would be one of those crappy little locos you find in a lot of boxed sets. Being an AHM it has Rivarossi roots: http://www.ho-scaletrains.net/ahmhoscalelocomotives/id79.html


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## LateStarter

JNXT 7707 said:


> Nothing from that era in my collection for it to pull...I might have to build a few excursion cars for it.


Well, at the salvage yard I'm modeling, there was a similar (0-6-0) that they used for shunting gons back and forth to a lead-in/out track... until the late '50's (when it was replaced by a 44 tonner).
There was a coal bin and water tank by the gate track until about 1970.
The loco sat rusting on a spur until it was taken away in 1979.


----------



## NAJ

Kudos to AHM and my Jersey Central Alco Century 424 and the six pieces of rolling stock it is pulling. (all horn hook couplers)
It is the end of January and so far this year that loco has run every Monday through Friday for at least 2 hours each night (40 hours this month) with nary an issue, no power losses, no uncouplings, no derailments.

My hats off to AHM, Hip Hip Hooray!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!! :appl:

Hope everybody else is having the same success with their AHM and enjoying them as much as I do mine. :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## JNXT 7707

LateStarter said:


> Well, at the salvage yard I'm modeling, there was a similar (0-6-0) that they used for shunting gons back and forth to a lead-in/out track... until the late '50's (when it was replaced by a 44 tonner).
> There was a coal bin and water tank by the gate track until about 1970.
> The loco sat rusting on a spur until it was taken away in 1979.


Now that sounds like a great idea! I was planning on doing some sort of scrap/salvage yard anyway. Thanks!


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## tankcarsrule

The AHM freight cars were unusual to say the least. I have a box full, and enjoy them all. My favorite is the Flexi-Flo. AHM used many road names that were bogus, considering that the cars were built for the NYC and then CONRAIL. I took one and bashed it with the help of the Plano kit.


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## tr1

*I remember first starting out a YB6 and a cabforward and both for $40.00*



time warp said:


> I STOLE it Jerry. $65.00 bucks!
> I'm with you, go big or go home. The Y6b comes with bragging rights - the hardest pulling steam locomotives built.
> For the space I have it will be the equivalent of sailing the Titanic in a bathtub. Who cares!
> Plus, it's an instant shut up. Next time I get crap about my trains, I'll just say "Hey, I'm running a Y6b, are you?" SHUT UP!:laugh:


 When I was first starting out,I ran across two big steamers.....
They both had the same driver trains 2-6-6-2 or4. strictly dc
though:smilie_daumenpos:Regards,tr1


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## tr1

*Steamers and coal in yards.*

So,with those big steamers,I tried to model the transitional period in my small yard,on the granite gorge and northern.
Does anyone know of a coaling tower with a small footprint?:dunno:
Regards,tr1


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## LateStarter

tr1 said:


> Does anyone know of a coaling tower with a small footprint?:dunno:
> Regards,tr1


Walthers kit #3042 is a concrete coaling tower with a 4.125" X 6.375" footprint.
That's about the smallest I've seen, and it fits the Transition Era.


----------



## tr1

*coaling tower with small footprint?*

:hah: Thank you, kindly.
So I'll have some choices to make.
I was thinking of a tall wooden one though:dunno:
:appl: I really like the response time:thumbsup:

Thanks Late Starter!!


----------



## LateStarter

JNXT 7707 said:


> Now that sounds like a great idea! I was planning on doing some sort of scrap/salvage yard anyway. Thanks!


I do believe that salvage/scrap-yard rail traffic is some of the most interesting there is to model.
At _Shapiro's Salvage & Sales_, there was constant activity... to and from the steel mill with gons full of sheared cars and scrap steel and iron -- and empties coming back.
Plus truck traffic hauling everything from auto parts to plumbing supplies, and private sales to do-it-yourselfers.
There was a car crusher, a metal shear, a steel baler, and a huge conveyor, all running almost 24/7.
Bucket loaders and D7 bulldozers were used to move the scrap piles.
And of course there were several tow trucks and flatbed haulers bringing in junk cars and busses all the time, and a full crew to gut them and cut them up.
It was a profitable multi-million dollar junk yard industry, and they leased locomotives from the New Haven and a private company to haul their deposits to the mill.


----------



## time warp

tankcarsrule said:


> The AHM freight cars were unusual to say the least. I have a box full, and enjoy them all. My favorite is the Flexi-Flo. AHM used many road names that were bogus, considering that the cars were built for the NYC and then CONRAIL. I took one and bashed it with the help of the Plano kit.


 My favorite AHM freight car, I still have the one in use that came with my very first train set. It's lettered for Frisco.

LS, I was thinking the same thing about the concrete coaling tower. Actually if you compressed it just a bit the footprint would be small indeed.

As for Jerry's 0-4-0, I had originally thought of a hostler engine around the shops or an industrial siding, I would expect those types had a very long service life. I think they used those well into the diesel era in Hawaii moving sugar cane.


----------



## LateStarter

tr1 said:


> :hah: Thank you, kindly.
> So I'll have some choices to make.
> I was thinking of a tall wooden one though:dunno:
> :appl: I really like the response time:thumbsup:
> 
> Thanks Late Starter!!


You're very welcome...
Here's a few pics of it set up on a layout.
The footprint is really very small compared to most I've seen


----------



## time warp

Looking good! I think the only coaling tower AHM ever marketed was the ubiquitous wooden style. I don't know off hand if IHC had a concrete one later, but it seems like maybe they did.
At the other end of the spectrum, there's always the earthen ramp where trucks can back up to the tender and the coal is loaded by hand, or the trackside conveyor type loader if you are really on a shoestring.
I can only imagine the amount of coal traffic required in the days of class 1 steam just to supply the towers. Staggering.


----------



## LateStarter

time warp said:


> ... or the trackside conveyor type loader if you are really on a shoestring.


Actually, the conveyor idea is excellent...
A conveyor justifies a flurry of activity, i.e., dump trucks, front loaders, (steam shovels) bulldozers, and a shovel gang.


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## time warp

I serviced a plastics plant in Richmond , Indiana in the early 80's. There was still the huge coal yard under the highway overpass then, and there were several of those million year old iron wheeled conveyer loaders sitting around.


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## LateStarter

time warp said:


> ... there were several of those million year old iron wheeled conveyer loaders sitting around.


I'm utilizing the Walthers Cornerstone Scrapyard Conveyor for my salvage yard.
It pretty much duplicates the _actual_ one.
It'd be very suitable for coal.


----------



## time warp

This is our Ma & Pa SW 1, These are really scarce and were produced more toward the end of AHM. It has the kooky brakeman with lantern which works. It's cute.
I had this one for years still sealed in it's original box, and was going to sell it because I never had a place to really use it. It was a close call because I had it consigned at a shop for sale when I built the Coal Dump extension on our layout. I went and got it ASAP! It's a fixture now and I've added 8 wheel pickup to it as well. It runs on our branch most every day.










This is my latest AHM "slogan" caboose. This one is missing a couple of parts but I collect the slogan ones and this doesn't turn up often. These are interesting because if you look carefully the silver is covering Penn Central green! These were offered right when AHM was liquidating and I used to see them in stacks at places like Kay Bee toys in the silver boxes.

I have to wonder if there were some licensing issues preventing certain roadnames or if they just painted these (and the other slogans) so they could throw them in any train set. You will notice that it's pad printed as well. Who knows?


----------



## NAJ

time warp said:


> This is our Ma & Pa SW 1, These are really scarce and were produced more toward the end of AHM. It has the kooky brakeman with lantern which works. It's cute.
> I had this one for years still sealed in it's original box, and was going to sell it because I never had a place to really use it.


There is always a place for wayward trains in "Imagination Junction".


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## JNXT 7707

JNXT 7707 said:


> TW if you have a spare one, great - if not I might steal one of another BN Alco I have just to get this pair up to speed!
> 
> Thought I would share some progress here on the MTF on the All-AHM 5-axle C-Liner, aka FM CPA24-5.
> 2,400 horses ready to rumble :smokin:
> 
> At the moment it is mechanically complete (designed and built by time warp), and is waiting here in the Buzzardly shops for NYC lightning stripe decals and paint.


And at long last, The Beast is rolled from the shops for its Builder's Photos. After a few fails at finding the right gray, the team finally decided on Nato Gray and called it a day. It may be a little darker than I'd like, but it looks right to my eyeballs. 
The trucks got a paint mix of Silver and Engine Black. The NYC lightning stripe decals were a challenge over all the raised, molded-on details. I gave it a dummy coupler in front, since this loco is always going to be leading the way. It connects to the B unit with a drawbar to achieve a reasonable coupling distance. The unpowered B also has another truck with a knuckle coupler, that can be interchanged with the drawbar one, so it can be run with another locomotive.


----------



## jlc41

Very very nice work, I like it.


----------



## time warp

There you go! That's what 4000 1950's era horsepower looks like. Outstanding Jerry, Well worth the effort! :appl:


----------



## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> There you go! That's what 4000 1950's era horsepower looks like. Outstanding Jerry, Well worth the effort! :appl:


Was a very satisfying project TW - what's next? :smokin:


----------



## time warp

The real CPA24-5 Demonstrators 4801 &4802. You are looking at a combined 4800 Horsepower unit, Big time stuff way back then. 
If you go to trainorders.com you can read about a 21 year old man who was involved with this project back then, and view more photos. I know I've mentioned it before, but these were the "hotrods " of their day. Submarine derived 12 cylinder 24 piston diesels with 2 crankshafts! Known to accelerate like racehorses, and this is in the early 1950's! Wow! I can only imagine the experience standing trackside as these monsters rolled by under load. Incredible.

Check out the pilot arrangement and the dual headlights, Jerry. AHM wasn't TOO far off!


----------



## time warp

And while we are palpitating over Monster Fairbanks - Morse Horsepower, Here is the C- Liners' "Daddy", The legendary Erie built which was unleashed on the world in the 1940's! I don't want to get too far off topic , but I bashed this one together from AHM body shells three decades ago. I've slowly been bringing it back to life after 20+ years in a leaky shed while in the hands of another owner. It still runs.


----------



## jlc41

TW, is that the cigar band you ware looking for on the nose of that loco?


