Hi Mike, I agree with several of the above when I say all of my Atlas locomotives manufactured by Kato do not have any frame problems. As also mentioned, they are a bit nosier than the newer locomotives, but at the same time they weight a ton, well not a ton but are heavier than their Atlas / China counterparts. On a side note, I've converted my older Atlas / Kato locomotives to DCC using the TCS CN-GP decoders. The split board decoder works perfectly for the older Atlas / Kato split light boards. The TCS CN-GP decoders are not plug-n-play, they do require some soldering, but the advantage is both boards contain a LED, so no additional lighting is required. In my opinion this is a very ingenious option for converting these older locomotives to DCC. I've also used the TCS CN decoder to convert older Walthers / Life-Like locomotives to DCC. The only difference is, you need to cut slots in the front part of the frame to accept the TCS CN decoder on the Walthers / Life-Like locomotives. Luckily I found the cut-off wheel on a Dremel motor tool is about the perfect thickness for the TCS decoder. Anyway Mike, a very long winded answer for a simple question. So, in my humble opinion I feel Atlas at one time had a bad batch of motors. To date I own 30 Atlas locomotives and only 1 has what I'd call severe motor problems and two have minor motor problems. Also to date I've only had one Atlas decoder fail direct from the factory. So yes, problems exist but at the same time I'm not hesitant to purchase Atlas locomotives.
Brian, I agree with your last statement, ESU and Zimo make the locomotives run so much better, and TCS is not far behind. I have slowed my purchases of locomotives because I have way more than I need. I have reserved my first Scale Trains locomotives for later this year, and I am slowly weeding out all the locomotives that no longer fit my plans, 90% of those are either Atlas or Intermountain. As for the coffee grinder on the GP 30/35, well that has never been an issue on the ones I have. Hopefully Atlas will correct these issues, quality control can make or break a company. And as I said, if they had the factory even do a simple test of the decoder installs, that would have been a positive mark for quality, and quality builds trust. That clearly did not happen this time around.
My last purchase of Atlas locomotives was for a pair of decoder equipped SD 9's. According to Spookshow these were issued in 2004 although my recollection is that I bought them later than that as I bought them several years after moving to the new house in 2011. So, I guess I don't have a dog in the current fight but in viewing the issues brought out in this thread there is obviously a question of whether quality control is adequate. This is a perennial problem in all industries where certain operations are outsourced to the lowest bidder. You get what you pay for.
Seems to me there was a release after 2004, as I bought (pre-ordered) a pair of MILW SD7 units and it was not that far back in years.
That was my recollection also. I'm thinking around 2018 or so. Anyway, it doesn't seem that long ago.
According to The Atlas Archives the SD7’s were announced in February 2017. https://archive.atlasrr.com/NLoco/arc-nsd7.htm Trovestar shows them as released in March 2018. https://www.trovestar.com/generic/zoom.php?id=124316
I see several people here complaining of the same problem. It's a common problem. Those of you who are experiencing loud/ coffee grinding shorter 4-axle locos..... I strongly suggest you learn to remove the inner worm bearings. When done correctly, you will be absolutely astounded at the positive difference it makes. I do this to every single locomotive that I own that fit the short parameters (a few dozen). The step by step tutorial is always on my website: https://u18b.com/tutorials/ Because so many people make a mistake- please note: My tutorial ONLY applied to locos without a floppy u-joint. And most 6-axle locos have such a u-joint. Kato specializes in 6-axles mostly. Atlas does more shorter 4-axle, so this procedure applies more to Atlas locos.
That's a really well done article Ron with excellent diagrams. I'm not used to such clarity! Bookmarked it for later. Much of my N Scale has been stored away for 5+ years and there's no telling what gremlins have done in that time.
I have one of the older Atlas SD7's that was part of the pre-DCC releases made by Kato. I've found the TCS CN-GP decoders work great in these locomotives.
As expected this is starting to drift off topic so it's just like being at a work meeting but I'd love to know what Atlas said about this assuming they were contacted prior to posting it here.
Going off topic is almost a sport here. We're actually pretty well behaved on this thread! Wait until you start seeing references to 80's pop culture mixed in.
Once a post has been discussed...cussed..hashed and rehashed they do tend to 'drift'. As long as the original post was answered I see no problem with a little 'drift'... JMO YMMV.
And drift it shall. I’ve 3 questions 2 based on age, JMO=just my opinion? YMMV=your mileage may vary,why is my fuel economy important? And finally what did Atlas say about this. I’ll expect crickets on the last one.
A slangy acronym used as a way of just a saying that some folks get more, or less, than others from what is being offered. Has nothing to do with actual fuel.
Zinc Rot has been a problem for many years (It was first discovered to be a problem in 1923). All the model railroading manufactures have been contacted about it...with varying degrees of responses from each.
There were pre-WWII trains made with Zamac parts on them, ruined by the deterioration. particularly locomotive drivers. I remember seeing ads in old MR magazines for replacement parts for those trains. Doug
@woodchip Here are a just a few links to get you started on zinc rot and how it affects model railroaders etc.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_pest https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic...ars-when-they-fall-apart-from-zinc-rot?page=1 You could use the 'search' function here on TB and maybe find a specific reply from Atlas... .
