Ok! I know I am going to get in trouble with Atlas for this, but here goes. I have two brand new loco's from Atlas, a GP7 and a GP35 that are having wheel problems. The wheels look like they are a hundred years old. They look like they have been scored or run in the same spot on the rails. The GP-7 was purchased a month ago and the GP-35 was two months ago. They get as much running time as my Katos(about 10-15 minutes a week) and some of those I have had for over a year and a pair of RS2's I have had for 2 years. I started thread about wheel quality between Kato and Atlas and had no replies. Now what I would like to know is why that happening? Are they running faster than the others? When I run my 2 GP-7's together, they seem to run fine, but one has the wheels that look like they are scored. Is one dragging the other? The GP-35, I run together with my SD-90 mac and or my SD40-2 snoot. Are the bigger once getting all the power and the GP35 is being deprived of power and being dragged? Or is it just poor wheel quality on Atlas's part? By the look of the wheels I will have to get new once. Do I have to purchase the whole assembly or just the wheels and how hard is it to take apart and put together? Do the trucks pop out with out taking the shell off? Or do I just send Atlas the trucks and get new once (gratis)??? I really would like some answeres from anyone else having the same problem and from someone at Atlas!! No Cheers BUSTER That's my opinion, not your's!!! Get you're own!!
Jerry, on the whole, Atlas locomotives run faster than Kato, although the newer ones have a slower running motor. To see the speed difference, put both locomotives on the track, but not coupled together, and see if one catches up, or leaves the other behind. Do this with all the locomotives you plan to run together. I tend to pair up units which run at similar speeds. DCC users can tune all locomotives to run at the same speed, I understand. Are you sure the wheels are actually worn? Some wheels are chemically blackened, and this does wear off with time, in fact, I polish wheels on new locos. to remove the blackening. It is not difficult to remove trucks, and wheels, but should not be neccessary, except for very well used units. Try the above, and let us know the findings
It sounds to me like you are missing a pair of traction tires on the wheelsets....Not for certian, though.
Send an E mail to Paul Graf at Atlas and explain the problem to him. His Email address is paul@atlasrr.com Paul is the VP of product development and an N scaler himself. There could be any number of causes for what you discribed to include possible contamination of the material that was used to make the wheels. But Email Paul and I think you will find hm to be accomodating.
Just a thought here but has anyone tried to switch wheels from Kato to Atlas or vice versa. I think the split axle design is pretty standard amongst all manufacturers and most diesels have the same size wheels. The difference could be in how large the 'shoulder' on the axle is and the length of the plastic gear that the axles fit into. If the same it could be a fix for all those Atlas wheels that some complained of as getting dirty too quickly.
Good thinking about replacing the Atlas wheeles with Kato - if they are available. They should be the same except for the SD80/90MAC's which have a larger diameter wheel. A couple of questions - 1. Are both locos the new 'Classic' re-releases? 2. Do both suffer running problems (jerkiness and stalling) that you feel is caused by the wheels? I have never heard of the wheels being grooved and/or pitted as I am imagining from your decsription, Jerry. Is there a definite groove in the tread? If not, and there is no running problems, I would go with Alan's thought that it's the chemical blackening that has worn and giving that appearance. Another thought regarding the replacement wheelsets. If the wheel's stub axle is the same on the above GP7 and GP35 as used on the SD7/9 and original GP30/35, then order those as replacements. From memory, they appear not be chemically blackened like the current offerings and are most probably Kato made. The locos were. Atlas lists them as 'wheelsets' at around $1.50/$1.60 depending on loco. Whether this is a pair of wheels only, includes the gear or not, I don't know. Mr Graf would be the one to ask for pointers, as Inkaneer recommends. Good luck and let us know how you fair. Gary.