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## time warp

No, I wish it was. Monongahela is what I'm looking for although I've shelved the project. Too little time for a while


----------



## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> The real CPA24-5 Demonstrators 4801 &4802. You are looking at a combined 4800 Horsepower unit, Big time stuff way back then.
> If you go to trainorders.com you can read about a 21 year old man who was involved with this project back then, and view more photos. I know I've mentioned it before, but these were the "hotrods " of their day. Submarine derived 12 cylinder 24 piston diesels with 2 crankshafts! Known to accelerate like racehorses, and this is in the early 1950's! Wow! I can only imagine the experience standing trackside as these monsters rolled by under load. Incredible.
> 
> Check out the pilot arrangement and the dual headlights, Jerry. AHM wasn't TOO far off!
> 
> View attachment 278273


What an impressive sight! Would love to hear what these things sounded like.


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## LateStarter

time warp said:


> Submarine derived 12 cylinder 24 piston diesels with 2 crankshafts!


I worked on those engines...
Did a complete rebuild on one.
The injectors are set to pop at 1,200 PSI. On the test stand, a loss of focus would shoot a diesel stream right through your thumb... bone and all.


----------



## jlc41

Ooh, that can't be good.


----------



## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> And while we are palpitating over Monster Fairbanks - Morse Horsepower, Here is the C- Liners' "Daddy", The legendary Erie built which was unleashed on the world in the 1940's! I don't want to get too far off topic , but I bashed this one together from AHM body shells three decades ago. I've slowly been bringing it back to life after 20+ years in a leaky shed while in the hands of another owner. It still runs.


TW, what I wonder about every time I look at that is how you made that long nose. Is any part of the nose from a C-Liner or is that all fabricated?


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## JNXT 7707

AHM Alco power, 3-pole Blue Flame.










Another AHM Alco that I repainted - it began life as a C&NW.


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## time warp

Other than the windshield area, everything forward of the doors is built up with Evergreen sheet material and Testors putty.

I hunted for years for a PC RS2, gave up and finally painted one although I need to check the road number. I did have a factory painted PC 424 a while back, those are tough to find. I always enjoy the photos! Thanks!


----------



## norgale

JNXT 7707 said:


> And at long last, The Beast is rolled from the shops for its Builder's Photos. After a few fails at finding the right gray, the team finally decided on Nato Gray and called it a day. It may be a little darker than I'd like, but it looks right to my eyeballs.
> The trucks got a paint mix of Silver and Engine Black. The NYC lightning stripe decals were a challenge over all the raised, molded-on details. I gave it a dummy coupler in front, since this loco is always going to be leading the way. It connects to the B unit with a drawbar to achieve a reasonable coupling distance. The unpowered B also has another truck with a knuckle coupler, that can be interchanged with the drawbar one, so it can be run with another locomotive.


That is really very nice work. The decals look great. Nice job.:appl::appl::appl::appl::appl:


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## jlc41

That is some nice workmanship right there.


----------



## JNXT 7707

Thanks for the compliments on the C-Liner guys. It was a fun project and the Pride of the Fleet!
TimeWarp gets full credit for the chassis/drivetrain, including the 3-axle truck he bashed for the A-unit. Genius.

And yes the decals were a project! Plenty of decal solvent and some judicious cutting/trimming helped. And a lot of patience :laugh:


----------



## ExONRcarman

im getting the steamer fever too now. thanks guys. someone else posted pages back that only the big ones interested him. well that goes for me too. i sure dont want to be spending upwards of 1300 for one!ouch. crazy for trains


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## time warp

ExONRcarman said:


> im getting the steamer fever too now. thanks guys. someone else posted pages back that only the big ones interested him. well that goes for me too. i sure dont want to be spending upwards of 1300 for one!ouch. crazy for trains


 There are a lot of older Rivarossi Articulated steam engines on Ebay lately, mostly going for around $80.00. JNXT 7707 and I have matching Y6b's that we got about the same time. Both for around $65.00 each. Most of them come out of static collections and have been run very little or not at all. Mine is about ready to hit the rails and it WILL be run!:smokin:

Look at the variety of AHM equipment in this thread already, and we've hardly scratched the surface! I run these AHM trains nearly everyday, most 4+ decades old and they keep going.


----------



## time warp

LateStarter said:


> I worked on those engines...
> Did a complete rebuild on one.
> The injectors are set to pop at 1,200 PSI. On the test stand, a loss of focus would shoot a diesel stream right through your thumb... bone and all.


 Where? When? What? OP Prime movers in your hands? You can't drop info like that on us and not elaborate. Do Tell!


----------



## ExONRcarman

i have one little steamer already. picked it up cause it was so dam cute! little thing, red and gold i believe. give me some time ill dig it out and post a pick.

there it is. little red guy, and my mini mountain stash


----------



## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> Where? When? What? OP Prime movers in your hands? You can't drop info like that on us and not elaborate. Do Tell!


I'll second that request!


----------



## time warp

ExONRcarman said:


> i have one little steamer already. picked it up cause it was so dam cute! little thing, red and gold i believe. give me some time ill dig it out and post a pick.
> 
> there it is. little red guy, and my mini mountain stash


 That little guy has been around a while, Maybe mid to late '70's? Nice.
I see some nice tidbits in that box O' stuff too. What's in the AHM boxes?


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## NAJ

Since this is an AHM train thread I thought I would post this here.

Does anybody know how to remove the front truck and motor assemblies from this chassis (without breaking anything)?

I had asked TW and he was not sure so I am asking the group.

This is an Alco Century 424.

Thanks


----------



## time warp

I haven't forgotten about you NAJ, last train show was a bust as far as C 424 parts but I'm still looking.


----------



## NAJ

I found a replacement on eBay for $20.00 shipped, says it runs, will not know until I get home tonight.
Still want to try to repair the other or at least find out how the motor comes out without breaking anything so I will have spare parts.

On another note that you are familiar with...
I was also able to find another Bachmann Conrail GP40 for the same price that supposedly runs, just have to swap bodies with mine as this one has some damage.
That has not arrived yet.


----------



## time warp

Smart move. I've always kept spares and they've come in mighty handy a few times. I've only stripped out one C 424 but I don't recall that anything broke. 
As far as the Bachmann: those tiny wires are the pits. I had a nice running one I sold the other day, but I had to repair the wiring before I shipped it because they broke. The thing wasn't even in use!
Glad you are getting it figured out.:thumbsup:


----------



## NAJ

Got home early from my Son's house and placed the new (to me) Alco Century 424 Spirit Of 76 on the track and she needed a little persuasion to get moving.
Ran her forward then backward a few times and she ran stronger each time.
Hooked her up to the rolling stock and after about 5 minutes she was running like a "raped ape" and has been running strong for 2 hours now.

Needless to say I am extremely pleased.

I used electrically conductive glue to glue the brush back on the brush holder on the other Alco Century 424 and tomorrow night I will hook the motor to a 9 volt battery and see if it runs and if the brush stays attached.


----------



## time warp

Good to hear! I guess it's try and see on the brush, you never know.


----------



## ExONRcarman

*stuff*



time warp said:


> That little guy has been around a while, Maybe mid to late '70's? Nice.
> I see some nice tidbits in that box O' stuff too. What's in the AHM boxes?


To be honest guys, im to new to tell what is ahm or not. so i couldnt tell you if the correct car is in a specific box or not. Sorry.

But, i did pick up a few more lots this weekend. ill post pics tomorrow in the whats new to you thread


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## time warp

It's hard to tell sometimes with AHM, they made nothing, Everything they sold was outsourced.
My joke is that most AHM trains, especially the older ones, sort of have"5 o'clock shadow". Tougher and built heavier than a lot of other ready to run trains at the time. There are certain markings on the bottom of most of them that can clue you in, but not always.

By the way: Brutus the Y6b hit the high iron yesterday and was picking them up and setting them down in grand fashion. Finally getting the old boy limbered up after being stored for decades. What a sight!


----------



## ExONRcarman

not really a question for this thread, but....Looking around on the net i have run across a couple of mentions about a real steamer that was a 2-10-10-2. Any thoughts?

http://www.lionel.com/products/santa-fe-legacy-2-10-10-2-steam-locomotive-3000-6-11155/

http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/quadruplex/quadrapl.htm

Check out these web sites. really cool. I wish the second had actually come to life! Could you imagine standing beside the rails as this monster thundered past?


----------



## time warp

I haven't been able to view your links yet, I will look at them though.


----------



## time warp

These are some veteran AHM ore cars that I got along with my first HO train set in '73. These poor things have stayed with me through thick and thin, and still keep rolling! Originally Union Pacific, they were purchased at a Woolworth store in Anderson, Indiana. I had repainted them black with white heralds for my Spare Time Lines railroad in the early '80's, and then they got the green and cream of my Central and Eastern railroad in the '90's. The 'distressed' look came after the C&E colors were applied and I attempted to bake the paint in our oven(low temp, of course) and learned the hard way that Gas ovens cannot accurately maintain temperatures of less than 100 degrees fahrenheit. I also learned that spray painting with masking overlays doesn't always work well.:smilie_auslachen:
After the meltdown I figured I would try to save them because of the sentimental value, so I whittled and cut and twisted and glued until I got the frames to fit back in, decaled them, and back in service they went. The LS&I cars behind them are for comparison as to their original appearance.:goofball:
Look at the end view and you can see how they list to one side, and I have to put weight in them when running to keep them from falling over! These little guys aren't going anywhere, they are part of my "Going in the Casket with me" collection!


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## ExONRcarman

you know what, those are pretty cool. maybe its cause ive helped real cars limp home looking like that. blocks of wood in the bolster shim on one side and chains holding the other. these cars of yours speak to me whatever the reason.


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## JNXT 7707

Love those ore cars - a lot of history in them.

I can imagine your horror though at opening the oven  
We all have moments like that!


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## MacDaddy55

time warp said:


> These are some veteran AHM ore cars that I got along with my first HO train set in '73. These poor things have stayed with me through thick and thin, and still keep rolling! Originally Union Pacific, they were purchased at a Woolworth store in Anderson, Indiana. I had repainted them black with white heralds for my Spare Time Lines railroad in the early '80's, and then they got the green and cream of my Central and Eastern railroad in the '90's. The 'distressed' look came after the C&E colors were applied and I attempted to bake the paint in our oven(low temp, of course) and learned the hard way that Gas ovens cannot accurately maintain temperatures of less than 100 degrees fahrenheit. I also learned that spray painting with masking overlays doesn't always work well.:smilie_auslachen:
> After the meltdown I figured I would try to save them because of the sentimental value, so I whittled and cut and twisted and glued until I got the frames to fit back in, decaled them, and back in service they went. The LS&I cars behind them are for comparison as to their original appearance.:goofball:
> Look at the end view and you can see how they list to one side, and I have to put weight in them when running to keep them from falling over! These little guys aren't going anywhere, they are part of my "Going in the Casket with me" collection!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 283266
> 
> 
> View attachment 283274


OMG TW...get pose-able Godzilla Toy...size doesn't matter and collect as much junk parts as possible and put "The King of the Monsters" smack dab in the middle with those two ore cars the melted attraction or diorama...get some Roco Mini Tanks or better yet some AHM Military cars...Go Nuts!!.....glad you saved them...great conversation piece...Everything on a layout counts for something!!:thumbsup:


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## Old_Hobo

Why does putting plastic toys in an oven and expecting them to be ok give me a bad feeling....is it just me? 

