Athearn SDP40

[CP&E 3207]

I bought an Undecorated Athearn SDP40 yesterday. When I got home and test ran it it ran fine and dandy, but then I started to put the hand railings on and the actual hand rails were corroded..........i mean big time, to where the actual thickness of the metal had enlarged, and is likely fragile. How do I remove the corrosion to see if it is beyond repair, just use a fine sandpaper and sand it off? I've looked before for replacement kits from Athearn but have never found any.

[Shannon]

Pat,

I have never run into that problem with Athearn, but with the new ownership it does not suprise me. graemlins/shakehead.gif You can try to sand the surface rust off and then apply a primer to stop the rust. Or if you want to replace the hand rails you can call Athearn direct in Southern California and tell them the problem. You may or may not get the handrails replaced free. I have done business with Athearn in the past for parts direct and they are a bit slow but you will finally get the product. Looking at all of my instruction sheets for hand rails the best part number I can come up with is for a SD40-2. That part number is 44029. graemlins/headscratch.gif Look on the Athearn web page at www. Athearn.com to confirm that number. The contact phone number is also on that page. If you have an assembly sheet in the box it should give you the correct part number.

Good luck,

Shannon

WP LIVES graemlins/097.gif

[SP 8299]

Just contact Athearn via phone or email, politely explaining the problem. If they have any parts in stock, they should take care of you. And rusty handrails is a problem that happens from time to time, especially when the engines sit in hobbyshops and/or warehouses for long periods of time. Considering it's been a while since Athearn last ran SDP40s, I doubt the new ownership could be blamed for rusty railings. ;)