Godd morning gentlemen! So far I have not heard from Mr. Graf, but it is Saturday so he may not be there. I did e-mail him. The real suprising thing was, no-one has given me any suggestions on the Atlas forum, as if they are afraid to say anything against Atlas. Or unless they are arguing about code 55. The wheels look, as if they have a grey baked on look to them. I have cleaned them with goo-gone first and then rubbing alcohol to remove the goo-gone. It is hard to describe, on some wheels it looks like it is baked on, and on others it looks like pitting or grooving, as if the wheels were dragged on rail with no power. The blackening on the wheels is only on the outside but chrome on the inside. Yes they are the new, the gp35 is atlas-classic, purchased on October 08, 2001. The gp7 was purchased Jan.10, 2002. They both look like the trucks can just pop out with out taking the shell off, so if i can get kato wheels I will replace them. I really beleive that Kato quality is unsurpassed. I have 8 Kato's and never a problem. I only have 5 Atlas and the only reason I bought those was 2 are Trainmasters and the gp7's are TH&B. I will keep you guys informed. It's really great to get replies from all over the world.
Atlas does not manufacture their locomotives directly. They use a broker in Asia. As a result they have various parts made by different manufacturers and assembled at yet another. This accounts for some of the interchangeability of parts between Atlas and Lifelike. This system is not unique to Atlas. My first camcorder was made by a company that made them for seven different companies. who sold them under their own names. All the parts were the same. The system allows for better utilization of resources and lower costs and prices. However it also means that quality control becomes harder to manage. It could be that the metal used for the wheels may have had a high amount of contamination. The wheels are an alloy and there is always trace amounts of undesirable material present. Usually this is not a problem and material specifications outline what is and is not acceptable. Sometimes, however, whether by error or more sinister means, a material will be certified as meeting specs when in fact it doesn't. Very difficult to diagnose unless metallurgical tests are done. On large scale operations metallurgy tests are routinue. But on the scale of production we have in N scale I would doubt if every batch was tested. Random testing maybe done. But usually the consumer is the first to know. This is what I suspect occurred in your case. Atlas has always had a good consumer policy and the few times I have had need of it I have been completely satisfied. I believe there is a big hobby show occurring in early March and Paul Graf may not be able to get back to you until it is over so hold on and don't be discouraged.
Ok I'm back, I just spent two hours trying to clean the wheels. I have them about 80% clean, it is as if there was gunk baked on. The right side is worse, but there is some scoring left on them. The gp35 is cleaner than the the gp7. I tested both gp7's, about 6 inches apart on the same track, and it seems the one with all the scoring runs faster; than the one that is clean. There is good contact and no loss of power, and the track is clean. I will keep everyone informed if I hear from Atlas. Has anyone tried to take the trucks off? do they just pull out? Cheers
Just got of the phone with a friend, he says the problem I discussed earlier with the wheels is called "arching". The crud on the wheels is practically welded on, and when you try to take it off it is like scraping of calcium. I got some of it off, but it still looks bad. Apperantly Atlas track is notorious for "arching" and when you add Atlas wheels it is evan worse. The wheels look like I will have to replace them, I hpoe atlas will send me some free trucks.
Jerry, I use a Minitrix wheel cleaner, below sitting on the track under the cleaner are brass strips, which pick up power from the rails to clean, sit the cleaner on the track, turn the power full on, and press the locomotive wheels onto the wire brush strips. Don't forget that even if you get the locomotive wheels clean, you must also clean the track, or the wheels will quickly get dirty again. Also if your rolling stock wheels are dirty, they will put dirt down onto the rails again!
I have recently tried Kato wheels on an Intermountain FT and Atlas truck frames and the stub axles are too long. Grinding these down might be a solution since the gears line up great, but they won't properly fit into the side frame assembly without the stub axles being ground down. Maybe Kato makes different stub axle lengths on their loco wheels? I'll have to do some digging around and check...
Kato wheels... Hey Gats - have you tried using Kato loco wheels on Life-Like, Atlas or Intermountain? Have you had to grind down the Kato stub axles to get them to fit? Thanks! -Pete
Pete, you realize this thread is 8 years old right? I'm going to assume that everyone has had their issues resolved by now