Unless, of course a seven year old did it....


----------



## Old_Hobo

ExONRcarman said:


> not really a question for this thread, but....Looking around on the net i have run across a couple of mentions about a real steamer that was a 2-10-10-2. Any thoughts?
> 
> http://www.lionel.com/products/santa-fe-legacy-2-10-10-2-steam-locomotive-3000-6-11155/
> 
> http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/quadruplex/quadrapl.htm
> 
> Check out these web sites. really cool. I wish the second had actually come to life! Could you imagine standing beside the rails as this monster thundered past?


Well, my first thought would be to start a thread on this topic.....maybe in the 'O' scale section.....you'll get more answers there than you will in this thread, because more interested people will see it......just a thought.....


----------



## Lemonhawk

Well TW if you were trying to get that rolled down the embankment look it would never have worked, but without trying you managed to achieve it! They look fresh from the big train wreck of '08.:appl:


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## Chops124

And its a wonder they call it bread. This AHM piece is 
rather hard to come by. Here she is in motion:


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## time warp

MacDaddy55 said:


> OMG TW...get pose-able Godzilla Toy...size doesn't matter and collect as much junk parts as possible and put "The King of the Monsters" smack dab in the middle with those two ore cars the melted attraction or diorama...get some Roco Mini Tanks or better yet some AHM Military cars...Go Nuts!!.....glad you saved them...great conversation piece...Everything on a layout counts for something!!:thumbsup:





Old_Hobo said:


> Why does putting plastic toys in an oven and expecting them to be ok give me a bad feeling....is it just me?
> 
> Unless, of course a seven year old did it....





Lemonhawk said:


> Well TW if you were trying to get that rolled down the embankment look it would never have worked, but without trying you managed to achieve it! They look fresh from the big train wreck of '08.:appl:


 You guys are killing me! I sat here and laughed till I started wheezing!

Old Hobo if you need something painted send it to me, I use a microwave now.:laugh:


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## time warp

I don't have any AHM billboards myself, mine are all Tyco. That's quite a group you have there Chops, including the Wonder Bread. That Athearn NH SDP 40 isn't anything to sneeze at either.


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## JNXT 7707

Here's some of my favorite AHM locos, a trio of AHM (Rivarossi) U25Cs, two in L&N and one in NP. I just finished giving them all a clean/lube and a set of Kadees. The drivetrains are incredible - the motors are stuffed into the cab, with a driveshaft going to a center 'transfer case', from where another pair of driveshafts power both trucks.
Check out the coupling distance:smokin:


----------



## time warp

JNXT 7707 said:


> Here's some of my favorite AHM locos, a trio of AHM (Rivarossi) U25Cs, two in L&N and one in NP. I just finished giving them all a clean/lube and a set of Kadees. The drivetrains are incredible - the motors are stuffed into the cab, with a driveshaft going to a center 'transfer case', from where another pair of driveshafts power both trucks.
> Check out the coupling distance:smokin:


 2500 Horsepower Jerry! Early 1960's technology and these models were produced when the prototype was new. That's the first real life NP U25 that I've seen and it's a beauty. Mostly I run across the Burlington ones. There were 10 of those monsters that worked the Oro dam project in California, but I don't have a picture. Might be an interesting project.


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## JNXT 7707

Here's a picture of one of the Oro Dam U25Cs that went to the L&N (they acquired all 10 of them).


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## time warp

There you go! Kind of similar to E-L striping.


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## ExONRcarman

Holy Locos! I just remembered a long lost cousin of mine owns a hobby shop! I hope he gives family discounts. 

Sorry for the intrusion. Had a brain fart i had to share


----------



## 3.8TransAM

JNXT 7707 said:


> Here's a picture of one of the Oro Dam U25Cs that went to the L&N (they acquired all 10 of them).


If it keeps raining out there, they might have to go back for Oroville Railroad Part II


----------



## Chops124

*"Free Loading Dock!"*

I love the old hyperbole. The box was a great piece of 
advertising in and of itself, on these sweet old AHM pieces. 

(PS: I already got one of these, this one is also list in the 
For Sale Elsewhere thread. I don't need two!).


----------



## time warp

This post courtesy of the little guy. He took this picture very early one morning as the little AHM "MTD" rolled past the grade crossing. These are so oversized they really are S scale, but AHM sold a ton of them and they keep going. Look at the massive motor in the cab. This Illinois Central is about as close to new as you can get for being made around '64, and it has the old ball bearing motor as well. Whisper quiet and heavy, this thing runs flawlessly. It even has metal grab irons and railings.


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## ExONRcarman

very nice! is it the little guys favorite?


----------



## time warp

He likes running about all of them as long as they're quiet. He can't stand certain noises. His all time favorite is an old Lionel HO Santa Fe GP30. He loves S.F. red and silver.


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## ExONRcarman

awesome


----------



## NAJ

I cannot remember back 40 years ago so a question.
Is it normal for the older loco's to have to make a couple of warm up laps before they start running at normal speed and without any hiccups?


----------



## time warp

I've got some that do that. I think a lot of the time it's because the commutator needs cleaned and maybe the wheel wipers. Could be that a good service is needed, that little motor can only overcome so much friction.

The best way I've found to clean the commutator is to cut the end off of a Q-tip and touch the end of the cut off stick to the commutator as the motor is running at full speed. you'll have to do it a few times and clean the crud off of the stick repeatedly. a popsicle stick or small wood dowel will work fine also.

You then can use the tip of an x-acto blade to gently remove the buildup in the commutator gaps. A little oil to the motor bearings and you are good to go.


----------



## NAJ

I did a thorough cleaning and lube, maybe I missed something, will try again and let you know, Thanks.


----------



## time warp

Maybe just the nature of the beast, probably no big deal.


----------



## tkruger

NAJ said:


> I did a thorough cleaning and lube, maybe I missed something, will try again and let you know, Thanks.


Some of my old Mantua steamers are that way. just took a moment to loosen up. Was better after a proper lube etc. but still noticeable.


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## NAJ

My Jersey Central runs like a champ with no issues and it is the same exact loco as the Spirit of 76 that has the issues.
The other strange thing is that when running the Spirit of 76 will be running along well and all of a sudden the speed will just drop by about 50% and then will regain speed again out of nowhere but it could be 30 seconds to 5 minutes, if you increase the speed on the transformer the loco will speed up and then when its power comes back it is flying around the track, just cannot duplicate the condition, it does it when it wants to.


----------



## time warp

Our Lionel "181" GP 30 has that exact problem, I need to dig into it and find out what's going on. We may be having the same issue.


----------



## NAJ

Mine is sitting on the work table waiting in line for repair.
I cannot move on to the three GP-18's until this issue is corrected.


----------



## NAJ

Cleaned the wheels and wipers with alcohol, removed the shell and powered the motor and used an emery board to clean the commutator.

Took about 4 laps on the 3 x 5 to get up to speed but has now been running without issue for 2 hours.
Big test will be Monday evening after sitting idle for 3 days.


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## time warp

Even if that doesn't help, you have wisely eliminated a variable. Just out of curiosity, does it do the same thing running in reverse?


----------



## NAJ

Turned it on this morning, took about 15 laps to get up to speed, does not like the turnouts, light flickers slightly but started running fine so I tried reverse as you asked and it is worse in reverse, would not even make one lap.
Have not tried it by itself without a load to see if it makes a difference.

Just an FYI, I have worked on the turnout connections numerous times to be sure they are making proper contact/connections, the Jersey Central runs "almost" flawlessly.
Also just cleaned the track again with a track cleaning eraser and then alcohol.

You could very well be correct, nature of the beast for a 40 year old loco running on a combo of Brass and Nickle/Silver track with old Atlas turnouts.


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## time warp

It's not the track, your other machine runs OK. I think you may have a motor brush issue.
I would try increasing the brush tension by stretching the springs a bit if you can.

Not 2 weeks ago I had one acting like yours because 1 of the tabs holding against the brush spring was out of place.


----------



## NAJ

This is the same motor setup as the one that the brush holder broke so I do not want to do that again so what is the easiest way to get more tension on this setup?

I got video of it doing it 4 different times so I will get that downloaded...tonight?


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## RUSTY Cuda

Yep, theses little guys run like crazy, my IC has a little different paint & the front rails are plastic, still a nice little switcher.................................




Dug out the AHM diesel collection, there's a couple in there I'm not positive about
the orange & green new haven, the seaboard & the front burlington, the rest are AHM, some rivarossi & some from yugoslavia.


----------



## NAJ

Here is the video, just to clarify...
1)Two other locomotives run fine with no issues.
(AHM Alco Century 424 and Bachmann GP 40 with pancake motor)
2)Track voltage and continuity were tested.
3)Track was cleaned with a track cleaning eraser and alcohol.
4)Wheels and wheel wipers were cleaned with an emery board and alcohol.
5)Wheel wipers were verified to be in good contact with the wheels.
6)Locomotive wiring continuity was tested and wires were checked for tight/secure connections.
7)Commutator was cleaned with an emery board with the motor spinning under power.

Hopefully this verifies what TW said about the brushes not being tight enough against the commutator.
If that is what the consensus is then please suggest the easiest way to tighten them without breaking anything.

Thanks and hopefully this will help someone else with similar issues.


----------



## time warp

RUSTY Cuda said:


> Yep, theses little guys run like crazy, my IC has a little different paint & the front rails are plastic, still a nice little switcher.................................
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Dug out the AHM diesel collection, there's a couple in there I'm not positive about
> the orange & green new haven, the seaboard & the front burlington, the rest are AHM, some rivarossi & some from yugoslavia.


 Now I'm curious about the Orange and green NH, and the Seaboard looks like an Athearn. Those little MDT's are like the Energizer Bunny!


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## RUSTY Cuda

Probably, no markings, that's why I left out the Pensey a & b units, think there athern too, but swear the set I sold was AHM.(one set was in the big double AHM box)
maybe I'll post pics of the bottoms tomorrow & see if you can identify for me.


