If: You don't need the cash They work for you as static / dummy If you find you don't need them give them to a friend or sell them and give the cash to a non-profit of your choice.
the first run were great pullers, and due to less metal and lighter metal, I would assume that the new run will pull less
My original run U30C's and C30-7's run almost as good as the day I got them, that was how many years ago? Making them into dummy units and you have DCC in them already...uhhhhhhhh? mmm-kay. Maybe 11 new units and some lubricant to start a maintenance program. (insert smiley face beating head on wall here)
The Kato U30C/C30-7 mechanism is probably THE best running mechanism they ever made, How could they improve on it? Other than being DCC friendly! Maybe a slower motor? I don't know! I'd say keep your units running, would be a shame to make them dummies! Although, wouldn't $50.00 be better than having perfectly good units sitting there doing nothing(other than looking good)! Maybe you could sell off a few, to help offset the cost of the new units and keep a few to fill up the service tracks! Just a couple of thoughts, Trevor D.
You guys are right, so I guess I will have over 30 GE's to pull my coal. Pls God do not release the SD40's without ditch lights , I will be broke!
I've always loved the Kato C30/U30 mechanism as it simply pulls more and runs smoother than any other unit I own today, a bit more than the SD45. Hard to improve on that and I'd guess that it would have to loose a little weight to accomodate the decoder slot, but then again..... I was stunned when I tested the Kato NW2 against the Life-Like SW8 and they came out dead even, and the Kato NW2 has an open cab and is DCC-friendly. It's a combination of weight and wheel material...so until I have a 'new' C30 in-hand and can prove that it won't pull what the old one will I'll hold my guns. I have to say I'm a bit concerned over the 'bashing' the C30 and SD45 are receiving. These are/were probably the best-running 'legacy' six-axle units ever. Of the old runs, I've got three C30's and seven SD45's. They just keep racking up the miles and get lubed and cleaned once a year. I can fix paint, details, whatever, I can't fix a crappy, poorly-designed mechanism with poor materials. All Kato did was reintroduce the basic same model with minimum changes and make it DCC friendly. I'm not counting steps, rivets, or anticlimbers. I'm pulling trains. I also have a 'new' Intermountain SD45-2 that is basically an Atlas SD50 under the hood, doesn't pull anywhere near as well, and can't replace a Kato SD45 in a consist - it slips. Kato is NEVER going to equal Atlas for the number of roadnames offered, and probably not match the paint detail either. But I buy locomotives to run, and run hard, and until they've proven themselves they don't get the attention to final details and paint. That's the part I enjoy, and fix. Kato F7's, SD45's, and C30/U30's are also the only locomotives I'd ever buy, sight unseen, used. I've bought fully half my fleet used, and they just keep going and going and going.
Amen to that. I have a beautifully detailed Samhongsa GP-9 TT model and I am glad I paid "fixer" prices for it since it is basically going to need a new mechanism shoved inside. The current one reminds me a bit of those old Bachmann Brill trolleys. Egad.
Totally agree about Kato mechanisms and I've got my order in for the C30-7's and the recent run of SD45's beat anything IM make by a country mile, but in 2011 doing two different cabs for the windows or underframe moldings for different prototypes with or without anticlimbers or getting yellow that actually looks yellow shouldn't be beyond Kato's capabilities either.
Would the B23-7 anticlimbers work for the SF units? IDK, my kodachrome new SD45 has a low voltage start up and seems to "rev" way to fast at that low voltage when mu'ed with other units, even other KATO's. I run DC, but it's annoying to have that one unit in "run 8" while the others are in "notch 2."