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## time warp

NAJ, I watched that thing run and it looks like the motor is sound enough, but it sure acts like a continuity issue.
Did you notice how when it's running iffey it stutters on that far turnout, but it's smooth as silk when it clears up? It's not your track, there's an intermittent issue in that chassis somewhere. Proved by the half speed at the normal throttle setting. That is telling us you have high current draw , which means a poor connection. 
I would get away from it for a while. I have a very good running engine that had a freaky derailing issue that took me close to 6 years to fix! A little here, a little there. If you get frustrated it will be very tough to locate.


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## NAJ

I am guessing the next step would be to re-flow the solder joints at all wire connections.
It is sitting on the work table and the JC is back as the lead loco on the mainline.

Local train show today, see if I can find any treasure.


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## NAJ

UH OH!!! New Developments!!!

Was running the JC this morning and it started acting like the 76, slowing down, speeding up but not as drastically as the 76.
I obviously have two issues, one with the loco(?) and one with the track.
I am going to bring home the transformer from the Christmas layout at my Son's to eliminate that as being an issue.

Will keep you posted.


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## time warp

I think you just found it, the power pack.
See if you can pick up an MRC Throttlepack at the show today.
BTW, I'm headed to a show later myself. We will have to compare notes.


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## ExONRcarman

Naj, I have two doing the exact same thing. I mean to the letter. I got mine to run better, but not perfect yet, by doing a complete tear down and cleaning of the motor. electricity likes shiny metal. shinier the better. both of mine also sat for a very long time. the next step for mine is a tear down of the gear boxes and super clean of wheels. they should be top notch after that. 

You are obviously and older hand at this, im sure you know all this already, but in my experience, sometimes i need a reminder of the basics in the stuff im an old hand at too.

Please let us know what your final solution is. i am interested.


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## RUSTY Cuda

Ok part of the mystery solved, you were right the seaboard is athern, so is the orange & green new haven. I found the box for the new haven & it was an athern box marked undecorated, which also got me the southern pacific I got from one of my sons friends when I bought his uncles attic stash, all have the same gearbox setup.
So all I'm not sure about is the penn & the burlington on the left side, any Ideas?


----------



## rickbz28

The Pennsylvania looks to be an Athearn PA-1. BN =?


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## time warp

The Penn is an Athearn, rickbz28 got that one. Its a PA.

The BN is either an old ATT or Life Like, made by Mehano. Sort of rare, it needs to be here with me!:laugh:


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## RUSTY Cuda

Hmmmm, Mehano, didn't they also import a lot from yugoslavia I've seen those 2 screw covers over the gears before , just can't remember what engine I was working on? 
Dummy question who's ATT ?

Now not to doubt anyone on the penn, but I sold the exact same set & it was in a AHM box, not to say it was not the wrong box, but one of the guys on the board bought it & never contacted me about it?????

here's the 2 sets, one still in the box & the one I kept in front?


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## time warp

There is no doubt that the pair made by Athearn. It looks to me like somebody just put them in an AHM box because AHM never made a PA and especially one built like that. I guarantee you that those are Athearn.

Mehano is Yugoslavian, they made trains for several different brands. The screw on covers are like the AHM models. Same factory.
ATT was American Train and Track. They weren't around for too long. Mehano built a lot of their stuff too.


----------



## RUSTY Cuda

:thumbsup: OK, I'm no pro, I think when I bought that sante fe PA1 to power up my B unit it was athern! 

OK, so open apology to the guy I sold it too, at the time I had no Idea what brand it was! 
& if I remember I offered to rebox to keep the shipping down & he wanted the box which I guess we both thought was original, super blunder on my part!


----------



## RUSTY Cuda

Was searching old junk engine lots for some cheap tinkering time & I ran across these, same screw covers & clearly marked AHM, so the burlington fits right in with the meheno theme, just what brand it came out under who knows?


----------



## trenes115

Rivarossi D&RGW Krauss Maffei. Found it in a bin of used stuff at a local hobby shop. Has the apparently common problem of a stripped gear but for only $10 thought it would make an interesting display or dummy.


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## ExONRcarman

trenes115, another beautiful engine! Another member just posted one of these in another thread! From rare finds to 2 in one day


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## time warp

RUSTY Cuda said:


> Was searching old junk engine lots for some cheap tinkering time & I ran across these, same screw covers & clearly marked AHM, so the burlington fits right in with the meheno theme, just what brand it came out under who knows?


 The pic you just posted are AHM C Liners, as for the BN, That engine was first sold by ATT, then later by Life Like. Same identical loco.

Same thing with the Mehano made ALCO RS11, Varney sold it first, then ATT, then Life Like. Same engine. Later offered with a different drive by model power. Still made by Mehano in Yugoslavia/ Slovenia.

I've got a photo listing of all the AHM brand diesels, if I can get a good image maybe I can post it.


----------



## time warp

ExONRcarman said:


> trenes115, another beautiful engine! Another member just posted one of these in another thread! From rare finds to 2 in one day


 Yes, very nice engines as well. Don't hurt it or gut it. Those bad boys are made of un- obtainium!


----------



## NAJ

time warp said:


> I think you just found it, the power pack.
> See if you can pick up an MRC Throttlepack at the show today.
> BTW, I'm headed to a show later myself. We will have to compare notes.


We have two more of the exact power packs with the Christmas stuff so I will bring them home this weekend.
I am going to connect my voltmeter to the connections at the terminal track and see what happens when the problem occurs.

Another question if anyone knows, one of spare power packs hums constantly when plugged in, works fine but the humming is annoying.

Also going to lay some solder on the joint connections of the switch tracks, they are dead spurs and I do not move them but apparently need better connections at the rivet points and where the two rails make contact and come together.


----------



## Lemonhawk

A humming power pack is usually the sign of loose plates in the transformer. I don't think there is much that can be done.


----------



## time warp

I picked up this really nice AHM ALCO 1000 (S2) dummy yesterday at the Manual High School show in Indy for $5, with the intention of powering it.
I dug around in my parts stash and did find the correct parts, including motor, to make it run. I had to swap the plastic wheels for metal ones, add contacts to both trucks and solder in the wiring. 
I brought it to work with me to finish up, having gotten it stuck together at home.












The top picture is with everything set together, the next is with the contacts installed, wire leads soldered up and trucks re assembled. I added all wheel pickup while I was at it, as originally it was designed for 4 wheel pickup.









I cut some old salvaged weights on the shop bandsaw and put them in place as you can see, and bada boom it's ready to test. No power supply here so I'll have to do it tomorrow.
I've been looking for one of these in Rock Island for a while now, and powering this dummy was the way to go because all the powered ones I've found have some kind of damage to the handrails. This one is pristine.


----------



## jlc41

Nice looking loco. Good job on powering very neat.


----------



## RUSTY Cuda

Nice work!
when you say all wheel pickup, what wheel sets? metal wheels w/plastic axles?


----------



## time warp

Thanks guys! Yes, this one has plastic axles with nickle silver wheels. There are bronze contact wipers behind the wheels on each truck that are wired to the motor.
Instead of this engine picking up power from one pair of axles, I added extra wipers so it will pick up power from all four axles.


----------



## time warp

I was able to finish up the Rock Island yesterday afternoon and lube everything and gave it a good run in. My dumb luck, I had a 50/50 chance of getting the motor polarity right and it worked out! This one will work my branch line and switch hit with the SW 1 on the coal dump dock.


----------



## JNXT 7707

A pair of AHM C&EI BL2s just rolled into Buzzardly from TW's Basement Central. One is a powered 3-pole that runs like a 5, the other a dummy. Both immaculate.


----------



## time warp

I hope they run many a mile for you Jerry!
I have always liked those colors.:thumbsup:

Hard to believe that old "coffee grinder" motor could run that smoothly. It is definitely a good one.


----------



## ExONRcarman

I am jealous Jerry! very nice!


----------



## JNXT 7707

ExONRcarman said:


> I am jealous Jerry! very nice!


Thanks ExONRcarman, I'm happy with them. I've developed a healthy respect for these old AHM locomotives over the last few months. It's amazing how well they run considering the age on them.


----------



## time warp

An AHM ad from Jan. '64. The BL 2 had just been released in late '63 and was just a short time behind the ubiquitous Fairbanks - Morse diesel. I have no clue why this prototype was chosen for production, but it remained in the AHM catalog for approximately 25 years. 










Always made by Mehanotehnika in Yugoslavia (no, not Rivarossi) the BL was one of the first three American diesels they made, all using identical motors and trucks.
First the AHM Fairbanks diesel, second the ATT FT diesel, last the AHM BL 2.
The BL 2 was never marketed under any other brand except AHM, save for the European "Tempo" brand.

Here are most of the BL 2's I have, all of which run. The oldest is the Rock Island.
JNXT 7707 has older ones than I do, but he is old also.:laugh:


----------



## Old_Hobo

Pretty neat!

Yeah, the BL2 was an odd choice to make....EMD only built 59 of them; not the most common locomotive out there, even at the time.....

$8.95 in 1964.....today, that would be just under $70.00.....


----------



## time warp

The very early models used a 5 pole motor with metal gearing, as is mentioned in The ad I posted. They also had wheels with the deep "NEM" flanges.

Later production models changed to a more simple drive with all plastic gearing, but still used a 5 pole motor like the one in the right in my photo. They don't turn up often. The chassis on the right is from the Rock Island model.










The next version(there are 4) switched to a 3 pole motor like the one in the left. These are very common and were also noteworthy because of a change to standard RP 25 wheel flanges, which meant they would work on rail smaller than code 100.
This is sometimes known as the"coffee grinder" motor.:laugh:


----------



## time warp

Old_Hobo said:


> Pretty neat!
> 
> Yeah, the BL2 was an odd choice to make....EMD only built 59 of them; not the most common locomotive out there, even at the time.....
> 
> $8.95 in 1964.....today, that would be just under $70.00.....


 Good catch on the price, they weren't cheap.
Interesting that though there weren't many of the prototype produced, many enjoyed a very long service life, and several have been preserved.
I think there at least 4 that are still operational.


----------



## jlc41

$8.95, to what we have today for a loco. Yeah I know it's progress.


----------



## time warp

Not a bad deal for something that has lasted for 4+ decades.


----------



## RUSTY Cuda

Hey guys there's a couple of those BL2's in this auction I've been watching....... 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/391726962901?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


----------



## time warp

RUSTY Cuda said:


> Hey guys there's a couple of those BL2's in this auction I've been watching.......
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/391726962901?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


 That's quite a group of engines. Wow! You gonna pull the trigger?


----------



## JNXT 7707

Behold, my fleet of BL2s. 5 are powered, one is a dummy. The CE&I, C&O and Monon are represented here. All powered ones are 5-poles except for the CE&I, which is a 3-pole that thinks it is a 5! 

These things are the model railroading counterpart of the Russian tank - simple, nearly indestructible, and they just keep running. All that was done to these was a clean and lube, traction tires replaced and conversion to Kadees. 

I wonder how many of their contemporary brethren will be running 4 decades from now?


----------



## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> The oldest is the Rock Island.
> JNXT 7707 has older ones than I do, but he is old also.:laugh:
> 
> View attachment 292242


That's a nice one TW! Going to have to find me a Rock Island, I like that scheme :thumbsup:


----------



## time warp

We will have to dig one up! I've got some neat pictures of the real Monon and C&O units at home. I'll try to post them tomorrow.


----------



## time warp

JNXT 7707 said:


> Behold, my fleet of BL2s. 5 are powered, one is a dummy. The CE&I, C&O and Monon are represented here. All powered ones are 5-poles except for the CE&I, which is a 3-pole that thinks it is a 5!
> 
> These things are the model railroading counterpart of the Russian tank - simple, nearly indestructible, and they just keep running. All that was done to these was a clean and lube, traction tires replaced and conversion to Kadees.
> 
> I wonder how many of their contemporary brethren will be running 4 decades from now?



Maybe you could post a picture of the chassis with the 5 pole motor? I don't have one any more. Sharp looking group!


----------



## time warp

See these 2 mystery holes in the frame?
We know that one of them is for storing the worm gear removal screw from the early days.
The other one is odd because the hole is a hex shape. It matches the screw and nut that holds the couplers on. Strange.


----------



## ExONRcarman

very nice locos guys!

cuda, did you get your lot from ebay?


----------



## JNXT 7707

Here is one of the C&O 5-poles:









Some more photos of the BL2 Mystery Hole. The one on the left has it (including a raised fairing beside it) and the right one doesn't:









A bottom view showing the hex-shaped indent:









I've never seen anything attached to this hole, and it seems to be exclusive to BL2s. What the heck is it???


----------



## Old_Hobo

Likely something they were going to do, so they built it into the mold, but then they decided not to use the hole for anything.....


----------



## JNXT 7707

Old_Hobo said:


> Likely something they were going to do, so they built it into the mold, but then they decided not to use the hole for anything.....


That's what I was thinking, but the strange part is I can't imagine what it would be. What else would you put in there?


----------



## time warp

According to Rod Serling's repair manual, it's where you mount the conundrum.:smilie_auslachen:


----------



## Old_Hobo

JNXT 7707 said:


> That's what I was thinking, but the strange part is I can't imagine what it would be. What else would you put in there?


Maybe after they made the mold, they had that same question....."what were we thinking?".....:laugh:


----------



## Old_Hobo

JNXT 7707 said:


> That's what I was thinking, but the strange part is I can't imagine what it would be. What else would you put in there?


Maybe after they made the mold, they had that same question....."what were we thinking?".....:laugh:

We'll never know, unless you can find the person responsible for designing the original molds, and good luck with that....


----------



## time warp

Workaday BL's: 
The Rock Island unit is shuffling passenger cars in it's second, more sedate paint scheme. Note the steam generator stack between the windshields.









Western Maryland #81 and sister #82 spent most of their careers working the hump at Hagerstown. Today #81 is on static display, sister #82 is restored and running.
The AHM model is #82.










Monon BL's in transfer service near Hammond, Indiana in 1966.


----------



## JNXT 7707

Here's Monon #32 at the Kentucky Railway Museum


----------



## JNXT 7707

An odd bit of BL2 trivia I recently noticed. The P2K C&O version of the BL2 has the SAME road number (1845) as the AHM one. 

That just strikes me as bizarre :sly:


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## Old_Hobo

And here is a shot of that model....a little more detailed than the AHM version.....

Not bizarre at all....it's just their way of saying "which 1845 do you prefer?" :laugh:

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=292402&stc=1&d=1489691110


----------



## time warp

Nice detail for sure. :thumbsup:

Jerry, the KY museum BL originally arrived there without traction motors, nice to see they got that little detail taken care of! It has the earlier paint scheme with white lettering like your AHM model, the '66 photo I posted has the 2 units in white lettering and the later black lettering.


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## JNXT 7707

Yep, that's a beautiful BL2 model, Hobo. Interesting to see the details that are missing!


----------



## JNXT 7707

Since we're on the C&O, here's a couple of C-Liners that I've just finished. One is an AHM with a 5-pole 4WD truck, and the other an IHC 8WD.

Both have been converted to Kadees - front couplers are body mounted with the pilot opening filled. I was able to change the number on the IHC shell with decals from an old Microscale C&O sheet.

You can see the colors are different on both - the IHC was glossy and dark blue, the AHM was a lighter shade and flat. The yellows were completely different. I shot the flat one with glosscote to darken it a bit and bring it a little closer to the IHC.


----------



## time warp

Very sharp! Beautiful colors.


----------



## Old_Hobo

JNXT 7707 said:


> Yep, that's a beautiful BL2 model, Hobo. Interesting to see the details that are missing!


That would be easy on the AHM model.....they're ALL missing! :laugh:


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## RUSTY Cuda

Ongoing auction.................... If the price doesn't get too high I may pull the trigger, there's got to be weeks & weeks of tinkering in that batch!!!! :smokin:

So it seems a lot of you guys have a unit or so of them, first I've seen of them, would be nice to get some thing different into the collection, just hard to justify spending money when I have soo soo much I can't even display Dads stuff properly? hwell:

Maybe I'll get em, tinker away & then sell some off to go towards the next junk batch? :goofball:


----------



## time warp

If you want one, it would be a lot cheaper to buy 1. I'd buy the big lot myself but my banker won't agree.


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## time warp

Old_Hobo said:


> That would be easy on the AHM model.....they're ALL missing! :laugh:


 Gotta love 'em! I'd still take the old fellas over the Life Like any day.


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## RUSTY Cuda

Ahhh gotta go big or go home! 
One would be nice, but the tinkering would be over in a couple of hours.
That stuff I bought off my sons friend turned out pretty good, for 100 bucks I think I spent about 2 weeks tinkering & cleaning, putting on couplers on the ones I wanted to keep, problem is now there all boxed up under the table with the other 2/3rd's of dad's stuff.
I need a bigger room!!!!!


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## RUSTY Cuda

I bought a cheapie lot a while back, 12 or 15 bucks, mostly old tyco or bachmann, out of eight I got six running till I smoked one tyco going round the tracks! :cheeky4:

But they kept me in tinker land for a week or so.


----------



## time warp

I enjoy tinkering with them as well. I just don't have the time anymore.


----------



## RUSTY Cuda

I'm getting more as I get older, sometimes it's just no work or scheduling delays.
So bored because of the extra 2 days I got off for the snow I pulled out a 'Cuda model my son bought for me about 2 years ago, shot the paint & got about half assembled so far, might finish it tonight, then I gotta hunt for another train project!


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## NAJ

JNXT 7707 said:


> That's what I was thinking, but the strange part is I can't imagine what it would be. What else would you put in there?


It appears that whatever they were planning/thinking that the hex shaped hole would be to house a nut and hold it in place so you could remove the screw and the nut would not turn since you could probably not access it to hold it in place.
They do this on automobiles with "blind" holes so you can remove the nut/screw and the nut/nutsert remains stationary and in place.


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## JNXT 7707

We should have a contest to name the top 3 items it could possibly be :laugh:

At the moment I can't even make up something :goofball:


----------



## time warp

NAJ said:


> It appears that whatever they were planning/thinking that the hex shaped hole would be to house a nut and hold it in place so you could remove the screw and the nut would not turn since you could probably not access it to hold it in place.
> They do this on automobiles with "blind" holes so you can remove the nut/screw and the nut/nutsert remains stationary and in place.





JNXT 7707 said:


> We should have a contest to name the top 3 items it could possibly be :laugh:
> 
> At the moment I can't even make up something :goofball:


 I'm convinced that it was something to do with the foreign market. I have seen an Italian "Tempo" trains catalog before, and the BL was in there.:dunno:


----------



## time warp

I've been having a little trouble with my newly converted Rock Island switcher not running as smoothly as I'd like. It's in service on the coal dump and it's been s-s-stuttering a bit here and there and stalling only when ENTERING the dumper turnout, but running fine when exiting.
A little aggravating. But today I kept running it through and watching it. I waited until it would stall and then gently started pushing around on the lead truck, noting that if I pushed towards the rear it would take right off.
I turned the engine end for end with my 0-5-0, ran through both ways, no stalling.
That eliminated several variables, so I checked the track and it was fine. What I did find was not enough play in the front truck. Oh, it swiveled fine, but it wouldn't rock fore and aft or side to side. So I worked it around and twisted it for a bit to see if I could free it up, and it worked! Runs through the switch fine now.
I'm going to pull it apart and do some filing to loosen things up some more, but I'm happy I found the source of the problem.


----------



## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> I've been having a little trouble with my newly converted Rock Island switcher not running as smoothly as I'd like. It's in service on the coal dump and it's been s-s-stuttering a bit here and there and stalling only when ENTERING the dumper turnout, but running fine when exiting.
> A little aggravating. But today I kept running it through and watching it. I waited until it would stall and then gently started pushing around on the lead truck, noting that if I pushed towards the rear it would take right off.
> I turned the engine end for end with my 0-5-0, ran through both ways, no stalling.
> That eliminated several variables, so I checked the track and it was fine. What I did find was not enough play in the front truck. Oh, it swiveled fine, but it wouldn't rock fore and aft or side to side. So I worked it around and twisted it for a bit to see if I could free it up, and it worked! Runs through the switch fine now.
> I'm going to pull it apart and do some filing to loosen things up some more, but I'm happy I found the source of the problem.


And problem solved without the aid of the football helmet. You're getting good TW :laugh:


----------



## time warp

Well I got stuff in the mail today, so.......

PLUS My accountant finally got my taxes done after SEVEN weeks! I've been on pins and needles! All I've got to say is: Santa Claus is comin' to town!


----------



## ExONRcarman

Any hints as to what you spending your bucks on TW?


----------



## time warp

Oh, you know, tree trimmers, home repairs, rebuild the savings, life. No Choo Choo surprises although I may be a little less hesitant at the Indy South Train Show next weekend!


----------



## RUSTY Cuda

Went wild & dropped a bid on those ahm's, jumped from 61 to 102, I'm somewhat higher, might not be home when it ends, but that's probably a good thing. I won't spend any more!


----------



## time warp

Good luck and keep us posted! There is a risk factor there even though there are a lot of them.


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## ExONRcarman

102.50 to be exact. I was sure i was going to get that lot. ah well. i wont bump you out cuda. ill go find more.. Enjoy


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## RUSTY Cuda

Sorry man,  I think it will go even higher than I put in, to me that's a month or more of tinkering,:smokin: to me worth way more than I bid, I've been known to share the wealth so to speak , so If I do get lucky & win em, you guys may end up with some of the benefits!


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## RUSTY Cuda

Got sniped with 3 seconds to go! 

OH back to the junk lot search!:dunno:


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## time warp

Oh well!hwell:


----------



## davidone

No need for sniping.just set the amount you are willing to spend. If it goes over the amount you want to spend so be it. 

Don't ever get into a bidding war with somebody who has more money then brains.


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## Old_Hobo

JNXT 7707 said:


> We should have a contest to name the top 3 items it could possibly be


But, how would we pick a winner? Nobody actually knows what it's for.....


----------



## JNXT 7707

Old_Hobo said:


> But, how would we pick a winner? Nobody actually knows what it's for.....


LOL....well at this point I'd settle for a list to maybe light a spark of possibility? :laugh:

I can see it as being something peculiar to the European market, but a locomotive is still a locomotive...like, are there other examples of this? :sly:


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## time warp

AHM always included a spare coupler with their engines, I've been wondering if perhaps that boss was there to attach a spare coupler with an extra cover plate screw and nut. Beyond that I've got nothin'


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## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> AHM always included a spare coupler with their engines, I've been wondering if perhaps that boss was there to attach a spare coupler with an extra cover plate screw and nut. Beyond that I've got nothin'


Right now you're leading the bidding TW :laugh:


It does kind of make sense...in a way....:appl:


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## time warp

The spare coupler fits there perfectly, and although the cover plate screw fits, the nut DOES NOT fit the hex hole. I stand with my hypothesis, however. Just need a different nut.


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## NAJ

Hey...!!!
I have an idea, lets send an email to the company and ask them what it is for.


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## time warp

Excellent idea! :laugh:

I think they did that just to mess with people.


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## JNXT 7707

time warp said:


> Excellent idea! :laugh:
> 
> I think they did that just to mess with people.


It works! :lol_hitting:


TW, your theory makes sense. Odd how they even raised the side sill higher in that area. 

You know, what drives me nutty is that there's some engineer in the former Yugoslavia (bonus question: what country is the Mehano plant site in now?) that knows all about this, and would probably chuckle and say "Oh you mean _that_? Funny you should ask......")


----------



## Old_Hobo

NAJ said:


> Hey...!!!
> I have an idea, lets send an email to the company and ask them what it is for


But to what company...and to whom in what company? The original designer would be impossible to find....if he/she is even still alive......don't forget, those train are old, which means the people who made them are even older (or dead)....


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## NAJ

Old_Hobo said:


> But to what company...and to whom in what company? The original designer would be impossible to find....if he/she is even still alive......don't forget, those train are old, which means the people who made them are even older (or dead)....


Yes, that is why the comment was meant as a joke.


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## Old_Hobo

Whew! I'm glad to know it's a joke.....I was getting worried about you guys getting all worked up and serious about an old POS toy train.....:laugh:


----------



## time warp

Old_Hobo said:


> Whew! I'm glad to know it's a joke.....I was getting worried about you guys getting all worked up and serious about an old POS toy train.....:laugh:


 Feel free to retract the POS comment, They've outlasted nearly 2 generations of owners and many "newer and improved' models, and still run. daily. They are fun and that's all that matters to me.

The first train I ever bought off of ebay was a an old AHM Monon BL 2. When it arrived I was checking it out and found the brushes were worn down to nothing and the nickel had been worn off of the wheel treads from so much use. Some body really enjoyed that thing and it was well cared for.

Later I found an old AHM Rock Island BL2 that was the same way, worn down to the nub and still rolling. I sold it to Shaygetz last year and I'm sure it's well cared for.

I have no doubt the original owners of those 2 old locomotives are long past, but it inspires me that they obviously enjoyed those trains that much. They wouldn't have been so well worn if that weren't the case.

POS? Hardly. Crude and simple? Absolutely. Fun? Incredibly!
(Ain't it all about having fun anyway?):laugh:


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## ExONRcarman

speaking of rock island, there is a lot of caboose on ebay with a rock island in it. i forgot to get the item number for you tho TW


----------



## time warp

Hunting for a Marx Rock Island cupola caboose for Jerry, actually. Thanks for the heads up!


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## Old_Hobo

time warp said:


> Feel free to retract the POS comment


Why? "Pretty Old Specimen" is actually a compliment...unless you are absolutely adamant that I retract that.....


----------



## time warp

Whoops! My bad!:laugh:


----------



## jlc41

Nice play on initials (POS). In today's short hand world (wkwsfw) who knows what stands for what.


----------



## time warp

The AHM Alco RS 2 diesel locomotive entered the market in 1968 as the first ready to run RS diesel. Like other AHM models, it too was built in Yugoslavia by Mehanotehnika. 
Uniquely constructed, it was the only AHM diesel made with a sheet metal frame and handrail overlays.
The body casting was correct for an as built, turbocharged 1500 hp RS 2, the exhaust being oriented the opposite of the later RS 3 models which were water cooled turbos and 1600 hp.
A new, smaller version of the venerable 3 pole" blue flame " motor was used for power, and it rode on multi piece trucks which would show up in varying forms on several different Mehano built models. 
The same Nickle plated wheels were used as other AHM models and the drivers used either 2 or 4 traction tires depending on the mfr date. Early production used the standard "NEM" deep flanged wheels, with a change to RP 25 wheels in the mid '70's


























These engines have always been very popular, and to me they are on the short list of "perfect" locomotives. Road unit horsepower, brutish good looks, and the simple fact that it's an ALCO stack the deck in it's favor.

Only a few RS 2's survive, mostly as display or museum units, but the miniature versions are still rolling up the miles.


----------



## JNXT 7707

Great post TW!:smilie_daumenpos:

These things have been a part of my Model Railroading history since I can remember. 

Like the venerable C-Liner, these also transitioned to a 8WD configuration with a can motor. 

I'll have to dig mine out and post some pics!


----------



## time warp

I think they re-tooled them in the early '80's, and like you say, they morphed into 8 wheel drive, can motored locos. The 8wd's have a plastic chassis with the railings cast on, and use the same drive components as the AHM GP 18.

All of mine are the 3 pole ones, and are doing fine!:thumbsup:


----------



## time warp




----------



## ExONRcarman

ive tried to purchase one of these locos several time on ebay. the price quickly accelerated beyond my wallet. it seems they are in high demand regardless of their age.


----------



## time warp

ExONRcarman said:


> ive tried to purchase one of these locos several time on ebay. the price quickly accelerated beyond my wallet. it seems they are in high demand regardless of their age.


 You are right. I sell a lot of trains on eBay, and these RS 2's always sell fast.


----------



## time warp

In service photo of one of the Monon RS 2's. Very nice looking units. This photo shows the later renumbering, the AHM model reflects the as purchased numbering which is correct.


----------



## JNXT 7707

Here's a couple of Santa Fe units - the blue and yellow is an earlier 4WD, the red and silver a later 8WD.


----------



## time warp

Jerry the 2099 is a correct road number, but I can't verify the 5707. You and I both have the 2099 but mine is missing a corner. 
I have to keep the 2099 as is because that's the engine that little man used to push around the track before we got the layout going, and it was the first to run on our layout as we got it together.
I'd like to see one in the original Zebra stripe scheme.


----------



## jlc41

Missing a corner, that sounds like childs play for a wizard to take care.


----------



## time warp

I'll have to add that to the ever growing list.:dunno:


----------



## NAJ

NAJ said:


> Here is the video, just to clarify...
> 1)Two other locomotives run fine with no issues.
> (AHM Alco Century 424 and Bachmann GP 40 with pancake motor)
> 2)Track voltage and continuity were tested.
> 3)Track was cleaned with a track cleaning eraser and alcohol.
> 4)Wheels and wheel wipers were cleaned with an emery board and alcohol.
> 5)Wheel wipers were verified to be in good contact with the wheels.
> 6)Locomotive wiring continuity was tested and wires were checked for tight/secure connections.
> 7)Commutator was cleaned with an emery board with the motor spinning under power.
> 
> Hopefully this verifies what TW said about the brushes not being tight enough against the commutator.
> If that is what the consensus is then please suggest the easiest way to tighten them without breaking anything.
> 
> Thanks and hopefully this will help someone else with similar issues.


Update on the Alco Century 424 running issues.
Bought home another controller and it was better but the problems were not completely rectified.
Both loco's were taken apart again, brushes, commutator, wheel pickups and wheels were cleaned, reflowed all of the solder joints.

They both run great on a 7' test track both forward and reverse and run great on 2/3 of my mainline.
There issue is when they hit the three back turnouts they slow down and you can see some slight sparking from the front wheels so obviously they are losing electrical contact with the track.
They do not have a problem with the two front turnouts, only the rears.

Some observations...
My Bachmann GP40 (DC Pancake Motor) has absolutely no problems running on the track and no issues with any of the turnouts and only requires 1/3 the power that the two AHM loco's require to run at the same speed.
My guess is that the AHM motors are drawing more amperage and this is making them more sensitive to irregularities in the track.
The problem with the locos is present forward and reverse.
Also the problem is really only present when they are puling a consist of 5-6 cars, with no load they will run great all day long.

I was also thinking the issue may be when the loco is passing through the insulated frogs.

I am open to suggestions before I say "it is the nature of the beast".


----------



## jlc41

Wish I knew what to tell you NAJ, but it looks like you are dealing with a ghost train. Good luck.


----------



## JNXT 7707

I dunno if this will help, maybe it will - just thinking out loud. 

Brush springs can be too tight as well as too loose. But somehow brush issues don't sound like they fit here. 

I once had a layout on display at a State Fair - I was well-equipped with alcohol and brite boys to keep the track issues to a minimum. To my frustration, keeping the track well wiped down with alcohol was little use. I kept having issues over certain sections of track. I had this bottle of LaBelle 105 with me that I'd never tried - they call it 'cleaner and track conditioner', and they also claim it aids in electrical conductivity. I thought I had nothing to lose because the alcohol wasn't cutting it and I had 9 days of running ahead of me. So I hit the track with the 105 and so help me God it was a miracle. 

So I'm just throwing this out there as something you might try. Clean with alcohol as before, then wipe down with the 105, then wipe off the excess. If you have some Wahl clipper oil you might try that too, because this 105 stuff smells just like it.


----------



## time warp

Jerry is dead on right about oiling the track. I have proven this myself over the years as well.

We can certainly rule out any trouble with the locomotives because the problem is in the continuity of the track. There are a couple of loose rail joiners or something that are causing a high resistance which means low power.

The Bachman behaves differently because it is a very small motor and because it's a pancake type, it tends to flywheel a little bit and doesn't have the stuttering and stalling characteristics of a different style motor. It is normal for the ahm Motors to pull more current because they are larger and heavier Motors. That is not unusual or a problem.

I have had this issue come up a time or two on my own layout because of a loose rail Joiner or the points of the turnout needing cleaned. If the problem obviously is on a small portion of the track then that is the problem, it isn't a mystery that is where the source of the trouble is.


----------



## ExONRcarman

JNXT 7707;1693217 So I'm just throwing this out there as something you might try. Clean with alcohol as before said:


> I use the clipper oil on my motors. seems to work ok, no issues from it.


----------



## NAJ

Thanks for all of the replies, I greatly appreciate it.

I decided to step back and take a look from the beginning.
Using my spare controller and jumper wires I powered the motor at the brushes, at the wheel wipers (also needed to see where power is picked up from, the motor is powered by the Left Rear and Right Front or across both Front Pickups) and then with the wheels installed which is where I located a problem, power was only being picked up by the right side front wheels.
Then to see if that was the issue I laid it on track, powered it up and held it while I moved it along and it lost power when the right side front wheel when through the frog so when installed and laid on the track the left side is not picking up power from the track.
That is the issue I am going to work on.
I did video all of the tests and when I am done or frustrated (whichever comes first) I will open a new thread with all of the pertinent info or questions.

Luckily it is the weekend and I will be with my Grandkids Saturday and Sunday and away from trains and that will give my mind a chance to clear while I attempt to tackle this issue.
Monday (maybe) I will be going in, wish me luck.


----------



## NAJ

Just another note, the track has been cleaned numerous times with alcohol, CRC QD Electronics Cleaner and a Track Cleaning Eraser.

Since the Bachmann will pull a consist of 6 cars at only 1/3 the power the AHM's require (to run by their lonesome) with absolutely no issues I am going to "assume" the track is not the issue.
I will however recheck track voltages at the rear turnouts. and that will be videoed also.


----------



## jlc41

Monday (maybe) I will be going in, wish me luck. 
NAJ, make sure you wash your hands and don't forget the face mask.


----------



## NAJ

True or False or is it just me?

My AHM loco's that run well or that did run well all...
1)Needed a warm up lap or two before they started running steady.
(Reminds me of an old carburated car on a damp autumn day)
2)Require a lot of power to move (5 x more than my two Bachmann's, one older, one brand new)
3)Are noisy

The reason I am asking this...
When I do get around to cleaning/repairing the others I do not want to be trying to make them into something that they are not.
If the three things I listed above are "normal" for 40 year old AHM loco's and considered "the nature of the beast" I am fine with that.
If getting them to run and run smoothly is as good as it gets, I am fine with that also.

Is this the experience others have had with AHM loco's?


----------



## time warp

No, mine all run like tops. Little man has been running the layout himself for weeks and that includes 8 powered locomotives, 6 AHM and 2 TYCO, running fine all.

Re: your GP 18's. I believe I'd put a couple drops of oil on the motor shaft and worm shaft towers, then run them. I never had to "tear one down" for it to run. I would suggest not overdoing it.


----------



## JNXT 7707

I agree with TW on this. If they are cleaned and lubricated they should run fine. Don't overlook the armature, if dirty this can have produce of the effects you describe.

Some are quieter than others...each one sort of has its own personality :laugh: Some growl, some whisper. 

To a certain extent, I think all locomotives tend to need a little bit of a warmup to reach a consistent cruising speed.


----------



## NAJ

Thanks for the quick replies.
3 - GP 18's and 2 - Alco Century 424's.
Will not be at least until October before any cleaning/lubing/repairing takes place.


----------



## JNXT 7707

NAJ said:


> Thanks for the quick replies.
> 3 - GP 18's and 2 - Alco Century 424's.
> Will not be at least until October before any cleaning/lubing/repairing takes place.


That's some long range planning NAJ!


----------



## NAJ

JNXT 7707 said:


> That's some long range planning NAJ!


Well, it is exhausting being me (actually just had this conversation with my doctor this morning, meds are no longer working).
My brain never shuts off, there is always something going on up there (does not affect my sleep) so when something gets into my head I need to take care of it right away or Mr. Anxiety rears his ugly head and I cannot focus on anything else and it will bother me to no end.
So even though I already knew it would be October before any work was done the question popped up in my head today so I had to ask.


----------



## jlc41

NAJ, it sound like you might need a little more Bourbon.


----------



## time warp

Part of my AHM fleet, getting the work done.


----------



## jlc41

Rodney, what is that on your cross over walk??? Looks like a camel laying on it's side??


----------



## time warp

Ha! Those are some unpainted figures that apparently have been drinking and passed out.:goofball: If you'll remember, they used to be all over the layout! :laugh:


----------



## Ace

Last year I picked up an old AHM switcher like this one at a train show for $2. The wheels and wheel wipers were considerably corroded as if it had sat in a swamp for a while. I cleaned up the wheels, fixed the electrical wipers, lube job etc, and it runs good! The wheels are rather heavily pitted and lumpy but that gives it some character, the way it clumps along like a kid in oversize boots on a wood floor.

The vertical-shaft motor drives on only one axle but it has a lot of weight over that axle so it pulls fairly well for its size. The cab is noticeably over-width (to accommodate the factory weight) but that's just another endearing quirk. It doesn't like plastic frogs (prone to stall) so it needs some special consideration for that. It may get its own custom mini-layout with extra-sharp curves.

I remember seeing these critters in the big AHC ads in MR magazines in the 1970's. Sometimes they were offered at special bargain prices. In the early 70's my summer jobs were paying $1.80 to $2 an hour. An hour's work for an Athearn boxcar, my prefered brand.


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## time warp

My young son took this picture of his AHM MDT switcher and it is like new, even though its over 40 years old. Runs perfectly and doesn't really have trouble over frogs.
I'm wondering if the pitted wheels on yours are causing a contact issue? The older version of these have metal axles, like ours, and the newer ones have plastic axles. If yours has plastic axles I could fix you up with some good wheels (I have gobs of them).
Speaking of sharp curves, I have run these on a 5" circle before. :laugh:


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## Ace

Some 4-wheel locos don't have all wheels square on the rails all the time. This AHM unit has maybe 90% of its weight on the one drive axle so I don't have high expectations for electrical contact even though I run a track cleaner on almost every train. I gave up running it on a figure-8 layout with an Atlas 90° crossing with plastic frogs. It maybe stalls less running cab forward, but doesn't look so great that way with the wide cab.

Admittedly, the pitted wheels don't help although I shined them up really good. Many Thanks for the offer of replacement wheels, I'll keep that in mind. Have to check whether my unit has metal or plastic axles and I have a zillion other projects going on. I might have replacement parts myself, just have to dig through batches of secondhand stuff.


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## time warp

I'll have to check, but I think those are supposed to have a front weight as well.


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## Ace

Was wondering, who made those aforementioned diesel switchers for AHM? Since AHM was just an importer? I didn't see any ID on mine. If it was discussed in the previous 30 pages of this thread I may have missed it.

I looked through the AHM literature at "HOSeeker" website. That diesel switcher is in the AHM catalogs for 1967-1979, but not for 1963 and 1982. 

http://hoseeker.net/ahmmiscellaneous.html

The 1963 AHM catalog shows a completely different 4-wheel switcher. If the US Army ever used these, it must have been at a European base!


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## time warp

That ARMY switcher was made by Rivarossi, and they are hard to find today.
The later MDT , like yours, was always made by Mehanotehnika ( Mehano) in Yugoslavia.


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## Ace

Thanks for the info, Warp !

The "ball bearing motor" statement is kind of a joke. It's just one ball for the end thrust of the motor shaft. Lionel also made this sort of claim for some of their motors.


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## Gramps

Ace said:


> I remember seeing these critters in the big AHC ads in MR magazines in the 1970's. Sometimes they were offered at special bargain prices. In the early 70's my summer jobs were paying $1.80 to $2 an hour. An hour's work for an Athearn boxcar, my prefered brand.


That ad brought back memories. In the early 80's I had a job that took me into Manhattan and I went into America's Hobby Center on West 22nd Street once in a while. It was several floors up in an old building but had lots of trains.


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## time warp

Gramps said:


> That ad brought back memories. In the early 80's I had a job that took me into Manhattan and I went into America's Hobby Center on West 22nd Street once in a while. It was several floors up in an old building but had lots of trains.


 I used to order stuff from them once in a while, seemed they had everything there.


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## Ace

The HOSeeker website has literature for AHM and others. This page shows two weights in the AHM MDT switcher like mine has, which puts maybe 90% of the weight on the one rear drive axle. A different page for the later 1977-1980 version shows two parts changes, whisker couplers and the bottom plate under the axles which appears changed from metal to plastic.

http://hoseeker.net/ahminstructions.html


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## time warp

See that big weight? Its #2 in the second picture. It sits dead center in the frame and should put plenty of weight in the front. I'm glad you posted that image, I was thinking there were 2 weights.


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## Ace

There are two weights, #16 and #17 in the first image, #2 and #11 in the second image. The front weight is about mid-frame, the rear weight makes the unit somewhat tail heavy, which helps traction with the single axle drive. Lots of weight for a small loco but any 4-wheel loco is a bit challenged for electrical pickup, I reckon.

Can someone explain the Plymouth loco model designations, like MDT? I imagine the letters and numbers refer to different loco sizes, engines, transmission type etc. D for Diesel, maybe.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/locolist.aspx?id=PLYMOUTH

If the photo is an actual MDT loco, the AHM model is basically freelanced.


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## time warp

I know three designations for Plymouths,
JTD, DTD, & MTD. What that means, I don't know.


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## Ace

time warp said:


> ... Speaking of sharp curves, I have run these on a 5" circle before. :laugh:
> View attachment 348074


Did you have any train cars that could run with the AHM MDT switcher on 5-inch radius curves? I've trialed various cars on tight curves. I think some 8-wheel cabooses with truck-mounted couplers will do 5" curves, but the MDT switcher has body mount couplers which might not co-exist. I have trial layouts with 10" and 9" and 8" radius curves and am considering trying 7" or 6", but the variety of items that can manage extreme curves are increasingly limited. I have some train-set gondolas with truck-mount couplers that should work if I shorten the bodies.

Oops. I just noticed you said 5" CIRCLE. A stunt, I presume.


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## time warp

No, it was a 5" radius circle.:laugh: 
Prolonged running like that would produce some nasty flange wear!
I just used one or two regular freight cars with talgos, no big deal. I still have it and I need to get it going to take along to train shows. I've got several little engines that will run on it.


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## santafealltheway

Ace said:


> The HOSeeker website has literature for AHM and others. This page shows two weights in the AHM MDT switcher like mine has, which puts maybe 90% of the weight on the one rear drive axle. A different page for the later 1977-1980 version shows two parts changes, whisker couplers and the bottom plate under the axles which appears changed from metal to plastic.
> 
> http://hoseeker.net/ahminstructions.html


oooh i have one of those!

its still one of my favorites.

not much room for that decoder lol! had to stick it by the window.


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## time warp

We need to scare up a front railing for you, Jim.


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## santafealltheway

i got some brass wire, just have to bend it


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## Ace

santafealltheway said:


> i got some brass wire, just have to bend it


Mine was also missing the front handrail. I used some small-gauge solid wire with yellow insulation that fit just right, made a simple loop with two bends. Not FRA approved.


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## Ace

A friend was given a bunch of 1970's HO train set stuff including several AHM items. In near pristine condition! Most with original boxes. I just saw this windfall bonanza today.

Can the AHM gurus tell me the story about this AHM loading gantry? It has flanged wheels to run on its own rails. There is a hand crank for the belt on far right side, not visible in photo. But what was it intended to load? The moving belt either dumps things off the end or you can move a 'gate' to dump stuff off the middle to one side.

One of the accessory boxes shows various other AHM operating gadgets. He got some of those items too ...


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## time warp

I really don't know what it was originally intended to do. I do know that that the conveyor and the container crane were originally part of the Cox line of trains, and there is also a smaller conveyor that goes along with them. I just sold a Cox conveyor that was identical the one you posted, only it was motorized. These are huge and use up a lot of real estate.


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## Ace

Thanks Warp, "Cox conveyor" were the key words to find more info on this. But if the belt conveyor was intended to load containers as suggested in first two pics it must have been pretty clumsy. The side outlet is too wide to place small items onto a railcar.

Cox had another crane-type loader that made more sense for containers. Apparently the belt conveyor was intended for smaller crates?

My friend's 'conveyor' has AHM molded into the plastic on the underside.


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## time warp

There you go! Its for loading the ship, which I had never seen before. These pieces would make killer additions to a harbor or industrial area.
The AHM box pictures in post 325 show items that were released just before AHM's demise, and were originally Cox releases as well.


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## Ace

Yeah, the belt conveyor can load a ship, but the first pic in post #325 shows a movable gate to divert an object into a railcar. I tried this out with my friend's conveyor and it's pretty clumsy.

Funny thing here ... my friend is a talented HO _scale_ modeler. Some of his old friends were visiting from out of state and thought, Joe is a 'train nut' so we'll give him our old trains. Which is mostly 1970's 'train set' stuff. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but Joe's hobby work is more refined scale work. He took it anyway, will pass it on to grandkids eventually. I was envious of some of the items, pristine with original boxes ...


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## Mehanotehnika

time warp said:


> The spare coupler fits there perfectly, and although the cover plate screw fits, the nut DOES NOT fit the hex hole. I stand with my hypothesis, however. Just need a different nut.
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 294474


Hello, I have an answer to your question. In the picture below you can see that there is mounted relay for locomotives AC system (in German "Wechselstrom" used by Märklin). There are more pictures in my album Mehanotehnika Ahm BL2 

These AC locomotives BL2 were made only for European market, as you can see in brochure in my album.


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## Eilif

I realize this is an old thread, but I'll bite. Can you explain this "relay system"?

As to the rest of the thread I have a number of AHM items in my collection. They fit in well in freight consists with Blue Box cars. The EJ&E covered hopper is a notable example. I also have some of the BL2's that run quite well (traded away the ones that didn't) and of course the AHM Rivarossi stuff (I have a nice IHB 0-8-0) is a cut above most smilar stuff of the era.


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## Mehanotehnika

Eilif said:


> I realize this is an old thread, but I'll bite. Can you explain this "relay system"?
> 
> As to the rest of the thread I have a number of AHM items in my collection. They fit in well in freight consists with Blue Box cars. The EJ&E covered hopper is a notable example. I also have some of the BL2's that run quite well (traded away the ones that didn't) and of course the AHM Rivarossi stuff (I have a nice IHB 0-8-0) is a cut above most smilar stuff of the era.


Relay in the picture has the same function as Märklin's Fahrtrichtungsschalter


relay marklin fahrt-richtungs-schalter - Google Search


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## Gramps

"Fahrtrichtungsschalter" --That almost wiped out my spell check.


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## Mehanotehnika

JNXT 7707 said:


> That's what I was thinking, but the strange part is I can't imagine what it would be. What else would you put in there?


Hello, because there was no feedback from *time warp *(I hope he is OK), I am sending you the same answer as I gave it to him: 
"Hello, I have an answer to your question. In the picture below you can see that there is mounted relay for locomotives AC system (in German "Wechselstrom" used by Märklin). There are more pictures in my album Mehanotehnika Ahm BL2

These AC locomotives BL2 were made only for European market, as you can see in brochure in my album."

Best regards, Dušan


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## Gramps

Welcome to the forum Dusan. You came across and are responding to a thread that started in 2016 and had its last post in 2017. That's probably why the original poster has not responded.


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## SlomoPilot

(Realizing this is an old thread) To the original poster, yes I got my first AHM locomotive at about the same time ('73 or '74). It was a Conrail C-liner that I still have and run; AND it came from a Woolworths 'super store' Woolco. I still have AHM/Rivarossi passenger cars from the same time period and now, thanks to the internet, own 3 Rivarossi E-8s. I gotta give 'em credit, they hang in there !


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## kilowatt62

May as well jump in on this (revived) thread as well.
Yup, 73 to 76 ish here too that I acquired two AHM C-liners. UP and B&O. Still have em, still run em, once in awhile. Extra shells now as wel. Just this past year I re-treaded and serviced them. One is definately a coffee grinder. The other, not so much but likes to smoke a bit now and then. Sooo many memories with these two.


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## time warp

I'm still around, and enjoyed the info about the AC European market BL2.
We still have a good number of old AHM locomotives in regular service that perform very well.


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## Opus

I remember on the back of the AHM building kits there was a photo of a layout built with all the AHM products. I thought it was impressive.


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## time warp

Opus said:


> I remember on the back of the AHM building kits there was a photo of a layout built with all the AHM products. I thought it was impressive.


I have an original set box which has that picture. I'll try to post it.


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## Murv2

I've picked up a few AHM engines and cars in the last few years, the diesels with one powered truck and traction bands aren't impressive and the Americans can't pull squat. The Yugo B-B's work pretty good though once you add weight.


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## time warp

Murv2 said:


> I've picked up a few AHM engines and cars in the last few years, the diesels with one powered truck and traction bands aren't impressive and the Americans can't pull squat. The Yugo B-B's work pretty good though once you add weight.


We run them hard, and have done so for decades. The AHM equipment in the following video includes most of the drive styles offered, and they run reliably with minimal care.
It all depends on one's point of view, doesn't it?


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## Murv2

time warp said:


> We run them hard, and have done so for decades. The AHM equipment in the following video includes most of the drive styles offered, and they run reliably with minimal care.
> It all depends on one's point of view, doesn't it?


Nice! I usually run 10-15 car trains and the one-truck engines tend to struggle a bit. The Americans can hardly pull 5.


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## Jeff Richard

time warp said:


> I was about 13 years old, or nearly. 1973 and a couple of months before my birthday and I got to noticing the model trains at our local Woolworth store. I couldn't afford to buy anything, but I looked at them so much its a wonder I didn't wear holes in the boxes!
> Remarkable, to me. The many types and colors of freight cars, the NYC streamlined Hudson, carded railroad track hanging on the display and it seemed to go on forever. In the picture window in front of the store there were stacks of boxed train sets like I'd never seen and one of them got my attention. It was a Thunderbolt train set with a brown Pennsylvania engine, 2 cars and caboose. I let my mom know that I wanted that train set for my birthday, and I thought that day would never come!
> October 29th came and brought along my first HO train set. I still have some of the original pieces 43 years later. My 10 year old runs them now and they're still earning their keep!
> One thing I remember well; I had my train set up on sawhorses in an unfinished room in my parents home and it was a Saturday. My Dad was in off the road and while the trains were running around, my little sister and I were playing with matchbox cars on the penciled in roads we'd drawn. My Dad sat on a chair and played with us that day, He drew a weigh station next to our roads and made us cross the scales as we "drove" back and forth. That was the only time my Dad ever played with me.
> I plan on sharing some pictures and a little history later, and I look forward to seeing what others have to say.
> 
> Here are some of our AHM trains in no particular order:
> 
> The BN S2 is one of my sons favorites because he likes green. A really smooth running engine even though it has a 3 pole motor.
> 
> View attachment 231729
> 
> 
> 
> This PRR S2 helps out on the coal dump from time to time. This one came from a swap meet in Oklahoma and has a 3 pole motor. Mid '70's vintage.
> 
> View attachment 231737
> 
> 
> 
> The ubiquitous Western Maryland BL 2, The prototype for this one has been restored to service and runs today.
> When AHM introduced this model MR reviewed it as one of the finest HO diesels at the time. That was in '62!
> 
> View attachment 231745
> 
> 
> My favorites, the C&O BL 2 pair. Both of these are powered and are very smooth running. Arguably one of the most beautiful paint schemes to ever be applied to a locomotive.
> 
> View attachment 231753
> I have a BL2 ,it only powers up when i move the right front wheels to the leftside of the track! Looked for a wiring schamatic @ H.O. seeker none available.anybody have a clue why?
> 
> 
> 
> I'll post some more later!


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